Once again a queen, Winter has a budding army and plenty to offer them to keep them loyal. Besides expanding her territory, she is using her forces to chase specific creatures for reasons nobody knows. None of them seem to be connected.
The changes...
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"Any luck?"
Taz trotted up the path as Firebrand made her way down it.
She shook her head. "Nothing in the library, and the old librarian just looked at me kindly and suggested a book of children's stories when I asked him. Any luck with your brother?"
"No. And the Saggitayrii haven't been here for a while either, so there's no news from them. And even if some of them do know about Fletch, they're not likely to be from the same clan group as the ones that come here."
"Hey, it was worth a shot. C'mon. Feodor says we can make it away before the rain, and his family's coming here to pick him up, so we're free to leave. Let's go get Reedy."
They made their way back to the town center. Feodor had not agreed to talk to Crystal about releasing Reedwind, so Taz was going to talk to her instead.
They found Crystal by the crop fields. She watched them approach, but let them come to her rather than coming to meet them. Her eyes never left Firebrand. Taz stepped between them. Crystal glared at him insead.
"Thank you for letting us stay on your island," said Taz. "We're leaving today, and we were wondering if we could ask one more favour before we go. We'd like to take the Coppertail you have here with us. The one in the town hall."
"The Leslander?"
"Yes."
"I can't let you."
"Why not?"
"Easy," snorted Crystal. "One Leslander's trouble enough. I ain't having two of them waltzing about this island together no matter how trustworthy they say they are. I've got a town to protect."
Taz's expression slipped through a subtle sequence of shock and incredulity, then slid towards anger. Firebrand touched his shoulder and they switched places. Crystal's scowl deepened. She folded her arms even tighter, but at least she held her ground.
"Mayor Crystal," said Firebrand, "I understand that you and the villagers here have had bad experiences with my kind in the past. But I can promise you I have no intention of causing any harm here in the Lowlands, and neither does that Coppertail in your town hall. We can take him off your paws and bring him to a place where he'll be well watched and better taken care of, so you won't have to worry about either of us again. That's all we're asking for."
