Decision

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Councilman Ziles was the last to arrive. He stomped his feet at the doorway trying to shake loose a little of the mud that had clumped on his boots. The spring thaw had turned the roads to mud but the warmer weather felt good enough to offset the inconvenience of the mud. Councilman Ziles walked to the front of the Town Hall and took his seat among the other council members.

The mayor nodded to Ziles in greeting as Ziles scooted his chair up to the large wooden table. Ziles nodded back. Neither of them smiled. This emergency meeting of the council was a dark contrast to the upcoming spring Feast.

“You have all heard the rumors,” Mayor Garl said. “I have called you all hear in secret because we must decide what should be done about the situation.” Mayor Garl looked to his right at Ziles and councilman Kreen. Neither of them spoke. The mayor looked to his left at Councilman Abbey and Councilwoman Mills. He had looked to Ziles and Kreen first because he knew what was going to happen when he gave the other two their cue to speak their opinions.

“We should put out the message to the valley and call everyone to the safety of Haven,” Mills said.

Abbey snorted and rolled his eyes. “And panic everyone in the valley over the mutilation of a couple of sheep?”

“If the rumors are true, we can’t be too cautious,” Mills retorted. Caution was probably Hilda Mills middle name, the mayor thought. Not a bad thing, after all, but she had not learned to balance the need of safety with the need to go on living. If she had her way, every citizen of Haven would live in a magical bubble where no harm could ever come of them. The mayor didn’t rule out the possibility that Hilda had talked with Mage Tyndall about magical shields.

Hilda had taken over on the council after her husband, Trevor, had died of the Winter Sickness. Hillary Blackwell, the town healer, had done everything in her power to save Trevor but it was beyond her ability. Hilda Mills was appointed to the council because her husband was so well liked and respected by the community. Hilda had not earned the same respect but always had the well-being of the people of Haven in the forefront of her mind. She meant well and with time, might very well make an excellent council member.

Hilda still had traces of the beauty of her youth in her face. This last winter, during the time of Trevor’s sickness, had really taken its toll on her though. Her hair was more gray than blonde and worry lines of her face were now permanent. Her blue eyes still sparkled once in a while like they did before Trevor’s death. Her greatest joy now was working and playing with the children of the town. Tonight she wore a plain dress of dark brown with a tan shawl to fend off the evening chill.

“And if the rumors turn out to be a rampaging grizzly?” Abbey asked. “What then? We can not stop the biggest celebration of the year because of the wild imaginations of folk that have been cooped up for months by a hard winter.”

The mayor nodded. As bitter as Tarold Abbey was at most times, he also had a very good point. The last thing Haven needed during the Feast was a panic over a couple of lost sheep. Tarold was squinting at Hilda again. It was a habit he had when he got frustrated and he was often frustrated with the councilwoman. Tarold was as thing as he was bitter and had been on the council for as long as most people could remember. It wasn’t that Tarold was well liked either. In fact, most people avoided the old curmudgeon. Mayor Garl figured people were afraid to vote Tarold out of the council. Most of the people were intimidated by Tarold. At times, that had proven helpful to the mayor when the council had made unpopular decisions.

Ziles, who seemed to have taken on the role of the peacekeeper, spoke up, “Perhaps some more investigation would be in order. Something done quietly so that we may know the truth of the matter. That way we would be able to make a better informed decision. I too do not wish to send off an army after a few bandits trying to scare the farmers but I also do not wish to sit and deny that something is going on in the valley.”

Gilbert Ziles finished talking and looked down at his hands. He always spoke with reason but he too had a hard time standing up to Abbey. Ziles nudged more mud off his left boot using the toe of his right. He was always a bit fidgety on tough issues the council faced. He took the decisions very seriously and fretted over making the wrong choice. Owning the town bakery gave Ziles the opportunity to talk to the people of Haven on a daily basis about their hopes and fears. He usually was very in tune with the needs and wants of the people and the mayor was grateful to have him on the council.

“Thank you,” the mayor said to Ziles. Ziles looked up and smiled at the mayor then looked at Kreen. Matthew Kreen patted Ziles on the back.

“Good idea Ziles,” Kreen said in a louder than normal tone. His voice, much louder than the hushed tones used by the others, caught everyone off guard and they all jumped a bit. All this talk of ancient evils had them on edge. Their startled reaction made that very evident.

Kreen lowered his voice a bit but still not down to the scared whispers used by the others. “We should find a group of men that could travel to the Outpost on check on our guards there. They could check the situation of the Outpost and watch for signs of the unusual in the valley. We would want a small enough group that they wouldn’t cause any concern if seen. It would look incredibly suspicious if we sent an army out of the town at Feast. We also need to find men that won’t really be missed at the Feast. If we sent our Captain of the Guard and some of his men, he would surely be missed and again suspicions would be raised. Hmmmm,” Kreen tapped his temple with his right finger as he tried to think of who to send out on this excursion.

Kreen was always a little exuberant. His bright blue shirt with red vest spoke volumes of Matthew Kreen. He was not dressed up for Feast yet either. Tomorrow, he would be wearing so many bright colors that it would be nearly painful to look at him. Kreen always lightened the mood of the council with a good joke and his good attitude. Some doubted his ability to make sound decisions but Mayor Garl had never seen Kreen be flippant in respect to matters that came before the council. People just thought that anyone that smiled as much as Matthew did, must not be able to take anything seriously.

“How about those one boys?” Abbey said. “You know? The ones that painted the cows green last year on Feast Eve. I doubt that they would be missed. In fact, things may go a bit better with them out wandering the countryside.”

Tarold’s son, Tomar, had told his father about who painted the cows. It was easy to believe the story. The four friends had become quite close in the last couple years and had played numerous pranks on the citizens of Haven. The four friend’s had confessed when brought before the council. Kreen had thought the prank was especially good and was impressed with the effort the boys had put into painting so many cows green to celebrate the spring Feast. Green was used extensively for decorations surrounding the Feast, symbolizing the grass and crops that would be shooting forth from the ground soon. The prank was mostly harmless but the council couldn’t ignore the farmer’s plea to do something. The boys were made to wash dishes and haul trash for the whole feast to make up for the scare they put in the farmers.

“You mean Kona and those other boys he hangs around with?” Ziles asked.

“That’s the ones,” Tarold said. “We could send them out to check for more information on what is happening in the valley. It would save our cows or what ever trouble they have dreamed up for this year. As I recall, all of them went into apprenticeships last fall. We could check with their mentors to see what they think about sending the young rascals out to check on the outpost. We aren’t asking anything difficult of them really. Just ride to the outpost and back. Less than a fortnight. Just long enough for them to miss the Feast.”

“An excellent idea,” Mayor Garl said. “Gil, set up a meeting with the mentors of these boys. Let us know when they can all meet here and we will reconvene.”

Ziles nodded and stood up. He wanted to leave before another argument broke out between Hilda and Tarold.

“And remember Gil, secrecy in this is of the utmost importance,” the mayor reminded.

Ziles nodded again and left the building to find the headmasters of the different schools the boys had joined.

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