But they had heard a great personage was arriving today, someone who would decide whether they would all find their final resting place beneath this seemingly endless snow. Thus, at their Chieftain's command, everyone brought out their most precious cured meat and their last remaining potatoes to welcome the distinguished guest.
Inside the central wooden hut, a dozen or so Chieftains sat around a brightly lit fire pit.
The bear-fang necklaces around their necks, once symbols of martial prowess, were now mostly empty. During last winter's maddening hunger, these symbolic ornaments had been ground into powder and mixed into their bran cakes.
