Ruination of the Whiltons

 

Ruination of the Whiltons

Apartments of Liam Okinso

Liam looked down at the letter with some pride and satisfaction.

The time he had spent learning the ways of the Brotherhood of The Dagger had served him well, it seemed, and the forgery was as good as any he had seen in the city of Westkeep during his time there.

By all appearances, it was penned in the distinctive hand of Arnos Whilton. More than convincing enough for his purposes, especially given that Arnos would not be making an appearance to defend himself, and his only surviving family consisted of a mute imbecile and a child.

No....in a matter of days now, the Whilton family would be of no concern. In no position to launch an investigation into the disappearance of their beloved brother, or even to gain the ear of anyone with even the least influence, and when that occurred, all traces of his unfortunate-but-necessary crime would be covered over.

Erased.

It would be as though it had never occurred.

"Knowledge." He whispered to the lamp-lit room. "Knowledge truly is the seat of all power."

Well spoken words, and quite true.

And the reason that he would so easily triumph over the fragile Whilton family was his superior knowledge. Nothing more than that. Well, and perhaps his ruthless ambition, he admitted with a nasty grin.

Nonetheless, it was the knowledge that was key, and with that in mind, and a letter in hand, written by Arnos himself (again, he smirked with delight) renouncing J'honsa as the Highfather of the Gods and proclaiming this his true Master was the dark and corruptive Ollux, it would be all too easy to convince the Bishop of Sutheron to have the poor scribe and his family excommunicated.

Once banished from the Church, their lands would be forfeit to an able administrator, recommended by the Inquisitor and approved by the Church itself, the surviving family would likewise be banished from the Church, and, penniless and friendless, the mute and the child would wander the Basin until they starved to death or a marauding rock badger decided to make a snack of them...whichever occurred first, it made no real difference to Liam.

Of course, making such a claim, even with a damning letter like the one he held in his hand was no small matter. He would need at least one witness to confirm the heretical behavior, and again, masterfully intimate knowledge of his chosen prey would serve him well.

He already knew who he would approach about the matter, and better still, he already knew what the results of that conversation would be.

With a triumphant smile, he folded the letter neatly, and left it on the corner of his desk, blew out the candle he had been writing by, and went off to bed.

Tomorrow was to be a busy day indeed!

OoO

The Estate of Lord Barrington

He rose early the next morning, saddled his horse, and made straight for his first appointment of the day, and for his part, the Lord of the Manor greeted him as a brother, and graciously ushered him into his study.

Foolish was the man who turned away an Inquisitor, and besides, Lord Barrington had a keen eye for business. Whatever the Inquisitor wanted, there was a fair chance that it could mean some profit for him, so he was only too eager to hear the man out.

As they sat in the study together, Liam noted that he carried himself with grace and confidence. This was a man he knew he could not bully into submission with threats, but also, he knew that he would not need to. The man wore his greed plainly, and it was all Liam needed.

"....you see, the fact of the matter is, Arnos escaped from the guard I had placed him under and fled northward, I believe, and to this point, I have found no other witness to his heretical behavior, but I know you have had some dealings with the family in the past." He paused for effect. "If you could perhaps lead me to someone who has seen evidence of such behavior from him or his, I am sure I could easily find my way to recommending the Barrington family as custodians of the Whilton Estate...or rather, should I say, what remains of the Whilton Estate, as I am given to understand that you have had unfortunate dealings with them in the past that led to your acquisition of some portion of their property?"

He phrased it as a question, but in truth, he knew every detail of what had transpired between the two families, right down to where the new property lines were drawn. Still, he played his part and waited patiently for the response from his host.

As he suspected, he did not have to wait long.

"Actually, My Lord Inquisitor, now that you make mention of it, I have personally seen suspicious behavior from that unsavory lot, and not long after we took stewardship over their thirty acres as partial compensation for the loss of our dearly departed son, Lucas."

Liam nodded sympathetically. "Indeed...the loss of one of J'honsa's lambs is a wretched loss indeed...I shall say a prayer for him, and for your loss when I am next at Temple." He promised emptily, planning to do no such thing.

Lord Barrington nodded gratefully. "I thank you for your kindness."

There was a comfortable pause between the two men, as both thought out their next moves carefully.

"As an officer of the Inquisition, you must know that I cannot simply have your word on it...I must have details, and those making the claim must appear before the Bishop to speak them again."

Lord Barrington nodded. "I will solemnly swear before you now, and before the Bishop at the time of your choosing that I did see Arnos Whilton kill a calf near our shared property line not even a fortnight ago, and that he did paint the forbidden mark of Ollux upon his forehead, and sing the Dark One's praises."

"And you were close enough to see this mark?" The Inquisitor asked suspiciously. "One might mistake that you yourself took part in these ceremonies."

Barrington blanched at that and revised his story. "Yes...you see, I was out for a night ride when I heard the calf scream. Curious, I rode to investigate, thinking it one of my own. I was practically upon them before I realized what was going on, and was only hid by a scant tree line, which allowed me to come quite close. I admit that my curiosity got the better of me, and so rode closer still to investigate....what I saw shocked me, but I was also afraid. The Whiltons and we Barringtons have bad blood between us, and I feared for the safety of the rest of my family....there is no telling what manner of dark witchery they might brew up!"

Liam nodded, satisfied. This was much better. "And now that Arnos, as the ringleader, has fled, you of course feel safer in offering your cooperation to this investigation."

"You have the facts precisely, good sir!" Lord Barrington agreed.

And another nail was driven into the Whilton family coffin.

The two powerful men made pleasant small talk for a time, and then Liam stood to go, thanking Lord Barrington for his time and attention in this matter, and promised that he would try to arrange a hearing with the Bishop with all possible speed, so that he himself could depart and go in search of the rogue, and this led him beautifully to the last of it.

As they stood by the grand entrance of the estate, Liam turned to his host almost as an afterthought. "Do you have any connections in the North Spur, good sir?"

Flush with the prospect that he would soon be getting more land to add to his considerable holdings, Barrington was in a charitable mood indeed, and it was not at all unexpected that a favor would be asked of him. It was the way of such business. He beamed broadly. "Why yes! As a matter of fact, a dear cousin of mine was recently married to Lord Willam Fury....he is a minor Lordling of that mighty clan, to be sure," he added, in order to modestly downplay his connection, "but I think with some persuasion, we can be of some assistance to you in the region....what is it that you require?"

"Well....to be frank about it, my plan is to remove the mantle of the Inquisition during my search for Arnos Whilton. He knows me in this role, and will be watchful for the approach of anyone bearing the seal of the Holy Inquisition....but if I disguised myself as a member of the Black Watch...."

Barrington nodded emphatically. Quite easy to buy a commission in the Fury's famed cavalry. "Perhaps as a Lieutenant, to get you started?" Such minor commissions as this were cheaply bought and often traded. A fraction of what the Whilton's acreage would yield him.

"Indeed....a Lieutenant's commission would be the perfect place of beginning, I think."

"Say no more, friend...by the next full moon, you shall have your commission in the Black Watch."

Completely satisfied, Liam bid Lord Barrington a fond farewell, and returned to the Temple Compound.

When the Bishop saw the letter, he flew into a legendary rage, with his great jowls shaking and spittle flying like froth from his mouth.

That someone from his own ranks...from right here in his very Estate would dare to speak such heresy, much less to write the words down! It was unthinkable, and he demanded the head of Arnos Whilton at once.

It took Liam several minutes to calm the Bishop sufficiently to remind him of the proper protocols, and then of course, he conveniently produced his witness, in the form of the prominent and popular Lord Barrington.

That, taken together with the letter was more than enough to get an immediate hearing arranged.

A group of TempleGuards were dispatched to the home of Arnos Whilton and family. Goderic the Mute and his ward Kara were arrested and brought before the Bishop to defend themselves against the charges of heresy.

Neither spoke a word in their own defense, and this was duly noted.

Lord Barrington spoke out against them, and the Inquisitor produced his evidence in the form of a letter, written in Arnos' own hand.

It did not take long for the Bishop to find against the Whiltons, and as expected, they were duly excommunicated, their lands forfeit, turned over to the custodianship of Lord Barrington, at Liam's recommendation, and the two Whiltons before them at the trial were banished from the province of Sutheron to make their way in whatever fashion they could.

Their crushing defeat at the hands of their enemies would cause them to fade into utter obscurity. Without a home, friends, means, or prospects, they were doomed to spend years wandering the countryside, trapped at the miserable fringe of life and society in the Basin. Their wretched circumstances would mark them in strange and terrible ways.

For Goderic, in addition to the usual misery, it meant two things in particular. After their excommunication, he never found it within himself to trust anyone sufficiently to show them the documents he had retrieved from the fire pit in the Chambers of the Inquisition, and never in his life would Goderic the Mute learn to read.

For Kara, it was worse even, than that.

Where Liam was concerned though, it was as complete a victory as one could imagine, and having accomplished all this, he patiently waited another two weeks, until word reached him from a servant of Lord Barrington that his commission was arranged.

Then, he packed lightly for his new journey, removed his Inquisitor's robe and ring for the last time, and left his apartment.

Halfway to the stables, he turned 'round and went back.

No.

He had spent many good years doing the work of the Inquisition, and had many fond memories.

He must keep a token of some sort to remember them, always, and the choice was an easy one.

He went back into the apartment and slipped the ring back onto his finger.

Let them write it off as an oversight...or, let them try and come take it from him.

He did not care which.

And with that, he rode north, to learn the ways of war from the best teachers the Basin had to offer.

This, he knew, was a skill he would find most valuable one day....