What is the Price?

It was night when they came for the father and his sons.

The guards forced their way into the house and quickly restrained the man and children. Rudsis had been sleeping on a bed of hay, and attempted to protect the folk, but the guards overpowered him as easily as an adult would have immobilized a small child. Their strength seemed inhuman.

They were taken outside and made to kneel. The guards immediately recognized Rudsis, however, asked his forgiveness, and gave him a ruby colored sash that glowed faintly.

"Please wear this around your waist from now on," said the guard.

Rudsis noted the absence of a 'sir' at the end of that petition. "What is this? What are you doing to the folk?"

"This is so you can be identified as a noble of this city. Treni herself has commanded us to find you and give this to you. She sends it with her warmest regards, and fondest wishes."

Rudsis took the sash. The moment he touched it, he felt a freshness around him that came from no where. The faint glow of it was clearly magical, and probably the means by which to recognize it and the status of its owner. Rudsis knew of no way to replicate this effect. He doubted anyone in the city of crown could.

By the time he'd looked up from the sash in his hand, the guard that gave it to him was already standing in front of the father and his sons.

"By decree of Treni, the goddess of our city, you are now farmers of Crown. You'll be taken to a new house that will allow you to better dedicate yourselves to your new duty, which will ensure the greatness of our city, and thus the might of Treni, your goddess."

"All glory to Treni," said the other guards, who were restraining the townsfolk.

"Say it," ordered the first guard.

"All glory to Treni." The folk conceded.

"Leave them alone," said Rudsis. "Release them."

"With all due respect, lord," said the guard that had done all the talking, "this is an order from the goddess. We are to obey it, and to take care of anyone that gets in our way. We have been instructed, however, to do as little damage to you, specifically, as possible."

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THESE FOLKS," Rudsis shouted. "What is wrong with you? Have you forgotten our duty? Your honor?"

"Calm yourself, lord. We are charged with keeping the peace."

The nose of the guard should have been broken by Rudsis' punch. Instead, the guard simply flinched back as if he'd been slapped by a weakling, and took his hand to his face simply to check that no blood had been drawn. When he looked at his fingers, they were clean.

"We've been blessed by the goddess, lord," the guard warned. "Take care not to do that again. I don't care about putting you in your place, but the next guard might have hotter blood than me. Or he could simply be bored.

Alone in the streets, Rudsis watched as the family that had cared for him was taken away.

He walked into the house, absentmindedly holding the sash in his hand. He looked at the bed of hay where he'd been sleeping, and remembered that it had been there only because he refused to take up one of the children's beds. Rudsis sat on one of the stools surrounding the table where they'd all eaten their meals, and thought.

"Three days," he told himself. "It's been only three days since I faced Treni, but I haven't been able to find a woodsman willing to leave the city with me and search for a cabin in the middle of who-knows-where in the damn woods."

A memory of Krenen came to Rudsis. "Curse you, man," he thought. "Your family were woodsmen. You could have helped me if you were still here."

Rudsis remembered the sash in his hand after a contemplative while and looked at it.

"A lord," he thought. "That's what the guard called me. What does it mean? He said I'm a noble of this city."

A pensive grunt interrupted the silence of the small house. "I could use this, perhaps."

During the following five days, a caste system was quickly implemented in the city. Being a noble gave Rudsis almost absolute freedom to do as he wished in the city, and he dedicated himself to searching for someone that knew how to survive in the woods. The problem was that everyone was being relocated out of the city itself, and many of the houses were taken down.

The original cult of Treni, or the people that had helped her take over the city, were nobles now. Everyone else was made to work on menial or heavy work. Those that were made farmers were moved out of the city, and told to build their houses there, close to an area that would soon be massively planted. Stone workers were moved close to quarries, lumberers were moved closer to the edge of the forest, and so on.

Rudsis had to wait another five days for things to settle down. Then, he went to visit the farmers sector, which was the closest to what had been the city. On his way, he walked past a big work site where stone workers were sculpting an enormous statue of Treni, and planning the plaza that would surround it.

Once in the farming sector, he was not surprised to see that a makeshift tavern had been erected. It was a small log building. The interior was only to store barrels with ale, and ceramic vessels with wine. The farmers had placed many trunks and stones in the area immediately outside it to sit around, drink, and talk. Guards stood at a distance, observing the folk attentively.

It was the evening when Rudsis approached the small building, where there was a woman occupying herself with serving the drinks that were ordered. Most of the people ignored him, but the woman saw the sash around his waist and bowed respectfully.

"Welcome, lord," she said amiably.

Rudsis waved a hand dismissively. " It's a tranquil night, isn't it?"

"It's calmed down a lot these days, lord," said the woman with a smile. "Not like the first ones, when people where protesting and riling. Thank Treni the guards put a stop to that rightly."

"How did they do that?"

"They simply took them away, lord. Many people here are still sour about that, but more of us are happy they did."

"Were they hurting anyone?"

"Who, lord? The ones complaining didn't hurt anyone. And the guards were a bit rough with them, but there was no real harm done to them that we could see. But you see, we're happy with the way things are now. Most of us are, that is."

"How can you be happy? You were taken from your homes and your work."

"The ones complaining were, sir. I was taken from the streets into a house. Sure, I had to build it. But I was given everything I needed, and others even offered their help. I'm also given food every day without having to pay a single coin for it, lord."

Rudsis looked at her for a few seconds, processing what she'd just told him. "You lived in the streets? I was a guard before all this, and I never saw anyone in the streets."

"There weren't many guards that came to the outer parts of the city, sir. No wonder you never saw the poor. Usually, whenever one of us ventured closer to the center, they came back without hands, or tongue, or feet. There were some that didn't come back at all."

"And you prefer this to the way things were?"

"I've never eaten as much as I have these days, lord. I wish I were as favored as you are by Treni, all glory to her, but I've been hungry for too long. Just having food every day lets me know I'm blessed by her."

"I'll have some wine," Rudsis said curtly, but without rudeness in his voice.

"Yes, lord. I'd offer food, but you might take it as an insult. I'm sure you can get better food and drink, being a lord and all, in the city."

Rudsis took the clay cup she offered him and stepped out. Looking at the people around, he could see there was a kind of sullenness to them, but none complained. Some even sang and told stories. Searching around carefully, he was able to spot the man that had taken him in sitting by himself.

"Are you well?" asked Rudsis once he'd drawn closer, and put a hand on the man's shoulder

The man turned his head, and his eyes brightened when he saw Rudsis. "Sir! Yes. All things told, I'm fine, as are my boys."

"Are you as happy about everything that's happened as the woman serving drinks is?" Rudsis sat on the ground in front of the man.

"Not at all, sir. I'm fine, but my house and my trade have been taken from me. Those that are being given things are happy now, of course. But those that had things taken away from them are unhappy, as you might guess."

"But no one's been hurt?"

"Not in front of us, no. But they're taken away."

"Are you much worse off than you were before?"

"Not in the least, sir. About the same, but I don't have to worry about paying for food or anything else. We're given our clothes, tools, everything we need to tend the fields."

"Then you're saying that there are no longer poor people, and that no one is lacking anything." Rudsis took a drink from his wine. "And even farmers can enjoy a decent cup of wine. Is anyone tending the fields right now?"

"No, sir. We only work until the middle of the afternoon. We're allowed to spend time as we wish then, but only as long as we stay here, in the farming sector."

Rudsis grunted. "It sounds like everyone's life has been solved by this Treni."

The man shook his head. "That's not true, sir. Remember that she'll be asking for sacrifices soon. I might have nothing to worry about right now, but soon, I'll dread the time when one of my sons is chosen to be killed in her name."

"Would it not be worth it to ensure that all this continues?" asked Rudsis. "I realize I might offend you with the question, friend. But it seems to me that everyone has everything they need, and no one lacks anything."

The man nodded. "I get it, sir, don't worry. I've asked myself the same questions these past few days, but I'll be honest with you. I was a wood cutter before all this. I was able to earn a living doing what I wanted to do. These days, I see everyone has had their ability to choose taken away. It might seem like stupid thing to complain about, but it won't be long before we are all enslaved. Except nobles, mind you."

"It still sounds like a small trade off to ensure a good life," Rudsis replied.

Again, the man nodded. "I have a neighbor here. He's young, and so was his wife, who was also beautiful. She was taken away, sir. I can't be sure of this, but I've heard she was taken so her company and body could be used."

"What?" Rudsis' voice dropped to a dark tone.

"The same's happened with some daughters, sir. Even some men that one would consider good looking were taken."

"Where?"

The man shrugged. "I'm not allowed to go anywhere outside this place, sir. Farmers are to stay in the farm. I imagine it's the same for stone workers, lumberers, and all the rest. It might seem like we've been given better lives, sir. I would even bet everything that those girls and women that were taken are gonna live better than even you, maybe." The man gestured at Rudsis' sash. "The real question is whether they want to. Whether they think it's worth it with all the things they'll have to do, and the things that will be done to-"

"Please stop," begged Rudsis.

"Sorry, sir. Like I said, it might seem like we were all given better lives. What's the cost, however? And why is it worse for others?"

The man looked around while Rudsis said nothing. "An apple may look delicious from the outside, but be rotten within."

"What good would it do to be rid of Treni?" asked Rudsis. "If things returned to normal, there would be poor again, people suffering from hunger and homelessness."

"That is true, also," said the man. "It would do no good unless someone else took charge that would ensure our freedom, and our well-being, sir. And by our, I mean everyone's. Not just the privileged nobles."

An ambition appeared in Rudsis' heart that very moment. One that he would keep to himself for now. But he knew the truth now. Now, he'd discovered what things were truly like, and could do something to change them, to improve them, if he were to sit the throne.

"Do you know of a woodsman?" he asked.

The man smiled. "I met one a couple of days ago, sir. One who had things taken from him as well."