The Execution

POV The Thief:

The heavy snow was falling from the dark sky, and the cold winter winds howled around a small wooden podium. The podium stood on a large square that was fully tiled with polished basalt. The tall towers, walls, and palaces rose into the sky in the distance, all built of black volcanic stone, the snow whirling around them and mixing with the ash rising from the volcano.

'The capital of monsters... Where is this world going? The monster building cities.'

An old man knelt on the hardwood podium, the painful chill piercing through his body all the way to his bones. He trembled, and his stomach and bowels twisted with the anxiety of his upcoming death.

The crowds of monsters and even humans filled the square, their anticipation palpable in their silent stares.

'Why are they supporting the monsters?'

He looked to his sides; his remaining party members were there, tied together with him—the heavy bags beneath their eyes making them look as if they hadn't slept for days.