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| In primary school, Nurse Travers reads the orphans stories from myths and legends of the citadel, including the story of Reg Margin and the tricksy jester [[Vlad Paripasu]]. | | In primary school, Nurse Travers reads the orphans stories from myths and legends of the citadel, including the story of Reg Margin and the tricksy jester [[Vlad Paripasu]]. |
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| Vlad thrown out of Transylvania for rentseeking saved himself when discovered stealing by ungainly giant, Reg Margin.
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| Reg is a local thief — none too smart — and makes a living poaching game from the royal hunting grounds. One day, when checking his traps, he stumbles upon Vlad, a strange and alien looking creature camping out in the Bretton Woods and is roasting a hare he has taken from Reg’s trap. Reg snatches the trickster and is about to do him great injury but Vlad, a quick thinker, offers Reg some of his haul and, which he credulously takes, only to be caught red-handed by the King’s Guard, on a routine audit patrol, of the King's hunting grounds. Vlad leaps to Reg’s defence explaining to the King’s guard that far from Reg having stolen the game, he had in fact just dispossessed thieves of it and was returning to the King. When pressed, Vlad explains it was a nasty-looking Romanian thief.
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| “Well, who are you, then?”
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| “I am a victim too! The thief kidnapped ''me''. Reg here ''rescued'' me. He is a hero.”
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| The King’s guard show clemency and appoint Reg and Vlad to guard the forests which they do in return for a generous stipend. Vlad becomes Reg’s consigliere, for the cost of a portion of the King’s Rent (paid first of course). Vlad squirrels away his share, selling it at a mark-up to the other villagers who in turn pay fealty to reg, who pays a slice to Vlad.
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| Vlad in time persuades the villagers to mind the forest, persuading them for a small fee that they may enjoy the beauty and nature as long as they take nothing and keep an eye out for hunters and poachers.
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| Vlad in the meantime ingratiates himself to the king, with fantastic but delusional presentations about the ''forward'' wealth of the kingdom, entitling him to a yet greater share of its present wealth, and warning him of great dangers in Romania, and encouraging the king to send his army into the Carpathians, where they are beset by brigands and vandals. One day Reg stumbles across the Synthæse.
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