There has to be a better way

[Lothoir]

Jon sat brooding next to the bridge connecting Mossclaw with the rest of the Viridale, awash in conflicting emotion as he struggled to make sense of what had just happened.

He was a miner; his father was a miner. As far back as he could remember his family had always been miners, and the druids trusted protectors that helped his and other families in everything from showing them where the best berries grew to selecting the proper ore to mine. The druids of his life were caretakers, teaching that the humans were just as much a part of nature as the iron they mined.

Yet since coming to the Sundered Valley, Jon has been repeatedly shocked and horrified at brutality and bloodlust among the druids here. They see the cities and citizens not as lost, or in need of guidance, but as vile and depraved monsters that had to be be destroyed.

And now...this..

An entire camp, slaughtered. Simply for doing the only thing they knew how to do.

The man called Will had killed every miner in the Hills. He reveled in it. Jon had confronted him in the Glade, but was lambasted by both Will and Jadisandra. He was accused of being insane for wanting to protect the miners even as the killer claimed to be the earth itself.

As he was about to leave Will told him to teach the miners to respect nature; then would he leave them be.

The druids may no longer wish to teach, but perhaps I can.

[Lothoir]

Jon breathed easily in the Glade as the sun dropped behind the hills. Things were looking up. He had found others that wished for peace, among them an Elder of the Circle. By rescuing a Legionnaire from a Gnoll stew pot and making sure everyone in the fort knew he was a Warden, Jon hoped they would see that the Wardens are a force for good in the valley.

He had also spoken with a priestess of Sune, Priya. She had offered herself as a neutral party if he could convince the Druids and the Syndicate to come to a discussion table. Perhaps he would..