The Castle Karlstadt – Excerpt 7

The Castle Karlstadt – Excerpt 7

  It was not a question of courage, more that curiosity had gotten the better of me. I wanted reasons, I sought answers?

I slung my rifle back over my shoulder, Karlstadt, unlike the village, would have order and officials to see that order was kept. On that basis I felt relatively safe.

I would, I surmised, be dealing with educated men, who like myself were capable of logical thought whatever the circumstances that prevailed. And yet again I was proved to be wrong!

As I reached the outskirts of the town, I felt a little re-assured, everything seemed peaceful and orderly as I supposed it should be. Then it suddenly struck me, it was too quiet, in fact the silence overwhelmed me. This was a town, I would have expected much more hustle and bustle.

Where were the townspeople going about their daily business. All the shops were closed and shuttered. It was like a ghost town, where were all the inhabitants. it was getting odder by the moment or so it seemed to me.

I was approaching what appeared to be a Livery Stable, I dismounted and led my horse inside. There was a youth scattering straw on the floor with a pitchfork. I asked him if he could attend to my horse, he nodded and led him in to a stall where he fed him and settled him in.

With my horse attended too, I asked the youth where everyone was? He explained to me as best he could, that almost all the townsfolk were at a meeting in the church, which was a little further up the street on the right hand side.

I decided to gate-crash this meeting, don’t ask me why? Something about this place was troubling me. I felt that I needed answers? And where better than the church, Priest’s knew everything, or so I surmised.

(C) Damian Grange 2019