Chapter 5: Additional information on the castle and a setback

A short while later, the gang regrouped together back in the manor for lunch.

As everyone sat together to have lunch, they also went through what they've discovered during the morning.

Fred and the girls first reported about their encounter with Calvin Curdles, as well as explaining their suspicions on him using the gryphon sightings and the subsequent work delays to lobby the county council into amending the zoning designation of the castle for his new ice cream factory.

Furthermore, they also reported about Alma Rumblebuns' assertions about the gryphon's purpose of restoring the castle back to before the Earl of Down made his residence there.

"Now that you guys mentioned it, that does make plenty of sense as to why would someone want the gryphon to disrupt the excavation and restoration work, not withstanding the profit motive in building a new ice cream factory." Garfield remarked.

"Indeed, Garfield." Velma agreed. "Ms. Rumblebuns certainly seemed determined about the castle being back to the way it was before the Earl of Down resided there."

"Considering the earl's reputation among the native Irish folk around here, I suppose it's no surprise that she, as a descendant of those that suffered from the Great Famine in 1847, would not want the castle to be anything like what the earl stipulated in the will." Garfield nodded.

"Exactly, Garfield." Fred nodded as well. "Speaking of which, what did you guys find?"

"Couple of things." Garfield held out two fingers before retracting the first as he continued, "First off, it's about the property owner of the townhouse where the body was found."

"Like, the property owner, who goes by the name of Tim Ferin, is quite the mysterious chap alright." Shaggy said. "He hardly interacted with his neighbours, even though he has been living here for the past couple years, so no one knows what he works for a living, nor could they offer any possible motive for anyone wishing him harm, and that's assuming that he was indeed the victim of last night's murder."

"And to make matters more interesting, his name doesn't register anywhere on the county records or registries, not even police or employment records." Garfield added. "Even though he would need to be employed full-time to be able to afford the townhouse."

"Not to mention this townhouse isn't a halfway house for ex-convicts recently-released from prison, and that's providing he even has a criminal record to begin with, which there isn't." Shaggy said.

"Hmmm." Velma nodded thoughtfully. "Very interesting."

"Indeed." Fred and Daphne both nodded in agreement. "Anything else?"

"Yes, the second thing we found has to do with our mutual friend Calvin Curdles." Garfield replied as he nodded towards the castle.

"Ah, what about him?" Madelyn asked. "Anything that could explain why he's so eager to buy the castle?"

"Well, for starters, his business has humble origins." Garfield said. "He started out as an ice cream vendor operating a cart and selling snacks to tourists visiting the historical sites in town. From there, he climbed his way up as he built a fortune from his ice cream business."

"Within the span of ten years, his ice cream business became a household name across Ireland." Shaggy continued. "Though it didn't meant he rubbed a few feathers along the way as he achieved that."

"Most of the complaints about his business were largely from ex-employees and competitors who were squeezed out, on top of his tactics in acquiring land for his assets being somewhat questionable." Garfield explained. "In spite of all, it did not deter him from further expanding his business empire."

"Sounds like him alright." Velma folded her arms.

"It gets better." Garfield continued as Shaggy took out a photograph and a clipping of the local newspaper from twenty years ago. "Check out this photograph."

Fred and the girls leaned closer to take a look at the photograph Shaggy had placed on the table.

"Jinkies, is that who I think it is?" Madelyn asked as she pointed at the woman accompanying a visibly much younger Curdles in the photograph.

"Yes, it is her." Daphne said as she recognized the younger Alma Rumblebuns accompanying Curdles. "Alma Rumblebuns."

"Indeed." Shaggy nodded as he put down the newspaper clipping, which covers Wedding Announcement section. "Like, according to this newspaper clip, Rumblebuns was engaged to Curdles and their wedding was to take place twenty years ago."

"But the wedding was called off." Garfield interjected, prompting Fred and the girls to look at him. "There is no marriage certificate under their name in the records, nor was there any wedding photograph present."

"Alma Rumblebuns wasn't wearing a wedding ring, either." Madelyn added. "Nor was Calvin Curdles wearing one when we saw him."

"Perhaps something happened between the two that led to the wedding being called off?" Fred offered. "After all, he promptly returned to his car the minute the foreman turned up."

"Maybe." Garfield said. "It could also be a reason why he's determined to buy the castle for his new ice cream factory."

"But what about the gryphon?" Madelyn prompted. "Any particular reason why it was attacking the town lately?"

Garfield glanced at Shaggy and Scooby before he briefly pointed upwards with his index finger as he said, "We did gather some more information about the gryphon and its history with the castle."

"What of it?" Fred prompted as Garfield and Shaggy placed out the files they've gathered.

"Let's start first with the castle itself." Garfield began as he flipped open the first file set on the table. "Before Lord O'Flannery's time, the site in which the castle resided on had a rather checkered history. A fortress was constructed on site in 1594 for the Irish side, as part of their defense of Ulster during the course of Tyrone's Rebellion, in which the Irish alliance raised up against the then-ongoing Tutor conquest of Ireland and the English rule that came with it."

"However, even before the establishment of the fortress, the site has long been used as a secret base of operations for the Irish in planning and executing a series of campaigns against the English and Scottish settlers, most notably for the O'Neill clan during the Battle of Glentaisie three decades earlier." Madelyn leaned forward to read the contents of the files.

"Initially, the Irish side scored a number of crucial victories early on during the Rebellion." Garfield nodded. "However, after the English scored an important victory in the Siege of Kinsdale in 1602 and with the costs of the war ballooning, both sides pursued a negotiation for peace, which cumulated in the 1603 Treaty of Mellifont. Aside from pardons for the key instigators of the rebellion, the terms for peace outlined in the treaty were generous for the time."

"Like, the peaceful status quo didn't last long, as a result of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605." Shaggy said. "With the persecution of Catholics in the aftermath of the failed plot, the Irish lords who were pardoned under the Treaty of Mellifont found their authority undermined."

"Coupled with the erosion of their economic bases and fears of arrest by the English crown, the Irish lords subsequently left Ireland to seek Spanish assistance for a new rebellion." Daphne read. "However, the Spanish, having had gone bankrupt as a result of years of war, opted to keep the peace with the new Staurt dynasty and was not interested in their cause."

"And in the aftermath of O'Doherty's rebellion, the site of the fortress, which was destroyed during the initial rebellion, was among the lands seized and put into use by the English crown." Fred continued. "The castle now known as Caisleán O'Flannery was constructed, as a gift for those involved in putting down the rebellion."

"Now, the first resident to reside in the castle was Sir Denis Gorman, who was subsequently made Lord Justice for his role in putting down O'Doherty's rebellion." Garfield continued. "He was also a senior-ranking member of the Temple of the Four Orders before breaking from the Order due to his disagreement over the restrictions imposed on the practice of magic."

"Sir Denis subsequently formed the Order of the Elements, which over time grew to rival the Four Orders in influence, and just like the Earl of Down that came after him, Sir Denis was said to have practiced dark magic, which was a major factor to him and his followers breaking from the Four Orders." Velma observed.

"Yes indeed." Garfield nodded. "Moving on. As we all know, the gryphon is considered to be a powerful and majestic creature, and it often takes on the role of guarding treasure and other priceless possessions. Sir Denis incorporated that into the rituals conducted by the Elements, which supposedly summons a gryphon to provide them strength and safeguard their property."

"So that's why legends of a gryphon patrolling the castle grounds continues to persist." Madelyn interjected. "And likely the reason for the Earl of Down having a gryphon safeguarding his burial place."

The younger Dinkley sister then frowned before she added, "But then, what exactly does Alma Rumblebuns mean when she stated that the gryphon's role is to restore the castle back to the way it was before the Earl of Down corrupted it with his dark magic? After all, the castle was residence to those that served the English, and later, British crowns."

"Yes, which then brings us to the person that inhabited the castle before the Earl of Down." Garfield said as he took out another file. "Fast forward to the early 1800s, by this point Ireland has been fully integrated into the unified United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland through the Acts of Union of 1800."

"This period was marked by sporadic violence and unrest, especially the Tithe War in the 1830s, which saw the Royal Irish Constabulary moving in to maintain order." Fred read. "While the ethnic and religious makeup of the RIC matched that of the Irish population, Anglo-Irish Protestants dominated the senior ranks, which also meant that to one man standing out among the senior officers."

"Assistant Inspector General Finnigan Lawson was the senior-most Catholic on the force in its early years, and he was the one that took up residence in the castle before the Earl of Down." Velma read. "In fact, Lawson was the one responsible for making extensive repairs and modifications to the castle."

"Indeed he was." Garfield nodded. "In spite of his duties in the Royal Irish Constabulary, Lawson made his efforts to connect more with the community he serves rather than taking part in duties that would seen by many in Ireland as part of the constabulary's enforcement of the British colonial orders."

"Like, his sympathies towards the plight of the Irish Catholics must have made him plenty of powerful enemies." Shaggy surmised. "Those in the positions of power that deemed him unreliable in enforcing orders, or worse, colluding with those that seek Irish independence from British rule."

"Definitely." Garfield agreed. "As a matter a fact, Lawson was sacked from his position during the height of the Famine. The official story was that he had embezzled funds and misplaced food inventory meant for the constables, though considering the way the British handled the Famine, it's likely he was sacked for toeing the British administration's line in famine relief."

"And when he got sacked from the constabulary, Lawson was also evicted from the castle." Velma nodded. "And when the Earl of Down moved in, he practically reverted the castle back to the way it was before Lawson made the modifications."

"Ironically, for someone that was the namesake of the castle, Lord O'Flannery was considered the epitome, or personification, of British evil, notwithstanding his alleged practices in dark magic and membership in the Order of the Elements." Garfield said. "He served in the Dublin Castle administration, and among the early roles he served included overseeing the much-criticized British response to the Famine in the 1840s."

"Couple that with influencing the Royal Irish Constabulary to violently put down any protests against British rule, it's no wonder he was made Earl of Down during his tenure as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1871 and granted a seat in the House of Lords." Madelyn remarked. "And it also explains how he came to be hated by the local inhabitants and why he used his reputation as an alleged practitioner of dark magic to keep people away."

"Indeed it was." Daphne agreed. "And likely why the county executive let the castle fall into a state of disrepair. It wasn't just the mystic legends surrounding the castle that kept the folks away, but also O'Flannery's reputation among the predominantly-Catholic local inhabitants."

"So then, what was it about the protests around town with regards to Curdles' plans for the castle?" Madelyn asked. "Are they part of the unionist communities that remain loyal to the British crown after Irish independence?"

Before anyone else could respond, a deafening explosion occurred, knocking everyone off balance.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as they were all knocked to the ground by the shaking. "What was that?"

"That was definitely an explosion." Cosmo remarked while Garfield got up and walked over to the nearby window.

Looking out the window, Garfield turned towards the others upon seeing the source of the explosion.

"Um, Dr. Dinkley, remember the progress you and your team were striving to make in the restoration of the castle before the gryphon put them on hold?" Garfield asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Cosmo asked as he and the others joined Garfield at the window.

"I'm afraid your restoration progress has gone up on smoke, not to mention the gryphon's no longer going to bother your progress." Garfield explained before gesturing towards the window as he added, "Observe."

Looking out of the window, Cosmo, Velma and Madelyn all felt their faces turn white as they see what was the source.

"Jinkies..." Velma and Madelyn both exclaimed before trailing off.

"The castle has been blown up." Fred said, finishing their thoughts.

Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne didn't say another word as they glumly watched the historic Caisleán O'Flannery up in flames and thick, black smoke raising from the ruins.

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