The small man rode the once-paved road upon a fine but almost starving riding beast, and wore at his side a poor scabbard that had the hilt of a fine sword protruding from it.  Some things about this man, including his long, carefully trained black mustache, suggested that he might be castle-born.  But most of his clothing, and certain other indications, argued for a more humble origin.  He was bareheaded, and under the shock of wild black hair his lean, elegant face was grim.  He was mumbling to himself as he rode slowly through the warm spring sunshine.

Two more men, on foot, were following the mumbling rider across the grimly peaceful countryside, past abandoned farmsteads and untilled fields.  And several paces behind those two shuffled along a lad not quite full grown, though already tall.  On the right shoulder of this youth there rode a hooded shape, that under its covering of green cloth had to be that of some trained flying creature, bird or reptile perhaps.

Taken as a group, the four men looked like the token representation on a stage of some defeated army.  But the only thing their various costumes had in common was the look of wear and poverty; if this was truly an army, it had no other uniform.

Of the two who were walking together, one carried a battle-hatchet in a kind of holster at his belt, and had a bow slung on his back.  His taller companion wore a sword on one side of his own belt, with a sling and stone-pouch on the other.  The visible hilt of this man's sword, in contrast to their leader's, was dull and cracked.

The surface of the road they traveled had once been paved and cared for, though like most of its users it was now experiencing hard times.  And the land through which the road passed looked as if it might once have been well tended.  A feral milkbeast, lean and scarred, stared at the procession as if it might never have seen men before, then leaped a broken fence to bolt into a thicket.  The man with the bow, hunger starting in his eyes, made the start of a motion to get the weapon off his back, but gave up before completing it.  The beast was already out of sight.

The leader appeared to be paying very little heed to any of this.  He continued to mouth words to himself as he rode on, eyes fixed ahead.  One of the two men following, he who had the bow, was more concerned than the other by this circumstance.  He now nudged his taller companion, and signaled that they should lag back a few more steps behind their leader.