The Red Orb of Pern
M.C. Gordon
Disclaimer is attached to the beginning of this series. This is fan fiction written for a friend who enjoys Anne McCaffrey's Pern as much as I do. Comments welcome to quasito_cat@hotmail.com or quasito_cat@yahoo.com
Chapter Four:
Their initial hunger for the bubbly pies assuaged after four apiece, the three friends sipped at their klah, which consisted of very little of the bitter drink and a great deal of herdbeast milk.
"A whole day with no chores," Mitchell said. "What should we do?"
"I don't know," replied Lydel. "Maybe go down to the lake and watch the dragons bathe?"
"We do that all the time," Mitchell responded. "I want to do something different."
"Well, I don't care what we do," added Andren, "just so it doesn't have anything to do with work. Imagine ... a whole day free, and it's not even for a Gathering."
They threw ideas back and forth for several minutes, unable to arrive at an agenda for an unexpected rest day.
"We won't get to do anything if we sit here and talk," Mitchell finally said. "Let's just go out and see if anything's going on."
As they entered the great common room where most of the weyrfolk took their meals Andren's eyes lit up. "Julani's here!" he shouted and bounded across the room.
Mitchell and Lydel followed closely behind him. Julani had been the forth member of their small group before Masterharper Tokan had heard him sing and whisked him off to Harper Hall as an apprentice two years earlier.
The four friends spent several minutes catching up on their activities since Julani left the weyr.
"So, what's it like being at Harper Hall?" Andren asked.
"A lot like being in the weyr," Julani said. "The Masterharper keeps us busy all the time. If it's not singing it's copying songs. And I have to learn how to play all the different instruments and make my own.
I never get to have fun anymore. And if you think the weyr harper makes you learn a lot of ballads, you should see the ones I have to learn. Every craft has its own and harpers have to know them all!"
"You don't look like you're busy right now," Lydel remarked.
"I am!" Julani said. "The Masterharper has business with Adelmisa and L'noth and said he'd need me since I'm an apprentice. He brought lots of old parchments with him and I'm to fetch the ones he needs." Julani, a year older than the others, assumed a posture of great importance.
Lydel rolled his blue eyes in Mitchell's direction and found his friend barely able to control an impending fit of giggles. Andren however, was greatly impressed with Julani's apparent importance at Harper Hall.
Adelmisa, the Weyrwoman, entered the dining area with the Masterharper in time to rescue Mitchell from upsetting two of his oldest friends by bursting into outright laughter. She had heard the last of Julani's remarks and her shrewd judgment of character told her that there would soon be ruffled feathers if she didn't intervene.
"Hello, Julani," she said crossing the room. "Master Tokan has been telling me how much he values you at Harper Hall. I'm pleased that you're doing so well. We miss your pleasant voice in the evenings. Harper G'delen hasn't found anyone to replace your special talent. L'noth and I are very proud of you."
To soothe any possible sting of her words for the three weyr lads she added, "I'm sure these rascals miss you, too. They've had to assume your duties and seldom have time to relax anymore. Today's a rest day for the weyr and I've convinced Master Tokan to let you spend the day with your friends. Mitchell, tell Cook that I said you boys are to have some bubbly pies. Go and find something fun to do."
As the four boys headed for the kitchen, their heads together while they planned their day, the Weyrleader, L'noth approached his mate. "Do you really think it's a good idea to send those four off unsupervised?" he asked Adelmisa.
"Of course," she replied. "What kind of trouble can four boys their age get into?"
Chapter Five:
"You're kidding," Julani said as the other boys gave him most of the bubbly pies. "Lurah let you have some for breakfast? Things sure have changed since I left the weyr."
"Yesterday was kinda bad," Andren said. "Trilenth wasn't the only dragon we lost. A lot of dragons and riders were scored. L'noth said the Fall was awfully out of pattern."
"We heard at the Hall," Julani replied. "I'm sorry to hear about Trilenth, Mitchell," he added as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "I noticed that it was pretty quiet around here."
"Adelmisa and L'noth let the riders have a lot of wine last night. Mitchell even got some," Lydel said.
"Did not!" Mitchell responded.
"Did too," Andren added. "Lurah brought you some last night and I saw you drink it all."
"Is that what was in the cup? I thought it was some herbs or something."
"What did it taste like?" Julani asked, a bit out of sorts that he hadn't had a taste of wine yet and he was the oldest, after all.
"Not too good," Mitchell said. "Like I said, I thought it was one of Lurah's herb things."
Finishing off their bubbly pies the four friends started walking, heading no place in particular. They soon found themselves at the entrance to one of the old, unused sections of Benden Weyr.
"So," Mitchell said, "what can we do? The day's gonna be over before we know what happened."
"I always wanted to see if we could find some old cavern nobody's been in for Turns and Turns," Lydel said.
"What for?" Andren asked. "We've seen empty caves before. They're dark and all musty."
"Well," Julani said, "we might find some treasure that everybody forgot about."
"Like what?" Mitchell asked.
"Everyone knows there's parts of the weyr that were used Turns ago and aren't anymore. Maybe somebody left something behind," Andren said.
"Yeah," added Julani, "like maybe some old ballads no one remembers. Master Tokan would like that."
"You'd only have to copy them and then learn to sing them," Mitchell said.
"It might be nice to find a place where no one's been in a long time and just see what it feels like," Lydel finally added. "I wouldn't want to move anything, if we found something."
"Okay," Mitchell finally said. "Andren, you go ask Lurah for some glow baskets and tell her that we're going to explore a little. She can ask M'sel to have brown Sonath listen for us in case we get lost."
"None of us have Impressed," Julani said. "How would Sonath hear us?"
"He hears me every time I'm thinking about doing something that's gonna get me in trouble," Mitch said.
"How come I have to go ask Lurah," Andren asked.
"Because you can talk her into anything," Mitchell said. "We'll go up on that ledge and wait for you," Mitchell said pointing to a favorite spot that overlooked the bowl of the extinct volcano that was center of Benden Weyr.
Chapter Six:
Andren was waiting for his friends on the high ledge by the time they finished their climb.
"Hey! How'd you get here before us?" Mitchell asked, surprised to see Andren on the ledge leaning back against a rocky wall.
"M'sel had Sonath fly me up. We're supposed to show him where we're going, in case we get lost."
Sonath chose that moment to show his head above the ledge as one mighty leap from his powerful hind legs and downward swoop of his enormous wings lifted him from the ground below. The boys were all surprised to see Lurah astride the brown dragon, a large basket in her arms.
"Where did you four plan to explore?" she asked. "You know that some parts of the weyr were abandoned because they've become dangerous." She handed Mitchell the basket and accepted Julani's hand to slide safely from Sonath's neck to the ledge. Looking around she said, "My, but the view is lovely. No wonder you like to come up here."
Below them the beauty and majesty of the weyr was visible. The rocky walls of the extinct volcano basin reared up, pock-marked by individual dragon weyrs. In the center of the bowl was the lake where the dragons bathed.
Two riders staggered toward the lake, covering their eyes against the glare of the late morning sun. A green and blue dragon followed them, heading for the lake and a late bath.
"Felenth and Isaath, with their riders S'den and Y'gal" Sonath echoed in Mitchell's and Lurah's minds. "They are together," the brown dragon added.
"We know, Sonath," Lurah said.
S'den and Y'gal were one of the oldest couples in Benden Weyr, having been together since Felenth had flown Issath every time the green dragon had risen to mate for forty years. Lurah's words were spoken kindly for everyone in the weyr knew that dragons lived in the here and now with no memory of the past.
Lurah sighed as they watched the dragons dive into the lake and emerge to be surrounded by fire lizards anxious to help scrub them clean. The two dragon riders plunged into the cool water, laughing as they did. Their memory of Impression and their mating flights were something Lurah would never know. Females were candidates for the golden queen dragons but Lurah had never stood on the Hatching Ground for weyr bred females were never chosen for that honor. Instead, her joy had been in watching her foster sons Impress through the years and in being able to hear Sonath.
She released a deep sigh at the beauty of the weyr below. "I have to go back and help prepare the noon meal," she said. "You boys enjoy your exploring but please, be careful. Mitchell, Sonath will listen. If something happens, like a cavern collapsing or something, call to him and help will be on the way. Promise me?"
Wanting to explore without being treated like a child warred against respect for his foster mother. Finally he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. "I promise," he said.
Knowing that he would keep his promise and that Sonath would listen for trouble anyway, Lurah slid off the ledge and onto brown dragon's neck for her return to the kitchen entrance to the weyr.