Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind [175]
“What’d he say?” Richard asked.
She told him, and he gave a grim smile at their private joke as he came to his feet and put away the sword. He reached out and took the pouch from her hand. She hadn’t even realized it was still clutched there. Richard put it in his pocket. “May we never encounter spirits armed with swords.”
The Bird Man nodded his agreement. “And now we have business.”
He reached down and grabbed a fistful of the coyote hide around Toffalar. The body rolled over in the mud as he tore it off. He turned to the hunters.
“Bury the body.” His eyes narrowed. “All of it.”
The men looked at each other, unsure. “Elder, you mean all of it except the skull?”
“I said what I meant. All of it! We only keep the skulls of honored elders, to remind us of their wisdom. We do not keep the skulls of fools.”
This sent a chill through the crowd. It was just about the worst thing you could do to an elder, a dishonor of the highest order. It meant his life had mattered for nothing. The men gave a nod. No one spoke up for the dead elder, including the five standing nearby.
“We are short an elder,” the Bird Man announced. He turned, looking slowly to the eyes around him, then made his back straight and shoved the coyote hide against Savidlin’s chest. “I choose you.”
Savidlin put his hands around the muddy hide with the reverence due a gold crown. He gave a small, proud smile and a nod to the Bird Man.
“Do you have anything to say to our people, as their newest elder?” It was not a question, it was a command.
Savidlin walked over and turned, standing between Kahlan and Richard. He put the hide around his shoulders, beaming with pride at Weselan, and then addressed the gathered people. Kahlan looked out and realized that the whole village surrounded them.
“Most honored among us,” he addressed the Bird Man, “these two people have acted selflessly in the defense of our people. In my life, I have never witnessed anything to compare with it. They could have left us to fend for ourselves when we foolishly turned our backs on them. Instead, they have shown us what manner of people they be. They are as fine as the best of us.” Almost everyone in the crowd was nodding agreement. “I demand that you name them Mud People.”
The Bird Man smiled a small smile. The smile evaporated as he turned to the other five elders. Though he hid it well, Kahlan could see the Bird Man’s eyes flash with the ghost of his anger. “Step forward.” They gave one another sidelong glances, then did as ordered. “The demand made by Savidlin is extraordinary. It must be unanimous. Do you make the same demand?”
Savidlin strode to the archers and snatched a bow from the hands of one. He smoothly nocked an arrow while he kept his squinted eyes on the elders. He put tension to the string, locking the arrow in place with the bow hand, then stepped in front of the five. “Make the demand. Or we will have new elders who will.”
They stood grimly, facing Savidlin. The Bird Man made no movement to interfere. There was a long silence as the crowd waited, spellbound. At last, Caldus took a step forward. He put his hand on Savidlin’s bow and gently lowered its point to the ground.
“Please, Savidlin, allow us to speak from our hearts, not from the point of an arrow.”
“Speak then.”
Caldus walked to Richard, stopping in front of him, looking him in the eye.
“The hardest thing for a man to do, especially an old man,” he said in a soft voice, waiting for Kahlan to translate, “is to admit he has acted foolishly, and selfishly. You have acted neither foolishly nor selfishly. The two of you are better examples of Mud People for our children than I. I demand