The dust kicked up by the carriage slowly settled, concealing the faint, retreating shadow at the end of the road.
The intersection was empty once more, leaving only overturned flatcarts, scattered grain, and a group of farmers staring at one another, still shaken from the ordeal.
The tension broke. A buzzing murmur replaced the earlier shouts.
A flush from their earlier indignation and a pallor born of fear still clung to most of their faces, but what lingered most was a sense of bewilderment.
The crisis seemed to have been averted for now with the carriage's departure. But what would happen next?
A few young farmers deftly gathered the scattered grain sacks and loaded them back onto the flatcarts. The older ones, meanwhile, crowded around a companion with a freshly bandaged forehead, murmuring questions about his injuries.
Yet, their eyes couldn't help but drift toward the end of the road before quickly looking away, their expressions a mixture of awe and confusion.
