Death in the clanlands

They moved forward slowly, creeping up the steps that linked the terraces, stopping often to listen. Still nothing. They neared the hut, crept around to the rear to peer through a window, the front being too exposed. And then they fell back to the ground in fright, hearts beating…but it was only the dog inside that had put up a frantic barking at the faces peering unexpectedly through the window. Unless the dog wasn’t frightened of whatever may yet be in the area, they could probably assume it was safe to stand. They peered through again and this time the animal watched them with a wagging tail. There was no one inside. Flies buzzed around a half-made dough on the kitchen table…someone had been preparing to bake bread…
They crept from hut to hut, the dog trailing after them, and grew bolder and bolder as they went. They found nothing, no one, except evidence of hasty departure everywhere. They began talking loudly, making a noise, preferring it to the unnatural silence, and probably hoped the sound of their voices would lure out of hiding any frightened person. The dogs started barking all over and that, too, they found good, but no one came to them; nobody was left to come out of hiding.