Kakariko Village (Power is in Welcome Thread)

Once upon a time there was a small, poor village, far from anywhere of importance. There was plenty of farmland surrounding the town, but Mr Peacock owned every bit of it, and most of the inhabitants were thin and malnourished, attempting to live on whatever scraps they could gather.
At the time of the harvest each year, Mr Peacock would travel from the city to survey his grand estates and watch his riches grow, the wheat and grain being loaded into the wagons and taken far away from the village that needed it so badly. He had no sense of wrongdoing, for what he owned was his to do with as he pleased. However, at this time the wagons would often overflow and scraps would remain - scraps that, out of the goodness of Mr Peacock's heart, he would personally take to the crumbling village hall to donate to those in need. The peacock made sure to greet each animal who took from the donation, making sure they knew who to thank for their continued survival. The villagers adored the peacock, for these scraps were often the difference between life and death.

One evening, a few weeks prior to the year's harvest, Mr Mouse was returning from his long day working at the mill (owned, of course, by Mr Peacock) when a shadowy figure emerged from a nearby alleyway.
"Eeeek!" exclaimed the mouse, believing the individual to be a mugger or something of the ilk, "Please let me go, for I have nothing to give. I have no food, no drink, and am just trying to survive until the Peacock makes his generous donation."
The figure laughed, and rather than reveal the knife the mouse expected, presented a bag and opened it. The mouse's eyes went wide, as inside was more grain than he had ever seen in one place; more even than the generous donation of the peacock.
"What is this?" said the Mouse, "Am I perhaps in a dream?"
The stranger laughed again and finally spoke. "No, little Mouse." he said, "This is simply what the Peacock eats every day. I took it from his kitchen, and he shall never notice, for one bag is meaningless to him."
The Mouse was taken aback. He had always believed, in his heart of hearts, that the Peacock gave all he could to help the town. That the Peacock was the town's greatest friend. That the Peacock was *his* greatest friend. But the Peacock, every day, had more grain than the Mouse had eaten in the whole year.
The stranger laughed once again at the expression of the Mouse. "Surely you did not believe that what he gave to you was any more than the bare minimum? The Peacock is a creature of arrogance, and desires but two things; money, and adoration. He donates as little as he can, but as he has so much, it appears to each of you to be a generous gift indeed. But perhaps there is a way that can change..."

And so the stranger described a plan to the Mouse, and the Mouse listened intently. It was simple, the stranger explained; once the Peacock was gone, the land around would be free for the villagers to harvest. All would have enough to eat, and the Peacock's tyranny would be at an end.
The Mouse's eyes lit up, and he led the stranger to Mrs Seal and Mr Hamster, excitedly describing the proposal himself as the stranger stood silently in the doorway. In no time at all, the four had made a pact; the next night of the harvest would be the Peacock's last, and then all would be equal. And then the stranger vanished into the night, and did not return until the day of the harvest donation.

As the donation wagon paraded its way through the central road of the town, the four put their plan into action. The wagon made its way past the church, as it did every year, but this time, made it no further. The crumbling and decrepit spire of the building did not require much of a push to come tumbling down on top of the wagon, crushing it and what the conspirators believed to be the Peacock inside.

But the plan had gone awry, for the Peacock had been urgently recalled to the city to deal with another matter. Upon seeing what remained of the late Mrs Cat, the assistant to Mr Peacock, the conspirators scattered. They each realised that they had achieved nothing, and that Mr Peacock would bring the full force of the law down upon them if they were caught.

It was not long before Mr Peacock's men arrived in the town, and started asking questions. The Seal was quickly identified as having been at the scene of the crime, and was taken in for questioning.

"Eeek!" said the Seal, "I do not deny that I was on the roof that day, but I did it for good cause! The Peacock had everything, and we had nothing; so many in the town would be better off for just his one death!"

The Seal was quickly executed, and the men moved on to the next suspect; Mr Hamster.

"I do not deny that I pushed the spire, but I did not instigate the murder!" said the Hamster, "The Mouse was responsible, execute him instead!"

The Hamster was quickly executed, and the Mouse was dragged into the interrogation chamber.

"I do not deny my involvement in the killing, but it was all the fault of the Shadowy Man!" said the Mouse, "He caused every bit of this!"

As the Shadowy Man was close by, he was immediately dragged in for interrogation. As the Mouse awaited his fate, the Shadowy Man explained to the individuals that he had never met the Mouse, the Hamster, or the Seal before the day of the harvest donation. He had simply been working on repairing the roof of the church, and the three had forced him at knifepoint to stay present for the killing.

The Mouse, who could hear this from the next room, exclaimed that it was a lie, and as he was dragged to the guillotine, shouted that the Hamster and the Seal could confirm that the Shadowy Man was entirely responsible. It took until the Mouse saw the heads of his friends in the basket to realise that this was no longer possible, and soon his life was at an end.

The Stranger was released, as he had been cooperative with the investigation, had explained the story in detail, and had clearly been forced by the conspirators into doing what he did. He left and was never heard from again.

A year later another rock fell, and this one found its mark. And a mysterious figure chuckled to himself, knowing that he no longer had to share.