‘You’re right.It does sound like a powerful name but I don’t know why.’
‘How did he getthis name?’ asked Safronius.
‘He told me hismother said his father wanted him called Aquitain.’
‘And who washis father?’ asked Safronius.
‘He doesn’tknow.’ replied Quab innocently.
Suddenly Quabbecame alert. Safronius hadn’t mentioned Aquitain all night but hehad just admitted the Council was very interested in Aquitain. Hewould have to be careful, as Safronius was very cunning. He used tobe known as Safronius the Wise. What was his interest inAquitain?
‘I’m told thatchaotic things have happened all around Aquitain. These have helpedhim attain some sort of hero image since he’s been here.’ saidSafronius.
‘That’s true.’replied Quab carefully. ‘He has developed a hero image because heis one.’
‘Surely that isjust a popular myth created by those who spend most of their timein the inn. They need a hero in times of difficulty.’
‘He is a herobecause of his deeds. I know reliable people that have been presentwhen these deeds happened. He risks his life for people and asksfor nothing in return. As with all stories there is muchexaggeration after the event but the basis of the stories you haveprobably heard are all true.’ replied Quab.
‘That makes himdangerous!’
‘All Agents ofChaos I have observed have the signature of one of the gods uponthem. Aquitain seems to wear no signature of any god.’
‘Surely thatmeans he is not an Agent of Chaos.’ stated Quab.
‘No it means hecould be an Agent of Chaos for some hidden master and that wouldmake him more dangerous.’
‘You are wrongSafronius. You are looking for a villain where there is none!’ saidQuab becoming annoyed.
‘Quab mystudent, you must learn to see beyond the obvious. He is a hiddenAgent of Chaos. He deceives his so-called friends and they championhim. It is all a part of his nefarious scheme of deception. He is anew kind of Agent of Chaos, an innocent bearing a poisoned daggerfor the back of his friends.’
‘Safronius,don’t patronize me! I am no longer your student. You are wrongabout Aquitain. I will not accept your proposition. Aquitain is ahero of the people. You may not like that but that is the truth. Ibelieve in him and that is the reality of the situation. If youcame here to find out what is really happening then listen tome!’
‘Good. I seeyou have developed a strong backbone. You are a worthy friend ofhis. ’ said Safronius obviously trying to back off a little.
‘I mustapologize for offending you. The stakes are high for all concerned.You see when I began investigating Aquitain’s family to find outabout him and his background I discovered that I was not the onlyone. The Yith were interested in him and so were members of atleast three religious groups. It seems that there is somethinginteresting about him and what he is doing here.’
‘Do you knowthat his family have had business connections with the Yith whichis unusual since Panmagica has very strained relations with theYith. His shape changing abilities are unusual for a Newman andresemble those of certain Yith species. No one knows who his fatheris. Do you know I talked to someone who thinks that his mother isnot his real mother? Aquitain has spent most of his life closelyprotected within the family. He has no friends outside the family.There is conjecture that he may not be a Newman at all.’
‘Are you sayinghe may be a Yith?’ asked Quab incredulously.
‘That ispossible. We will not know until we can test him. However, if hewere to be Yith it might explain the Yith interest in him and whythe Yith are looking so closely at Mudrun at the moment. We alsothink they might be going to invade Mudrun soon.’
‘So you thinkhe’s a spy for the Yith?’
‘Yes. It wouldmake sense if he’s not an Agent of Chaos as you so strongly assert.Think about it, he makes himself a hero among the people who willhave to defend Mudrun. He has their trust, he learns their secretsand betrays them all to achieve victory for his Yith allies.’
Quab satthinking. At last it all started to make sense. It was Aquitain’sgrandfather that had recommended Featherdown for the job here.Safronius would have known that. Quab had been selected from allthe druids on Mudrun to be the liaison between the Mudrun DruidCouncil and Featherdown. Safronius could have arranged that. Quabwas expected to know what Featherdown was doing but was never toldwhat the Council was doing. Quab was expected to be a sleepingspy.
When the YithAllan Amber had met Featherdown about three years ago and told himabout the prophesy of the Time of Chaos. Featherdown had told theHigh Druid who had reported it back to the Inter-World DruidCouncil. Safronius would have taken notice and started toinvestigate whether Featherdown or Aquitain’s grandfather had anydealings with the Yith.
When he found abusiness connection between the grandfather and the Yith it castsuspicion on Featherdown. That’s when Curbut was brought in as anassistant to Featherdown. He was a spy to keep a close eye onFeatherdown. But Curbut also had a connection to the priest theyhad caught so perhaps he was spying for them as well. It would havebeen Curbut that told both the Mudrun Druid Council and hisreligious contacts about the secret arrival of Aquitain and thatwould have set off a further range of enquiries.
‘You don’tbelieve in prophesy about the Time of Chaos do you?’ said Quab.
‘You think it’ssome type of Yith trick to take our attention away from the Yithinvasion. You think Featherdown may be a Yith agent placed here tolook after other Yith agents such as Aquitain to help the Yithinvade the place.’
‘Yes.’ saidSafronius. ‘What do you think?’
‘I think you’rebloody mad!’ replied Quab.
‘Featherdown istotally committed to defending this world. He’s trained dozens ofpeople to do that. He’s built the town of Twin Towers. Why would hebother if it’s going to be handed over to the Yith. Featherdowndoesn’t need money he’s already very wealthy and he doesn’t needfame or notoriety he’s already got that. He’s not our enemy and Idon’t think Aquitain is
