He Who Cries at Midnight

A stranger stands on a plateau overlooking a village. The village is cut off from the outside world for the winter until the trading caravans arrive. The stranger looks down at the mist hanging over the village in the morning light. Sometimes he leaves a village alone but other times if he senses evil in a village then that is something he can play with. Three people pique the stranger’s interest; a tavern keeper, a serving wench and an old soldier who is now the town drunk. The stranger smiles and makes a decision and then the destinies of all three people begin to twist and turn in front of him. He steps off the trail and begins to walk down the slope towards the village.