((Take 2))

Far out in the Salvarian countryside, times were getting extremely difficult. The harvest had been minimal at best, so there was a shortage of food. In addition to this, civil war had swept across Salvar with the Church of the Ethereal Sway at the forefront. Many, many fiefdoms had fallen to the silver-lined words of Church-inspired peasant revolts.

News of these revolts had reached Kanoth Springs, home of Lord Gregory Carth, within weeks of the Church’s first victory over the fiefdoms. His first reactions had been shock and outrage. The idea that King Rathaxea was an illegitimate ruler was not one the young Lord was willing to accept. He’d wanted to declare open warfare against the Church located in Kanoth Springs, however, he was not a stupid man. He had been very careful over the last several weeks to do everything he could to make sure the local clergy believed he would side with them.

Other than the issues with the church, the food shortage was a major headache. For the most part, the people here seemed fairly happy with their lot. Their taxes weren’t all that drastic, though he was sure they’d still complain if he only took a tenth of the harvest and trade earnings. However, when their children won’t stop crying about being hungry, peasants tended to forget how good things could be when the harvest was good.

Sighing, Carth pushed the thin stack of papers he’d been looking though away from himself. He’d been studying them fo at least an hour trying to figure out a way to make the numbers last for the winter. Thus far, it looked like things were only going to get worse. Groaning, he raised his hands to his head and massaged his temples with his fingertips.

While he did that, the door to his office opened silently to admit a beautiful young woman. She was dressed in a gown of fine, red and black silk and velvet. The neckline scooped dangerously low, but she preferred it that way. Her long blonde hair was partially pulled up and cascaded down her back in soft curls. As soon as she walked in, her crystal blue eyes noted that Carth had yet another headache. It seemed he was having a lot of them lately. Normally, she didn’t care about the state of other people’s health, but Carth was an important factor in her plans. She could not afford for him to start having headaches all the time.

Smiling a soft, alluring smile, she glided across the floor and let her hands rest on Carth’s shoulders. She was absolutely silent for a few minutes as she began to massage his shoulders. When she felt the tension start to fade under her fingers, she spoke softly.

“You are working too hard again, dearest. You need to relax.”

A contented sigh escaped Carth’s lips as he slowly relaxed a bit at the sound of her voice and the feel of her hands.

“That is easier said than done, Venus. This is going to be a very hard winter. A lot of people are going to be very hungry.”

Venus sniffed depreciatingly at that statement.

“You care too much about simple peasants. They are just peasants, nothing to worry your so much about. You should be more concerned with making sure that the manor is well stocked with more than enough food for the winter.”

Carth sighed and bent his head back to look up at her.

“It is exactly that kind of attitude and the actions it causes that incite revolts. They are what make or breaks a fiefdom. If they don’t work the fields, then there’s no food or income. The better I take care of my workers, the happier they will be. The happier they are, the less likely they are to revolt. Unless, of course, you want to start working the fields this spring?”

The look on her face was all the answer he needed to that particular question. He shook his head and stood to his feet. He offered her his arm, which she happily took and led the way out of his office.

“I’m sorry, love. I shouldn’t speak like that to you. Let’s go for a walk in the garden. That always seems to help me relax.”

~*~*~*~

Out in the streets of Kanoth Springs, decorum was rapidly disintegrating. A young acolyte of the Church stood on an upended barrel, making a long, wordy speech to the peasants. The words he said were not so important as the message behind them. Namely, that Lord Gregory Carth was a tyrant that would rather let the people starve than share what he had with them. This was, of course, a blatant lie, but it did not take much to get the people to believe it. The acolyte had been taught that the easiest way to win a crowd was to speak to their immediate needs. By insisting that Lord Carth had more than enough food hidden away in his manor to last the whole fiefdom the whole winter, he had the peasants’ undivided attention.

Before long he finished his speech and went back to the Church. As he left, he could hear many of the peasants grumbling and talking about how true his words were. He planned to talk to them again either tonight or tomorrow. By tomorrow he was certain that he would be able to incite the revolt his superiors desired. Despite his efforts, the lord of Kanoth Springs had not fooled the local clergy. They knew he would remain loyal to Rathaxea. Therefore, he had to be removed.

~*~*~*~

In another part of town, a young woman with long, brown hair and eyes to match, wandered casually down the streets. She was dressed in a simple dress of green linen and green slippers. Her hair was loose, falling down in waves to her knees. Though she did not know any of the people she saw, they all knew her. This was Slave, Lord Carth’s personal slave. Anyone that touched her was possibly signing his own death warrant.

At present, she was out on her daily walk about Kanoth Springs as per Lady Venus. Ever since the Lady arrived several months ago, life had improved drastically for the slavegirl. First of all, Lady Venus had thought it simply barbaric that Slave couldn’t even count to ten, write her own name, or read a simple sentence. After much prodding, the Lady had finally talked Carth into allowing her to give Slave lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic. For her part, Slave had been very eager to learn and was a fast learner. Though she couldn’t read and understand some of the books her master favored, Slave could now enjoy a short children’s novel and could write very well.

The other thing Lady Venus had insisted on was that Slave get regular exercise. A walk about town was plenty for one that was already as slender as Slave. Everyday, she was to take at least half an hour walk through Kanoth Springs. She could go anywhere she liked so long as she did not go outside the gates.

As she turned a corner, she stopped suddenly and backed around the corner again. There ahead of her she saw three of her master’s soldiers with another man on his hands and knees between them. She looked on in horror as they kicked him, punched him, and beat him with the flat of their swords. From the soldiers’ derisive comments, she guessed that the man was both a peasant and loyal to the church.

She could not stand to watch very much of it. Turning on her heel, she ran as fast as she could back to the manor. She knew her master well, and was sure he would not approve of his soldiers treating an innocent man the way they were treating that peasant. She was determined to tell him just as soon as she was able. She ran so quickly and blindly, that she barely saw anyone that she passed. She ran into several people and called a hurried apology over her shoulder, but did not stop in her hurry to reach her master.


((OOC: This is closed!))