CHAPTER 11 More about Wenner…
The girl Ramina made the gruelling climb to the weyr with growing trepidation as she approached it. She reached the stark black rock palisade that ringed it and stared upward in dismay at that sheer wall. Seeing no way in she sat down, exhausted, and wept in despair. Her preoccupation was so great that she did not notice the soft breeze of landing dragon wings or hear footsteps walking towards her; and she started at the kindly hand laid on her shoulder.
"You're a long way from any home, little sister. Are you trying to reach the Weyr?"
She raised her tear stained face to look at M'kel.
"I can't see how to get in" she said, hopelessly.
M'kel extended a hand to help her up.
"Hop onto Vorth here – and you'll be in in no time."
Ramina followed his expansive wave with her eyes and suddenly realised that she was talking to a dragonman. She pulled herself up straight and stood looking like a naughty weyrling caught at mischief.
"Please my lord dragonman – Blue Rider" - it would not do to insult the dragon by failing to refer to him – "I did not mean any disrespect."
"Of course you did not. Hey, do I look offended at anything? I mean do I?" grinned M'kel. He thought it made a nice change in a way to get respect from holder folk, but he liked informality. He added, "I'm just wondering what is so important that a child like you must toil up the mountain. If you wanted to come on Search, a request to your Lord Holder is usually the easier option."
"Oh –no, I wasn't coming for that. Only – I've heard that dragonmen help people who have Problems." She blurted.
"Well in that case, I'll take you straight to weyrwoman T'lana. Problem solving is her speciality."
His smile was faintly mocking; but not, she thought, unpleasantly so; and with some trepidation she let him help her onto Vorth.
oOoOo
Talana listened to Ramina's story, periodically hooking one of the now mobile twins away from the lake with a practised toe. The girl explained that her father was a cotholder whose wife had died four turns previously birthing the youngest of her three younger brothers. At almost nine turns, Ramina had helped out with the children and they had managed a decent living; but over the last thirteen months or so things had been going wrong. Herdbeasts and sheep acquired mysterious cuts, which festered, milk appeared to dry up or what little they got went sour in the dairy. Stands of crops had been trampled and eaten when the small herd of animals had unaccountably got in amongst them. There were other small annoying incidents and Ramina added,
"Jancet – my father – was at his wits' end. He was convinced that someone was playing malicious tricks on us. He set himself to watch at night – and now he's disappeared. I'm so afraid that something terrible has befallen him, and apart from that being awful, how am I supposed to Hold with just two striplings of ten and eight turns to aid me and little Dortol to see to too?" She sniffed, miserably.
Talana gave the girl a cuddle. She might have been a little old for such things, but she was so grateful to pass on the worrying to an adult, to have responsibility taken from her even in such a trivial way that she burst into tears. T'lana stroked her head and shushed her, rocking her gently.
"I will fly out to your cothold" she said when the storm of sobs had passed, "I guess it's not far if you walked here – I can't go Between right now you see." She patted her rapidly swelling belly. "I'll get a couple of stout lads who can give you a hand with the heavy chores that have built up, and they can also help search for your father." Talana knew she was sailing close to the wind in the matter of the law concerning competency to Hold; but if malicious persons had caused problems and the girl felt there was no-one else to turn to, Talana felt it was a good exception. Besides, Lord Bargen surely owed her enough to cut a little slack!
oOoOo
Talana scooped up the twins who were protesting at having their way to a sticky patch of mud barred by Mirrith's tail. Rofel had just found his feet and had been standing unsteadily, legs splayed apart drumming on Mirrith's unyielding scales. Rogan appeared to be trying to burrow under her, backside in the air, head butting. He crawled everywhere, faster than Talana thought such an unwieldy motion should take him; Rofel had never crawled. He went straight from wiggling on his tummy – usually backwards – to suddenly deciding to stand with a gappy grin of triumph. Talana delivered both to Lanelly and sent out a call to two dragons to tell off their riders to be ready for a trip. She had one or two shrewd suspicions about the origins of these tricks; but her query to Ramina quashed these. It transpired that Jancet's cothold was situated in an isolated valley, its borders marching with no man's.
"Father used to joke and say that we were so far from anywhere that Fax had died before we heard he was our overlord." Ramina managed a watery smile as she told Talana this. Talana scratched the side of her nose. Not then an attempt to take over good, broken lands to extend a holding.
"D'you have any immediate over-Holder?" She asked. Ramina shook her head.
"We're independent. We've been independent for generations. Mother's father Held, and father took it on when he was caught in First Fall."
Talana shuddered.
"How do you manage about that – knowing when fall is?" She asked. Ramina looked surprised.
"By the creepy feeling in my back. My brothers can't feel it – mother could, she got very upset about her father going out, apparently – so I suppose it's only women that can?"
Talana shook her head.
"Shells and shards, it's a gift worth having; I wish I had someone talented that way in the weyr." She itched to ask the child to consider attempting Impression; but now was not a good time. "Well, we'll get you back home; those are the helpers I sent for now coming. You can wear one of my jackets; it's cold up there even in Straight flight."
Ramina looked surprised. The late autumn day was hot, even this high up in the mountains. By this season, mists and dew froze overnight on the plants and the sun was high before the icy vegetation fully melted; but the sun was warm to the skin and the thinness of the air made sunburn a very real risk.
oOoOo
The young boys Janor and Ravis were totally excited by the arrival of three dragons, one of which was longer than the cot and barn put together. Talana had picked two of her clutchmates who had been bred to farmwork to accompany her. L'ster, who rode brown Gerrinth, was craftbred in the Beasthold – he had left because he found attitudes there rather conservative – and R'bret, rider of blue Bedwyth, was Holdbred, his father a journeyman farmer. They soon had the two older boys chatting away as they sorted out the animals and did the heavy work. Then the three dragonriders proceeded to fly a sweep pattern to look for Jancet.
oOoOo
It was the patch of colour in the bushes that drew R'bret's attention. The others joined him as Bedwyth called them, and they investigated. Talana had her arm around Ramina's shoulders as they showed her the body. The child cried out, and clung to Talana, burying her face against her.
"That's Jancet." She said in a sick little voice. Talana gave her a hug.
"You'd better go sit with Mirrith dear." She said. "She'll be with you and look after you. She likes having her eyebrows rubbed." She added, to give the girl something else to think about. "We" she said, a grim note creeping into her voice "Need to find out just what happened here."
oOoOo
It was evident from the broken twigs and scored earth that the body of Cotholder Jancet had been dragged into the bushes out of sight of a casual glance. The way he died was also evident; his left temple was completely crushed in by a heavy blow. L'ster turned away and retched as Talana turned the head slightly, the better to see the wound. Talana felt sickened herself; but the search for clues subjugated such feelings. She got her magnifying glass from her pouch and examined the ghastly wound carefully. L'ster and R'bret watched nervously as she grunted to herself; and reached delicately into the bloody mess to withdraw something. She held the minute object up to the light, examining it through the glass.
"Well boys, if you search around, you may find bits of a broken bottle." She said. "Be very careful."
"Broken bottle?" Asked R'bret, surprised.
"There was a shard of glass in the wound. It looks like vintner's glass. He was hit on the head with a bottle. If we can find enough of the bottle it might tell us something. It might not; but it certainly will not if you don't look for it." She added acerbically. The two young men hastened to do her bidding as Talana felt the man's jaw and extremities and checked for other wounds. The body appeared to have lost all rigor, and indeed one of the things Talana had noticed was that there were already tiny maggots hatched in the wound. Ramina had waited all day before setting out for the weyr and the weather had been quite warm, so he had probably died sometime during the early hours of the morning. Which, she thought, one could have reasonably suggested anyway. He was otherwise unhurt, barring some scratches that had probably come from being dragged into the bushes. Blood had flowed from the head wound onto the ground, so presumably the unfortunate man was not quite dead when he was brought here.
There was a shout from R'bret; his keen eyes had spotted something. Talana eased her clumsy feeling body up and went to see what he had found.
R'bret was justly pleased with himself. He held carefully the neck and part of the shoulders of a bottle.
"And see, T'lan, there's a part of a sooty fingerprint on it!" He declared. "If that crazy woodcrafter's right, it'll prove who held the bottle!"
"I'm glad someone listens to H'llon's explanations." Grinned Talana. "Also, R'bret, there's a fragment of a vintner's mark. Do you see if you can find some more shards and maybe we can identify where it was purchased." She added "And watch out for some kind of campfire. Soot doesn't appear on fingers without there's been fire."
R'bret only turned up a couple of significant pieces of glass; the force of the blow appeared to have shattered the bottle into tiny pieces. One bit was the bottom; but the other had a little more of the vintner's mark on it.
"If I put these together I can draw part of it, anyway." Said Talana. "The bottom shape suggests Tillek hold: so we'll ask the Mastervintner there where batches of this Journeyman's wines were sent if he can recognise the mark from a partial drawing."
The dragons helped in the search for a campfire; and Bedwyth reported one seen from the air as L'ster set up a shout from the ground. Both fires were at the edge of a grove of vigorously growing fellis trees; and the boys groaned when Talana explained the next task.
"We will search around the area for anything that might have been left behind; and we will sift through the ashes to see if anything useful to us might have been thrown away and only partially consumed."
oOoOo
The search was long and mucky, and evening was drawing rapidly in before Talana was satisfied that they could find nothing more. She ran through their finds,
"Several half charred animal bones – not very helpful. A bone button; common enough in type, but anyone who has lost one may be noticeable. A broken strap, partly burned; someone is going to want to replace that, and a new strap on and old pack – it looks like a pack strap – might give us a clue." She smiled at them ruefully. "So far it's only things that could help us prove a presence in the region if we have suspects to hand; the thumbprint is the same though that does prove murder. We also have a thirty-second-piece, stamped with the Healer Hall symbol – and your pile of cooked vegetation, L'ster." She got up. "Which I shall now look at." She went over to the pile of stuff by the trees that L'ster had earlier described to her as 'a load of boiled greens' and had been shy about admitting to as a find. Talana picked up some of the mushy stuff, feeling it, and sniffing it. Her eyes widened.
"Fellis!" she said. "That combined with the Healercraft mark gives me a thought. There's heaps of discarded fellis here – enough to be very profitable if that process Wenner was using has been used!" Quickly she filled the young men in on the Journeyman's immoral use of a dangerously hallucinogenic derivative of fellis. They returned to the cot with their portable finds, with Talana all the more desirous of tracing the bottle of wine in the hopes of tracing Wenner.
"First thing tomorrow, L'ster, you take this to Tillek." She said, as she completed a drawing of the fragments of the mark. "R'bret, I want you and Bedwyth helping Mirrith and me look for paths and trails. If Wenner has been here more than a couple of times, he may have left a trail; and it's suggestive that Jancet started having trouble within a couple of months of Wenner leaving Fort. He must have seen these fine fellis trees and reckoned this nice little valley would be a good centre of operations. Poor Jancet must have happened upon him, and he hit him. I really do not want this creep to get away again. And we're staying overnight to protect the kids. We will set guard, and the dragons can also take their turn with us. Anyone who is ruthless enough to try to force a man out and then to kill him – even though it was almost certainly not planned – might well try to get rid of the children too. If he saw us, he'd be concerned to get rid of any possible complainant to Bargen."
L'ster and R'bret nodded. They knew that desperate men could be dangerous.
oOoOo
There were no night alarms, though Gerrinth reported a possible disturbance on the hillside; however as it ceased he did not bother to refer the matter to L'ster until the morning. The dragons had grumbled a little about acting as watchwhers; but Talana had told them that this was a job that could not POSSIBLY be trusted to watchwhers, it was too important.
Come the morning all the dragons had congregated again, and the three riders took off to undertake their various tasks. Gerrinth and L'ster went promptly Between and Talana and R'bret wheeled their respective dragons round to cover the edge of the valley from the air.
It was only when Talana took Mirrith up high on a thermal to pass down the valley again that she noticed something. Urging Mirrith to maintain altitude she peered down through the rapidly dissipating shreds of mist. The faintest of tracks were visible – by the fact that they were overgrown with different colour vegetation. Clever, she thought, he does not use the same approach once the vegetation starts to be worn away – but what no-one but a dragonrider could know is that new growth is a different colour when seen from above. She searched for a confluence of these paths – which appeared to be somewhere at the rocky, vegetation–bare side of the valley. Talana swore, and passed on the information to Bedwyth. R'bret waved in acknowledgement from twenty or thirty dragonlengths below, and circled to mark the place. Gerrinth burst out from Between further down the valley; and Talana signalled return and confer.
oOoOo
L'ster was full of news.
"I spoke to the Mastervintner" he said "And showed him your sketch; and he fairly boiled. He wanted to know if the Weyr had been cheated!"
"Oh yes?" Talana leaned forward intently, peering over the mug of klah Ramina had made for them.
"Apparently this is the work of a journeyman Jarris; he's been expelled and exiled for misrepresentation of wares on a systematic basis. But he'd set his mark on some empty bottles, and he could use them to sell wine as craft-approved." L'ster grinned at her. "I even have a good description. He's a big fellow with coarse black hair and a bad temper – could be R'gar so far" he said, hastily ducking as she swung a good-natured punch at him "- with close-set eyes and thin lips. Sounds a really mean looking fellow. D'you reckon he could be in league with Wenner?"
Talana pursed her lips, thinking.
"I would have said that it is highly likely. There are limited places that the holdless can find shelter, and rogues can always find other rogues. Which being so I am more inclined to think that maybe this Jarris killed Jancet rather than Wenner. Master Oldive described Wenner as a weaselly little fellow. We have something of a lead; but there is much to search. I do not want Wenner to get away again; but I do not want to insult Lord Bargen. I will send him a message; one of you take it, the other will fly with me so that if he tries to run again we shall see." With that Talana rose; and pacing back and forth spoke an outline of the story and asked permission from the Lord Holder to proceed.
"Can one of you remember that?" She asked. R'bret sprang to his feet and repeated her words back; and at a nod from her was away to High Reaches Hold. Talana took again to the air, this time in L'ster's company; and they surveyed the region around where the tenuous trail petered out. The landscape was bleak and bare and there was little cover; no-one was on the move, or else was very skilfully hidden. Talana believed that Wenner would be sure that his trail was invisible and would wait until investigations ceased before breaking cover from his hiding place. There were cracks enough in the rugged rock walls; any one might conceal a viable cave.
It was the blackened patch on the ground that caught her eye. Talana came lower and saw that dark material was scattered on the ground near a streamlet that ran into the little valley. Landing, she noticed that it mingled well with the dark soil as seen close to; and examining it found small portions of charcoal.
"Debris from a fire." She murmured too herself. "Not for comfort perhaps – though it's pretty chilly at night now – but because cooking fellis inside is too risky? Those campsites were quite old" she quickly remounted and Mirrith flew off. Talana marvelled again how things invisible on the ground came rapidly into view as one moved upwards. She was tempted to investigate further; but she was not rash enough to risk tackling an unknown number of rogues.
oOoOo
R'bret returned from the Hold with three men, including Steward Nordar. He bowed to Talana.
"Weyrwoman T'lana, I am pleased to renew the acquaintance. Lord Bargen feels that if renegades are on the soil of one Beholden to High Reaches then High Reaches Hold men should take them; but if the dragonfolk wish to volunteer assistance in any way I am instructed to accept." He smiled gravely.
"You are a welcome sight, Steward Nordar." Said T'lana. "And I trust you will remember me to your excellent son. The Weyr is always happy to co-operate with the Hold in any way it can. Now we've done the politics, shall we get down to the nitty gritty?"
Nordar roared with laughter.
"Indeed, it's an excellent idea weyrwoman." He said.
Talana filled Nordar and his men in on everything she knew and surmised; and told of the scattered ash.
"I feel sure that a cave nearby lends succour to these bandits." She said "And there is no time to waste. I am going along as transport and lookout only this time; I'd not be much use in a fight."
oOoOo
Lord Bargen's men were evidently expert trackers. They picked up sign that Talana had missed; though she stored it away for future reference. The cave mouth was soon located; and by the noise of cries and the fear that Talana 'heard' there was little resistance. Three prisoners were marched out, one of them – a big, mean looking man, presumably Jarris – was protesting that no-one could ever say who had done the killing; it would only be on the word of another prisoner. Talana smiled grimly.
"Wrong Jarris." She said.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" he cringed in superstitious fear. "Do them dragons read thoughts?"
"You told me your name when you felled Jancet with your own bottle." Said Talana. "And you told me you held it by your thumbs. Even without H'llon's patent process, neither of the others has hands large enough."
The man attempted to lunge at her, but was held back. Talana watched them bind him with cold eyes. She had less sympathy for those prepared to destroy the minds of the unwary than even the simple opportunists that had seized her and her friends. R'bret came out of the cave.
"There's heaps of the stuff back there – in pots and jars. I sniffed it; it smells like fellis – but there's something peculiar about it. It made my head swim." He said.
"It'd do more than that if you took it my lad." Said T'lana grimly. "You can get the prisoners to dig a good deep hole – no sense us tiring ourselves out for their crimes – and pour the lot of it in and bury it." Nordar nodded; and it was done. The steward took T'lana aside and said quietly,
"What of the children? Lord Bargen was willing to send a man until the oldest boy is capable, but you can't tell if temptation for land ready broken might drive a man to dishonour."
"A point I had considered. Tell me Steward, if the girl attracted a number of suitors hoping she might try for Impression, and they happened to help out say, once a week, would that violate any principles do you think?"
Nordar pursed his lips.
"A tricky point….but if any individual dragonmen were to happen to try to win favours by proving that they had not become effete in the weyr, one could scarcely fault them, could one? I would suggest though that it might be a bad – habit - to establish." He added as his eyes twinkled at her. She grinned.
"I'll try not to let interfering get to be too bad a habit." She promised.
"It's not you, weyrwoman" he added hastily. "You have always interfered" he twinkled again "In a most courteous and charming manner. Some might not." Talana nodded.
"There are weyrwomen and weyrwomen." She said.
"You said it not I." He concurred.
oOoOo
Talana explained to Ramina that 'suitors' would visit to help; and of course if she was in the future interested in any of them that was her own business. Ramina was taken aback at first; but she was a practical girl. Talana also offered to have her smallest brother fostered for a year or two at the weyr; and when she was assured that he should visit frequently, she acquiesced gratefully. Talana herself promised to visit from time to time to see how things were; and the dragonfolk left, Talana already drawing up a mental rota of suitable 'suitors'.
oOoOo
H'llon provided a surprising sequel; he was delighted to find that his fingerprints had proved useful, and demanded the entire story. He stopped Talana half way through the narrative.
"Wait a minute – you're saying she senses Thread in a tone that suggests that's weird."
"You mean you sense Thread?"
"Of course I do. Don't you? Firelizards do. It's the same feeling you get before storms."
"No" said Talana with great patience. "I don't sense Thread: and I don't know anyone that does. It's one of the great uses of firelizards that they can. And what's this about storms? Do you sense storms too?"
"Er – yes." H'llon was beginning to wonder if he was in trouble.
"Shards and shells! Now I understand how Pilgra felt when I admitted to my hearing abilities!" Talana exclaimed. "H'llon lad, you're a useful boy to have around. Just apprise someone if there's going to be a big weather change or unexpected Threadfall, huh?" And she grinned at him. He grinned back, unable to resent her picking up R'gar's habit of referring to weyrlings as 'lad' although he was a good turn older than she!
"I never meant to deceive you" he said.
"No, when you do something, it's just natural. I know." She said, slapping him on the back. "But you might find out if any of the others can do anything unusual."
H'llon nodded. He was delighted to be useful, and even more delighted that the fingerprint idea had merit! He went to see to Melth in high spirits.