Free The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling by Holly Barbo Page B

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