After another hour of walking through the woods, they finally reached the edge of the great valley.
The massive timber gates were standing wide open, just as the rebel army had left them when they charged out.
As Erik led the soldiers toward the gates, the scale of what they had just conquered became painfully clear.
Standing just inside the wooden walls, huddling together in terror, were thousands of women. There were old men leaning on wooden canes. There were countless young children clinging to their mothers' legs, their faces dirty with soot and tears.
When they saw the musketeers marching their defeated fathers and husbands into the city at gunpoint, a collective, heartbreaking wail rose up from the crowd.
"Silence!" Torstein roared, firing a single musket shot straight up into the gray sky.
The sharp thunder of the gun instantly silenced the crying crowd. The women pulled their children closer, staring at Erik with eyes full of pure hatred and deep fear.
