After a few moments, she spoke. “Yes, for many generations, the WooPeace has existed in happiness and peace. Those that live here, live according to the WooPeace, or they do not live here.” Now WooZan lowered her eyes and looked directly at Helga with a cold stare. “You want the two worlds of WooSheep to become one. You think this will make the creatures happy. But then there will be differences and arguments about what the WooPeace is, or should be. The WooPeace will be destroyed if such a thing comes to pass. For centuries, the WooSheep have been assured that they lived in perfect happiness and peace. That has been the doing of the WooZans. Hunjah! You wish to destroy the WooPeace...” WooZan’s voice grew soft and cold. She stepped closer to Helga and looked directly into her eyes for the first time. “And you wish to destroy the WooZans.” She said nothing more, but the cold, intense gleam in her eyes said all that Helga needed to know.
WooZan turned away and walked toward where her boat was beached. “You wish to take away the WooPeace. That is clear,” she said. “So be it. We shall see what the Council of Inquiry has to say. I will summon them. Tomorrow they will give their verdict. If you agree to wait here until tomorrow afternoon, the Council of Inquiry will decide. Hunjah!” WooZan’s voice had an icy edge that made the coolness of the cave seem even colder.
“The Council meets at noon,” WooZan explained. “I will return with its decision shortly after noon tomorrow. I will bring you food enough for the night and you will be my guests. Tomorrow you will hear the verdict.” WooZan mounted her boat and moved off into the darkness beyond the circle of light at the bottom of the LuteWoo.
“Whoa, that WooZan gives me the creeps,” Helga shivered.
“Yeah, and what’s this business about the Council of Inquiry?” Breister wondered.
“I don’t know,” Helga replied, “but I didn’t like the way she said it. She’ll be back with our food soon, and then we’ll try to consult with Janty and the others. We need a plan.”
Janty, Burwell, and Bwellina were lying hidden at the top of the LuteWoo, straining to hear what was happening below. Fortunately, sound carried well in the cave and they heard much of what was said. The instant WooZan had left, JanWoo-Corriboo was down the rope in a flash. She had barely hit the ground when she whispered urgently, “Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here. The Council of Inquiry only has two outcomes: exile or death. WooZan knows you’re too dangerous to her precious WooPeace to allow you to go free. You’ll be killed!”
“So, the gentle, humble WooZan is not so gentle and humble, eh?” Breister observed. “Some WooPeace!” he said with a hollow laugh.
“Oh, it’s gentle and peaceful, all right,” Janty said, speaking rapidly with excitement. “If the Council of Inquiry decides someone should die, they are simply blindfolded and conducted deep, deep into the uncharted, deepest parts of the cave system and left there. No one hears from those poor souls ever again. That’s exactly what she’s got in mind for you! We’ve got to get you out of here. This was not a good idea!”
“No, Janty, not so fast,” Helga replied in a determined voice. “Let me think. We have until tomorrow at least. I have my flicker-pole for protection. If they try to take us, I’ll bring every bird within 20 miles in on her head. No, we’ll be O.K. We are not going to simply run away. That is probably what she most wants to happen. Either we change our minds and join the WooPeace, or we flee—that’s what she hopes. But she did not count on how determined a Wood Cow can be.”
Helga now directed Janty with a low whisper: “Go back up and lie low. Let WooZan bring us our food. I don’t think she will leave a guard. She wants us to think she’s friendly. And she hopes we will flee and leave her little fiefdom alone. I think she’ll play it straight with us tonight. But she will surely come back tomorrow with the means to—shall we say, make us stay a long time?” The friends looked at one another grimly, and then Janty gave two tugs on the rope. Burwell and Bwellina pulled her back up out of the LuteWoo.
After a few more minutes, Breister and Helga heard the soft sound of a boat paddling across the water. WooZan landed shortly and began unloading a hearty picnic of WooSheep delicacies. She was clearly putting out the best the WooPeace had to offer for the campers in the LuteWoo: Salamander Strips with Hot Sauce, Dried Frog Legs and Whizzle Dip, Moss Chips, and Cold Bat Milk Soup.
“I hope you will be happy and comfortable here tonight, my friends,” WooZan said in a friendly tone. “I have brought you a delightful picnic and some soft pallets for your comfort. I hope you will ponder the bounties and wonders of the WooPeace,” she continued. “You deserve to reflect deeply on why you have come. Perhaps you have come to stay a while? Many who have come have stayed forever. You may change your mind. Hunjah!” She bowed and then paddled off into the darkness.
Helga and Breister waited until all sounds of the boat had died away. Then Helga whispered up towards her friends, “O.K. Let Janty back down.”
In a few moments, Janty was at the bottom of the rope. “Whoa, Janty,” Helga said, impressed. “I’ve never seen anyone climb a rope that fast before! You’re a very good climber!” Helga praised her with a smile. She was getting the seeds of an idea.