Olrich idly brushed his hand over the pocket holding the root. Its presence was a physical reminder that he walked the right path. When I faltered I was lifted back up. I need only trust the path…

Olrich took a deep breath, trusted himself to the path, and opened the carriage door. The white mansion in front of him stood unchanged from the last time he saw it. Spotless whitewashed walls and large thick glass windows with light green shutters. A small manor tucked into the woods on the northern edge of the kingdom. The manicured yard in back led into a woods surrounding it. It was hard to imagine a more picturesque place to grow up.

It was only after his apprenticeship within a senior priest, did he see the truth in the idyllic setting. Glass was common enough to be found in shops today, but when the old windows were made it must have been a different matter. The ones in his sight now must have cost enough to to feed and cloth a village for months. It was well beyond what a small border barony with no meaningful resources should have been able to afford. No wonder mother wanted me to abuse my path, how else would they have achieved this. The darkness hidden in plain sight. The goddesses do shield us until we are old enough to see.

His focused snapped to the door. An old man in a butler’s uniform stepped out, and he bowed deeply to Olrich.

“Young Master Olrich,” the family’s head butler said rising. “Welcome home.”

“Thank you, Rechnel,” Olrich replied noting the man’s black hair had finally turned gray. Despite the effects on his hair color, the man stood as rigidly straight as Olrich remembered. Out of habit Olrich approached the old man, who had met him at in this way every time he returned home. Whether from playing outside as a boy, or on the holiday’s from seminary.

“I did not expect to be invited back after…” Olrich began as he climbed the steps.

“That unpleasantness is in the past,” Rechnel replied matter-of-factly, though his eyes seemed to tighten a bit at the memory. “Please come this way One of the juniors will tend to the coach momentarily.”

Olrich did as he was bid, and entered the warm oak lined entry hall. Even the tension he felt from the last meeting could not make this any less his home. From the corner of his eye, he saw a small crack in a portrait frame. How long ago did brother and Toln’s roughhousing do that? The warm memory was a sharp contrast to the heated argument when he stormed out.

“I did not want to speak of it front of the coachman,” Rechnel said after the door closed. “but I recommend you think on your father.”

“Are you suggesting that it was his idea?” Olrich asked. He tried to imagine the man telling his mother to do it. I barely remember him. Mother always seemed a bit distant, but I can barely recall what father even looked like.

“I am the family butler and would never say that,” the older man said, sadly shaking his head. “I can say his ability to help the Barony prosper was much diminished in those years. It was sadly the beginning of the family’s failing fortunes. The passing of your Aunt, and then Toln running away made maters worse.”

Olrich cringed at the other side of the story. His mother had always been a bit distant, but he also remembered there had also been warmth there. Is that really all it was? Did I cut my mother off for a single mistake when they fell on hard times? Especially when it was father’s doing?

Olrich began to think of his own failures before the Goddess had seen fit to make use of him. Do I have any right to hold mistakes against her when the Goddesses gave me a way to redeem myself?

“It should not have been said but we all make mistakes,” Olrich replied hoping this was enough to allow affairs to begin repairing themselves. “Where is she?”

The older man sighed loudly. “Her ladyship is in the kitchen, with your brother. They are working on the meal as we speak. I have been banned from saying more. Her ladyship did ask that I see you safely to a guestroom where you could rest from your long trip.”

“That would be nice. Please lead the way.” Olrich stepped aside and allowed the butler to lead his to his room.

Once the door closed behind him, Olrich noticed his things had already been brought to the room. The old man was always efficient.

The butler’s words continued to weight on him, as was the realization that his father had been so distant that Olrich was not sure the knew his face. These thoughts filled his mind as he lay back on the bed and fell asleep.

…

A knock at eh door caused his eyes to snap open. “Dinner will be served in the dinning room in 10 minutes.” Came a muffled voice from outside the door.

“I will be there,” he replied sitting up and trying to understand his dream. He stared at the root, and pushing his doubts aside, bit deeply into it.

The dream was clear that he should eat it and head to dinner, but everything was a blur after that. It also did not truly prepare me for this taste. Olrich grimaced as the rubbery root released a juice that tasted of spoiled fruit. But despite this Olrich persisted until the task was complete. He wiped the juice from his hands on the sheets and wondered why doing so was so important in the dream.

“Dinner is ready,” came a voice from behind the door as Olrich began to walk toward it.

“Excellent,” he replied, and opened the door to see Rechnel waiting for him. Olrich gestured for the butler to lead him on.

The old man led him to the dinning room, making small talk along the way. Olrich was afraid to speak and have his breath carry the root’s unpleasant smell, so he made noncommittal noises to avoid speaking. The feeling of something on his teeth would not disappear and he kept running his tongue over them when the butler was not looking.

“Here we are,” Rechnel said oping the ornate door to the dinning room. “Everything is laid out for you, and your family will take you form here.”

Olrich walked into the room to see his mother and brother both rise to seem him. His brother beamed at him a grin stretching from ear to ear. Their mother was more subdued, but her emotions osculating between joy and sadness.

“Please sit with us brother,” Jornicj began and gestured to the chair on his right. “I have been waiting for this for a long time. We even made mother’s special stew.”

Olrich nodded, and took his seat before a steaming bowl of spiced stew. As the familiar small filled his nose he smiled. I always hated this as a child, but it will at least clean the taste of the root from my mouth. I wonder if this is the only thing mother knows how to cook? As a noblewoman it is more surprising she even knows how to cook anything.

“Do not stand on ceremony brother.” Jornicj said laughing. “I am sure you are famished from your journey. It is only family here, at any rate.”

Olrich did not respond, but took a spoonful of the soup. The spices filled his mouth, and helped removed the sour taste of the root. Despite the heat for the spice he nearly smiled in relief.

“I am glad you like the soup,” his brother said as he slowly stirred the soup in his own bowl. “I always knew you would enjoy it.”

Olrich ignored his brother’s rambling and stole glances at his mother between spoonfuls. She looks upset. Should I complement the soup?

Olrich opened his mouth to do so, but his tongue felt a bit numb form the spice. He grabbed for his glass as the burning feeling grew stronger and spread to his throat.

“Disappointing.” His mother said causing his brother to cackle.

“Wh…” Olrich tried to speak but his tongue would not fully form the words. Why does she look so upset.

“I thought my sister was useless, but you are somehow even more useless.” His mother’s words cut into him. “Do you know how many times I had to protect you from you brother? Even before your path he realized you would never be the family head. Sadly I had already explained your father’s place in all this so having another viable heir to challenge your brother was not possible.”

Olrich’s eyes watered and he pulled at the collar of his robes, hard to breath.

“That is what you get for being greedy, mother. You can hardly blame him after you said you threatened to kill us if he did not pay you that unreasonable amount.” His brother slapped the table while he laughed. “This fool never had what it took to lead this house. I cannot believe you did not remove him sooner. We both know he was never a threat to me.”

“I was hoping I could make him useful to the family,” his mother said looking at him with a disgusted expression. “I did not think it would be a payment to have him removed. Apparently you were not the only one to find him inconvenient.”

Olrich felt his strength failing, and he fell onto the table knocking the bowl of poisoned soup off the table. His vision had faded to almost nothing, but the room filled with a blinding light. “Ghoddd…” he gasped.

The world went dark as Olrich’s brother mocked him for believing the goddess would care about him.

…

In the darkness, Olrich heard the goddess’s voice. “You thought yourself worthy to know our plan when you did not even know the nature of the threads closest to you. Let this lesson teach you that the path is beyond your vision. You held love for your family and it nearly killed you. Harden your heart. You have no family that love you, but you need none. You are a tool of the path and need only find purpose in this.”

Olrich opened his eyes and saw his brother face down in his bowl of soup. Olrich fought the wave of vertigo to lift his head form the table and saw his mother slumped backwards in her own chair the look of disgust frozen on her face.

Olrich’s eyes went wide and he leaned to the side and retched. He panted and wiped at his mouth with his sleeve. From the look of the floor, and his clothes this was not the first time he had done this.

He placed his hands on the table and shuddering managed to stand. Behind him his chair scrapped loudly across the stone floor.

“Well this is surprising,” Olrich turned to see the old butler standing in the open doorway. “They always enjoyed toying with people too much.”

Rechnel walked in to the room and looked closely at Jornicj and his mother in turn. “I must congratulate you, Baron. I did not expect you to survive much less poison them with the same poison they intended for you.”

“Well played!” the butler smiled widely and clapped his hands. “I must ask then how much do you actually know of your family?”

Olrich stared blankly as the usually expressionless man stood between a pair of corpses grinning.

“By your expression I can tell it is not much.” the butler said his smile failing for a moment before returning. “No matter. We have a great deal of time, now that you are the family head.”