"I'll always love you both…" those were the last words Maeus said to his wife and daughter the day he left his village for Sandoria.
He traveled for days to sell what he had harvested off his farm, but wasn't aware that it was his last. He had a strange feeling when he looked at the vegetables and fruits in his cart, but thought of it as a sign that he was going to make a fortune.
"I'll give you five hundred gil per pound of these, and those." A local chef said as he looked at Maeus' stall.
"Sure! How about these too? They are fresh and ripe! Very delicious!" He said as he pointed at a vegetable that was rarely found in Sandoria.
"No, I have a stock full of those…" The man said without giving it a thought.
"I'll take everything you got! A thousand gil per pound!" An Elvaan in Baron clothes said to him.
"Ah, you must be the King's royal chef! Thank you, here, take it all!" Maeus said as he bagged all the vegetables up, weighed them, and then loaded them on the chef's cart.
"You are so generous!" Maeus said as he bowed graciously.
Looking at the bag of gil he made, Maeus beamed with happiness. He entered the local tavern that night and sat down to have a drink. He needed to rest, he had a long day tomorrow and his family would be so happy when they see how much he made.
"Ah…Yakuma…Sara…You will be so proud of me…"
"Your in a good mood tonight." The barkeeper said as he refilled Maeus' glass.
"I made a lot of money and now I'll get to give my family everything they've always wanted."
"Oh? Are they miserable now?" The barkeeper asked, thinking his family was impoverished.
"No, we have a simple and happy life, but my childhood was bad, I never knew where my next meal was coming from. I never want that for my family. So tomorrow, I'm heading back to my village to show them my wealth and then I'm taking them back here with me. We're buying a house, but I want them with me when I pick it."
"I see. Well be careful coming back up here, there's beastmen everywhere these days…"
"I always am." Maeus said as he thought of his past travels.
That night, Maeus dreamed of when Sara was born. The White Mages had to cast special spells to save her life. The gods were with her that night and Maeus always knew that she was destined to do great things. This good fortune with his sales was proof that he was right. Now his family would live in a beautiful Sandorian home and have nice things like so many other rich people.
That night, Captain Mar'trummis led several soldiers from Sandoria to the outer villages between Sandoria and Valkrum. Maeus' village was burned to the ground by beastmen. The villagers were butchered mercilessly as they ran screaming for safety. The Captain who issued the soldiers to defend the villages had underestimated the beastmen strength. The soldiers sent out never returned. Every village was burned to the ground, not a single person survived the attack.
Maeus' family was blessed because the house collapsed on top of them so they felt no pain or felt no fear as other villagers did. Maeus never made it home either, in his excitement, he rushed down the path of Ronfaure and was killed by orcs of the beastmen horde that had ravaged the villages. This was also a mercy upon him as the pain of finding his family killed would have been too much to bear. He did not see the axe coming, he died smiling and was buried smiling, a mood of excitement and peace, not of fear or sorrow.