Ambush From the Night

They said they had to pack up, but they had been toeing the line of poverty for months now, so there wasn't much of anything of value they had to bring.

Before the sky had fully darkened, the villagers were ready to go.

"You guys trekking through the night? Or are you staying until tomorrow?" Jom was standing guard at the village entrance and asked the village elder as the elder walked past.

"We leave immediately," the village elder replied without hesitation, "Although the bandits most likely won't come back that soon, I am responsible for the lives of my villagers, and thus we must leave as soon as possible!"

"What about this guy?" Jom pointed at the malnourished gray Shar-Pei sleeping near the village entrance. "Are you not bringing him along?" 

The village elder was silent for a moment, he shook his head. "He's still waiting for his owner to come back, he's not leaving this place."