It Began in a Farmhouse

Hannibal aimed his matchlock at the farmers wife and pulled the trigger. The plaster wall behind her blossomed with bright colour. He watched the pattern on the wall slowly change as he reloaded his pistol. Quickly he made sure the match still showed an ember, as he could hear the older boy running toward the house.

The door burst open, and, somewhat predictably, the tall boy stood three steps inside, holding a pitchfork. The pitchfork told Hannibal the boy had discovered his father in the barn. Hannibal allowed the boy to charge forward before raising the pistol, a motion which appeared to engender a short-lived quizzical reaction rather than caution or fear. He pulled the trigger. Hannibal then sat back down at the table, laying the matchlock next to his plate before finishing the breakfast the woman had prepared for him.

When he had eaten, Hannibal retrieved the pitchfork from the floor. He found the younger boy in the second room along the short hall. The pitchfork took longer than the matchlock, but proved equally effective. Nonetheless, he left it in the now brightly-coloured room, and walked out of the house, heading southeastward through more foothills toward Norridge.