Interlude

TWO WEEKS AGO

"So it's more of an urban legend?"

"Not really, no. There really was a mansion just past the forest here. It's built atop a hill but I'm not sure if it's still there."

"What's the story behind it?" 

The old man stopped to take a swig of his whiskey and took a drag from his cigar. 

"It's a story no one in town likes to talk about for... well, reasons." he began as he eyed the young lady before him. "It happened long ago, way too long ago that I wasn't even alive, but the story is something that everyone had passed down." 

His eyes gazed towards the forest, the fog making it barely visible. "The story goes that when this town was still young, a rich family from a foreign land came here and decided to industrialize the place." 

"That family happened to be the Roystons, right?" she asked.

"Yes, that was them." the old man answered. "They came from Edessa, if I remember correctly. They were rich and if the rumors were true, they were nobles. They put this little town on the map. I don't know what they saw in this place, but after a couple of years, it was one of the most flourishing places to be." 

"Of course, the family patriarch, I think his name was Wilhelm Royston, soon passed away and everyone was worried that the town would fall into ruin. Fortunately, his son James was as capable as he was in terms of commerce. It's often said that each Royston son, even the last one, were all capable businessmen. Most of the establishments here were Royston-made." 

"I also found out that the town had supplied coal, gold, and had quite the number of plantations."

"Yeah, that's true." the old man answered. "Once upon a time there were many cotton, coffee, and cocoa bean plantations here. Most of the stuff was cheap, and no one went hungry because everyone had a job. From working in the mills to the farms, it was a golden time for this place." 

"Man, it would've been a real treat living here back in the day."

"You bet. It was a golden era for the people here. Think about it, a backwater town whose name doesn't even ring a bell to the rest of the country suddenly became the haven for commerce and agriculture. Like I said, no one went hungry here, and for so many years, people from all over flocked to either work or live here." 

"Then the plague happened?"

"Then the plague happened." the old man said with a sad tone, taking another swig of his whiskey. "This was before Michael's time, mind you, so it's a rather obscure part of the town's history." 

"What happened during that time? All I know is that a sickness hit the town pretty hard." said the young lady, quickly leafing through her notes. "Honestly, it's hard to figure it out because there isn't a lot of information."

"The Roystons made sure there wouldn't be a lot of info." the old man said. "They were worried about the town's reputation possibly going downhill because of it, but according to some folks, half the town died. The plague came from a bacteria-infested water source. These days it's called cholera, which is curable, but deadly back then."

The lady scribbled on her notebook as the old man spoke. This new information was quite the find. Despite having a difficult time getting to the town and having almost everyone turn her away because of the information she was looking for, it was worth the effort. 

"Then, fast forward a couple hundred years," the old man continued after taking a drag from his cigar. "The family head at the time, Jeremiah Royston, took over and the town was revitalized, but all of a sudden, he fell ill. So the future of the Royston fortune and the town fell into the hands of his sons Michael and Lucas."

"Wait.. Michael Royston had a brother?"

"He did, but sadly Lucas died mysteriously. Others said he had a mysterious illness, but murder was the possibility that people believed in."

"So Michael killed his brother to take sole control?"

"I wouldn't imagine him doing it, or having someone else do it for him." Another drink. "Rich people can silence others as long as you've got the coin, after all."

"This really is a lot to take in." 

"It really is. The town's history, especially one involving the family that ran this place is pretty dark and there's more to it than what your Internet says." the old man answered with a chuckle. He looked out the window and noticed the gray clouds covering the sun.

"Best head back to wherever you're staying in." he said. "The rain's about to fall and the roads will be flooded. You can always come back here tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir." she said as she packed up her stuff. "I really appreciate you sharing the history of this town to me."

"All in a day's work." he said. "You can say that I'm the de facto historian around here." 

She waved goodbye as she quickly walked back to the motel she stayed at. Once there, she sat down and opened up her notebook, writing down her thoughts for the day.

So today I visited this old man who lived in the town's outskirts. Pretty cozy cabin, if not a bit old and dusty. He wasn't the typical crochety old man that most people would warn me about. In fact, he was pretty much your average chill grandpa. 

He knew a quite a lot about the town's history, especially the Royston family that stayed here. He wasn't wrong when he said he knew more than what the Internet had. At least he was willing to share what he knew, unlike the other people here.

We discussed what happened to the town and a bit of how the Roystons got here. To say that they brought the town to life was an understatement based on the stories he told. Hopefully I get to know more tomorrow. Just gotta wait for this rain to stop. Man, I hate the rain. 

She closed her journal and decided to take a nap. It would be a long day of research and interviewing tomorrow.