Renard had heard a little about the Demon Disaster. It was a great calamity that had occurred more than twenty years ago, and it had nearly toppled the rule of the newly established Kingdom of Arthur.
Yet everyone in Saint Brieuc Fortress who knew about it seemed to have been forbidden to speak of it. They were never willing to bring it up.
"Damn the Demon Disaster." Colliver was bleary-eyed with drink, and a few traces of savagery crept into his expression. He muttered to himself, "If it weren't for that, I'd be at home now, enjoying the comforts of family life."
Renard asked curiously, "What exactly was the Demon Disaster?"
"You don't even know about the Demon Disaster?" The tavern keeper seemed even more surprised than he was, then nodded in understanding. "You're only fifteen or sixteen, so it's normal not to know."
After saying that, the other man fell silent, as if he had no intention of explaining—or perhaps he thought it wasn't a secret at all, and that everyone ought to know.
Colliver gulped down two mouthfuls of liquor and pointed toward the door with his thumb. "If you want to know what the Demon Disaster was, go take a look at the north side of the city."
The north side? Renard was a little confused. "What's there?"
"Ruins," the tavern keeper replied without even looking up.
Then he sank into his memories. "That used to be the most prosperous part of the City of Abundance. Two commercial streets ran through the whole city, lined with shops. Every year, they brought the Lord's Mansion more than two thousand gold coins in tax revenue..."
Two thousand gold coins? Renard's mouth fell open despite himself. That was as much as the Duncan Family's total tax revenue over ten years.