Matsko had never imagined that one day, he would return to White Bear Territory.
White Bear Territory was the homeland where he had been born and raised.
Yet at fourteen, he had abandoned his native soil, secretly hiding aboard a merchant's grain ship and fleeing to the City of Freedom he had long dreamed of—Three Rivers City.
He had refused to accept a serf's life with its end visible at a glance. He had refused to endure the joint exploitation of the overseers and Farm Managers, and he had been even less willing to toil endlessly for the Lord year after year.
He despised the village that was forever steeped in stench, and he despised his parents, who were forever grimy and dusty.
He wanted to break free from his shackles. He wanted to get rich. He wanted to drape himself in expensive sable fur.
He wanted to become someone above others, like the Lord.
But those dreams had been destined to remain beyond his reach if he stayed in White Bear Territory.
So he fled without hesitation.
He abandoned his parents, and his younger brother and sister as well.
By stowing away, he successfully set foot in Three Rivers City.
He saw the splendor of a city unlike anything he had ever seen in his life.
He breathed the air of freedom he had never tasted before.
No farm manager would whip him before dawn and bark, "Get up and work!"
He danced with joy at the docks.
Farewell forever, cage!
But soon enough, the city's cruel side dealt him a crushing blow.
Everything in the city cost money, and prices were several times higher than in White Bear Territory.
The price of one bowl of rye porridge could buy half a sack of rye in White Bear Territory.