By the time the seven carts were loaded with the logs, noon had long passed, and the workers were already on their way to the Village Lord's house. The wagons were pulled by white oxen, and although the villagers were wary of every beast, many even feared the tamed ones, yet no one was scared of these horned creatures as they were calm and gentle grass eaters. Standing on four strong cloven-hoofed legs, they were about 5 feet tall, and with their four long horns, they could even be considered 6 feet tall. They had an elongated head with a wide forehead. Their body was robust, covered with thin white hair, and they had a large hump on their backs. Because of their strong build, the oxen pulled the heavy carts so easily that the workers walking alongside them had to hurry their steps.

Thirteen lumberjacks soon stood in the yard of a large brick house and were waiting for their daily wages. The backyard had a small garden that was full of colorful flowers, which with their pleasant scents, attracted many tiny bees. A warm breeze passed by the people and made the young apple trees sway left and right, while taking some of their white petals off their branches and made them dance in the air.

"Finally, you arrived!" said the Lord of Lemor, whose belly was as big as a barrel, and because of that, he could barely button up his light blue silk shirt. His black, loose trousers were only held up by his belt, which he had to buckle in the last hole. He wore a pair of black shoes that were almost as glossy as his bald head when the sun shone on it, and under his curved nose grew a rich brown mustache.

"We have brought the seven carts of oak logs and branches, my Lord," said Gan. As he was the leader of the lumberjacks, he was the one the Village Lord trusted the most. He was also the only one that the fat man wished to talk to.

"Soon it will be four of the clock in the afternoon. The logs should already be on their way to Meliz. What took you so long?" Kroth Lemor asked while he looked at his pocket watch.

"Forgive me, my Lord, but we are few in numbers, so it takes more time to cut down the trees."

"I do not care about your excuses! If you need so much time to cut down the trees, then wake up earlier and start working at five of the clock in the morning!"

"But my Lord, there is no tower clock in the village, so we don't know what time it is, and we wake up when the morning bird crows."

"I SAID THAT I DO NOT CARE!" yelled the fat man. "Solve it somehow. To me, it only matters that the five carts of oak logs are here by three of the clock in the afternoon. Am I understood?"

"But..." Gan said, yet he couldn't finish his sentence.

"No buts! As long as this badge of House Bezil is on me, I am the Lord of this village, and you must obey me." Kroth Lemor pointed at the copper emblem on his shirt, which was shaped like two swords that crossed each other. "Since you have worked so poorly, I will only give you fifty copper coins for today."

"But that is only half of what you usually pay. It is barely enough for a loaf of bread," said the young man desperately.

"Oh, really?" the Village Lord asked. "But you did not finish your job in time. Because of you, the carts are delayed. So rather than being annoying, you should be grateful that I am still giving you some coins."

"You can't do this!" Peryl yelled. His anger overwhelmed his mind, and with his axe in his hand, he headed toward the fat man. One hundred copper coins were barely enough for him to feed his family, then what could he do with only fifty. He raised his odanic hatchet and swung it towards the short man's bald head to split his skull open.

The Village Lord, however, didn't panic as he saw the incoming attack, and with only two of his fingers, he easily caught the axe.

Seeing this, everyone's jaw dropped, and they were all astonished. Especially Peryl, who was even more surprised by the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his weapon out of Kroth Lemor's fingers. He felt as if his axe was clenched in a vise, and he couldn't move it no matter how hard he tried.

As Peryl was struggling to free his axe, Zan saw a transparent reddish, water-like layer around the fat man's hand. But after he took a better glance at it, it looked more like a second skin or a softshell than some sort of a liquid. He even thought that it was some kind of light, but as he was gazing at it, he realized that it didn't glow at all. However, he couldn't watch the Village Lords fingers for too long, because the fat man suddenly punched Peryl in the stomach with such strength that the old man immediately fell to his knees and was gasping after air.

Kroth Lemor then grabbed Peryl by his hair and looked him in the eyes. "You should feel grateful that I do not kill you today. However, if tomorrow the seven carts are not here by three of the clock, I will kill someone from your family. I do not care how you will do it, but know that I always keep my word." After saying these words, he pushed the old lumberjack away from him and smiled at the others. "If you want to help the old man, you should invite more people to get the work done. Of course, I will pay them as well. After all, I am your generous Lord."

Following this, Kroth Lemor threw a pouch to Gan so that he could give the workers their wage. But since he no longer wished to see the lumberjacks' desperate faces, he went back into his house.

Zan clenched his fists, as he saw all that was happening before him. He didn't like how the Village Lord treated Peryl, but he couldn't do anything. He remembered his mother's words that she always kept repeating to him: 'The strong rule and the week obey. That is the golden rule of this world.' He couldn't do anything to save Peryl, and could only stare at the ground with grief until Gan has given him five coins. On one side of each copper, there was the number 10 pressed in, while on the other, there was the shape of a crown bulking out.

After everyone got their coins, most of the lumberjacks immediately left the yard and headed home. However, Zan went to Peryl, and after a little persuasion, he convinced the old man to come with him to see his mother for healing. The old lumberjack didn't have too many friends because of his dirty speech and occasional rude behavior. Still, Zan liked the old man because Peryl always helped him and taught him many things when he started working. Zan thought that because he was about the same age as Peryl's grandson, the old lumberjack was always benevolent towards him.