Introducing the The Tales of King Ogdazh (Ogdaj)

The Scribe of Pahndalor welcomes you to the Tales of King Ogdazh. King Ogdazh, ruler of the people of Altai, was known for his great wisdom and strength. For generations, the tales of the great King have guided the hearts and spirits our people as they are said to hold the power of divination, guiding all those who read them to their destiny. So read these stories with great care and be watchful in the coming days, as the power of destiny unveils itself before you.

May the wisdom of the King guide you



The ninth tale: The King and the innkeeper.

Sometimes the King would venture into the villages in disguise, to spy on his subjects and to see what mischief was about. On such a day, the King went to an inn in one of the smaller villages. There, in front of the inn, he decided to sit and beg for money. The innkeeper was a brutish man, with one eye always squinting, looking quite sinister and was indeed very bitter. "What do you think you are doing in front of my inn!? Begging?" No sooner did the King try to answer that he was being chased away with a broom. The King returned the next day and began to beg again. "What? You again!" But before the King could plead his case, again he was chased away.
The following day the King returned, but this time before the inn opened. As the keeper opened the inn, he found the King outside sweeping the entrance.
"What do you think you're doing?" The keeper had to wait for an answer since his broom was no longer available.
"Sweeping, sir."
"What for?....Oh, you think I'll give you something in return do you? Well you can sweep all you like but you'll get nothing from me!" And with that the innkeeper returned to his affairs.
The next morning when the innkeeper stepped outside, he fell on a most shocking sight. The entrance had been swept, the sign had been cleaned and repainted, and there was a soft and sweet fragrance in the air: flowers of every color now adorned the entrance of the inn. But the King was not there, he looked around to see where the beggar had gone. Suddenly, there he was running towards the inn with buckets of water. The King set them down and began washing the walls from the outside.
"Hmph!" The innkeeper exclaimed. "Still playing housemaid. Well you don't work for me so do as you like for nothing is what you'll get.!" And with that he left again.
As the days went by and the King tidied more and more, the innkeper noticed that more patrons arrived and soon invited the King to do the same inside, if he wished, but still for nothing. The inn flourished, the innkeeper was happy. The King even became to be known as he greeted all the patrons coming in and out of the inn.
"What luck to find such a fool to make me rich!"
The next morning, the innkeeper stepped outside expecting to find his willing slave and had even brought him food his dogs had left uneaten. But the King was nowhere to be found. He waited a while, and still nothing. Until, he was pushed out of the way from behind. The innkeeper fell, only to see the King leisurely walking away with a chest.
"Wait!! That's mine! THIEF!! THIEF!! he's taking all my money!!!!!" The King had rounded a corner. All the villagers came, as did the town guard, to see. "The fool, he took my money chest and went that way! ''But when the guardsmen went to see round the corner, no one could be found. The innkeeper was furious, he went inside with the guardsmen to see what else was missing, and could be heard hollaring from all quarters of the place. As he reached his safe, he saw that it had been broken into.
"So what was this man's name so what we may search for him?" Asked on of the guards.
"How should I know?"
"Did he not work for you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then what was he doing all day cleaning and fixing the inn."
"What he wanted. I never asked, and told him he would get nothing from me!" The innkeeper said hotly. The guards gave each other a satisfied look and continued to look about the room for clues.
"Well, he didn't take everything." said another guard, pointing behind the keeper at the broken safe. Indeed, there was something, shiny there where his chest once was. When he got closer, he saw that it was a big bar of gold. Worth far more than what had been stolen. The innkeeper's eyes gleamed greedily."Oh happy day! You truly are the King of fools, whatever your name is!" But there was something more, an inscription: "don't forget to share." it said. The innkeeper read it and scoffed. As the guardsmen approached to see. The keeper clutched it tightly and yelled for them all to leave now. The innkeeper was enormously happy his fortune had multiplied by a thousand, but he did not know what to do next. "Hmmm....Ah yes, I shall build another inn, and be richer. If only I could find more fool slaves." he snickered. "But where to take the gold to be parted, I cannot trust anyone, they’ll all try to take it from me."
As the days went on, the innkeeper never parted with his gold, not even to sleep. The safe remained broken but he cared not. Soon, he had withdrawn completely, suspecting that his patrons my try to steal it, or even kill him in his sleep. So he slept not, did not tend to his inn and soon all his patrons were gone, his inn was shabby again and all those who worked there went away. But the innkeeper had his bar, though he did not eat, or wash or sleep for fear of being caught unawares. He soon started to become mad, talking to his precious bar, he could even be heard fighting with it, cursing its evil hold. But still, he would not part with it. Finally, the madness broke him, one morning, exhausted from a night hysterics, he rose without taking his bar with him. When he returned from the bathroom, he realized he had not taken it, but when he looked at his bed it was not there. In a wild panic he went thrashing about the inn to find it, screaming thief, thief!! Unable to find it, and with no one coming to help, he took a large axe to see if it was not hiding inside a wall somewhere. As he came near the broken safe, where he had first found the bar, he decided to rest and sat for a while. He looked around the room and realized that everything he owned was gone. 'I have nothing left, not even a place to sit in my own inn, all because of that cursed gold!' He then leapt up, realizing that he was sitting on something. He turned to look, and there it was, of all things, his old money chest. He fell to his knees weeping in relief, the gold was lost but he did not care, it's burden had been to great and he was joyous to find what he once had. And then, as though waking from a long and twisted dream, he looked at his inn and could not believe what he had done to it. 'It will be alright, with what I have in my chest, I will make this inn as it was.' He went to open the chest and like on the bar of gold, he found words carved on it. "Don't forget to share." The innkeeper gasped at this sight, remembering the one he called a fool and then broke into happy, grateful laughter.
A week later, the inn had reopened. The entrance was clean and fresh from the scent of flowers. The walls were freshly painted inside and out, and at the door the innkeeper, comely and clean was there to greet all those who came. He had even renamed the inn, it was now "The Fool's Inn". The keeper prospered and word quickly spread of the inn with the funny name with the kindest, most generous keeper. For his wealth he now shared with all.
One night, the King, his family and the court arrived at the inn to dine, for it had become truly famous. The keeper, who was at the door could not believe that the King had to come to his inn, he bowed to the King most reverently, and when he rose their eyes met and the innkeeper was overcome by a strange feeling. Some how, he knew this face from another time but could not understand how, since he had never seen the King before.
The King spoke to break the strange silence. "Are you the keeper?'
"Yes my lord, I welcome you and your...."
"Why is it called the fools inn?" The King interrupted. The keeper lowered his head smiling, his eyes welling with tears.
"I named it after a dear friend."
"I see, well then, I suppose tonight I will be the King of fools."

From the Legends of Altai Volume 1, The tales of King Ogdazh: Book of Divination copyright 2008