The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (9 page)

It was Gyan’s turn to be surprised. “You have
them? May I see them? I will be able to answer your question if I
may touch them. One at a time.” Erin stood and took them out of her
pocket. First she gave him the one that had belonged to her father.
It was a small copper disc enameled with a leaf design. She had
meant to look in the symbol book to see if the emblems were there.
Gyan held it, rubbing it between his fingers. His eyes were closed.
“May I see your mother’s piece?” He gave her back the copper disc
and she exchanged it with the exquisite picture jasper bead that
had a feather etched delicately on it. She wondered how he knew
that the first one had been her father’s when she hadn’t said so.
“These are indeed their enhancers. It is remarkable that you took
them with you when you didn’t know their importance. Before I
answer the second part of your question I would like to ask a favor
of you.” Erin looked at him expectantly. “Could you please place
your parent’s enhancers and yours on the table in a row.”

She took the rutilated quartz crystal out of
the pouch around her neck and the bloodstone out of her pocket and
laid them on the table in between them then she removed the
bracelet and placed it at the end. Gyan looked for a long time at
the five pieces. Finally he picked up Erin’s, one at a time,
holding each for a moment before putting it down. “The three you
chose are absolutely perfect for you and your resonance.” He handed
them back to her and she tucked them away where she had gotten
them. “These two were just what your parents needed but do not
contribute to your... energy’s music. If you do not mind they may
be just what are needed for one of the latent sages we find. At
that time you can contribute these two to the ones that we find in
each of the cities. The new sage will choose. That would be very
generous of you to allow another to use them.”

Erin shrugged. “My parents will always be
with me in my memories. I don’t need to have something of theirs to
touch. I took these by instinct. If it can help our world, our
realm, it would please me. I know that they would approve.”

Gyan gave her a big, warm smile. “Thank you,
Erin! Now,” He slapped his knees and stood up. “It has been a
really full day. Tomorrow will be one of planning and hopefully we
will see the guild train. I will see you three,” he nodded to
Tempo, “at breakfast. Get a good night’s sleep.”

As Gyan strode through the door Drune looked
at Erin. “That man is really interesting!”

Erin walked over to Tempo and knelt down. ‘Do
you mind if I carry you? Somehow it would make me feel better.’

The growing skunk looked up into her face.
‘It has been quite the day, hasn’t it? The tasks ahead will be
interesting. We, of course, won’t mention that they are a bit
daunting also. I would like you to carry me. Gyan won’t see.’ Erin
gently picked up her little friend with a smile, and the three of
them leisurely walked upstairs to their quarters.

Erin was thinking and as they stopped by
their respective doors she said. “Did you catch that Gyan didn’t
clearly answer about the Wild Henge?”

It had been a long day. They had learned a
lot in a very short time. Gyan couldn’t get comfortable with the
strong sense of urgency he felt in his solar plexus, that nervy
spot between the navel and the bottom of the breast bone. It felt
like there wasn’t enough time. He took a deep breath and let it
out. All that they could do was being done. He settled into his
chair and directed his mind outward. ‘Lor, tell me what is
happening.’

‘Gyan, good to hear from you. We have passed
the rock slide. Your team has done a phenomenal job with that mess.
By teams of horses, chains and logs they were able to move all of
the boulders but the largest. Those house-sized ones will take more
time, but there is now a road through. We should reach Kunscap by
midmorning. Alliz is mending. If she had not had her strong sage
constitution it would have been a dire situation. The healers you
have sent have been great. With Flar’s efforts, she is in a sling.
She can’t drive her team or do much other than sit. The knife
missed veins but did cut some muscle. It will take some time to
completely heal. She is feeling useless and grumpy.’

Gyan smiled, ‘I’ll look forward to seeing all
of you on the morrow. Erin and Drune have been invaluable! We have
found all sorts of information and several experts in our local
miners’ guild are hard at work making things that we need. I will
fill you two in when I see you. Give Alliz my best. I haven’t been
contacting her so her sage energy can focus on healing.’

He cleared his mind again. ‘Cesler. This is
Gyan. How are Morraton and the Duluse Province faring?’

The mayor’s mental voice sounded tired when
the answer came. ‘Gyan. Thought I would be hearing from you soon.
We have had more quakes and one of our mountains is sending steam
plumes. The prairies, in the last day or so have had horrendous
winds with a funnel shaped cloud. Luckily it missed homes and towns
but it tore up the crop land and stampeded the animals. The rains
have either been nonexistent or torrential. We seem to have more
vermin than we have ever had before and they are biting people or
getting into our grain supply. People are getting sick and a few
are blaming witches. Please tell me you have a solution, Great
One.’

Gyan didn’t like the new items added to the
catastrophe list. ‘Witches are from children’s stories. They don’t
exist. Bure started that rumor and we need to keep beating it down.
You know why this is happening. Last week the Guild train was
attacked by some witch hunters from Sawblen. They thought Alliz and
Flar were witches. Alliz is recovering from a knife wound in her
shoulder. Kennet, bless his quick thinking, told them that witches
don’t bleed. Feel free to use that concept. As for solutions, Erin,
Drune and I have found some hidden away by the ancients. We are
working on them now. Soon we will be leaving Khanlund and will be
visiting each province and founder city. There will be things you
can do. I will keep in touch.’

He got up and strode to the door. He needed
to disturb Erin again. He did that just a couple of nights ago.
Soon he was standing at her door and knocking. Erin had been
sitting on her bed, talking to Tempo, when she heard the knock.
Both bounded off of the bed to answer the door. Somehow Erin wasn’t
surprised to see Gyan at her door. ‘How can I be of help,
Gyan?”

He looked from her to Tempo. “Are you open to
Tempo right now?” he asked. Tempo looked up at him and nodded. He
knelt down and addressed the skunk, though Erin’s mind. “Tempo, you
have been meeting with the skunks in this area. How are they
faring? Do they have enough food and shelter?”

Tempo answered and Erin spoke. “He said that
one reason he has been eating with us is because the bugs and such
that skunks eat are in short supply as the weather is getting
colder. It is the same with their burrows. Things are a little
crowded.”

Gyan seemed pleased with the bad tidings.
Erin and Tempo exchanged quick looks at each other. Gyan clarified
with his next question. “Would a number of skunks be willing to
move to the prairie provinces? You know that there aren’t any
there. They would have to dig new homes but there is food aplenty
for them. The realm needs your kind.”

Tempo said to Erin, ‘No doubt about it. I
would like to hear the rest of the story, though.’

Erin chuckled and Gyan looked at the young
woman sitting on the floor. “Tempo said that he is sure that there
would be some who would be willing to move but he would like to
hear the rest of the story.”

Gyan looked chagrined. “I find that
reasonable and I didn’t mean to withhold information. We do need
skunks in our realm. They play an important role in eating the
vermin that can plague us. That is exactly what is going on in the
prairies. The mice, vesi and assorted bugs have grown to such
numbers that they are starting to get into the grain stores and
have been biting people, who are getting ill. Those skunks, who are
willing to to move to the prairies now, will have more than enough
to eat. They will have quakes and weather but there is food and
plenty of places to burrow.”

Erin gave Tempo’s answer. “They have quakes
and bad weather here. That won’t stop them. I figure that you need
some to be willing to move in a day or so, right?”

Gyan nodded. Tempo looked at Erin, silently
communicating, then ran out the door. “He said that he will have an
answer for you tomorrow.” Erin passed on to Gyan.

He gave her a tired smile. “Good night then.
I will see you at breakfast.”

One by one the windows in Aerie got dark.
There were workshops in Kunscap that were lit by many glow stones
all night long, but they were the exception. Long after most of the
human resident’s of Khanlund went to bed the skunks met and
communicated their excitement about the opportunity. For their
community around Kunscap there would be less skunks and the
available food would go further. There were many of the little
animals that wanted to move to the prairies to start a new life
where the opportunity of plentiful food was more assured. Tempo was
honest about why there were no skunks there and the risks that he
knew of. He advised them of the quakes and the dangers of hunting
in the cracked earth. He told them that they would be sharing the
area with large grazing animals that could possibly be a danger to
their young or their burrows. Tempo also imparted to them the Great
One’s words about their worth to the realm.

On an earlier visit Tempo had talked to some
of the skunks about the danger the realm was in. Now he reported to
them that the Great One and a select number of people would be
leaving Khanlund within a day, no more than two, trying to rectify
the damage to the realm, and the skunk population, by Bure and his
kin. Those that wanted to emigrate to the prairies needed to be
ready. Most likely they would travel by wagon for the sake of
speed. Those that went should not be the excitable or nervous
skunks. One could not spray the humans that were giving them this
opportunity. By dawn it was decided. Those that wished to go were
to stay in the tree line on the back side of Aerie where it was
less likely that uninformed people would run into them. He would
call them when it was time.

Erin rose at dawn and dressed as she did the
day before. She didn’t know what tasks they would need to do in
preparation for the trip and she needed to be able to have the
freedom of movement to do anything required. She stepped into the
hall and knocked on Drune’s door. When he opened the door it was
evident that he was also ready for whatever the day would bring.
His wide awake eyes were alive with excitement. Erin filled him in
on Gyan’s late evening request of Tempo. She even relayed the
little skunk’s comment about the ‘rest of the story’.

Drune laughed. “I enjoy that little skunk.” I
wish I could actually hear his voice saying some those things.”
Erin kept him laughing with Tempo stories on the way to
breakfast.

As they entered the dining room Erin saw that
her little friend had arrived before her. Tempo looked up sleepily
from his chair against the wall. Erin could hear the smile in his
voice. ‘I was successful. I hope Gyan and his security team are not
nervous around a lot of skunks. Could you please fix me some
breakfast? I didn’t think it would be appreciated if I helped
myself.’ As she fixed a bowl of berries, small pieces of fish and
vegetables for her friend she relayed his message to Drune. He
raised his eyebrows. They couldn’t wait until Gyan arrived to hear
the details.

Ten minutes later Gyan strode in. He saw the
three waiting and went to them. Kneeling beside Tempo’s chair he
said, “What news do you have, Tempo?”

As the skunk answered Erin’s eyes got big.
Drune was watching her face as was Gyan. “Tempo said that thirty
skunks wish to move to the prairies. This will leave those in the
Khanlund province with more food. He requested that no nervous or
excitable ones come as you would be arranging wagons to transport
them quickly. He was completely transparent about the dangers and
their role in saving the realm. The volunteers are in the tree line
behind your house waiting.”

Drune said, very softly, “Wow!” at the same
time Gyan got a big grin on his face and bowed to Tempo.

“Thank you my friend.”

Gyan sat down to eat with Drune and Erin as
Tempo snoozed on the chair. “The guild train will be coming in
shortly. I wish to see them and thank Kennet and Flar. Lor and
Alliz need to be settled. I must check with the machinists to see
how they are coming with the device and the jewelers with the disc
and the henge post ornaments. It is also essential I talk to Bact
and arrange for the security.”