Role

Chapter 5

Therisa was born three years before her parents inherited the Graremeth farm.
Her parents loved her dearly, and had plans to teach her the art of planting
and reaping the crops. The great cycle of life. But sadly, all of that
changed shortly after they inherited the farm. Therisa's father was not
willing to allow the abuse of their farm to continue, and vowed to put a
stop to it. He confronted the men who were claiming to protect them, and
told them that they could protect themselves. Shortly afterward, bad things
began to happen. Therisa's aunt was found murdered at one of the vegetable
stands, her money robbed and her inventory destroyed. Robberies of the
stands and shipments increased dramatically. It was all too clear what the
cause of the new problems was, and soon enough the men came back to offer
"protection" to the farm again. Therisa's father was not a weak man, and
was stubborn in many ways. He believed that hard work should pay off, and
that those who do not earn their money will surely not prosper. He refused
to pay the money.
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It took only a short amount of time before the first of the family began to
leave the Galadon area. Bad things continued to happen to the farm and
family, and Therisa's father was not giving in. Some of the family left for
Hillcrest, and others for neighboring towns. But those who stayed lived in
fear. Many more accidents occurred, and yet Therisa's father did not give in.
Therisa was growing older now, and her father and mother taught her the ways
of farmlife, the sowing and reaping of crops, the tilling of the earth. But
this experience was always colored by the dark times which were upon them,
and Therisa was always aware of the bad things happening. One day Therisa
came home from an errant to find the farm in flames, her father and mother
desperately trying to douse the flames with what water they could find.
After that, the rest of the family fled the area, leaving only Therisa and
her parents in the burned out remains of their home on the outskirts of
Galadon. They had saved a bit of money and intended to use that to get by
while they rebuilt their lives, but it was not long before the thieves
were at their door at the house they rented, this time demanding money they
claimed they were owed from the farm. Therisa's father refused, and even
went to the local magistrates to try to protect his family, but the law
seemed blind to their troubles.