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^^ Uriah ^^

Unsurprisingly, -to me at least,- the Mage didn't last out the night. Somehow, without the guards noticing, he managed to choke himself out, dying in his sleep. The current debate was what to do with his body.

"-traditions are important, I agree, but this guy was a Rogue Necromancer! Burying him has got to be the stupidest idea ever, does it not?!?" Luna shouted, and the delegate from the capital, (a ferret-like little man who secretly ogled Rhea's chest any time he though no one would notice,) sighed.

"Healer Luna, I appreciate that fact, but the laws of the collective are clear, and the matter is considered closed! He died in the watch of a clan of the Collective, -and there'll be a hearing as to why you kept him in an unauthorized location without notifying the Council, don't mistake that,- and is therefore to be treated with the proper last rites afforded to all people, regardless of criminal status or manner of death, and then buried in the Field of Lost Souls." He clasped his hands together and nodded in the silence, as mentioning a Hearing had shut her up very quickly.

"And he'll be surrounded by hundreds of other dead people he can turn into zombies when he inevitably rises up? Great idea, except it isn't." I snorted.

He glanced at me distastefully. "Be that as it may, the law of the Collective is Clear-"

"Except that this Clan isn't a member of the Collective at all?" I raised an eyebrow as he gasped, reaching for a wand on his belt.

Kindle and Luna both moved forward with a flicker of speed, suddenly standing between me and the man, and Luna turned to look at me over her shoulder. "Explain?" She asked quietly.

"No one has come to finalize anything. I haven't even paid any Taxes, because no one has come for them. We've asked to join, but we haven't received a reply." I shrugged.

They relaxed slowly, and stepped away, though Kindle slowly pulled her spear off her back and simply stared at him until he released the wand. The two guards behind him seemed casual, unbothered, as they stood by and waited for orders. I got the impression they were on Kindle's Level, and everyone present (except Rhea and the others,) knew it very well.

"As I was saying, he 'died' in my underground Mushroom Farm; it was the only place that was secure enough to hold a mage, here, in case you didn't notice. As such, I say burn him or feed him to the Crystal Heart, because if you put a necromancer in a Boneyard, you're asking for all sorts of trouble." I air-quoted the word 'died', but he seemed confused by the gesture, not understanding its purpose.

He tapped his foot for a moment, thinking deeply about the subject, and we waited for about a minute for him to reach a decision. "Alright, I'll get your clan approved, and then he'll have been on Collective hands!" He pulled out a communicator Stone, and Luna perked up as he began to walk a bit away from us for privacy.

"Why are you so set on-" Luna began suspiciously, but I smiled and grabbed her shoulder gently.

"I want to see who he calls." I explained, and her eyes widened in understanding, before she gritted her teeth at the thought of allowing a traitor to exist, or maybe that she hadn't figured it out before me.

Kindle frowned slowly, and cast a small spell behind her back, and suddenly we could all hear both Sides of the communique, which we apparently couldn't before. His was apparently a private phone, which I'd love to get my hands on for all sorts of fun... 'Focus, Theo!' I shook myself, listening carefully.

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