The clouds raced overhead as the wind screamed past the ears of the group traveling through the village. Their capes were pulled high to protect as much of their faces as possible from the biting wind, and the fabric of said capes was the blackest of black. As the party traveled down the street, doors would close at their presence. Word seemed to spread down as well, for more and more doors were closing ahead of them as well as beside them. Finally, not a single open door could be spotted. But this did not bother the group of men. In fact, not one glance had been spared for the closing doors on their part. They were not interested in the pathetic fears of the townspeople. Only one person interested them right now, and she was not behind any of those doors.
The two leaders walked close together, heads bowed as they conversed in low whispers, muffled by their dark cloaks.
"Ahead?"
"Hai."
"We know for sure this time?"
"Hai."
"You remember what happened last time, right."
Silence.
"We cannot risk that again."
His companion faltered a step than sent a dark glare in the other's direction. His face was narrow, with many scars covering its surface. In the center of his forehead was a minute green triangle, raised slightly from the surrounding skin.
"Do not assume that I am so foolish as to repeat the last incident." His eyes glinted below narrowed brows at this statement.
"M- my apologies, sir." The second man stammered, "It won't happen again, I assure you." His face turned white, and he too bore a triangle, though it had an even smaller red dot in the center of it.
"I hope not, for your sake. This mission is more important than the life of one man. You of all people should know this." He grinned maliciously and looked away from his cowering companion.
The second man was silent at the glare, though he gulped in realization of his words. He knew exactly what he was hinting at.
The first person stopped, which halted all those behind him and the one beside.
"Listen up," he said in a growlish voice. At this, the entire group looked up, revealing their facial features. All had green triangles, and a few, like the second man, had red dots in the center of them. These seemed to always send nervous glances at those surrounding them, as if unsure of their safety. Yet every person there listened with rapt attention as the first man continued to speak.
"My friend here has just reminded me of our last attempt. You all recall that, correct?"
More nervous glances by those with the red spots. They seemed to quake at his words.
"Well, I would like to assure you all that certain steps will be taken to prevent this from happening again.
A hard glint was in his eyes now, and the entire group shifted under his gaze.
"You will be informed of these steps when we approach our goal."
Not a single soul questioned his words. Not one. There were only nods and scattered replies of "hai sir."
"Now then," he said, turning back around and continuing his march, followed by the rest.
Despite the chilling speech, his followers seemed even more determined to reach their goal. Every pair of eyes stared determinedly ahead, and every footfall was solid, sure of its destination.
The wind blew harder and the group exited the village, heading due north.
The closed doors did not begin to open until the party was just a speck on the horizon. And even then only the bravest poked their heads cautiously out. After a few minutes, the only sign that the group had been there was the silence. Most of the townspeople were out now, but they did not speak. Instead they stood scattered around the square, giving each other glances every now and then as if to say, "something's up."
And it was.