00:14:16 (someone): He was doing fine. But the thing about greed, there's no such thing as fine. As enough. Nolbu cut into the second gourd and braced himself. There weren't any imps this time. There were only overworked public employees and a ton of paperwork. Nobu sat back. Papers, like deeds to his new mansions and stuff? Turned out, no. They were debts. Nobu looked over the papers. He never took this money out. One of the men who had emerged from the gorge shrugged. These papers said he did, and he had to pay up. A quick yell to his attorney in the bank, and yeah. Those debts were due. Didn't matter that Nolblu didn't remember taking them on or that he didn't actually take them on. They were due. The collector returned with two scary looking guys. It was time to pay. Either he paid what the paper said or they would take his house and beat him up. It was a major hit to his finances, but Nolblu paid up to avoid several major hits to his face. The collector and his goons left. Now, if the first gourd contains imps with sticks and the second contains paperwork that drains your savings, just leave well, well, not well enough alone. Just leave completely horrible alone. Of course, Nolbu couldn't do that.

00:24:03 (someone): Finally, Robin had someone too. Someone who knew him, a person who sought him out. He had a family with his men and in Marion, though he didn't dare admit it, even to himself, lest he lose her like he had already lost so many, he was beginning to find love. Furthermore, Robin was changing. He had come into the forest trying to survive and he had. He and his men lived like kings, free and happy. Still, something plagued him, and his oath that he had made the Virgin Mary hung on his lips. In stealing from whoever passed through the forest, Robin could see two things. The rich were rich, and the poor were poor. Very poor, actually. With the country stabilizing, too, the rich were getting richer, but the poor remained poor. In time, Robin had started to see himself as part of the problem. Sherwood Forest was increasingly dangerous, and so the town taxes were skyrocketing just to protect the people. And yet, Robin and his band had seen no extra efforts to protect travelers. The government had seemingly done nothing to improve safety, so where was all the money going? Well, to him for one. When the lords and nobles getting fat off the people made their way through the forest, and he robbed them, then, one day, he returned to camp. and found his men fattening themselves, the same way the nobles were. All off the same fund. The people. He knew there had to be more to existence than simply being as comfortable as possible before death arrived.

00:13:03 (someone): The loan sharks might come for him and discover the magic cash string. And if there was anyone who didn't deserve to have it, it was them. If he was able to keep this a secret, he would be able to live as well as help out his city. So, he paid off his loans just enough to not get beaten or dragged before the judge and, ostensibly, lived by his well-crafted brass spoons. At night, though, he became something of a charity vigilante, tossing coins over gates under the cover of darkness, dropping money into beggars' hands, and then disappearing before they looked up. He made pilgrimages to nearby temples in the mountains, secretly putting large sums in all the donation boxes without anyone seeing. Everyone prospered, But no one knew why. We'll see the magic behind the money string and who delivered it, but that will be right after this. One magistrate called the other into his office. Have a seat, the younger man did. Okay, what's up? The magistrate said, well, as he knew, they all like to steal from the money that the people gave for taxes. The younger magistrate smiled. Of course, the all-pervasive corruption was a big part of why he liked working here. The older magistrate nodded, very true. It's just, there have been some complaints. Not from the justice system or the people, they can't do anything. but from the other corrupt officials. They were complaining that someone wasn't taking their unfair share of the people's cash.

00:20:31 (someone): And instead of keeping a secret, he explained absolutely everything in excruciating detail. The children were outraged, the girls because they wouldn't get their riches or husbands, and oh yeah, dad's gonna die, that's totally just as sad. The sons were a bit more honorable and said that they would take their weapons and kill the beast. Then the daughter said, no, it wouldn't do for anyone but Beauty to go. If Beauty hadn't asked for this incredibly selfish and ridiculous gift of a single rose, instead of the much more reasonable and moderate gift of infinitely expensive golden jewels, they wouldn't be in this predicament. Beauty was weeping. She did mention, to her credit, that she didn't want anything but his health, and only said a rose because she was pressed to say something and, in the middle of summer, roses were plentiful. But no, forget it. Wracked with grief that she had caused all of this, that her gift would lead to her father's death, she resolved, of her own volition and her mostly right mind, that she would go into captivity for her father. Okay, so let's talk about coercion here. First, let me just say that Beauty makes an incredibly brave choice to go in her father's place. That being said, almost everyone in her house is saying, basically, dad will die because of a gift he got for you. It's all your fault. You should go. The father was silent, but he will still see her off. and let's not forget that he made the choice to tell them absolutely everything about the beast and the deal.

00:38:16 (someone): She had been honest with him since the beginning. She invited him to humiliate her husband, the king. She didn't think he was being honest with himself about why he accepted the invitation. It wasn't for the winnings, they threw those away or spent them on what? A cobbler's stinking traveling clothes? It wasn't to somehow ingratiate himself with the crown. You don't win points with someone by embarrassing them. Robin accepted the invitation because he needed to feed his own ego. He was the best and everyone had to know it. Well, now they knew it. And the sheriff was about to burn down Sherwood Forest. Congrats. His reward for winning was losing everything. The queen rose and Robin told her to sit. She laughed. She knew Robin wouldn't kill her because she knew he was a good man. The thing is, the people he opposed, those whose laws he broke to help the poor and downtrodden, they weren't good men. And he was now beginning to see what lengths they would go to in order to return to the status quo. The kings, the sheriffs, the bishops, They weren't worried about Robin, not truly. He was just a man. They were worried about what he represented. About his growing group in the forest. They were worried about the normal, everyday people who might listen to a man tell them that things didn't have to be as they were. That they could stand up to oppression.

00:23:56 (someone): So while he was a touch insufferable, with his constant Tobey Maguire Spider-Man 3 dance walking, he was a generous tipper and always gave to the poor. So everyone kinda got over the rest of the stuff. Despite wanting to be known for his dancing abilities, he soon became known, half-mockingly, as The Gambler, which, maybe I'm missing something, doesn't seem like a terrible nickname. The story does get judgy about it, though. It's not that Peter was great at gambling, he was actually pretty terrible, but he just had so much money that, no matter his hand, he could always outbet everyone. The locals caught on quickly. and Peter only challenged travelers, not wanting to anger the people that he had to live by until one night. It was a Sunday night, and both Peter and Ezekiel were relaxed after drinking their weight in wine, and they sat down across the table from each other. I'm not going to bore you with the obvious outcome. and the one glaring vulnerability of wishing that you always have as much money in your pocket as somebody and then winning against them and gambling. This whole thing was something Peter really wanted to sit there and savor. The man he envied so much that he would structure one of his five wishes around was losing to him in cards. The student had become the master. Once again, he didn't realize how paradoxical it was that he would choose to take all the money of the man whose money he always had the exact amount of until he slid all of his winnings into his pocket. Ezekiel, face and hands, looked up. That was everything.

00:13:03 (someone): The loan sharks might come for him and discover the magic cash string. And if there was anyone who didn't deserve to have it, it was them. If he was able to keep this a secret, he would be able to live as well as help out his city. So, he paid off his loans just enough to not get beaten or dragged before the judge and, ostensibly, lived by his well-crafted brass spoons. At night, though, he became something of a charity vigilante, tossing coins over gates under the cover of darkness, dropping money into beggars' hands, and then disappearing before they looked up. He made pilgrimages to nearby temples in the mountains, secretly putting large sums in all the donation boxes without anyone seeing. Everyone prospered, But no one knew why. We'll see the magic behind the money string and who delivered it, but that will be right after this. One magistrate called the other into his office. Have a seat, the younger man did. Okay, what's up? The magistrate said, well, as he knew, they all like to steal from the money that the people gave for taxes. The younger magistrate smiled. Of course, the all-pervasive corruption was a big part of why he liked working here. The older magistrate nodded, very true. It's just, there have been some complaints. Not from the justice system or the people, they can't do anything. but from the other corrupt officials. They were complaining that someone wasn't taking their unfair share of the people's cash.

00:26:33 (someone): There were thousands now. Robin laid underneath the hedges, weighing his options. When he heard a voice, what you doing down there? Robin rolled over to see a middle-aged man wearing a traveler's cloak and looking down at him. Robin shook his head and tried to wave the man off. But the man was intensely curious why Robin was lying on his stomach in the dirt. The man said he was a cobbler, someone who made and repaired shoes. He didn't get out of his shop much, but a farmer needed some help, so here he was. Got paid, too. big fat chicken and a jug of beer. Money would have been nice, but he was just going to spend most of it on chicken and beer, so it kind of worked out. Robin looked up to him. Could not possibly be this easy, could it? He brought out one of his gold coins, some of his winnings from the competition. I could give you money, Robin said. Robin hadn't eaten anything he couldn't forage for nearly a week now. A cold chicken dangling from a cobbler's belt sounded amazing. Robin pulled out two more coins, more than anything the cobbler had earned on any job ever. How much for your clothes? Now, I probably don't need to say this, but when a stranger you meet on the street offers you double your monthly salary for a cold chicken and your clothes, Definitely take them up on that offer. That's free money.

00:05:18 (someone): We are so close to starving here. You have no idea. We're eating watery gruel. And it's true. The only land they could afford was barren nothingness on the edge of civilization. They could grow so little that the gruel was actually starting to taste good. His children wouldn't hear it though, and they kept making ridiculous requests, like clothes, jewels, fancy weapons. The merchant, completely ignoring his children, noticed that the youngest, with the not-at-all-on-the-nose name of Beauty, wasn't saying anything. He went to her and asked if she too wasn't terrible like her older siblings and wasn't going to ask for completely impractical things. She said that the only thing that mattered to her was her father's health and safety. The room went quiet. Ugh, her sibling said, who wishes for their parents' safety? What's her angle? The father was happy that one of his 12 children wasn't a selfish monster and said, no, really, what do you want? Beauty? After thinking for a long moment, decided that she wanted a rose. After a couple years basically in a desert, she had only heard of them. If he had leftover money after buying everything for her siblings, Beauty only wanted a rose. He smiled, kissed his daughter, and left. The other children were confused. Shouldn't he have been writing down what they wanted? Days later, when the merchant made it to the city, he met with his business partners.

00:17:39 (someone): Now was the time. Who knew what power Regan would get after he consumed the heart? And if the man was plotting to betray him, as the bird said, then what choice did Sigurd have? Besides, all the gold. Regan was a greedy man. Sigurd knew this. Since boyhood, the old smith had been talking about Sigurd's wealth. Now he's probably going to become like his brother, killing for Anvari's gold. No, Sigurd didn't just slay a dragon to die at the hands of some sad little man. He popped Gram out of its scabbard and in one motion drew it and lopped off Regan's head before the man could take one bite. His foster father, his tutor since childhood, was dead by his hand. He snatched up the heart and ate part of it. Nothing. No wondrous powers, and the birds were still chattering on. He stored the rest of it in the pack, jumped on Grani, and rode off in the direction of Fafnir's lair, leaving both brothers lying dead beside each other on the path. As an aside, it's worth noting that we never see Regan's motivations, and it's unclear that he really intended to do Sigurd harm. It seems likely, given his preoccupation with Sigurd's wealth throughout the boy's childhood, his manipulation into getting Sigurd to kill Fafnir, and his increasing harshness in dealing with the man. That being said, Sigurd struck first, and whatever truth was in the bird's words will always remain a mystery.

00:24:43 (someone): He embraced death, thanking the man, and then he blinked. A mysterious wind blew at twilight. He was alone in the clearing. Oh, hey, you dozed off and I went to the bathroom, Death said, returning. He said thanks for the ale, but he really should get going. He was Death and this was the Middle Ages.

00:25:05 (someone): He kept busy.

00:25:17 (someone): We'll see what happens when you give a child limitless money and fame, but that, once again, will be right after this. The greatest doctor in the world was on his way, because the princess was sick. Now in his early 40s, the child was no longer a child, but the most renowned doctor in the world. He only had to work pro bono a few times before establishing his reputation. It was lucky that his first few patients weren't fated for death, but soon he was known, at the age of like 13, as someone who could make an expert diagnosis and cure you if it was possible. As a teenager, he was rich beyond his wildest dreams. The kid, who had such strong negative feelings about inequality that he turned down a drink with God, had swung hard in the other direction and was now a big fan of inequality more of that please. I mean as long as he was on the haves side of the haves and have nots. By the time the princess got sick, Even death was a little sick of this guy. Now, though, the doctor saw the opportunity for not just limitless wealth and fame, but power as well. He could be king if only he saved the princess.

00:23:56 (someone): So while he was a touch insufferable, with his constant Tobey Maguire Spider-Man 3 dance walking, he was a generous tipper and always gave to the poor. So everyone kinda got over the rest of the stuff. Despite wanting to be known for his dancing abilities, he soon became known, half-mockingly, as The Gambler, which, maybe I'm missing something, doesn't seem like a terrible nickname. The story does get judgy about it, though. It's not that Peter was great at gambling, he was actually pretty terrible, but he just had so much money that, no matter his hand, he could always outbet everyone. The locals caught on quickly. and Peter only challenged travelers, not wanting to anger the people that he had to live by until one night. It was a Sunday night, and both Peter and Ezekiel were relaxed after drinking their weight in wine, and they sat down across the table from each other. I'm not going to bore you with the obvious outcome. and the one glaring vulnerability of wishing that you always have as much money in your pocket as somebody and then winning against them and gambling. This whole thing was something Peter really wanted to sit there and savor. The man he envied so much that he would structure one of his five wishes around was losing to him in cards. The student had become the master. Once again, he didn't realize how paradoxical it was that he would choose to take all the money of the man whose money he always had the exact amount of until he slid all of his winnings into his pocket. Ezekiel, face and hands, looked up. That was everything.

00:05:15 (someone): Love? Well, not love, so to speak. He didn't really believe that love was anything more than a combination of attachment and the gratification of physical desires. But if he was being honest, he would like some gratification of physical desires, with or without the attachment. The respect of squabbling old men got him a lot of things, but it did not make for a strong dating game. So, he went into the parts of the libraries people didn't go. He traveled to faraway lands. where people were open to different ideas. He dug deep into myths and legends and tales told by travelers at night and slowly pieced together what he must do. He was going to summon a demon. And so, here he was. As we know, a crossroads at midnight was the obvious place to go to meet all sorts of things you absolutely never wanted to meet. And Dr. Faust was ready. Standing before three circles marked with arcane runes and languages no one had spoken for thousands of years, he began the chants. When those were finished, he uttered the words. He said that he renounced God and heaven and swore allegiance to hell. That was when the forest exploded. Dr. Faust was blown clear off his feet, landing sprawled flat on his back. His ears ringing, he looked up at the forest. All the trees that hadn't torn from the ground had snapped at 90 degree angles.

00:14:16 (someone): He was doing fine. But the thing about greed, there's no such thing as fine. As enough. Nolbu cut into the second gourd and braced himself. There weren't any imps this time. There were only overworked public employees and a ton of paperwork. Nobu sat back. Papers, like deeds to his new mansions and stuff? Turned out, no. They were debts. Nobu looked over the papers. He never took this money out. One of the men who had emerged from the gorge shrugged. These papers said he did, and he had to pay up. A quick yell to his attorney in the bank, and yeah. Those debts were due. Didn't matter that Nolblu didn't remember taking them on or that he didn't actually take them on. They were due. The collector returned with two scary looking guys. It was time to pay. Either he paid what the paper said or they would take his house and beat him up. It was a major hit to his finances, but Nolblu paid up to avoid several major hits to his face. The collector and his goons left. Now, if the first gourd contains imps with sticks and the second contains paperwork that drains your savings, just leave well, well, not well enough alone. Just leave completely horrible alone. Of course, Nolbu couldn't do that.

00:14:26 (someone): This just says that no matter where you are in your life, it can get better and sometimes in the most unexpected ways. There are many different versions of the story. One version ends with different gods and goddesses in a drinking contest. There are pears instead of tangerines and the young man gets them when he gives the straw to a pear dealer who shoves it up his nose to stop his nosebleed. It also gives a bit more backstory on the young man. He had been forced out of his parents' home because of poverty and they died. And then he threw himself on the mercy of the goddess. Also, this is a super popular story too. If you've ever played a Zelda game, you've seen the influence of this story with the trading game side quests. Millions of dollars, land, and gold aren't really as cool as the master sword or even the bigron sword, but they're probably a little more useful in modern day life. The next story will show you why it's kind of a bad idea to make a deal with the devil, and that will start right after this. Today's episode is brought to you by Audible.com. Just last week I remembered a book I really liked. It's called Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I can't really sum it up in seconds, but if you've understood any of the sometimes cringy nerdy references I make to 80s movies or D&D, You'll love this book, even if you haven't caught the references, actually. My wife doesn't really fit in the nerdy demographic.

00:20:31 (someone): And instead of keeping a secret, he explained absolutely everything in excruciating detail. The children were outraged, the girls because they wouldn't get their riches or husbands, and oh yeah, dad's gonna die, that's totally just as sad. The sons were a bit more honorable and said that they would take their weapons and kill the beast. Then the daughter said, no, it wouldn't do for anyone but Beauty to go. If Beauty hadn't asked for this incredibly selfish and ridiculous gift of a single rose, instead of the much more reasonable and moderate gift of infinitely expensive golden jewels, they wouldn't be in this predicament. Beauty was weeping. She did mention, to her credit, that she didn't want anything but his health, and only said a rose because she was pressed to say something and, in the middle of summer, roses were plentiful. But no, forget it. Wracked with grief that she had caused all of this, that her gift would lead to her father's death, she resolved, of her own volition and her mostly right mind, that she would go into captivity for her father. Okay, so let's talk about coercion here. First, let me just say that Beauty makes an incredibly brave choice to go in her father's place. That being said, almost everyone in her house is saying, basically, dad will die because of a gift he got for you. It's all your fault. You should go. The father was silent, but he will still see her off. and let's not forget that he made the choice to tell them absolutely everything about the beast and the deal.

00:29:49 (someone): This story begs some consideration, though, because the story of Daedalus and Icarus is held up for its moral lessons. Searching around, I found grade school and high school curriculums that talked about the story and mentioned the morals of listen to your elders and do everything in moderation, which are good things to do. That being said, Icarus's elder was a murderer, on the run, who had helped create a super prison for a king who was the enemy of his homeland. And the whole lesson of moderation is great, but they were flying. You can't give someone that sort of power and then maintain the moral high ground when they stretch its capabilities to the limits. Daedalus created these things of great power and simply handed them off to the people. He washes his hands of responsibility, and history largely blames the people to whom he gave the technology. We see Minos as a bad king, feeding people to the Minotaur, and some of the stories paint the wife as lustful and responsible for the beast, and Icarus as a living metaphor for overexcitement and overreach. But without Daedalus, none of it would be possible. None of the things he created were good for anyone, except only for him, and then only for a short time. He's entirely unscrupulous, and he doesn't seem to care who gets his inventions, or what happens to them, as long as he gets to solve a cool problem, and gain the renown of doing so. He's so despicable because he isn't evil.

00:32:24 (someone): It was the head of household. So that's how, by following the farmer's advice, Jowon ended up living in a mansion and earning five sovereigns a year after Guavas had gifted him the purse. Jowon gave the purse to his sister and brother-in-law for their years of kindness, and they prepared a homecoming celebration for Jowon. Jowon was so happy that he almost forgot about the cake, the one the farmer told him not to eat, except when he was feeling the most joyous. He didn't imagine it could get much better than this. He set the cake down on the table, and his wife grabbed the knife. She cut it, and nine golden sovereigns fell out. Everything that he had earned, everything he had thought he had given away for advice that, yeah, had actually been kind of worth it, had been with him the whole time. A lot of stories are about the benefits of wisdom over money, but most of them go the way of the character choosing money at first, with their life going horribly, until they realize at the end of it that they should have chosen wisdom. I like this one because Jowon chooses wisdom at the outset, when things are really hard for him, but it pays off. And yeah, I think we've talked about it before, but the whole wisdom being better than money thing is, to paraphrase Rick and Morty, just getting money with extra steps because anyone who does choose wisdom does end up rich in the end and that's the whole lesson anyway. The third story today is a super short one that we originally told on the member podcast. It fit the theme and I've always liked it for some reason, so here you go. The man's axe. It was missing.

00:38:16 (someone): She had been honest with him since the beginning. She invited him to humiliate her husband, the king. She didn't think he was being honest with himself about why he accepted the invitation. It wasn't for the winnings, they threw those away or spent them on what? A cobbler's stinking traveling clothes? It wasn't to somehow ingratiate himself with the crown. You don't win points with someone by embarrassing them. Robin accepted the invitation because he needed to feed his own ego. He was the best and everyone had to know it. Well, now they knew it. And the sheriff was about to burn down Sherwood Forest. Congrats. His reward for winning was losing everything. The queen rose and Robin told her to sit. She laughed. She knew Robin wouldn't kill her because she knew he was a good man. The thing is, the people he opposed, those whose laws he broke to help the poor and downtrodden, they weren't good men. And he was now beginning to see what lengths they would go to in order to return to the status quo. The kings, the sheriffs, the bishops, They weren't worried about Robin, not truly. He was just a man. They were worried about what he represented. About his growing group in the forest. They were worried about the normal, everyday people who might listen to a man tell them that things didn't have to be as they were. That they could stand up to oppression.

00:25:33 (someone): Ezekiel, face and hands, looked up. That was everything. Could he ask Peter for just a small loan to pay off his rent this month? Peter dipped his hand into his pocket with an, of course, But then he himself froze. Yeah, he always had as much money as Ezekiel and since he had made Ezekiel destitute, he was now destitute. His hand came out empty. and Ezekiel shook his head. He couldn't believe Peter's selfishness to have all that money, yet refused to help out someone in need. Peter begged him to wait, but no one believed him. Even when he showed them his empty pockets, they were convinced that it was some sort of wizardry. that he had transported it home by magic. Ezekiel said he would tell everyone in the Black Forest that Peter was a wizard and he would probably be burned. Peter was still too shocked by his turn of fortune to respond, but Ezekiel and his buddies gave him a parting gift, a punch in the stomach and a tear in his jacket, before throwing him out on the road. For a couple of days, Peter prayed that Ezekiel's luck would turn, so that his own luck would turn, but it never came. Then, his mother, who had a whole side story of her own that we're not going to go into, but now that she had money on behalf of her son, refused to sit by her old friends in church, wanting to associate with, quote, a better class of people. Both Peter and his mom had some growing to do, I guess.

00:28:17 (someone): Spear points once again being a real encouragement, the queen started dancing, each step filled with quite literally searing pain, as the iron fused with her feet. In the end, I don't know if it was hours or days, but Snow White made her treacherous mother dance until she died. The end. So that's the original story of Snow White. I should say that the 1857 revision doesn't have the servants becoming angry and smacking Snow White. Instead, when the prince takes her to leave the dwarves, he jostles her just right to dislodge the apple. I guess that saves him from having to explain weeks of watching her sleep. In addition, in the 1857 version, the evil stepmother, remember Snow White's mom had died in that version, well the evil stepmother had just led her astray in the forest. instead of the vastly more reasonable and sane plan of ordering a huntsman to murder the girl so that the queen could eat her liver and lungs. I can see why the 1857 version is the vastly more popular one for adaptations. The last story today is Bluebeard. And I'm actually not going to spend too long on it. It's a fairly well-known one, and it's fairly predictable. It's another one where the most famous version was collected by Charles Perrault, the French author that I mentioned earlier in the episode. But there are different versions of the story from all over the world. There was once a man who had many horses, coaches, silver, gold, and of course, embroidered furniture. He was so unlucky, though,

00:34:08 (someone): The first where he's an unrepentant murderous cutthroat, The second is our current one, where he robs from the rich and actually gives to the poor. And the third, dealing with some of the later literary traditions. We're fast approaching the end of his career in the second phase, with the stories we haven't gone over just kind of being rehashes of the stories we have told. I think we'll be able to finish this before the year is out, but it will be a wild ride. Next week, we're in Japanese folklore with the very famous story of the Moonlight Princess that was adapted into a movie by Studio Ghibli. The creature this week is Tesso, from Japanese folklore. In the 13th century, the emperor of Japan wanted a son. What emperor doesn't? So he asked a monk to pray for the birth of an heir. The monk, Raigo, followed the Joker's exhortation, that if you're good at something, never do it for free. And he bargained that, if the emperor had a son, he would get a new ordination platform for his temple. The emperor agreed, and so the monk threw himself into prayers and meditation, and eventually, Emperor Shirigawa had a son. The monk went to the emperor, asking when the construction could begin, but the emperor only grimaced. about that. You see, a rival monk faction in that sect of Buddhism didn't want the peaceful monks getting a new platform.

00:24:03 (someone): Finally, Robin had someone too. Someone who knew him, a person who sought him out. He had a family with his men and in Marion, though he didn't dare admit it, even to himself, lest he lose her like he had already lost so many, he was beginning to find love. Furthermore, Robin was changing. He had come into the forest trying to survive and he had. He and his men lived like kings, free and happy. Still, something plagued him, and his oath that he had made the Virgin Mary hung on his lips. In stealing from whoever passed through the forest, Robin could see two things. The rich were rich, and the poor were poor. Very poor, actually. With the country stabilizing, too, the rich were getting richer, but the poor remained poor. In time, Robin had started to see himself as part of the problem. Sherwood Forest was increasingly dangerous, and so the town taxes were skyrocketing just to protect the people. And yet, Robin and his band had seen no extra efforts to protect travelers. The government had seemingly done nothing to improve safety, so where was all the money going? Well, to him for one. When the lords and nobles getting fat off the people made their way through the forest, and he robbed them, then, one day, he returned to camp. and found his men fattening themselves, the same way the nobles were. All off the same fund. The people. He knew there had to be more to existence than simply being as comfortable as possible before death arrived.