‘You want our druid preachers to be locked up?’ askedHeteronymous. ‘That is almost heresy.’
‘Yes.’ replied Miranlla. ‘You are king now. Have a set of lawsdrafted stating that it is illegal to vilify another person’sbeliefs in other gods. Any druid that breaks the law will be lockedup.’
‘And how do you propose we get the Yith and Panmagicans agreeto something like that.’ asked Quab.
‘That is for you to work out.’ replied Miranlla. ‘I haveenough troubles back in Moonmist.’
‘You’re going back there?’ asked Granddad.
‘Of course! My people need me.’ replied Miranlla. ‘You aremost welcome to come with me and act as a liaison between us if youwish. I can certainly use another family member there that I cantrust.’
‘Good idea.’ said Featherdown.
‘Yes!’ I agree.’ said the King. ‘I hereby make you the MudrunAmbassador to Moonmist. The Chancellor will fix up thepaperwork.’
‘Are there any other matters?’ asked the King.
‘Yes. I went to Argenta with Granddad this afternoon and had achat with the Yith there. A very powerful Yith Wizard with goodconnection to the Yith High Council has been made the newgatekeeper there. He wants to be friends and to show his good will,he released Aquitain’s cousin Zephira and several of Darkmantle’stroops that were prisoners there.’
‘By the Lady, two hours ago I wouldn’t have believed a wordyou said but now I will believe anything is possible. If this iscorrect why didn’t you tell me Sol?’ asked the King.
‘You were busy. He told me.’ said Featherdown. ‘I told him tosave it for this meeting.’
‘Oh. Alright.’ stated the King. ‘I will consider theirrequest. Anything else?’
‘Yes.’ replied Miranlla
‘You may not know that there is a Great Council of the littlepeople occurring in about two days’ time at the Wolf people’svillage near the Southern Gateway entrance. I have told them I willbe there representing Aquitain.’
‘By the Lady, as far as I know there has only ever been oneGreat Council of the little people and that occurred hundreds ofyears ago at the time the when the Pact was forged.’ replied theking.
‘What pact?’ asked Granddad.
‘When the first druids came to Mudrun to begin rebuilding itthey discovered the little people. There were some serious clashesbetween them and us. They believed that the druids were invadersand that they fought against us. The High Druid at the timeeventually convinced some of them that we were here to repair theworld and so they called a Great Council to discuss thesituation.’
‘Some of them wanted to help us rebuild the world othersbelieved that we were alien to the world and wanted us to leave.They said the world belonged to the gods, they were only thecaretakers and the spirits would decide what they should do. Therewere supposed to be four spirits representing the four elements.But only R’ptor the spirit of Air came to advise them.’
‘During the meeting two new spirits named Jacintra and Loopiscame and drove R’ptor away. They told the meeting that the gods hadnew plans for them. They told them that the gods had recalled theold spirits and they were the new ones. R’ptor had defied the godsby staying. Jacintra and Loopis told them that they must help thedruids rebuild the land.’
‘The Great Council agreed to have peace between us and help usrebuild the land. However, the new spirits wanted them to forgetthe old ways and adopt new ways and there was considerabledisagreement about that. Those who followed R’ptor would not acceptthe new ways until R’ptor told them they should and from what Iunderstand he never did. They caused much trouble and many wereeliminated by the druids until they ceased causingtrouble.’
‘The remainder accepted the new ways and have been relativelypeaceful and very helpful in the rebuilding process. However, weknow that many still hold belief in the older spirits although theyprofess to follow the new ones.’
‘The agreement between the little people and the High Druid iscalled the Pact of Renewal. It lays out what both sides can andcan’t do. Unfortunately many of the changes that Jacintra andLoopis wanted were written into the agreement, which made us theirservants if we chose to enforce those aspects of the agreement.Since I have been the High Druid I have chosen to interpret thePact very loosely as they rarely cause any problems.’
‘Well no one’s ever tried to invade Mudrun before so I guessthey have decided to re-examine the pact.’ saidGranddad.
‘I suppose that you’re right.’ replied the King. ‘We mustattend it.’
‘Perhaps Sol could accompany Miranlla in advance to representus, then call us when things get interesting, Your Majesty.’replied Featherdown.
‘Good idea! You go Sol. Now is there anythingelse?’
There wassilence.
‘Good,’ said Heteronymous. ‘We have a meeting with the town’speople, and the military, to tell them what’s happening in an hour.I wish to discuss what we have heard here with the Chancellor andthe Minister for Security. You have my leave to go.’
Featherdowntook down the wards and Granddad, Miranlla and Quab left to thinkabout all the revelations they had heard. Miranlla asked Quab for achart of the teleport markers known to be around Mudrun and aftergetting one left with Granddad for the southern gateway.
Chapter 37 The DragonDen
Just inside thegateway of pathway 5 in Astaria, Ignatius stood lookingthoughtfully at Aquitain for a minute or two then said.
‘The idiots on the Committee have obviously got it wrongagain. I was told you wanted to destroy Mentar. The deal that youjust made with the Rock elementals will probably save it. Are youstill going to talk to the dragons and get them to change theirmagic essence to heat energy conversion rate back to99%?’
‘Yes.’ replied Qin somewhat surprised at Ignatius’s apparentdisdain for the Mentarin Council.
‘Good. If you can get that problem fixed, I’ll go and use itas evidence to clear your name. Lately they’ve been naming allsorts of people, even other Mentarin as enemies. It’s all becometoo political. One time everyone just got on with his or herresearch. Wonderful things were discovered. These days it’s allabout political power and wealth.
