This is an in-setting written work. It is written from a particular perspective and may or may not be factually accurate.
The Thief-Baron of Lyare
By unknown
A story regarding a fictional figure set in a city in the Western Coast. Though often believed to be about the eccentric current ruler of Lyare, Sura Quis, the tale predates him by at least several decades.The Thief-Baron of Lyare was a proud man. How could he not be? He possessed wealth in all its forms - as coin, as servants, as a fine estate outside the city with a stable for his equally fine horses. Every item he desired was his. Every luxury he could imagine was delivered to him. And yet the Thief-Baron found no time for joy.His life was that of a merchant-prince, who saw all items from foreign lands. His life was that of a general, marshaling legions of those in his employ. His life was that of a head scribe, surveying the accounting of his underlings.
A visitor came to see the Thief-Baron one day. Draped in the garb of a beggar, head and face hidden by rotting blankets, they entered his estate unbothered. No guard stopped them, no footman questioned their intentions. They strode into the Thief-Baron's dining hall, where a meal was being served, and silently sat down at the table opposite the wealthy figure. The Thief-Baron stared, amused at the intrusion. Finally he spoke.
"Who are you, to sit in my presence, to invite yourself to my home?"
The visitor rested, unmoved, as the Thief-Baron turned from mirth to irritation. Finally a response came from the hidden mouth.
"You sit where I once did. At the head of the table with all others at my command. Eating of the finest olives and drinking of the finest wines. Yet unsatisfied all the same. One day a guest came to me, as I do to you now. They told me to walk with them to the shores of the ocean, as I do to you now. They helped me rise and don my magnificent apparel, as I do to you now. They strode out the doors of my hall with me, as you do with me now."
Thus chastened, the Thief-Baron accompanied the figure to the shores of the ocean.
Their route was direct. They journeyed through the forest to the rocks. They climbed over the rocks to the beach. They crossed over the sand to the ocean. They stopped at the water's edge.
Several moments of silence passed as the Thief-Baron contemplated. The visitor did not rush him. Finally he spoke.
"You have removed me from my hall. You have taken me from my meal, from my wine. You have directed me here, where riches do not grow. For what purpose?"
A response came from the hidden mouth.
"In years past I possessed your stature and prestige. I ate of the finest olives, I drank of the finest wine. I too sent merchants to distant lands. They returned bearing gold and spices and relics of the arcane, all of which were delivered to me. Upon every arrival I inspected their vessels at the docks, as you do. Upon every arrival I counted what I gained, as you do."
The Thief-Baron protested even as the visitor continued.
"Of this there is no crime. I made myself just as you did, just as the autochthon did. But each visit to the docks brought me near to the ocean, yet I did not see it. Each inspection brought me near to the water, yet I did not hear its breath."
The Thief-Baron contemplated this as the sun passed beneath the waves.
"Even if your words are oblique, their meaning is evident. But change comes only to the willing. Clay cannot be molded once fired. A statue cannot be returned to a block of pure marble."
On hearing this, the visitor understood. No response came from the hidden mouth. Unaccompanied, they crossed over the sand to the rocks. They climbed over the rocks to the forest. They journeyed through the forest to the hall. They sat at the head of the now-quiet table, upon which the olives and wine had already been removed.
At the beach, the Thief-Baron of Lyare filled his mouth with his coins of gold and walked into the sea.