Why Did it Happen?

Writers: Devin, Miriah, Paula, Suzee
Date Posted: 2nd June 2019

Characters: Cyradis, Corowal, N'vanik, Grevan
Description: Corowal meets Grevan and questions him.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 2 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: J'ackt

Cyradis

N'vanik

The Weyrleader led the way down to the storage room that had been
converted into a cell for Grevan. A guard sat in a chair next to the
door and he rose as he saw the others approach. "Lord Corowal is here
to see the prisoner," N'vanik told him.

Grevan heard the footsteps approach, then heard the words outside the
door. He rose unsteadily to get to his feet, cradling his injured
wrist to his chest. Tensing, he eyed the door and waited.

Corowal stepped in and looked at the young man. His eyes were cold as ice.

Grevan paled at the entrace of his Lord Holder and stepped back. "My
Lord. I..." He glanced behind Corowal, saw the Weyrleaders and
straightened, gathering his courage enough to lift his chin.

"Grevan, what shards have you done? Why? Who gave you this idea? Who
helped you?" Corowal had a lot of questions.

Grevan tried to hide the tremble in his knees. "I wanted justice! Real
justice!" He swallowed hard, but the grievances from the past two
turns boiled up and out of his mouth. "We never got it! Those marks?
They didn't last six months. My father couldn't work! My brother found
him hanging! That...bastard took everything from us! From my family!
My brother and sister are going hungry because of him!"

Cyradis didn't even blink, this was the same kind of thing he'd said
in the hall before but she'd seen what his father had done and it was
J'ackt's fault the man had attacked him. She said nothing but just
watched them both.

Unless both Grevan and Corowal were skilled actors, the Lord Holder
seemed to have nothing to do with the plan. N'vanik fought down an
urge to yell at the prisoner, allowing Corowal time to interrogate
Grevan.

"And none of this would have happened if your father had just let
bygones be bygones," Corowal said with grim expression on his face.
"How did you get to the Weyr? Who helped you? Was someone in Emerald
Falls Hold supporting your cause?"

Grevan's eyes narrowed and he shook his head, standing straight. "I
did it on my own. No one else knew I was coming." He cradled his arm
close to his chest, feeling the ache. "It was my decisions."

"Really? And did you ever stop to think the consequences? To yourself,
to your family?" Corowal wasn't yet convinced Grevan was working
alone. He feared a larger conspiracy.

Grevan looked down and for the first time, there was real guilt and
regret in his voice. "No, my Lord. I just...I thought I'd be able to
get out. And that it would make things better. That I would feel
better after."

"Revenge never make things better," Corowal said with a shake of his
head. In a way, he pitied the boy. "You reap what you sow," he warned
him.

"What's going to happen to me? What about my family?"

"You're going to get a trial. As for your family, that depends, are
they involved in this?" Corowal replied.

"No." The reply was immediate. "My mother didn't know anything." He
lifted his chin, staring at the three of them. "They're starving. My
little brother's sick. You have to let them come back to the Hold.
Please. I'll plead guilty or whatever you want, just don't let them go
hungry anymore."

N'vanik arched an eyebrow and looked at Corowal. They were his
responsibility, and N'vanik was surprised the lord was letting any of
his people starve. Then again, maybe Corowal had cut them off after
Grevan's father fought J'ackt. That would explain how the money ran
out so quickly.

Perhaps the young man had mistaken. Cyradis brows drew together. She
was rather certain the Lord Holder made sure his people were always
fed as did she at the Weyr. Had they run away and become Holdless?
How could they have survived as a family that way?

"And why didn't you seek help for that? I wouldn't let children
starve. Were you too sharding proud to ask for aid? For a job? I never
forbade you, your mother or siblings to come back to the Hold, just
your father, for all the trouble he caused," Corowal sounded
incredulous and little bit offended. Did they really think he was some
sort of monster? How could he help if he didn't need people needed
help?

"We didn't think we'd be welcome." Grevan admitted, chin lifting a
little. "You never said we were welcome back or we could come back
from the cothold we were sent to. We sent in tithes like we were
supposed to, but no one ever bothered to check on us. All that seemed
to matter was that we sent in our part of the tithe and _that_ left us
with hardly anything for ourselves. No one cared!"

Corowal frowned when he heard that. "One of the assistant stewards
should have been checking you regularly." With Sarban gone and Corowal
unable to find a capable replacement, some of his staff seemed to
gone bit slack. He couldn't supervise them all personally. "And the
tithe is certain percentage of your harvest, not specific quota you
need to fill in turnly. So the amount of tithe depends if it was good
yield or not." Of course, if they turned in a decent amount of tithe
every time, no one would thought something was wrong.

"I think the point here is that your family is mistaken in its beliefs
and you acted based on those mistakes. While that may be pitiable it's
no excuse for what you did." Cyradis shook her head.

Grevan shrank into the corner of his little cell, looking away from
the three people. He didn't want to believe them; if he did, then it
would mean what he had done was the worst thing he could have ever
done. Guilt over what could happen to his family gnawed at him and he
couldn't help but imagining his mother's face. Why had he come here?
They needed him at home and now without him, what would happen to
them? What would his mother, brother and sister do? He sank to his
bottom, shoulders slumped, and rested his head on his knees in defeat.

"I don't think we get more out of him," Corowal said. He was
dissatisfied with the results. He still didn' know if Grevan had
allies in Emerald Falls Hold he should worry about.

Cyradis nodded in agreement. This young man had dug quite the hole for himself.

Last updated on the June 24th 2019

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