The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [88]
Rushton lifted his brows questioningly. “Threats, Alad?”
The guildmaster shook his head. “Just a warning, Rushton. They have the right.”
Rushton said nothing, and Alad sat, looking disgruntled. I was surprised at his persistence. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time until the animals had a representative. But the mention of trouble from the horses made me decide it was time I visited the farms again.
The Coercer guild then proposed a competition, a contest of coercer skills, pitting one against another until a champion could be announced. Master, guilden, and ward would be excluded. This resulted in a heated discussion about the value of competitiveness. The Futuretell ward, Dell, argued persuasively against it, saying it would produce antisocial and aggressive tendencies in an already aggressive guild.
“The aim of Obernewtyn is to have all minds working together for a common goal, not to isolate winners from losers and devalue those whose skills are less violent,” she said.
Roland was even more seriously opposed. Rushton interrupted what looked to be erupting into an argument to suggest the coercers draw up a plan for their proposed tournament. This would then be voted on by a full guildmerge.
At last he nodded to me, and I stood. “I request that the ban on Teknoguild expeditions be lifted,” I said.
Rushton frowned. He did not like anyone to step outside the procedures that governed guildmerge and made it run smoothly. “This is a strange request for the Farseeker guildmistress to make, Elspeth,” he said. “Surely it’s up to Garth, especially since he graces us with his presence today.”
There was a titter of humor, since everyone knew of the Teknoguild master’s reluctance to leave his laboratory. Garth scowled.
“This request also concerns my guild,” I said quietly.
Rushton’s eyes bored into mine. “What interest could you have in the Teknoguild expeditions? If I recall, you were among those to vote for the ban.”
I took a deep breath. “If the ban was lifted, I would propose a joint expedition.”
Rushton shook his head emphatically. “If I refuse to let teknoguilders kill themselves roaming on poisoned Blackland fringes, I would hardly let farseekers replace them!” he said with impatient sarcasm.
The death toll among teknoguilders had always been high. The ban had been enforced after a disastrous Teknoguild expedition in which Henry Druid’s people and the teknoguilders clashed over a newly discovered ruin on the edge of the Blackland. The argument had ended in a mysterious explosion that killed most of both parties. Either the Druids, as Henry Druid’s men named themselves, had deliberately set off a forbidden weapon, or some ancient device hidden in the ruins had been accidentally triggered. Either way, there had been no further Teknoguild expeditions, and no more had been seen of Henry Druid or his followers.
Henry Druid had been a Herder novice until he had opposed the Council’s book-burning laws. Cast out by the fanatical priests of the Herder Faction, the Druid had fled to exile in the high country and was assumed dead by most. And yet he lived. Rushton had even been befriended by the old ex-Herder, and for a time, their paths had matched. But the old man’s fierce hatred of the Council was exceeded only by his hatred of mutations, and in the end, it had become too dangerous to continue the connection.
Sometimes it made me uneasy that we had not heard anything of the Druid for so long. Like Alexi and Madam Vega, the renegade Herder had wanted power in the form of Beforetime weaponmachines. What if he were to discover the machines that could set off another Great White?
I choked off that train of thought. “The expedition we propose will not be to Blackland fringes.”
Rushton looked puzzled. “Then I don’t see any difficulty. Teknoguild expeditions were banned because they never want to go anywhere but the fringes. But that still doesn’t explain your interest. I would be surprised to find you had any aim in common with