Many mighty and important things have happened in the village of the Umlats (pronounced Umlots). Since their great founding the Umlats have strived for industry and diligent working. The first village raised by noble Umlats searching for a new life was that of Umlata. It was a chilly day when the first folk finally settled in the hazed expanse. The landscape is green, though the soil is dry, rock hard and unforgiving of any settlers. Despite the harsh conditions and the bitter chill, Umlata was destined to be a safe haven for the Umlats.
That however all began to change three generations after the Umlats first settled. It was a sleepy village that welcomed the first Denoir traders, rich merchantmen from far off in the East, far enough away that old Umbler, the town sage, had never heard of such a place. Yet come they did, and with them a whole caravan of goods headed off to some other destination. Umlata appeared to be a quant village, with the people hospitable enough to share the winter with them. The Denoir were warned of the fearsome blizzards and so took refuge for the season on the outskirts of Umlata.
At first the tradesmen stayed to themselves mostly and remained somewhat an enigma to the villagers. Eventually curiosity got the best of the younger Umlats and they trudged through half frozen mud to reach the impressive array of wagons and exotic animals. Never before had the young Umlats seen such a sight! Impressive rugs woven in red silk and furs adorned each wagon. Rich spices soothed the senses filling the mind and mouth with wanton desire! Here was rich gold, ornaments and jewelry shaped like moons with round stones that put the dull sun to shame! Thick and beautiful robes were brought out to show the curious ones the grandeur of the tradesmen. Soon, stories were being told of far away city states where the buildings, tall and built of amber, stretched past the horizon. Palaces built in sun scorched deserts, crystal throne rooms with dances and merriment, lands filled with lakes and green fields dripping with harvest!
The poor parents of the younglings could barely understand what their children were shouting and screaming about when they returned. Finally it was understood that they had been to the Denoir much to the dissatisfaction of the elders who were somewhat suspicious of the outsiders.
This proved some grief as well on the part of the Denoir who were, for the most part, a noble people. Living among the Umlats was especially hard on Denmare a young merchant traveling alone with the company. Denmare was not a greedy man, though in comparison he was living in riotous lavish compared with these folks who didn’t even know what a regular bath was. He had told stories describing the various places he had been to. The children loved it, yet it pained him to see them in such conditions without much opportunity for progress.
Finally Denmare decided to try and help some of the Umlats with some money which he hoped might help some. This is generally opposed by the Caravan Council as the majority thought the Umlats would only ask for more. Yet Denmare decided he had to help in some way and so decided to secret some funding to the Umlats for work he needed to be done. This of course would be a dangerous plot, but Denmare thought himself clever enough to succeed.
Does money corrupt? What happens when we try to help people?
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Yes, money can corrupt but on the otherhand it doesn't. How many times have we seen celebrities with masses of money spend it on dangerous things like drugs. But there are countless celebrities that give to many charities and have lived low-key lives. It all depends on how you look at your wealth. Whether you see it as something you earned or something that was owed to you. When it is something you earned, of course you are going to buy unecessary stuff but you are going to want to give it back somehow. When it is something expected, you will use the money without regard for anything.
When we help people, sometimes it backfires and they end up expecting more help. But sometimes people are appreciative and don't expect anything more. There is no reason not to take a chance and help those less fortunate. If they expect to be continually helped, you can always stop.
When we
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