The Stonecroft council chamber had not been built to hold as many people as currently occupied it, but the older and influential villagers had squeezed in. They had also divided themselves into groups; the hunters were seated in front of one of the windows, the farmers and ranchers in front of another window, the merchants and craftsmen in the middle of the room, the loggers by the third window, and the elders along the inner wall beside the chieftain’s table. The rest had gathered by the door. Their familiars were waiting outside and unknown by the villagers, a couple of pixies spied on the proceedings in the rafters.

“Mohe, why are we here?” Henry asked. “I have crops to tend to.”

“So do I,” another farmer said.

“Me too.”

“Same for me.”

“We should be hunting,” one of the hunters said to agreement from his fellows.

“And us logging. It’ll be hot later today,” one of the loggers said to nods from his colleagues.

“I have meat to process,” Mitch added.

Mohe held up his hands to silence the gathering and tried talking over them. Ama frowned.

“Silence, you twits!” Simon bellowed. “We all got things we would rather be doing. Let’s let Mohe speak.”

The room fell silent. Ama glared at the gathering but held her tongue. She felt the others disrespected her husband.

“Thank you, Simon,” Mohe said. The merchant nodded but didn’t speak. “We’re here to discuss what to do about the mutated cougar.”

“We kill it!”

“Let’s drive it away!”

“How do you suggest we do that?”

“We must also address the boy that brought it here,” Ama added. There were mutterings at that.

“Pipe down or we’ll be here all day,” Mohe said. Silence descended.

“John, Meagan, and I checked along the fence Fisher had built,” Van Hunter stated. The bearded hunter didn’t speak often, but when he did, the villagers listened.

“It was eerie and unnatural,” John Hunter said. “All of the tracks were inside the fence and there weren’t a single paw print or scratch on the village side of the fence.”

“Are you sure you didn’t miss them?” Ama asked. The crowd stirred but didn’t speak.

“You doubt my brother’s and my skills?” Van softly asked.

“No! Nobody doubts your skills Van,” Mohe quickly interjected. “Everyone knows you and John are the best hunters in the area. My wife is just concerned about having such a large predator so close to the village.”

“That’s…that’s true,” Ama agreed after scanning the faces of the crowd. “But perhaps your daughter missed something…”

“You doubt my Meagan’s skills and my teachings?” Van whispered.

The other villagers knew the large man was upset at the slight to his skills and was now angry at the slight thrown at his daughter. Not only was the girl, for she wouldn’t undergo the bonding ceremony until the next one, already widely considered the third best hunter in Stonecroft after her father and uncle but was her father’s pride and joy. Van’s wife had died of sickness when Meagan was five and the girl had practically grown up in the woods at her dad’s side ever since.

“I…I apologize Van. I’m just distraught over the cat,” Ama replied swallowing her pride. Giggles could be heard coming from above the villagers. They looked up and Ama scowled. Nobody saw the pixies they knew were there.

“Are you sure it’s the cat and not the pixies?” Henry asked.

Several villagers laughed. Ama’s hatred of pixies was well known in the village. Mohe let the conversation flow. He knew sometimes it was best to let people talk themselves, others it was better to be the strong guiding hand.

“Perhaps we should move this meeting to some place without pests,” Helen, one of the other elders, said.

“No. If we move, I’m going to open my shop,” Simon replied. Most of the others agreed with him. This caused more giggles from the tiny spies above the humans. “Pixies can get into any building as they have always proven. Let’s get this over with.”

“Where is Trinity?” Mitch asked. “She was the one saying she was attacked. Let’s hear her account.”

“She’s off looking for some ginger for my wife,” John replied. “Maddy has been having morning sickness and her other suggestions such as crackers or lemons didn’t work.”

“Did someone go to protect our alchemist?” Helen asked.

“Meagan went with her,” John replied as Van nodded. Helen frowned but didn’t say anything else.

“Has she tried making a raspberry leaf tea?” Ama asked.

“No. Didn’t even mention it,” John answered. Ama frowned slightly, but the hunter spotted the expression. “Why do you ask?”

Ama looked around and saw that the rest of the gathering was paying attention to their exchange. “My mother always used raspberry leaf tea for morning sickness when she was our alchemist. That, ginger, or chamomile tea if someone was allergic to raspberry leaf.”

“Why not ask Jase Fisher?” a new voice asked. The villagers turned and saw Marcus Ball standing in the doorway.

“He’s not part of this village,” Ama hissed.

“That’s a shame for your village then,” Marcus replied.

“How do you know that?” John asked.

“Ama asked me to have a more experienced alchemist test Trinity’s work,” Marcus answered.

“You had Fisher’s work tested as well,” Van quietly said. Marcus nodded his head.

“Who did the testing?” another villager asked.

“Anyone we would have heard of?” a second villager quickly asked.

“Selma Wicker in Asheville,” the merchant answered both questions. Several of the older villagers nodded in approval. Selma had a very favorable reputation in the mountain villages and was well known as she had been practicing her craft for over 50 years. Selma’s tinctures and potions were highly sought after Ama’s mother had passed away. They were also expensive.

“What did Selma conclude?” Helen asked as Ama frowned.

“In short, that Trinity needed more experience before being allowed to go it alone and that her trainer didn’t really know what they were doing,” Marcus answered. Ama’s frown deepened as the others started shouting and talking amongst themselves. The merchant then shouted, “Selma also said she had potential.”

“Settle down,” Mohe shouted. “We’re a small village. We knew we couldn’t lure a more experienced or better alchemist here.”

Marcus laughed quietly. Van’s and John’s eyes speared the merchant. So did Simon’s.

“Why are you laughing Marcus?” Simon asked.

“Because your mistake is good news for me. Fisher’s much better at his craft than Trinity is at this time,” the traveling merchant answered his villager counterpart.

“Selma said that?” Mohe asked.

“Indeed. She said he needed more experience and to refine his recipes more, but he was much closer to realizing his potential than Trinity,” Marcus answered. “Selma thought that his trainer was a master.”

“He was trained by his mother,” Mohe muttered.

“And she was trained by Ama’s mother!” Helen hissed.

“Losers!” tiny voices shouted from the rafters before laughing. Marcus looked up and shook his head as did others.

“What about the cougar?” one of the loggers asked. “We’ve gotten way off subject.”

“Cougar?” Marcus asked. He was quickly filled in on Jase’s newest guest.

“As long as the cat stays on Fisher’s land, we do nothing,” Van quietly said.

“What?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s no different than any other predator on the mountain,” John answered shrugging his wide shoulders. Seeing the looks on the others faces, he continued, “If you only knew how many cats and bears stalked close to the village at times most of you would never venture past the village walls.”

The other hunters laughed. A few of the farmers chuckled as well. They had seen the tracks of bears and cougars at times as well.

“Even if it’s mutated, it’s a cat,” one of the other hunters said. “It’ll want to range and find a cave for itself.”

“And as far as I know, there isn’t a cave on any of the land Fisher claimed,” another hunter added. “So, relax. It’ll leave in time.”

Laughter from the rafters greeted that statement. The villagers ignored the laughter.

“Well, that’s good enough for me. I have guards anyway,” Marcus said.

“What do you mean?” Mohe asked.

“I have some goods to deliver to Jase as well as see if he has the rest of what he agreed to trade to me ready. Simon, I’ll have your order delivered before lunch,” the merchant replied. “I’ll open the caravan for general trading and everyone else’s orders after lunch.”

The traveling merchant exited the council chambers without another word. The hunters stood and followed. Soon enough everyone else left as well since it seemed nothing would be done about the cougar.