Chapter 26
The traders who arrived in the Weyr were full of flattery for the clever, beautiful Queen and her lovely eggs – not that they were permitted to see them, of course – but they were a rough looking crew for all that they seemed well enough dressed. J'enia mistrusted them.
She had seen many groups of traders whilst travelling as an acrobat, and new most regular groups.
She knew none of the members of this group.
The young Queenrider beckoned over Kyleka.
"Time to earn your oats," she said. "What do your senses make of those three?"
Kyleka shuddered.
"I don't trust them," she said, "their feelings are…dark, somehow. At the moment one of them is hot for Queenrider Thera, and is watching her and thinking thoughts I don't want to guess at; one is watchful and the last …uggh, he's looking at us with lustful thoughts too. I don't think they're here for any good purpose."
J'enia nodded.
"Every instinct tells me so, but I am glad to have confirmation from your gift," she said. "It gives me cause to ask G'narish to have them watched at all times, which I'd be chary of doing just on my own hunches."
"I'd throw them out," said Kyleka, with a shudder.
"I'd love to do so," said J'enia, "but I'm learning that we have to take politics into account and we do NOT antagonise others without good cause. The bad feelings of what most Traders and Holders would describe as 'a couple of ditsy girls' is not enough for good cause – not until we're both PROVED ourselves to have good judgement. Even Nadira would shy away from expulsion without a stated and specific reason."
"The Weyrleader will trust our feelings, though?" Kyleka asked anxiously.
"Oh, without questioning them! He'd throw them out if they made you agitated enough with their dark intentions too, but he'd prefer a reason to give for doing it."
"On my say so?" Kyleka was surprised.
"The Weyrleader is no fool. He trusts the talents of his people," said J'enia, "and he BACKS his people. He can be a little peppery now and then – usually with, or over, outsiders – but he backs his people."
"Shall I see if I can get more information by watching them and seeing what I feel?"
"If it doesn't make you feel too dirty to do so, I think it would be a good idea," said J'enia. "But YOUR mental wellbeing is a priority; you must be ready to be chosen by a dragon, not dragged down by negative emotions from others. It it's too much, let me know; there's no pressure on you, you know!"
"Thank you, Weyrwoman," said Kyleka, silently vowing to sense as much as she could about the three unpleasant traders!
"I don't like them either," said Shehereth, landing in something of an ungainly mess next to her rider. The little Queen had been finding her wings recently, but found landing without falling on her nose still a challenging skill, because of her considerable forward momentum.
"You nearly got that backwing motions right, there, darling!" J'enia encouraged a better landing. "Asreth is kind to show you how."
"I like Asreth. Asreth likes me," said Shehereth, smugly. "I still don't like those men," she added, insistently.
"Well, we can hope to do something about them before they do any harm," said J'enia, realising that Shehereth was not about to have her mind diverted from unpleasant subjects without some answer. "C'mon; we've a pattern to walk with the others in a few minutes."
It would prove hard work teaching classes for the candidates whilst giving attention to her own lessons; but it was no more work than V'sheren did as Weyrlingmaster. J'enia shrugged inwardly. She had been brought up not to fear hard work, and to perform duties diligently without slacking, before she might take her leisure.
And it was good fun too.
oOoOo
When a little brown firelizard burst out of between right by J'enia, startling Shehereth into huffing the little creature into an aerial somersault, the young Queenrider recognised it immediately.
"It's Grandfather's Pirouette!" she said to V'sheren, "with a message – may I read it, sir?"
"Do," said V'sheren, "the old man wouldn't send any frivolous message."
Calmed – though still nervous of Shehereth – Pirouette perched on J'enia's forearm so she might take the message scroll from his collar.
She read quickly, her face reflecting her shock.
"V'sheren – Lenner's had a fall, from the wire, grandfather thinks he's broken his hip, he asks if we can bring him here, please."
V'sheren nodded.
"Of course. I'll take you myself; class is dismissed, M'el, run and fetch me a stretcher to sling from fighting straps, and straps for the patient."
M'el nodded enthusiastically, and ran off; and Asreth descended from his Weyr at V'sheren's call.
"You don't want ME of course," Shehereth's wings drooped dejectedly, "only that silly flutterbug."
"Darling, I always WANT you," said J'enia, embracing the golden neck, "but it's a question of you not being able to go. I must go; Lenner is my brother. You'd want to help Vangoth if he was hurt, wouldn't you?"
"yes," admitted Shehereth, "will you be long?"
"Two shakes, I hope," said J'enia, "we want to get Lenner back here and in Velenna's care as quickly as possible."
"I must be sensible so Asreth approves of me," said Shehereth.
"Of course he approves of you! you're the best Queen on Pern!" assured J'enia, pulling on her flying leathers.
"Here – extra quilts!" C'rya ran from the weyrling barracks.
"Excellent," said J'enia, "and here's M'el."
"I'd like to learn how to fix a stretcher, Weyrlingmaster," said M'el shyly, "Velenne says, as I had a reason to fail my apprenticeship, she'll register me an apprentice who suffered illness. She says it's the same thing."
"It is. In some ways worse," said V'sheren, "to have a dragonriding Healer would be invaluable. I approve, and if you need time out of classes to fit in with Velenne, I'll run through anything you miss with me."
Deftly, V'sheren fixed the stretcher, hanging below Asreth's breastbone, explaining all that he did; then he followed J'enia up onto the Bronze dragon's back. And then they were away.
oOoOo
The Hold was small; and the high wire was not as high as sometimes, fixed between two pine trees. The family was gathered around a prone figure. Gather-goers had either dispersed in decent respect, or hung around gawping in vicarious pleasure at another's disaster.
They scattered as Asreth chose to land beside the eager chattering group.
"Wherry-kites," growled V'sheren.
Fordel was almost running as he came over.
"V'sheren… thank Faranth. That was quick!"
J'enia jumped down.
"Grandfather… but it's not even HIGH!" she ran to her brother who was cursing sulphurously between groans.
"Lenner, you idiot! How come you can walk clear across Igen Weyr and then fall from a simple rope here?"
"NOT my fault, sis!" Lenner protested. "Flight of avians out of the trees, right in my face!"
J'enia gasped.
"Shards, score and scars!" she swore.
"He's broken his hip, Jes – J'enia," said Dukkar, pale with shock. "After all the risks he takes, an unfortunate unforseen event… he'll never tumble again."
J'enia closed her eyes in sympathy. She knew that Lenner knew, and that the knowledge was a worse pain to bear than the pain itself.
"You may not tumble with the troupe, old man, but my mother is Masterhealer and I wager you'll tumble well enough to teach weyrlings a trick or two," said V'sheren, "and likely look better doing it than many of the so-called acrobats there are about!"
Lenner brightened slightly.
"Well, I AM the best," he murmured.
"SECOND best," said Fordel.
"It was an old joke between grandfather and grandson; and Lenner grunted weakly.
"If the Weyr can use my skills I'll teach with gratitude," he said, "I don't want to sit out my life in some Hold on charity, nor end my life with Fellis."
"You'll tumble again," said V'sheren, running his hands over the broken hip, "not so well, but tumble you will. Let's get you onto the stretcher."
The acrobats knew how to move the injured; theirs was a risky profession. Soon Lenner was comfortably strapped in and complaining of the heat.
"Can't risk you getting too cold between, brother mine," said J'enia. "Shut up and put up."
"Yes, Weyrwoman," said Lenner; and in less pain for being immobilised, managed a wink.
oOoOo
Lenner screamed in agony going into between, of course; and mercifully had passed out before they passed through the bumpy entrance through the updrafts into the Weyr.
Velenna herself supervised getting the acrobat to her operating table; and shoo'd out all extraneous people, especially overly curious Gold dragon-babies who had no business indoors.
J'enia and Shehereth obediently left!
oOoOo
Velenna sent a drudge with a message for J'enia that her brother was sleeping, and that the prognosis for his recovery was as good as might be expected.
"What does that mean?" J'enia asked the woman. The drudge shrugged.
"If he has a limp it will be minimal; it won't ever be as strong as before, but for a fit man, most people won't even realise. So long as he does as he's told, and leaves it to heal – which can take months with a hip. Happens quite often to weyrlings who come off their dragons too quickly with all their weight on one foot."
J'enia nodded.
"Thanks for that – I think dismounting with grace and skill might be a lesson to include in our physical jerks to minimise such injuries."
The drudge smiled ruefully.
"It might save some pain, and the Healers some effort," she said.
oOoOo
Worry about her brother almost drove thoughts of the unpleasant traders out of J'enia's head; but she was ready for action when Kyleka came running coltishly up to her, all breathless with fear and running.
"Oh Weyrwoman, I think they are doing something bad, they watched Baylith go to feed with satisfaction in their thoughts, then they went off towards the hatching cavern with nasty chuckles inside, and they were determined."
J'enia went white; and started to run.
Then she paused; and reached out for every Bronze dragon in the Weyr with an imperative summons to the Hatching Cavens.
oOoOo
The two girls reached the entrance as great Bronze wings hurtled over them, Asreth picking up a girl in each claw to get them in quicker.
The chief trader was saying,
"Shaffit, I'm having to use my knife, these shells aren't hard at all!"
The collective scream of fourteen Bronze dragons, even if some of them were juveniles, was almost a tangible force; and the beating of their wings certainly knocked the men off their feet!
It was too late for the tiny, foetal Brown dragonet that had been cut from its shell; for they had gone first for the biggest eggs.
Another egg had a scarred surface; but the shell remained mercifully intact!
J'enia's eys were flinty.
"Help me grab him," she said to Kyleka, "a hatched dragon MUST Impress – even to an inadequate."
J'enia's muscles were like whipcord; and she easily manhandled the shocked leader with Kyleka's help to be face to face with the feeble dragon baby. It would be as a six or seven month child, J'enia reckoned; not developed enough to live, but enough to be aware. Gently she turned the little creature's oversized head to make eye contact.
"Shards!" murmured the man, in wonder.
"Now you will know the enormity of what you have done," said J'enia, "this little one will almost certainly die: and you will be dragonless."
The horror of the man's realisation made Kyleka put her hands to her head and step back from the intensity of the emotion.
Other people were starting to arrive, including a very irate Golden Queen and equally irate Nadira. J'enia quickly explained what she had done, and why. Nadira listened in some horror; and shuddered.
"You are ruthless, my dear!" she said.
"A dragon may not live unImpressed," said J'enia, implacably, "and he will die. Shehereth says he's not developed enough to feel hunger. We could not wish that on any weyrling, especially one worthy of a Brown."
Nadira nodded.
"You are right. The Impression will give this poor little one the comfort he needs in the hours he will live – and it will probably be no more than a couple of hours. He already has a grey tinge. The man will truly understand the enormity of his actions."
"And the others will explain to me why they have done this," said G'narish, grimly. "Yes, Baylith, I am taking them away from your lovely eggs, and you shall stand guard over THAT while he devotes his last hours of sanity to his dragon. A shame it should take this to show him what Impression means….yes, you," as the man looked at him, mixed wonder and horror on his face. "You hatched him prematurely, and you shall take the consequences."
Baylith, to the false trader leader's terror, advanced her huge golden head to nudge and whimper gently at the involuntary hatchling. Queens never normally took much interest in their hatchlings once they were Impressed, but this was an unusual, if not unheard of, case!
oOoOo
The whole Weyr, it seemed, had gathered outside the Hatching cavern, alerted by agitated thoughts and bellows from the whole complement of dragons. V'sheren and S'sher had gone out to prevent all the dragons charging into the cavern willy nilly. G'narish himself and the older Bronze Riders frogmarched the other two miscreants out, cowering in terror as well they might as they passed silent, angry Riders and hissing dragons.
G'narish paused to address the Weyr.
"Thanks to Kyleka's gifts of seeing emotion – and the Weyr owes her a debt of gratitude too great to ever repay – these…men… were caught before they could break all the eggs as seems to have been their intent," he paused as the low growl of anger rippled through his people and rumbled in Dragon chests. "They broke one – a Brown. He lives yet, but it cannot be long."
"Where's the third? There were three of them!" spoke up Salima, who was wielding a ladle in a business like fashion.
G'narish gave a grim smile.
"Oh, Weyrwoman J'enia came up with a meet punishment; he is Impressed to the little Brown he sought to destroy."
"Sir, that's a REWARD!" cried a weyrling.
"Is it lad? To be Impressed for an hour, and then live the rest of your life dragonless, and know it was your actions that caused the aching tearing loss of half your soul? I'd say it was a terrible punishment," said G'narish.
The boy blanched.
"S-sorry, sir; I didn't think it through."
G'narish nodded.
"You are young; you will learn to recognise and respect consequences. Hopefully not in so hard a way as that fellow."
There were murmurs of assent and horror.
"Queenrider J'enia don't take any crackdust!" said another weyrling, with respect. There were hasty reassessments from new candidates about never EVER irritating the Queenrider!
"Now," said G'narish, "These fellows are going to tell me what first instigated their actions or I shall hand them over to Baylith. Dragons do not usually attack humans, but I have never had to test how that may be altered by mother love of a Queen for her eggs… we all know how Ramoth got irrational enough to want to flame Southern Weyr and raze it to the ground when her egg was stolen – and returned intact. NOT broken."
The prisoners gave whinnies of horror.
"It was Lord Restin!" said one, promptly, "when we rescued him, he said as how we needed to pay the Weyr back! We left him in a cothold, account of how you'd reckernize him, we come to do his orders!"
"You will tell me where this cothold is," said G'nariah, when the collective gasp form the Weyrfolk had subsided, "and you and he shall make restitution by working for the miners. For the lives you took in the minehold, I doubt if any of you will see the light of day ever again. For the loss of our precious dragon child, who now cannot help save ordinary people, I shall certainly recommend a life sentence."
One of the miscreants passed out; and G'narish signalled for a few burly Blue Riders to drag them away and lock them up.
The Weyrfolk had not dispersed when the high, insistent keening of three hundred dragons marked that the hatchling had died.
J'enia was not the only one to be sobbing uncontrollably.