Chapter 10
One of the things that Petrilla noted at Nabol was the Weyr craftstall. There were multiple talents in the Weyr it seemed; instruments such as drums, pipes and gitars; turned wooden goods of superior quality, including nesting sets of boxes, fine bobbins for lace making and children's tops and dolls and the like; other carven goods and toys; leatherwork, beautifully embossed, metalwork, woven and braided belts in addition to the leather ones, patchwork, embroidery, knitted lace and so on.
"Those bobbins would sell better for beads on them as weights" she told the Blue Rider Harper Journeyman.
He shrugged.
"We ran out of time and enough people with skills."
Petrilla handed over a box of glass beads from her pack.
"Try these" she said "I made them, they've never passed through dubious sources."
The Blue Rider looked again and gave her a cheery grin.
"Ah, you'll be Lady Petrilla" he said "Trust me, I don't care where things come from so long as they go to feeding our spare kids!"
"They do say that Harpers have flexible morals" laughed Petrilla.
"So long as the general good is served" he grinned "I'm T'rin and I was a Holdless orphan before the Weyr took me and my sister in many turns ago. You might say we were their first! T'lana's my foster mother."
"I hear a lot about her though I've never met her" said Petrilla.
T'rin's face softened.
"She's one of the dearest people on Pern" he said seriously "Are they a gift, these beads?"
"They are; and I'll make more" promised Petrilla "They're easy enough to make from broken bottle shards if not so exciting in colour these left over ones."
"I'll see if I can get our weyrglasscrafter to make different coloured ones too from odd ends" said T'rin "He donated us a couple of goblets, so we never quite liked to cadge any more, and they're long gone to Lord Deckter before we were even unpacked properly. But Tobari had two sisters and a brother Impressed so he's good to touch for extra" he gave her a cheeky grin.
Petrilla grinned back and sighed inwardly over how different was this youth from Jemus, with perhaps a not dissimilar background. T'rin retained that touch of the cheerful lack of scruples when it came to putting his efforts into caring for those who needed it but the very compassion he had for the orphans showed that he had never become hard. Jemus had a similar air of gamin insouciance; but it would not last.
Ah well.
Later there was a ruckus near the weyr stall; two well-dressed girls were arguing over a skinny scrap of a girl, one having released the weesweets the child had the enterprise to sell. Petrilla was about to intervene; but the other girl seemed to be comforting the child, then led her towards T'rin, facing out some old battleaxe who appeared to be in at least nominal charge of both of them. When Petrilla heard the girls say something about being weyrfolk in waiting she nodded to herself. The girls were waiting for a clutch but knew about the orphans. And there was another girl who seemed to be with them, well wrapped up in a wheeled chair like the one H'llon had made for Peder and cared for by the biggest woman Petrilla had ever seen!
These candidates to be handed over the little girl to T'rin; and Petrilla left him to it, finding a quiet corner to set herself up after having shown herself around.
It was not long before the furtive men started flitting up to her quiet perch, on a bale of hay, hidden from the sight of most behind a big cart.
Petrilla was happy to buy most things.
Jewellery tended to predominate, but she also bought a well scrimshawed bone hair comb, a set of chisels, a jade dildo and half a bolt of shimmering blue brocade with paisley patterns that probably originated in Lemos. The wine she turned down; it would not travel and she was not enough of an expert to gauge its value. She suggested that the liberator of that piece of produce might do worse than to shift it to the Harper Blue Rider. Trust a Harper to value wine, after all, she thought!
A pair of lady's dancing slippers, heavily beaded and embroidered she did not turn down, nor a pack of dragonpoker cards with lively representations of R'mart, Bedella and Lord Larad and Lady Dulsay as some of their face cards. It might be worth the trip to sell those on in Telgar.
Petrilla also operated a mark-changing service that operated particularly well at big race meetings. When pickpockets took a large denomination mark, they found spending such an embarrassment. Petrilla would break down the mark into smaller denominations, charging a sixteenth in every mark commission.
It was surprisingly profitable.
Especially the transaction with the cheeky young thief who had taken half the contents of a bookie's pouch while he calculated a series of preposterous odds proposed by the boy's equally cheeky older brother.
"You'll have to come back for the rest" Petrilla said, having changed a quarter of their haul. "I need change of my own for that much."
They looked wary.
"You ain't goin' to grass us up?" said one
"Or nick the rest?" asked the other.
"What, lose the best deal I've had all day? Bite your tongue!" Petrilla scoffed "Nor would I risk my reputation by stiffing customers for short term gain! Have sense! I've just not prepared so much, you lucky scallywags. You're that lucky you ought to be dragonmen!"
They laughed at that sally!
It was easy to get the change.
H'llon was on the weyr craftstall and Petrilla just asked to change some large denomination marks she'd laid aside for the races.
"It's a mug's game you know, betting" said H'llon solemnly.
"Oh, I'm betting on Tragen" said Petrilla cheerfully "I only bet on certainties!"
She trusted H'llon absolutely; but felt it better perhaps to protect him from the knowledge of why she wanted small denomination marks.
H'llon was happy. High denomination marks were easier to carry and tidier than a bunch of small change, so long as he kept a reasonable float.
Once again, reflected Petrilla happily, there was something in it for everyone. Except the bookie-marksman; but such were usually next door to being thieves anyway and so were fair game!
One of the competitions that took place before the racing was a trial of archery; one class for longbows, a specialised weapon used only by a few, being confined almost exclusively to Lemos in general use; and the larger class for the crossbow.
Petrilla hesitated briefly; then entered the crossbow competition.
There was some jeering and teasing from other, male, entrants, along the lines of it being a miracle if a woman could even face in the right direction; and Petrilla just smiled.
She knew she was good.
Living Holdless she relied on her crossbow to catch food, and well as it being a very tangible threat for her protection; and she laid odds on herself to finish in the last three left.
By the end of the elimination rounds, Petrilla was in the shoot off with four other men; and an hour later was shooting against one other fellow only.
He was a sturdy huntsman named Deev, recently wed, she heard someone say, to the Lady Holder of Mile High Hold; and he was the favourite.
He looked at her and grinned.
"You're good" he said.
"What, for a woman?" she asked tartly.
He shrugged.
"Said I so? I'm no fool that has to prove his manhood by fearing or putting down the abilities of a woman. Reckon my wife'd be glad to make a friend of a strong lady like you" he held out his hand "May the best archer win."
She took his hand gladly.
"I'll maybe have to meet your good lady then" she said "Though if she's not with you it will be a while; I'm travelling East for an extended period."
He nodded.
"Her be here to cheer me on" he said "Win or lose she'll be happy to congratulate you."
Petrilla's three quarrels flew well; one in the bull, one nicking the edge of the gold and one a little to the side of that, flights all touching.
Deev nodded.
"Unlucky the gust of wind that caught the last drifted it into the bronze" he said.
She shrugged.
"I could have risked aiming right in case of it; I didn't"
Deev took careful aim.
His bolts were truer; two in the gold, one half in and half in the bronze.
The crowd went wild; it was the third turn in a row he had won!
Petrilla grasped his hand cheerfully.
"It was a fair win" she said "You're the better shot!"
He grinned.
"Happen I've been shooting since I was six turns old" he said "Come meet my wife – you'll dine with us?"
Lady Orna was pleased to meet another woman who knew her own mind; dining with them too were T'rin and H'llon and a weyrling called J'leth who was the lady's young brother.
That Petrilla already knew T'rin and H'llon did her no disservice in the eyes of Lady Orna and Holder Deev, as most styled him, though he was wont to pull a comic face and disclaim, as being only the Lady Holder's spouse!
"But then, he's a fine comic actor" said T'rin; and there was laughter; some joke to which Petrilla was not privy.
That this couple were on good and friendly terms with the weyr however boded well for future encounters. It was good to know there was another Hold where she would be welcome and maybe as a guest if she needed time out from the business. Of course she could always ask to stay at the weyr; but it was nice to keep one's options open! And Lady Orna seemed a very pleasant person, open and happy and plainly devoted to her infant son, a few months old at most, whom Deev plainly adored too!
They were a nice family.
Petrilla spoke to H'llon again after the races; she donated half her winnings, having done so well from the bookie-marksmen, as she said with a straight face.
"So long as you only bet what you can afford to lose and are judicious" said H'llon "I guess there's no harm. But I've seen people gambling franticly, losing what they can't afford. Samwil the Harper of High Reaches Hold is one; he doesn't know when to stop."
Petrilla nodded.
"Inveterate gamblers can lose everything, like inveterate drunkards" she said "Coelon – you met him the time we first met – died this winter screaming. Gamblers don't die like that but they surely do ruin their lives. It goes past sanity into a kind of sickness of the mind, I think. But don't worry; it was just a flutter on a friend, and not all the marks you changed were mine. I know some people who like to be more anonymous you know!"
It was not a lie; and it could be taken several ways!
H'llon nodded.
"Good man, Tragen" he said. "Dependable to place any time."
Petrilla nodded.
"And that's how the professional gambler wins – playing the percentages" she said. "H'llon, I'm minded to go east and poke about maybe in Crom and Telgar and work down to Igen. Have you any friends in Telgar weyr? Do they do the same thing and should I make myself known? Ah, I guess not" she added, seeing H'llon's face.
"We don't talk much to Telgar Weyr" he rumbled "They're….a little intolerant. And the only thing our T'bor is intolerant of is intolerance." He pulled a face "Be very careful if you head that way; it's Lady Thella's home ground. Not only might SHE pose a risk but there's general intolerance towards all Holdless there right now – and with good cause. Many have either been chained out or taken to work the mines as forced labour. I can't approve of wholesale judgement without looking deeper" he frowned "But I see Lord Larad's point, I suppose, as Thella's men have caused so much trouble. Oh, the elderlies and legitimate traders haven't been treated like that" he added "But any able bodied men not in a trader train or travelling with a good stated purpose and preferably a warrant to back up their story's been rounded up. Larad's trying to solve the problem by opening old Holds and Mineholds and getting the Holdless to Hold, those he gets around to having interviewed and thinks are worth giving a second chance to – which is a good practical way round it in my opinion – but it's taking time. Personally I think you should avoid Telgar. I can arrange to drop you or have you dropped in Lemos though; Lord Asgenar's been reducing the problem by opening new Holds like his brother-in-law but he's less zealous about shifting the problem out of sight because he does not have the embarrassment of having Thella as a sister as Larad does. Besides, I can then make you known to D'vind and Ch'sseri from Benden; they're here for the Gather – and the gees – and to catch up with our High Reaches woodcrafters. It's a long story; they're logicators."
And that, in many ways, sufficed as an introduction!
Petrilla found herself introduced in short order to Blue Rider D'vind and Green Rider Ch'sseri and found herself liking the young couple.
"We learned logicating under Journeyman Elissa at the Woodcrafter Hall" said Ch'sseri serenely "So we're quite well aware of High Reaches policy of poking in noses, we're not REALLY allowed to by F'lar but we can help out other logicators."
"We'll help all we can" said D'vind "F'lar has to do politics you know and we can't be seen to interfere, so we have to make sure and not get caught you see. It would be embarrassing for him."
They reminded Petrilla of a pair of hunting canine puppies. She half expected them to gambol about with their tongues hanging out, yipping!
There was no time like the present; the Weyr was looking after Marilka and Esmelda, so Petrilla was pleased to accept at lift behind D'vind to Lemos.
"We'll drop in on Elissa and see if she'll put you up for the night; if not we'll go on to Benden Weyr and find room there" said Ch'sseri cheerfully "One more small one won't notice!" he grinned at her.
"Elissa'll find room for you" said D'vind "You're a friend of H'llon; and he trained her, you know. She looks on him as an elder brother." He grinned "And H'llon was trained by her husband, Master Gerney."
"Keeping it all in the family?" quipped Petrilla.
D'vind laughed.
"If you meet a big woodcrafter who's a bit literal and very good looking, chances are he's a relative of H'llon. There's lots of them: Gerney included. And I'm not being disrespectful" he added hastily "Because as logicators we're on first name terms, even if younger apprentices prefer to stick to 'Master' even out of lessons."
Petrilla nodded.
"I understood that there's a lot of informality. If everyone has their piece to say it makes sense. I'm not really properly a logicator, you know; I'm more their agent" she thought she ought to explain.
Ch'sseri shrugged.
"Close enough" he said, airily.
They left late in the afternoon and there was a brief discussion between the dragonmen over how much to Time It.
"It's only three time zones from Nabol to Lemos" said D'vind "She'll arrive in time for the evening meal; then we can Time It to Benden to make sure we get our own."
"Unless the woodcrafters invite us to stay" said Ch'sseri cheerfully.
"Don't they feed you well at Benden?" asked Petrilla.
"Oh! Yes! Manora's superb – our Headwoman – but we just get on so well with the kids at the Woodcrafter Hall, meals are such merry affairs" explained Ch'sseri.
Petrilla refrained from pointing out that too much delay would lead to missing supper; but as it happened they arrived just as a gong went, calling woodcrafters into the big eating hall.
If she suspected that the Riders had directed Bimoleth and Iphedeth Between time to that precise moment Petrilla kept her thoughts to herself.
And the lovers were busy discussing whether it was worth eating with the woodcrafters and Timing It to get a second supper at Benden too.
They really were such sweet young lads!
Elissa and Gerney were happy to accommodate any friend of H'llon! They and their fosterlings made Petrilla welcome, after a good hearty evening meal, in the new cot that Gerney had built. He had made it with enough rooms to account for large numbers of fosterlings and children, though Elissa said she had no intention of starting her own family for several turns yet! Petrilla had a guest room all to herself – an almost unheard of luxury!
On the morrow she would walk on to Lemos Main Hold, but a night in a comfortable bed in the warm was certainly very welcome!
A/N the cafuffle with two young girls will be found in Varalie's Tale, yet to be posted code HR 7&8[a]. You may recall Deev and Orla from Mile High Murder chapter 14 in HR 5 Logicators of High Reaches