The Beast Uglig

Chapter 6- The return of Calabrath

The night was dark when Calabrath sadled upon his mare re-entered the city of Deraim, he jumped from his horses and led it towards his lodgings. Inside his velvet lined cloak he held a letter from Baftin, King of Nethemore, which had reached him a few days after he had returned to his hometown. He skipped up the stairs a gleeful smile upon his chapped lips, revenge would shortly be his!

The next morning Calabrath presented himself in court and bowing low in front of both the King and Meraidi he made his excuses for returning so soon. "Your son, dear King, sent me home to you, not for any misbehaviour nor for lack of will to go on; but because he, learning of my skill in politics (and wishing he had not left you so bereaft of soldiers) sent me to be your aid."

Gwin, sceptical of this slick mouthed gentleman, raised one crafted eyebrow. "Indeed, I felt my son to have taken no more soldiers than he felt indispensible! Have you got a letter for me from my son?"

This simple question threw Calabrath into exquisite disorder (just as it was planned to) he did not, for once in his life know what to say. "Ah, the letter? Well...." He paused for a moment to concoct some credible lie. It came to him in a flash of brilliance. "It was in my pocket as I was fording a river and I am afraid to say the water seeped through and it caused the ink to run horribly so it was no longer legible." Inside he smiled smugly at his timely brilliance but outwardly he was all apology for the lose of a letter he was sure would be most valuable to a father when his son was to be gone without word for many months.

As Gwin was unable to think of any more excuses he was obliged to accept Calabrath and his servants but he set him own personal valet to spy on him for he could not trust him.

Within a short space if time Calabrath was seen by all but the most sceptic as a trustable adviser to the palace community and as such was admitted into all but the most private meetings. He had ample opportunity to observe for King Baftin and at the end of each day he wrote a detailed report of everything he learnt and sent them off at the end of each week. Even Meraidi herself could see no reason to mistrust Calabrath!

After a few weeks Calabrath began to plant the seeds of mistrust among the people again. He began his web of decite in the local tavern, he had made sure to show his face there every evening so the people became used to him and he gained some drinking friends. One evening he sat down in a dusky, smoky corner of the tavern with a few of his friends a large mug of ale in his hand and his brow furrowed in discontent. "I'm telling you Langern, I don't know what going to become of this place! I thought, you know when I first got into the politics side of this place, that all was well and that the system was secure but after these weeks." He paused dramatically and shook his head. "I don't know, it shaken all my beliefs about the people in power."

"What’s happened Calabrath? Tell me what’s wrong?" Langern asked him but doubting anything serious was wrong.

"Well, I have been going through the accounts today," as a matter of fact he had really been taking minutes in a meeting of Gwin and one of the Lords. "And I cannot make it add up! Moneys disappearing and there’s no accounting were it is going to! Personally I think the Royals have their hands in our savings, stealing our totls and evras."

"Now that I wont hear of! Gwin and his family have been right good to me and mine, when our stores were out last winter they gave us grain out of their own larders!" Langern was not so easily put of the family he respected.

Calabrath shrugged, "if that’s what you want to believe? But I am just saying, where did the money go to? And how can they afford to give you food from their stores if they are not dipping their hands into your gold?"

A general "Ay" came from the listening audience and even Langern did not seem to have an answer to this point. "Well, I don't say your a liar but I am saying I don't believe it was them."

"If not them then some other, some other 'superior' to us who is really taking our money and stealing our food." Most of the tavern was by now listening to Calabrath, there were some who did not believe him and felt the man was clearly a lying fool, but there were more who felt him to be a messenger of truth perhaps come from Henema himself to warn them of corruption.

Calabrath had a great talent for acting and for spreading discontent, if he had not been a knight then he must surely of been an actor, he would have entertained the masses delightfully however circumstances now meant that he had a far eviler use for his talent. He rose slowly from his wooden bench and walked out of the bar glad to hear, as he left, people earnestly discussing the point he had brought up.

No whisper of this came to the palace for the servants (fearful of upsetting the masters they loved) were careful not to speak of it when they were in earshot but it flew around the city, as rumours are apt to do. People whispered it in shops and they whispered it in alleyways; then people started to remember, a quarrel long ago between Calabrath and the son of the King, Meraidi, they knew, had been involved; however most had forgotten the general story of the quarrel so they made up the parts they could not remember.

Some of the best rumours are worthy of novels of their own, the most fantastical tale involved a beast of death, a Morth, and Meraidi being kidnapped by Calabrath but rescued by her brother after he was given a sword that could slay even a Morth by the daughter of the God Henema. However the most generally believed story was the one closest to the truth, that Calabrath had sought to wed Meraidi and Erion had fought a duel at dawn with him. This was not quite true but as near as makes no difference.

Meraidi herself had never known that Calabrath had sought to woo her, Erion (once he had quelled Calabrath's pretentions) had never spoken of it again.

The existence of this discontent between the two family was seen by many as the reason why Calabrath was spreading the rumour about the money but other still dismissed this and stuck by the fact that Calabrath was telling the truth.

When Calabrath heard of the rumours he simply laughed and said "That old thing? I assure you I have never given the matter a second thought! We were both young and foolish."

From his dark, bare apartment Calabrath and watched the seeds he had planted in the minds of the citizens of Deraim bear fruit. Slowly the people became more discontent and began to blame their monetory troubles on those that had only ever sought to help them. Meraidi and Gwin sensed the change in their subjects but were at a loss to account for it, so they could do nothing to stem the discontent.

Evil spread to the outlying villages too for Calabrath was often sent there on errands  and he took with him the same stories and the villagers (after the loss of crops from Uglig’s attacks) were perfectly ready to blame their current poverty on anyone, even those who had given them more crops and seeds to plant!

Calabrath’s weekly letters to King Baftin became ever more triumphant, My dear King, (he would write) The people in this lands intelligence is so dismally low that they will believe any lie I choose to pour into their ear. However, I do not doubt this is partly to do with my excellent skills in acting, I have them eating out of my hands, there is nothing they will not do if I suggest it! King Baftin, although he grinned over this, felt that Calabrath was becoming a little overconfident and he felt needed some kind of setback or else he might demand more of Imrandir in return for his faithful servitude. Unfortunately no setback was forthcoming and Calabrath just became more and more set up in his own self esteem.