Back
in the French countryside It’s just about as dismal as when we left it: there’s
no food, the crops are withered, and the people are in about the same condition
as the crops. Despite this, things seem to have changed somehow. Our old
friend, the mender of roads, is out mending roads.
A
man walks up to him, greets him as Jacques, and the two sit down to eat together.
The mender of roads asks if it’s happening tonight. What? What’s happening? The
traveler wants to take a nap. He asks the mender of roads to wake him at
sunset.
Later
that night, the chateau on the hill begins to burn. Vast clouds of smoke and
flame can be seen from the town. Monsieur Gabelle, the guy who’s in charge of
the town, awakens to find a rider at his door. The chateau burns.
After
the blazes die down a little bit, folks start to remember that the Marquis
wasn’t the only aristocrat in town. Gabelle was the one who collected the
Marquis’ taxes. OK, so he’s not really an aristocrat. But he’s close
enough, isn’t he? People start to beat down Gabelle’s door. As night descends,
we leave Gabelle praying that he won’t get strung up on a pike.
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