Braeland

Chapter 27. The Debate is Interrupted

The debate in the Hall was now well into the late afternoon and no closer to reaching a decision on what to do about the medallion.  They had reached consensus however that the guards needed to be bolstered to resist Priscilla.  But, this took them a very long time.  A minority of the counsellors declared themselves pacifists and proposed to make terms with Priscilla, allow her to retain South Town as her own domain and to re-establish trade relations with the rest of Braeland.  That way civil war might be avoided.  Others were of the view that many of the southern people had become virtually enslaved and Priscilla would eventually have designs on the whole nation.  After loud angry words and a scuffle on the floor of the Hall, they finally reached a consensus that Priscilla must be stopped.  

Then they turned to what Mordecai, the staff-holder, called the "less difficult" question of what should be done with the medallion.  This unleashed a shouting match among the councilors.  Some proposed that a contest should be held among the guards and the strongest should be given the medallion to use in force against Priscilla's lesser ilithium chain.  Others shouted that it should be given to the wisest in the land.  The elderly Mordecai banged his stick dozens of time before silence returned and he said, "As staff-holder at the time of the debate, I will take it upon myself to wear this ornament and lead the battle against our enemy."  His statement brought about another furor and several counsellors waved their fists at him, against every convention of respect there had ever been in the Hall.  

From early in the debate, Martin had been standing with his hand raised and when the outbreak of shouting and pushing following Mordecai's suggestion was dying down (as much from exhaustion than anything else), Mordecai banged his staff down at least two dozen times and said the Hall should recognize that an esteemed visitor had been waiting to speak.

Martin said, "I recognize that it is unusual to have a man who is not originally from Braeland let alone not from Greenwold appear before you and I appreciate the opportunity.  On the matter of the medallion I have had the luck, or some may say misfortune, of having been exposed to its use longer than any other man in this room.  I have studied its use and the magic of its ways for the whole of my life.  I propose that the history of the medallion, and the purpose behind its forging, its disassembly, and its coming together again, enter the wisdom of the Hall's decision on what its future role shall be."

The councilors were silent as stones now and cocked their heads as they observed Martin rather in the way expectant birds watch for a worm to emerge from a hole in the ground.  Martin spoke of the history of the mining of ilithium, of the strife this caused, and the decision of their ancestors in the forging of the precious metal into one ornament and adding to it of the most precious jewel that had ever been found in Greenwold.   Then Martin called in Arliss to help him narrate the decision to break up the ornament into parts and to send them secretly to safe-keeping among the great families  Then,  with the raising of the Troken king and his armies, how the people of Braeland had migrated to the mountains and, other than having to guard the passes, had lived in peace until, in recent generations, a mine  boss in the south of Braeland had discovered some of that metal that was both precious and dangerous: ilithium, the metal used to make the chain now worn by Priscilla. 

"I wish my grandson Peter were here now to tell you the story of the bringing together of the medallion, and of the risks he took against the Troken King who was greedy to get it from him" Martin said, looking around in the hope that Peter had returned.  Jim looked at his watch, shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.  Mortimer left the room to search by the river.  Martin now went on to tell his own story and Peter's quest of the previous year.  Finally, he said, "I would like the Hall to think of this.  The medallion here and now has a purpose and that is to oppose the new danger from the south.  It is being worn now by a woman from another world.  Should she be asked, if she will, to give the medallion freely to someone present here or to some other citizen of Braeland yet to be named?   The makers of the medallion were careful to ensure that the medallion not be worn by a single citizen of Greenwold and I can tell you why – that person, like Priscilla, would become corrupted and aspire to become a tyrant.  That is why Arliss's grandfather gave me his part of the medallion to complement the piece I already had in my possession.  The medallion will not corrupt the person wearing it from my world unless that person is already corrupted.  And, it offers a special magic that would probably be denied the possessor from Greenwold – the ability to travel by magic not only in this world but back and forth to another world.  

"Finally, I would say this to you.  Arliss and I have been studying the archives of the oldest Braeland families.  There lived many generations before the retreat of the population of Braeland to the mountains, a soothsayer named Marcus.  This man, in his old age, recorded his predictions.  He foresaw the rising of an evil power in Greenwold and the migration of the old families to a magnificent, defendable retreat within the mountains.  He wrote that this population would form a nation that would live in peace for many generations but that then the evil would be dug from the earth again and a woman would lead the forces of civil war and that would put an end to peace in the mountain valley.  She was sure to succeed unless opposed by a woman who was similarly armed with magic who could not be corrupted by the drug of tyranny.  The records are available for the Hall of Consensus to read in the Archives."

There was an-unheard of silence in the Hall after Martin stepped down and resumed sitting.  Mordecai stamped his stick but still no one talked.  The faces of the councilors were pale and some hung their heads, as if asleep but in fact they were deep in thought.  

It was then they heard someone running down the hall and approaching the Hall.  This was very abnormal because there was so much noise inside the room most of the time that noises outside were impenetrable.  Mortimer and one other man burst in. "Your son, Mr. Jamieson, has been taken to the Hall of Healing. He and his friend encountered an unfriendly raiding party outside our town!"  

Now there were loud expressions of shock and disbelief.  Everyone shouted questions.  Jim and Prudence asked to be taken to the Hall of Healing at once and were ushered out by one of the attendants. Mordecai stamped his staff and asked that the Mortimer or the stranger give more of an explanation. After a nod from Mortimer, the stranger stepped forward.

"Reverent gentlemen, my family and I are right grateful to Braeland after we were driven from our farm on the other side of the mountains.  Many of my neighbors too have come with us and we are setting up new farms that promise well on the lands south of Middle Town.  But we are a wary lot, having lost many friends and our lands and animals because of the nastiness of the Troken King and his soldiers. And, hearing that a new threat is arising in Braeland, we are working closely with the guards and have weapons to defend ourselves and others.  

"Well now getting to the part that will interest you most, just today my son Charley and I were out milking the goats when we heard someone hollering for help.  When we come down to the river we saw the girl rowing like mad and the boy with an arrow in him.  I sent off Charley to gather up the guard and the neighbors and I would see to the boy myself.  The girl came in with the boat when she saw me and we brought him in a wagon here.  We ran into Mortimer on the way.  I knew him because him and Bob, my other son, have some of the same duties for Braeland."

Martin rose and said, "Farmer Goodwine do not be surprised I know your name but that I know who you are.  How is Peter and who attacked him and Charlotte?"

"I am not surprised, Martin Jamieson, for your grandson described you well when he visited me last year on my other farm.  I am told by the doctors of the Hall that Peter was lucky that the arrow did not injure any of his important innards.  They will have to remove it by knife and he has lost much blood but there is no fear for his life.  As to them that were so cruel as to attack innocent young people, we will have to see what the guard will have to say.  But my eyes are good and I saw some of them were running way off along the riverbank.  They were soldiers but not all of them wearing the same signs.  I swear the signs on a couple of them were the same as them worn by those vicious Trokens."