Chapter 74 - 68: Conspiracy
Chapter 74: Chapter 68: Conspiracy
Old John and his two sons called out in agreement as they pushed open the door to greet the visitors.
Several men stood in the courtyard. The one in the center wore a colorful, striped outfit, held a list in his hand, and was smiling at them.
Little John frowned slightly as he looked at the man dressed like a forest grouse. He spoke up, "Sir Tax Collector, hasn’t the autumn tax already been collected?"
"Ah, Little John is here as well." The visitor smiled and nodded at Little John, then explained, "This is the Winter Defense Levy, issued by the Count. As you know, winter is when the goblins run rampant. The domain needs to deploy a considerable number of troops to clear them out. After all, nobody wants to open their door and find a mob of little green-skins rushing into their yard."
"I’ve never heard of this tax before," Little John muttered under his breath, but Old John quickly stepped forward, shielding him from view.
"We have collected it in the past, just not for the last few years since the problem hasn’t been severe," the tax collector explained patiently. Then he asked, "I hear you’re about to marry the Blacksmith’s daughter?"
"How did you know, sir?" Little John asked.
"How could I not know? Mary often comes to my house to pick up laundry," the tax collector chuckled. "HA HA HA! Mary’s a good girl—pretty and diligent. If you’re short on money, I’ll make an exception. Paying half a month late will be fine."
"We have enough, we have enough," Old John immediately stepped forward, nodding and bowing as he spoke.
After being told how much money he had to hand over, he turned, went inside, and came back out with the Gold Coins, which he gave to the tax collector.
"Alright then." The tax collector waved his hand and turned to leave, but then he seemed to remember something. He walked over to Little John and offered him a Gold Coin. "Consider this my congratulatory gift. Treat Mary well."
"Sir..." Little John hadn’t expected this and stood stunned for a few seconds before quickly taking the Gold Coin. "Yes, I will."
"Let’s go. To the next house." The tax collector smiled, turned, and left. The group led their horses and clattered off toward the other houses in the village.
"Father, how much money do we have left?" Little John stepped forward to ask.
"Enough for food, but as for Mary’s side of things..." Old John’s voice trailed off uncertainly.
"You really don’t have to worry about that." Little John pressed the Gold Coin he had just received into his father’s hand. "You keep this."
"But that was just given to you."
"It’s fine. Viller needs money for school, too," Little John reassured his father. "I’ve already saved up enough on my end. It’s okay."
"Goblins! Kill, kill, kill!" Viller picked up a nearby stick and started swinging it with a WHOOSH. He was still too young to understand everything, but he knew goblins were the enemy—the main reason for his family’s hardship.
"Viller, stop it. Go inside," Little John said, his tone a bit stern.
His younger brother dejectedly lowered his head and went into the wooden house. Little John reassured his father again, "It’s really fine. As long as my employer is still around, I can earn the money back quickly. Viller’s school fees won’t be a problem."
’They must have collected this winter defense tax before, but not in recent years,’ Little John thought. ’I wonder why they’ve suddenly started again.’
’Then again, the goblins do get much more active in the winter. If only my boss could bring all the nearby goblins under his command, then the surrounding villages wouldn’t be plagued by them anymore.’
’Of course, if that happened, a lot of Ear Cleaners would be out of a job.’ He gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Let’s go back in the house, Father. It’s getting cold," Little John called to his father. "Winter is here, so don’t be stingy with the firewood. We can’t have you getting sick from the cold."
Old John grunted twice in agreement.
After a simple lunch, Little John told his younger brother to be careful washing the dishes and not to break anything. Then, he said goodbye to his father and headed out to find Mary.
Their village was a decent size. After all, for a settlement on the edge of the forest, being too small would make it difficult to deal with goblin raids.
Unlike Little John’s family, some villagers didn’t own their land; they rented it from Count Valentine to farm. This also meant that not all children could attend the Basic grammar school run by the Church.
Furthermore, the taxes this year had exceeded fifty percent of their income, causing even self-sufficient farming families like Little John’s to complain bitterly.
Still, his own "job" was quite good, which gave Little John a fair bit of confidence.
Mary’s home was on the east side of the village, on the opposite end from Little John’s. He would have to cross the entire village to see her.
Little John greeted the villagers he passed along the way, arriving at Mary’s house with a broad smile.
The ceaseless CLANG of a hammer on anvil rang out from the courtyard, punctuated by a booming reprimand: "What are you doing? You’ll waste this piece of iron hitting it like that!"
CREAK. Little John pushed the gate open and stepped inside. He had been here many times and knew the place by heart, but this time, he felt like a triumphant General returning from victory.
"Well, look who it is!" someone in the courtyard called out with a loud laugh.
Little John smiled and greeted the men, his gaze then locking onto a sturdy man with a salt-and-pepper beard.
"What are you here for, Little John?" the sturdy man said, squinting at him. "Saved up enough money?"
Little John nodded without a word.
"Follow me." The sturdy man set down his tongs, turned away from the forge, and warned his apprentice before walking off, "Pay attention. If you waste that piece of material, you don’t eat tonight."
Once inside the house, the sturdy man poured himself a cup of water and downed it in one gulp. "Saved up the money this quickly?"
"Yes, 6 Gold Coins," Little John said, pulling the coins from his coat and preparing to hand them over.
"Hmm, well, it’s like this," the man said, not taking the coins. After a two-second pause, he continued in his booming voice, "You might not have to pay this money."
Little John was taken aback. He pulled the Gold Coins back. ’That’s strange,’ he thought. ’Has this old miser had a change of heart?’