tale THE TALE OF GOTTLIEB

[BuilderBagel 1203]

THE

 TALE OF GOTTLIEB

 

---

Art depicting the hamlet of Gottlieb.

---

DIE GESCHICHTE VON GOTTLIEB | THE TALE OF GOTTLIEB

Raised by Owinrichite monks
In the Age of Frost

Transcribed by Aelfwin von Kretzen

In the year of our Lord 1982

---

 

Medieval II Total War Music "The Widow"

 

---

 

 

ÖHNE UND TÖCHTER VON REINMAR,

HARK THESE TALES INSCRIBED ON STONE, KINSMEN. I have transcribed the Runespire of Gottlieb, a man ensnared by his own venomous greed, who forsaking his sacred duties of charity and hospitality, incurred the wrath of the LORD. Thus was he smitten for his sinful transgressions. Yet, in the depths of his chastisement, he beheld the light of GOD and repented, turning from darkness to walk in righteousness.

---

 

THE TALE OF THE SINNER

Art depicting Gottlieb with looters.

Long ago, dwelt a wicked man of the Rein named Gottlieb. Detestable and distant from GOD, his heart harbored naught but desires for pleasures of the flesh and riches. Hörn's God nor the revered spirits of the forests, rivers, and skies found place within him, nor did he extend care to his Reinmaren brethren.

 

When his kinsmen rode off to war, Gottlieb followed from a distance, a craven shadow lurking in their wake. When the battles ceased, he seized the spoils rightfully owed to the warriors, for in his heart, tradition and honor held no sway against his covetous desires.
 

When his chief called for grain, and the Reeve arrived to collect the rightful dues owed, Gottlieb deceitfully yielded only a paltry portion from among the farmers, hoarding the lion's share of grain for himself.

 

"What good would it do me to give my grain to the chief? I ought to keep it for myself!" Gottlieb would mutter in his wickedness, indifferent to the fate of those in need—the widowed and orphaned left by the chief's wars, and the warriors who safeguarded his hamlet from raiders.

 

When the tribe gathered to receive bread from their chief, Gottlieb's covetous nature consumed him. Despite receiving his own share, he coveted the bread of his kinsmen, surreptitiously taking loaves, pieces, and any morsel he could grasp when eyes were turned away. Far from content to be a humble freeholder for his chief, he chose instead the path of a thief.
 

"Damnable fools should've kept their eyes on their bread! Why leave it out if you do not wish for it to be taken?" Gottlieb would guffaw, his arms laden with stolen loaves as he returned to his hovel, leaving hunger and resentment in his wake among the tribesmen.

 

Throughout his wickedness, Gottlieb bolstered the strength of the Denier, his increasing distance from GOD became no longer tolerable in the eyes of the divine, and the LORD’s angels divised a plan to bring the sinner to the path of righteousness.

---

THE TALE OF THE WAYFARER

Art depicting the disguised angel.

On the coldest day of winter, a knock resounded at the door of Gottlieb's hamlet. Suffering from the sin of sloth, he had been sleeping instead of attending to his prayers when he was abruptly awakened. Irritated, he pondered a litany of curses to hurl at whoever dared to interrupt his usual sinful pursuits.

When he opened his door, Gottlieb beheld a shivering pilgrim—a man who seemed destined not to survive the winter unless Gottlieb intervened.

"Humble farmer of the Rein! May I enter your home? May I warm myself by your hearth until this frost passes?" asked the pilgrim, whose face bore an open and guileless expression. No trace of ill intent could be discerned from the man, and Gottlieb could sense his innocence.

“Gah! And give space to you? It’s my damn space!” Gottlieb hissed back in his selfishness.

The pilgrim showed no malice upon being denied, nor did he seek to assert himself over Gottlieb's space. Instead, he made another, more 'acceptable' request. "Then your space it shall be! May I at least have some of your bread? To fill and strengthen me on my journey."

"My bread? No, it is my bread! The bread I earned! Away with you, beggar, and may the frost take you!" the sinner yelled at the pilgrim before slamming his door shut. In his selfishness, Gottlieb had condemned the man to death, thus making himself a murderer in spirit if not in deed.

With the deed done, Gottlieb returned to his bed and attempted to return to his slumber. Rest eluded him throughout the night and into the following morning. Instead of comfort, he was tormented by aches and pains, his once-comfortable bed now offering no respite.

For a fortnight, his restlessness persisted, tormenting him day and night. Finally, after two weeks had passed, exhaustion began to claim Gottlieb. Yet as he finally started to slip into sleep, a sudden gust tore his sturdy wooden door from its hinges. The bitter winds of winter invaded Gottlieb's once-warm dwelling, filling it with the very frost he had condemned his victim to face.

Upon the morrow, Gottlieb awoke to find his bed collapsed, leaving him resting on mere strands of straw. As he reached for his morning meal, he discovered he had no bread left; he had been robbed, just as he had robbed others. Now he was the fool who had failed to watch over his own belongings.

Gottlieb cursed every god he could name, every deity he had been taught to fear but instead scorned. As the frost bit at his worn skin, he screamed his curses louder and louder, until either his house collapsed under the weight of his rage or it was taken as a punishment from the LORD.

Now the sinner was left with no shelter, no dwelling, and no respite, experiencing the same plight as the pilgrim he had callously condemned. Gottlieb continued to utter his curses as he wandered the lands of the Rein, seeking what had been justly taken from him. He approached dwellings and begged for aid, but all who lived by the Rein knew of Gottlieb's wickedness and turned him away.

He trudged for seven days and seven nights, each step a torment of suffering. Eventually, he resigned himself to death and cursed GOD. As he lay in the winter snow, a sudden warmth enveloped him. Opening his eyes, he searched for the source and found himself face to face with the pilgrim, who now revealed himself as an angel of the LORD.

“Wicked sinner!” greeted the angel, his voice booming with the authority and majesty of the LORD. Feeling the power and grace of GOD, Gottlieb fell to his knees, bowing before the divine presence. “You have suffered as those you stole from have suffered! You have been made to suffer as the pilgrim suffered! You have been made to starve like the innocents you condemned to starvation!”

Gottlieb prepared himself for divine retribution, now fully grasping the weight of his sins. As he resigned himself to death, he understood he now faced judgement under the watchful eyes of the LORD.

"The LORD GOD is the most merciful, the most powerful, the most graceful. Do you resolve yourself to walk in His light? To act as He desires you to act? Will you no longer condemn others to suffering, but instead grant them respite and hospitality?" asked the angel, seeking to guide Gottlieb towards redemption in the eyes of GOD.

"Yes! Sinner I shall be no longer!" cried Gottlieb in reply, kneeling before the angel. The LORD sensed the remorse in his once-wicked son, and forgave him. The angel then returned Gottlieb to the ruins of his hamlet, where the penitent sinner slept atop the thatch that once had been his roof.

Once he awoke the following morning, Gottlieb discovered his home fully restored and all his belongings returned. However, with a newfound resolve, he committed himself to acts of charity. He vowed to return everything he had taken unjustly and to extend hospitality to those he had wronged.

In the following days, tales of Gottlieb's charity echoed throughout the Rein. He became known as Gottlieb the Generous, no longer tainted by his past as a thief. He found himself rewarded ten-fold for his righteous deeds. However, in his newfound righteousness, Gottlieb kept only what he needed and generously gave his excess to the needy and the suffering.

---

 

 

WER RASTET, DER ROSTET

AELFWIN VON KRETZEN

 

[Toffee 2843]

Adalfriede read upon the ancient runestone, reflecting on how all Reinmaren should treat visitors as though they were disguised messengers from the Lord most high.