Impaling all the old men took a long time and when the armored men stood the pikes upright, the sharp tips gleaming from the elders' gaping mouths.
Nobody died, and no old men were impailed. 
mnli hypothesis: Nobody died, and no old men were impailed.  premise: Impaling all the old men took a long time and when the armored men stood the pikes upright, the sharp tips gleaming from the elders' gaping mouths.