Dear Vonnegot Moore,

I have been troubled of late.  You likely think this is about Marie.  I
know I wrote to you at great length a year ago when she perished.  And
though her loss still weighs heavily upon me, the subject of this letter
is only tangentially related to her passing.  You see, I confided certain
things to her and to no other.  Whenever I felt the need to discuss
these things, she was always there.  And I have badly felt the need to
discuss them in recent weeks.  Vonnegot, you are my truest friend, and
the one soul other than Marie I can trust.  Please forgive me for placing
this burden upon your shoulders, but I do not know what I shall do if I
keep them bottled up any longer.

My tale begins almost ten years ago, at the celebration of Eikre's
induction into the Upper Echelon.  I need not describe to you the
fineries of the event; you know as well as I how Eikre spared no expense
on that occasion.  The evening wore on like a dream for some hours. 
Then, Drake Tavin, perhaps having tipped back too much Ralleau, made a
veiled comment about the guest of honor's background.

We were all outraged at the indiscretion.  The mention of such vile
rumors has no place at a dinner table!  However, Eikre, placid as ever,
insisted on hearing what Tavin had to say.  Drake, as you recall, was
the only member of the five man committee to vote against Eikre's
admission into the Upper Echelon.  He claimed that allowing the son of
Delphius back into the nobility was bad enough, but that inviting him
into the Upper Echelon was an insult.

All of us had heard the rumors of Delphius, but none of us actually took
them seriously.  Only Tavin seemed to truly believe them.  We expected
Eikre would lash back violently, or at least deny the slander.  Instead,
he took the words with the same inhuman stoic we have all come to know.
He rose and spoke.

"I see.  You seek to deny me the nobility because of my father's
actions.  You deem what he did so many years ago an abomination so foul
that I, his progeny, have been tainted.  And if the rumors were the
beginning and the end of the story, I would find it difficult to
disagree.  However, the story you have heard, I imagine, is incomplete. 
Where do you believe the incident transpired?"

Tavin answered with what we had all heard: that Delphius's darkest
moments had transpired at his seaside cottage.  Eikre slowly walked
around the table and began to recount the chilling tale.

"No.  The incident took place on a ship, in the middle of the Stal
Ocean.  Ironically, the vessel was dubbed The Bounty.  My father and
mother had planned a marvelous voyage for my family.  My sister and I,
both twelve at the time, had sailed before, but my younger brother, a
boy of only six years, had never known such an experience.  What was
more, the trip was to waters that had yet to be charted; a delightful
expedition into the unknown.  All my family looked forward to the
sailing holiday.

"However, a day before we were to set out, my sister and I came down
with a fever.  My parents insisted on delaying the voyage for two days,
and then spoke of calling off the trip.  We knew how much our younger
brother had looked forward to it, and so  refused to delay it any
further.  Disappointed, but dutiful, we insisted our parents take him
and leave us behind to recover.  Reluctantly, they consented, and left
us.

"As a crew, they had hired a captain and three other sea dogs.  All
seemed as though it would flow smoothly, netting our parents and brother
an enjoyable two-week vacation.  And, at first, things seemed to go
according to plan.  My father enjoyed his break from work, my mother
rejoiced at finally being on the high seas again, and my brother adored
what he thought would be his first of many happy outings on the sea.

"Alas, after only three days, things ran afoul.  The captain predicted
that a storm was on the way, but, an experienced seaman, he presumed the
vessel was sturdy enough to outlast it, should they fail to avoid it.
Though quite right about the storm itself, he had greatly underestimated
its destructive capabilities.  Calling it the worst squall they had ever
glimpsed, the captain and the others insisted my family stay below deck,
while they attempted to ride out the storm.  My family remained below
until daybreak.

"The sea was as calm that morning as it had been violent the night
before.  Unfortunately, the new sunlight also illuminated the grim
consequences of the storm: the mast and sail lay in tatters, and not a
member of the crew remained on board.  For the sake of their son, my
father and mother acted as though everything would be fine.  They told
him the trip would simply last a bit longer than expected.

"Neither foresaw how much longer, however.  Without the other sailors,
they managed to make the food last just over seven weeks.  It is somewhat
fortunate that my father had brought an enormous quantity of water; I
can at least take some small comfort in knowing my family did not suffer
the pangs of thirst as they starved.

"I shudder when I think on the horror of those next three weeks.  How
their eyes must have watched their fat and muscle slowly shrivel,
leaving them skeletal ghasts.  How hunger must have incessantly gnawed at
their bellies.  How their hope must have faded a little more with each
passing day.  How the bitter irony of their voyage's intent must have
torn at them.

"Finally, my mother could no longer bear her child's suffering.  No
doubt, her thoughts were also on my sister and me, understanding the
pain we would feel at losing both our parents.  She recognized that my
father had the greatest chance of surviving the hell at sea, and so she
made a desperate request: she asked my father to kill her and my brother
and to then eat their flesh.

"My father was not the monster you imagine him to be.  He refused.  Even
if it meant being taken by Quietus, he would not harm his family under
any circumstances.  My mother knew he would never make the choice she
had asked him to make.  And so she made it for him.  With a body no
longer able to produce tears, she summoned her final reserves of
strength, seized my father's dagger and killed my brother.  She then
gazed sorrowfully into his eyes and asked of him her final request: "Let
not the deaths of your wife and son be in vain."  With those last words,
she killed herself.

"Can you imagine his pain, watching his wife and child die before him,
knowing that the sole way to give their deaths meaning was to devour
them?  Can you imagine his anguish, slicing off the flesh from his kin
as a butcher carves meat from swine?  Can you imagine his torment,
spending another week on that lifeless barge with the desecrated bodies
of his loved ones as his only company?

"He was found a half-dead madman.  His health returned, to an extent,
but his sanity was forever lost.  My sister and I tried repeatedly to
return him to the way he was, but in vain.  From his constant ramblings
and ravings, we pieced together the tragic story.  One year after the
fateful day The Bounty set sail, he joined our mother and brother."

A hush fell over the room for a very long time.  Then, Eikre did
something that I believe we all found quite curious, but were too lost
in thought about the horrible tale to comment.  By that time, he had
walked several times around the table, finally pausing by Tavin's chair.
He bent down and whispered something into Drake's ear.  He then
announced that he was tired and retired, wishing us a good night.  As
you remember, we all departed without a word.

The following afternoon, I went to pay Drake a visit, hoping to have a
friendly lunch with him for the first time in weeks.  I never got the
chance, however.  The police at his house informed me that Drake was
dead and that his wife and daughter were missing.  So far as I know, the
investigation went no further than claiming a man had entered his home,
killed him, and kidnapped the women.  No satisfactory motivations nor
were any suspects ever identified.

After his funeral, the majority of his possessions were given to various
charities.  However, the keeper of his last will and testament
approached me in secret after the official reading.  I was told that a
last-minute addition had been made to his will.  Drake had always
considered me his dearest friend; the will's instructions were to
privately entrust me with a letter and a parcel.  The letter informed me
that the parcel contained his family's most valuable heirloom, and that I
was to hide it away, never to open or speak of it.  I complied with his
instructions on the package's storage, but I regret that I was unable to
grant Drake's request of true secrecy.  If I were only stronger...

Regardless, the confusion I felt over the the parcel's directions paled
in comparison to my horror at the rest of the letter's contents. 
Eikre's private words to Tavin were as follows: "I hope you enjoyed my
humiliation; that outburst was the last thing you will ever do.  Before
the next sunset, you shall be dead.  Do not attempt to flee the city or
share a word of this with anyone.  If you do, your wife and child will
be separated and sold into the filthiest brothels I can find."

For so long, this knowledge has tormented me.  I am truly sorry for
burdening you with this.  Please, forgive me, Vonnegot.

                                                       Your dear friend,
                                                       Samuel Gregorous

        -          -          -          -          -          -        

Dear Samuel Gregorous,

No doubt you were quite surprised to receive a letter from me.  I can
imagine your surprise turned very rapidly to abject terror when you
found your letter to Moore enclosed.  Had you only made the same choice
as he, you would receive no end of praise and glory from me.  However,
you did not.  Let me assure you that you will soon look back with fond
nostalgia on the days of lamenting your precious Marie and of
shouldering the weight of Tavin's final note.

However, I am not completely without heart.  Donate to me all your
worldly possessions and, so far as the nobility is concerned, disappear.
Do so and I shall grant you a small sum, a parcel of farmland, and my
word that I shall never again interfere with your life.  Decline my
offer and your fate will be whispered in the darkness of taverns, just
another testament to the cruelty of Lord Eikre.

Further, I am willing to do you an incredible kindness.  If you pass to
me the parcel Tavin bequeathed to you, I give you my word that anything
in the House of Atreus shall be yours.  As it shall be your one amenity,
I advise you to think very carefully about your selection.

I shall wait one week for your choice.  If I hear nothing, consider both
of my generous offers withdrawn.

                                                         Eikre of Atreus