***
In Angustia, people were also speeding through the streets. The word had spread that the magistrate and several of the town’s leading citizens had convicted the magistrate’s youngest daughter, the once beloved Pulchra, who they believed was at least indirectly responsible for the death of her brother, Fortis. In front of the magistrate’s house, his son-in-law Telon was speaking and every citizen hurried to hear him.
“It pains me to have to tell you,” Telon addressed the crowd. “That my sister-in-law, who I could not love more were she my own sister, has brought a great tragedy upon us. It is indisputable that she has entered into an unholy marriage with not only a bandit, but a most horrific bandit-a savage and ruthless beast who has now slain my most honorable brother-in-law. The proof is in the testimony of the brave men who accompanied him during his heroic final battle and the eye witness reports of those who later sighted the creature. There is no doubt in my mind what the sad truth is.
“Now some of you who remember the circumstances of my sister-in-law’s marriage may be saying to yourselves, ‘She could not have known of her husband’s bestial nature and once united to him, how could she escape?’ But I must tell you that my noble brother-in-law, fearful for his little sister, told her at the time of her marriage to insist of her husband that she be allowed to return to visit her family so that if her spouse proved to be anything other than a man of good character, she would be able to return to the safety of her father’s house. If on the other hand she did not return, my noble brother-in-law swore to find his sister and rescue her himself. Such a noble soul he was!
“I am forced to report to you that my sister-in-law did return to visit her family after her marriage, but rather than reporting the grim truth, she told wild lies of living in a palace with a king. Because of her treachery, my noble brother-in-law entered the forest confident of victory against a band of thieves, but instead met death at the hands of a monster!”
Loud murmurs and angry grumbling spread through the crowd. Fortis had been loved by the townspeople and most had looked forward to the day when he would become the magistrate.
“It is an outrage to my brother-in-law’s memory,” Telon continued. “That the sister who betrayed him, and who now carries the spawn of the beast who murdered him, now resides outside our town. So I call upon you good citizens to come with me, now this very moment to bring justice to this traitor in our midst!”