Laura's direction took her out of the snow-laden fields and into the trees, where it was still cold but at least the windchill was gone thanks to the forest blocking the wind. The village was in a clearing beyond. These weren't hippie tree-hugging elves who lived attuned to nature and all that, but strange folk who had built houses out of a brown uniform material that wasn't wood, decorated with white trim and brightly colored round studs. The cheerful construction contrasted with the emptiness of the fringe of the village with not a soul in sight, only the broken-down doors and scattered belongings strewn along the streets telling the tale of the raiders that had gone through and ransacked the place.<br/><br/>Further in, Laura found the source of what had appeared to be the bonfire: a building larger than the rest in the center of the village, probably the mayor's residence or office, set alight and left to burn. The smell of ginger and honey reached her nose - gingerbread! That was what the houses were made of! - and the sounds of feasting, not to mention an orgy, reached her ears. Peeking around a corner she finally saw the goblinoid raiders in person. An unholy alliance of short and scrawny goblins and their taller and muscular hobgoblin cousins were enjoying the "rape and pillage" part of sacking the village while the mayor's house burned behind them. The elves, all of whom were female, had no choice but to serve their captors - whether be it with their winter provisions, or with their bodies. Stripped naked or left in tatters that covered next to nothing, the lucky elves had to feed their masters and pour their drinks. The unlucky ones had goblinoid members ravish all their tight elven holes, their skin and hair caked with crusty white stuff that wasn't snow.<br/><br/>A quick count showed two hobgoblins and four goblins still sober enough to be a threat, armor and weapons discarded but within arm's reach. Half a dozen more goblinoids were already passed out, or too drunk or too exhausted from all the ravishing they had done to contribute meaningfully to any upcoming conflict.