MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Confession

The following evening, as we sat around the bonfire, Garlan suddenly blurted out, "I have something I must confess."

Both Bacchanal and I shared a look of curiosity, before giving Garlan our full attention.

"You see, before I became a mercenary, I was once in the employ of Lady Klein. In fact, her father Lord Klein was the one who recruited me from the Hilgard Mountains."

The Hilgard Mountains was the known dwelling native land of the giants.

Bacchanal bluntly asked, "Then you must have an opinion on whether the Klein family are traitorous or not?"

"I do have an opinion," Garlan said. We all expected him to echo the sentiments of the refugees, but that was not to be. Instead, Garlan said, "I believe her ladyship was traitorous."

"That just shows you can't believe everything you hear," Bacchanal said.

"No, you don't understand," Garlan rushed to explain. "I believe she was traitorous to His Majesty, but loyal to the people. Lady Klein and her family believed in treating all human beings equally well. They were respectful to those who were born into the lowliest rung of society. They never sneered at the poor. In fact, they tried to do what they could to help those who were marginalized."

This piece of tantalizing information ignited a series of thoughts in my mind. I somehow felt the fate of Lady Klein and the Klein family had to do with why I had been indentured back then. I remembered the war back then caused many peasants to become refugees. Displaced from their homes and livelihood, these people had to wander the earth, searching for a new safe haven to call home.

"You believe Lady Klein betrayed His Majesty but only because she did it to save the people?" I asked.

"Precisely," Garlan answered. "I have always believed the Bromwell family betrayed Lady Klein's plan to His Majesty. Shortly after Lady Klein's death, a massacre happened. Nearly a third of those who lived in Salsburg died. Those who don't know thought it was the revenge of the crown on traitors. Those like me who know, understand His Majesty was just borrowing that excuse to eliminate the only person who posed a threat to his reign, the true heir, Prince Denham."

"Prince Denham?" I asked. "I have never heard of this person."

"That's because he was murdered in the cradle," Garlan sadly answered.

With a depressed sigh, Garlan told me how Prince Denham was the son of the previous king and the rightful heir to the throne. However, his father died before his birth and the current king, the younger brother of the king, took over. Then, the king didn't want to lose his power, so he had the young prince murdered when he was a few years old.

Of course, some of the information was missing.

Garlan had only served as a member of the protection troop, he wasn't as close to any member of the Klein family, say like a personal lady-in-waiting would be. Therefore, much of the knowledge he obtained was through hearsay or by piecing information from various sources together.

Garlan's confession left a deep imprint in my mind. It bothered me so that my fired up brain would not rest for the night. Therefore, the following morning, I woke up feeling still extremely sleepy.