e&tg 10

[rone]

N'Jeet clapped his hands together.  "Well!  That's all settled, then.  I suppose you're eager to get on the road, yes?  I'll walk you out of here.  Come this way."  I somewhat sullenly followed him.  He turned to me and, seeing my expression, said, "You seem a bit put out."

I snorted.  "You manipulated me.  Forgive me if i'm not giggling like a gnomish prankster."

He looked away and snickered.  "That's the circle of life, Ser Mwaele.  That's how i get my jollies as a Master Druid; i make things happen, usually by having young people do them.  I shape things to ensure that nature is not thrown out of balance.  That's my job, and manipulation is just one of the tools of the job."  He looked sideways at me.  "Some of the other Master Druids argue that there is no good or evil, and that people like Teraad — was that his name?"  I nodded.  "People like Teraad are not evil, but just another predator.  What do you think?"

I shook my head.  "I know what he's done.  I saw some of what he'd done in his keep before we took him down.  His actions were no mere predation."

"I agree with you."  He sighed.  "We — humans, dwarfkin, the fey, the little ones — are part of nature.  We must not separate ourselves from it.  But that's what cities do, what cities are.  They declare a border between man inside and nature outside.  And the city acts like a festering carbuncle on the face of the planet.  Every city does this; it pollutes the air, the water, the earth.  The people in it live out of harmony with their surroundings."  He grunted.  "The elves, with their long life, understand this better, but even they are not above it.  The dwarves just dig larger holes.  And the goblinkin..."  He shook his head.  "They act like insanity is a racial touchstone.  They should have never survived this long.  That they did and still do is a curse, a blight."

"I have heard rumors," i said, "of civilized goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs.  Living like we do, in a constructive manner, not like barbarians."

"I hope they are true.  If they are, i hope that the civilized goblinkin thrive.  But, in the meantime, i must tend to Local 87 and our protectorate."  He pulled a waterskin from his belt and drank.  "You know, when i sent Feren to that grid where he found you, he was supposed to meet up with the druid in charge.  I got notice from our avian intelligence network that she had been killed by wandering orcs the day before you arrived."  He snorted.  "I imagine Feren will remember sometime today that he was supposed to meet her and panic.  Ah, well... silly boy."  He took another drink.