Chap. 346.1 The Fresh Fox

Chap. 346.1 The Fresh Fox

She was waiting in the meadow when he pulled up.

Ordinarily, his team would have greeted her horses with a whinny. But they were tired. He’d driven most of the night to catch the SeaTreader, then he’d pushed them hard to reach the meadow as quickly as they could go.

She was sitting uncomfortably on the grey mare, the bay packhorse already grazing.

He drove the team into a meadow studded with shale outcrops. He cringed at the tracks it left. They’d be plain to see. We shouldn’t stay here long, he thought, I’m sure those raiders will be coming after her as soon as they can disengage from the Stella‘s.

He remembered that scene. He was ahead of her when he heard many running feet behind him. He was shoved aside, heard a ‘Sorry, mate,” and a dozen seamen fell upon the four loiterers.

“This is for cheating at cards, you dunghead,” one shouted. Their main target was the tall man. His fire lizard screeched and plummeted into the fray.

She slipped past them, unnoticed.

The Port Authority man had backed off, giving the brawlers room. Lizard gave him a questioning glance, although he knew what ship the fighters were from. A small crowd was gathering to bet on the outcome. As he gave the fight a wide berth, he heard one man say, “Aye, the Stella‘s, you can always count on them when times get boring.”

And now he was looking at the girl, her face stirring memories. By the egg, there’s no doubt whose daughter you are. You’re the image of your mother, he thought. I remember those days with her. I remember you insisting that I had promised you a fire lizard egg, although we all knew that wasn’t quite true, and that you were going to name it Sweetie. Your name? Oh, my mind is going, what is your name-oh wait. Your hair, that long plait tucked up under the sea cap, chestnut red. Ah. Vixen.

Odd. Just the one plait, on the left side. Just one?

“Lizard, thank you, thank you. I need help,” the girl said, worry and strain in her eyes. Not fear, he noticed.

He was transfixed by her transformation into a young woman.

“You look like your mother,” he finally was able to say. Yes, just like her, right down to the coppery hair. Of all the people I’ve met on two continents, you two are the only redheads. Maybe you’re the ONLY redheads?

She smiled, but it was forced. “You’ve not changed a bit. Unless, well, I was just a kid, but I don’t remember that much gray in your hair.”

He chuckled. “What’s it been, ten years? More?”

She dismounted from the grey mare. “I don’t know. I was a kid, more interested in the boys around me than you and my mum. Time was meaningless, then, life was just day after day of now.”

“What did you do to calm the mare? She was acting the fool at the port,” he said, admiring the lines of the horse. The grey was alert, her ears pricked, taking in the scent of the other horses. The pack horse had immediately dropped his head to graze.

“Aye, she was pretty upset. I don’t know if her acting up is normal or not. I rode her for the first time just before boarding the ship at Fort SeaHold.”

“That’s the first time?”

“Yes. The station bought these two some time in the past, using them solely as courier mounts. So it may be she’s not been ridden, in, oh, months.”

“Station? What station is that? You’re at Fort Hold?”

“No. I live at Lemos Hold, now, at Runner Station 15. I was dispatched from Lemos Hold, on dragonback, to Fort Hold, where they had these two horses tacked and ready. I literally got off a dragon, the station master had her crew pack my, um, cargo onto the pack horse, I mounted up and rode after dark to Fort Sea Hold.”

“Huh. What sort of cargo needs to be transported by horseback that fast?”

“Um,” she hesitated, trying to deflect the question.

He saw her reluctance to say why she was being chased.

“You’re favoring your right arm.”

“It’s better now. For a while I couldn’t use it, it hurt so much.”

“Vixen,” he growled, “Tell me.”

“On the way to Fort SeaHold I was ambushed by a raider.”

“WHAT?”

“Yes. He’d dropped a tree across the road and when we stopped to go around it-mind you, this was in the dark-he jumped up on my side, grabbed one of my plaits in one hand and my arm in the other and tried to pull me out of the saddle. The gelding bolted, the mare kicked the man as she jumped the tree. I felt the shock even in the saddle, and then we ran. I think she broke his head. I hope so. She’s a good horse, just high strung, and I admit, I’m not the horseman you are. “

“Shaff, it itches,” she said, pulling the cap off her head. A single plait tumbled out til it reached the small of her back. A bandage covered the palm sized wound where a second one used to be.

He gasped. “He literally ripped the hair off your head.”

“Yes. Oh shaff, it hurt, but I was too terrified at the time to feel it. I thought he was going to rape me. It wasn’t until later I realized it was my cargo he was trying to get.”

“Yeesh. Good on you for escaping. You’ll report it, I’m sure? Monsters like that don’t need to be walking around free. I’d be more than happy to geld him.”

“He wasn’t the only one, though. Do you remember seeing a tall man with a brown fire lizard, back there, with those three other men?”

“Vaguely.”

“He followed me here. Well, he took the Stella Maris, it’s a faster ship so it put in a few hours before the Sea Treader did. He was waiting when I disembarked.”

“Who is he? The thought just hit me, he was traveling awfully light for someone coming from North.”

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I don’t think I have much time, but, I managed to catch the Sea Treader just before they departed on the tide. They’ve transported couriers in the past, but this was my first time. They were holding the ship, but I was delayed, and as you know, the tide waits for no one. The raider had held me up just long enough that I almost missed her. The steward is such a dear man, he was arguing with his Captain to wait, I know the courier will be here, they always are, and I did. The pack horse ran up the ramp, I was just behind him and almost literally had to jump the mare over the gap.”

“And you say you’re not a horseman? My arse. But go on.”

“Just before the horses were lowered into the hold, I looked up and saw a brown fire lizard just above our heads, on a yard. I noticed it had a zigzag scar on its chest. It was staring at the pack horse, then it disappeared.

I asked one of the crew if it was theirs and they said, what fire lizard? So they’d not noticed it. I didn’t think much of it until this morning, when I saw the tall man, with the very same fire lizard on his shoulder,” she said, frowning.

“A spy.”

“Yes. Hunting ME, his fire lizard like a dog on my trail. And now I’m not sure what to do. I bet those three he was with are locals. I don’t know what to do, I’ve never been South before.”

“I believe you. I watched their body language and they ignored me, but the moment you passed they moved as if to follow you.”

She grimaced. “I need to get to Lord Toric’s Hold, I have to go. They’re sure to be right behind me.”

“Maybe not,” he said,” wrestling in his mind with the sudden speed of events. I want to ask you so many questions! How are you, how tall you’ve grown, how is your mother. “I think you have a little time,” he said instead.

“What do you mean?”

“You did see the Stella Maris crew attacking them? One yelled something about someone cheating at cards, then the fight was on.”

“Yes, I did see that, I was grateful that I could slip past them without them noticing. But I don’t know how long they’ll be delayed, and I wasn’t interested in sticking around to find out.”

“Tell me what in the world is going on, please? I’m willing to do anything I can for you but I need to know WHAT that anything might be. My instinct tells me it’s not good.”

She forced herself to keep from scratching the bandage. He saw it was to cover indecision.

“You did a good bandaging job,” he said, trying to reassure her without pressing.

“I didn’t do it. When I told them why I was late, the cook on the Sea Treader bandaged it for me, then gave me her cap to cover it. She was almost in tears, and the crew was so pissed I was afraid they were going to turn back to get the raiders. They’re awfully good people, Lizard, I owe them.”

She shook her head in dismay. “My hair! If he’d not grabbed my plait he wouldn’t have been able to grab my arm. Never again will I let it grow so long.” She grimaced, unconsciously running her hand down the one remaining plait.

“Let me put some numbweed and a clean bandage on the wound.”

He opened the door into the caravan. His basic aid kit was just behind it, on the wall.

“Lizard, I don’t have the time! I have to get to Lord Toric’s Hold. Once I cross his boundary I’m safe. Those men are going to find me. That fire lizard knows what my horses look like. I have to go. I just need you to point the way for me. I was told the path forks further east of here.”

“It does, but only after you cross into Southern Hold. From the port to the boundary, this stretch is unbroken. But girl, you don’t have to run. Why didn’t you just go to Lord Toric’s men? They were right there at the port.”

“They WERE?”

“Yes, didn’t you see them?”

She moaned. “No, I am such a dumbskull! I was concentrating so hard on passing those men unseen. Shaff it! I hated this task from the moment I was coerced into it.”

“By who?”

“Well, my superior, but ultimately, Lemos Hold.”

He shook his head, growing angry. What sort of irresponsible and careless noble would send a young woman into such danger? And WHY?

“Do you have any water? I’m dying,” she pleaded.

“Of course,” he said, reaching underneath the driver’s bench. Crunch emerged from the caravan and jumped down. He tentatively sniffed the girl’s legs, then collapsed, beating the grass with his tail as he moaned, begging for a belly rub.

Despite her urgency, she reached down to scrub the dog’s belly. Crunch doggy laughed.

“You’re a sweetheart,” she said.

He laughed. “You daft beast, fine guardian dog you’re proving to be.”

His fire lizards chirped at her from their perch atop his caravan.

“You still have them. The fire lizards.”

“Aye. The gold’s the same, the bronze is her mate of five years. He’s my first bronze. Something got my first male, a brown. Him and the gold were clutchmates so they never mated, but he defended her from all other males. One day he disappeared, I think a raptor may have got him. Since then she’s been very productive.”

“How long do they live?”

“I have no idea. Dragons seem to be able to live forever, I can’t believe fire lizards aren’t the same.”

“It’s got to be at least ten years. I was twelve, then.”

“Yes,” he said.”How’s your mum?” His heart shivered. Maybe I don’t want to hear she no longer thinks of me.

“Happy, now. She and my father reconciled. They’ve got this tiny little cottage way up and gone near the northern mountains, in a tiny cothold called Aurora. She’s raising these odd beasts called boatheads, and dad is, well, dad is dad. He’s off for weeks at a time, trying to shed the sadness in his soul. One of these days he’s going to be gone for good, and it won’t be from betrayal. Something will him, if not his own hand, then the environment.”

He felt a mix of disappointment and relief.

“I’m glad. I-I fell in love with her, even though she told me right away she wasn’t ready for commitment after falling out with your father. And to be honest, I wasn’t interested in having children. Not only was I unable to raise a child,I wasn’t willing to. You were very conveniently autonomous. No nappies needed.”

She laughed. “You were fun, Lizard, you were like a second father to me. Or a big brother? You taught me to ride, you taught me to barter, you taught me to hunt. And Mum loved you, Lizard. After you left, she spoke of you often. But she loved my father, too. I wasn’t really aware of it at the time, but now I know she wouldn’t ever have been happy with your lifestyle. The nomad life was not for her. Once she set down roots, they were set. Whereas me, I’m sort of like my father. I don’t have the depression, just the wanderlust. I have to see what’s over the next horizon.”

“Yes. That’s what she said. I couldn’t rightly ask her to change if I wasn’t going to, either.”

Now I can put that part my life back into its memory box where it’d lain dormant all these years. I can let go, now.

“Hold still, girl.”

He removed the bandage and smeared numbweed over the wound. “I think it can go unbandaged, now, unless you want one.”

“Oh, my, that feels good right away.” She handed him the empty canteen.

“I think I’ll go without another bandage, it itched more than the wound.”

“No doubt. Need some more water?”

“No, because then I’ll have to dismount to pee. And I want to be well away from the raiders.”

“Tell me why they’re chasing you. Is it the load on the pack horse?”

She hesitated, meeting his eyes. Of all the people on the planet, you’re one of the few I can trust without reservation, she thought. Mum told me a long time ago, lassie, if you insist on doing this sort of work, find people who you can trust with your life. You’re one of them, Lizard.

“It’s, um, a barrel. From Lemos Hold.”

“Just a ‘barrel’?! Raider’s don’t chase you halfway across the planet for a barrel of vinegar!”

She struggled with her code of ethics. She’d sworn an oath of confidentiality and secrecy. Runners were trusted precisely because they never read messages or opened packages they were entrusted with.

“Lizard, I’m not supposed to admit I know what I’m carrying!”

“Nor are you supposed to DIE for it! But I can guess, yes? It’s full of something valuable. Probably marks.”

Her eyes confirmed what her oath forbid her to say. “One thousand. For Southern’s Lord Holder. New, unstamped.”

I didn’t say marks. I didn’t say money. My honor is still intact.

His mouth went dry. “Whoa.”

“That bloody arse Toric,” she swore, relieved that now she could vent. “The only shaffing Holder on the planet who’s banished dragonriders, just the most secure means of transport, so we have to deliver his blanks by courier. We’ve already lost two couriers AND their loads, although they weren’t carrying new um, things, just old ones, worn so smooth no one will take them, and already cut up into pieces. Those raiders at the port? Both ports? They’re an organized gang. They know all they need do is ambush the courier. “

“Do they communicate via fire lizard?”

“We think so. What we are sure of is they have spies at every port. Even worse, they’ve a spy in Lemos Hold who tells them when a shipment’s going out. I only know what I’ve been stuck with because I demanded to know what I would be carrying in such a blasted hurry, and on horseback.”

“What in the world possessed you to take this job?”

She laughed despite her worry.

“I started running for fun. I found out I loved it. At sixteen I was apprenticed at Lemos Runner Station 15 and made my first Crossing at eighteen. I love the solitude, running keeps my mind quiet. I love running at night, if the Traces have been kept up, I love the responsibility and the trust I’ve gained from my superiors. Mother was aghast and against it, but it’s because I was supposed to stay home, find a local boy to partner with and start pushing out grandbabies.”

She shook her head. “I never wanted to be a mother, not after seeing what my mum went through, twin still births almost killing her, dad nowhere to be found, and I just don’t have that mothering instinct. I don’t care for babies. They’re noisy, they’re demanding, they smell and leak from every orifice. They take years to grow up. I doubt I’ll ever partner with anyone. I love being alone, being a nomad. Like you.”

She saw the look in his eye when she mentioned her mother. You’re all rough around the edges, like mum used to say, but you’re still a good man, she thought. Only now do I see what she saw in you. Freedom.

The grey mare finally relaxed and began to graze. “Are they your horses?”

“Well, yes and no. Lemos charges Toric for transportation “By any means possible other than dragon,” so Toric paid for them, just he didn’t know it. They were waiting for me at Fort SeaHold. They’ve been used at least twice by the couriers who were killed, so the raiders have seen them before. But as this is the last time the barrel is going by courier, my boss said, when you’ve transferred the cargo, you may sell the horses and keep the money as a bonus. He didn’t tell me that bonus might be death.”

She shivered, and he wasn’t sure if it was from fear or fatigue.

“When this task came up, didn’t something in that half bald head of yours say No Thank You?”

She laughed, then sobered.

“My boss begged me to take this shipment. It’s supposed to be a random choice, but word got out about the last two couriers and so no one wanted to take it. I did so more out of stupidity, I’m still a rookie, I guess, I thought I had something to prove. He said that this is the last time a Runner will deliver um, these sort of things. Lemos Hold gave Toric an ultimatum. He won’t budge on his dragon ban, so either he comes up to Lemos Hold personally to take possession in person, or he just doesn’t get his shipment anymore. Ever.”

She looked at him. “It might very well be my last time. If they catch me, this time they’ll make sure I’m dead.”

“Your boss is an idiot, to put a girl in such danger.”

“Yes. Do you think Toric’s men will still be there? Should I maybe hide until I see the raiders pass and then go back?”

“NO,” he said, so forcefully his lizards squawked. “The brown fire lizard is probably sweeping for you right now.”

“In fact, I’ll send mine to watch.” He pushed an image of this pair to watch the road to the west. They chirped and flew to the top of the outcrop behind the caravan.

“Well, yes, but I can’t just NOT go.”

His mind kicked into high speed.

“Does Toric know it’s YOU bringing it?”

“No. He has no idea who is coming. That’s another safety feature, but the fact that I’m the third one they’ve known about, is proof enough that there’s a spy at Lemos.”

“How do you identify yourself, then?”

She reached inside her shirt and pulled out a haphazardly shaped piece of ceramic on a cord around her neck. It had Lemos Hold’s standard on it, an odd looking mark, and had been broken in half.

“I’ve never done this before, but much of it is pretty standard procedure when it comes to handling these things. Lemos seals the items in a barrel in such a way it’s impossible to open without it being obvious. Then they make a ceramic chit, it’s just randomly shaped. I’ve not seen it done, but they take a hunk of raw clay, and literally throw it onto the floor. Whatever shape it takes when it hits is what they accept, bumps and all. Before they glaze it, they mark it with Lemos Hold standard and a special mark that changes every time.

After it’s kilned, they take it out and break it in half, but not neatly. It’s all jagged, you see, not a nice neat line. It doesn’t even have to be a true half, it can be just a hunk, like this one. One half is given to the courier when they’re about to transfer, and the Holder or Hall that’s taking delivery has the other half. Only if the two halves precisely mate does each person know the transfer is valid.”

“That’s clever. What happens next?”

“I give the Holder the barrel, and my half of the chit and he or she gives me theirs. Then I go home, again, by the dragon that brought me, and turn in the chit. I don’t even have to wait for another task, I go directly to Lemos Hold to report successful transfer, here’s the chit.

This is the first time, though, that a shipment has gone through SeaWeyr port. If I can’t find a dragonrider to give me a ride, I’ll have to go by ship, and I prefer the Sea Treader. She’s slow but they’re good people.”

“I have friends who happen to be dragonriders. I’m sure they’ll give you a ride if I ask, and if they insist on payment, which I doubt, I’ll pay for it. Right now, though, we need get you out of here.”

“Lizard. I have to deliver the barrel. That’s non-negotiable.”

The plan was unfolding in his head.

“Aye, the barrel must be delivered. But you’ve been marked and are being hunted. You can’t go back to the port without passing the raiders at some point, and you can’t continue on forward because they have a fire lizard that will see you and your horses. I’m betting my boots if they’ve managed to extricate themselves from the Stella‘s, that fire lizard is out hunting for you, right now.”

The plan began to unfold. He began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“A plan. I call it pulling the whiskers of death.”

He looked at the packhorse, grazing next to the grey.

“Yes,” he said, thinking. He met her eyes. “You. Go up into my caravan. Strip off your jacket, no, wait. Your jacket didn’t get bloody.”

“It did, but Cooky washed it for me.”

“That was kind of her. Keep the jacket on. Underneath my bunk is my clothes trunk. I have a good sweater in there. Put it on over the jacket. It will make you look bigger than you are.”

She climbed into the caravan. “This is very nice in here, Lizard. All the comforts of home in a nice cozy package.”

“Even more cozy when you put two fire lizards and a pony sized dog in it with me. It gets crowded. Especially when all three critters want to sleep with me.”

She was quiet for a few moments. “Do you think they’ll recognize the cap?”

“I’m sure of it. Ah! Give it to me, I’ll wear it.”

“Why?” She tossed it out into his hands. He put it on.

“You’re going to change your appearance. In disguise! And me, I’ll do the same. This cap just barely fits me. Now get that sweater! I’m going to hide the barrel in an outcrop.”

“Hide it?”

“Yes. Not to worry, I’ll show you where. But I’m going to stow it, and the chit, in that outcrop, um, over there.”

“Lizard, there’s at least six outcrops ‘over there’.”

“Yes, that’s the beauty of it. IF they think to search the outcrops, they have so many to choose from. Not to mention that I don’t plan on being in THIS meadow when they finally get here.”

“Where are you going?”

“Once I send you on your way, I’m going east to a hiding place, it’s about two kilometers east of here. There’s an opening in the palisade barely wide enough to admit my caravan, and you can’t see it from the road. Behind the rocks there’s a nice meadow with good graze, a nice cold water creek, shade, and even a rock shelter that someone built I have no idea when. I’ll stay there for the rest of the day, and pull out tonight.”

“Which outcrop will you hide it in?”

He looked around, and saw one about three humans high and two humans wide. “That one, about a hundred paces from us, nearest the palisade. See the one with the funny looking pile atop it? All the rest are like the ones nearest the road, with flat tops. Someone a long time ago, removed them and I have no clue as to why.”

“Um, yes.”

“Now look at it. What does the pile remind you of?”

She remembered laying on her back with other kids, all of them making up stories about the creatures the cloud shapes looked like.

“To me it looks like a cock crowing.”

“Ha! To me, it looks like a dragon with it’s wings half open, but we’ll call it Cock Crow Outcrop.”

“And you’ll hide it atop it?”

“No! These outcrops are full of hideyholes. I’ll find a deep one, stash the barrel and the chit in it, and I’ll, um, I’ll leave a signal as to where it is. That and I want you to memorize the spot.”

He heard her rustling in the caravan and then the squeak of a hinge as she opened the trunk.

“I’m doing this why?” her voice was muffled.

“You are going to ride right past those raiders, back to the port and contact Toric’s men. You’re going to tell them you’re a courier and have something for Lord Holder Toric-remember to phrase it that way, and the raiders attacked you, trying to steal it. But you escaped, you have it safely hidden away and would they please be so kind as to escort you to Southern Hold after retrieving it?”

She giggled. “Oh, that sounds like hide and seek, sort of. But…”

“But nothing. I’m going to hide the barrel.”

“I have to say ‘but’, Lizard. They know my horses.”

“They know YOUR horses. They don’t know this trader’s horses from a bag of bones. You sold them to me, remember how loudly you told the grey you were pissed at her? You swapped me for my bay riding horse. I sort of cheated you, but, uh, no! Part of the deal was I gave you a cheese I bartered for on my way here from Western. It stinks, which means it’s perfectly aged. We’ll put your saddle on my bay, you’ll ride right past the raiders taking a cheese to the cook on Sea Treader!“

Hehehehe! She laughed. “They told me they’re used to stinky cargo.” Then sobered. “Lizard, why hide it?”

“Girl. Once the brown fire lizard sights your horses, they’ll be coming for the person who has them. That will be me, now.

The raiders will probably threaten me, demanding my cargo. I’ll piss and moan but I’m just a dumb trader, I’ll submit. By that time, you’ll be safe in Toric’s men’s care, and you’ll know where to come retrieve the barrel. That way you don’t get in trouble with your superiors, you’ve not broken your word, YOU know where it is and me, I will deny to my dying breath of what we’ve done. Saving your life is more important to me than anything else. I don’t want to do anything with the barrel once I stash it, and I have no desire to deal with Toric.”

“Okay! Oh, this sweater is LOVELY. Such a gorgeous blue!” she said.

The barrel was heavier than he expected, but he managed to carry it to the pillar. The less sign of human or horse activity near this pillar, the less likely they’ll think to check it. I’m sure I’ll find some cavity that will accept it, he thought.

There were at least a dozen cavities to choose from, all packed full of grasses. One was especially capacious. Some creature, probably a wherry, had used it as a nest Oh, yes, he could smell it, now. Feathers, dried up guano, bits of bone covered the rock floor. He shoved aside as much of the detritus as he could, hoping to save most of it for cover.

He pulled out more shale to give it room, shoved the barrel in as far back as it would go, and then packed nesting material in it. He placed the chit at the entrance, then filled it up with shale until just the weatherd cord was hanging out. He stood back to memorize the placement of the rocks. Hmmm. It needs something extra. Ah.

He picked a pale feather from what was left of the nesting material. He entwined it into a jagged bit of shale above the hole. Then he scattered the small amount of leftover nesting material to remove any last trace of activity.

He carefully retraced his steps in the grass to where the pack horse was grazing. The now empty canvas covering drooped, obviously empty.

They’ll come for the PACKHORSE, he thought. Not me, the packsaddle on the horse. I have to fill it with something. What? What do I have that is the same size and shape? A beer barrel.

The barrel of beer he’d bartered for was on the side of the caravan. It was a little bit bigger than the canvas covering. Can’t be helped, he thought, as he stowed it on the packsaddle. Hopefully they won’t pay too much attention to it, just the horse.

He searched the sky for his fire lizards. They were relaxed. Crunch was quartering the meadow, hunting for the little crawlers that were ubiquitous throughout Pern.

What’s next. The horses.

The grey mare was next to his team, having made friends with the gelding and admitting that the draft mare was dominant. He untacked her, and carried saddle and bridle to his bay. After tacking him up, he patted it’s neck. “Sorry, lad, it was such a short time with us, eh? But you’ll be okay. Take the girl back to the port safely.”

He came up to the caravan and called out, “I’ve stashed the barrel. Come and I’ll show you where it’s hidden. Memorize the spot. The lanyard is hanging out, just about this long, and there’s a wherry feather hanging above it. You shouldn’t have too much problem finding it.”

“Okay, thank you.”

She emerged and climbed down to the ground. She looked rotund.

He was shocked.

“What have you done?”

“I found your scissors.”

“So I see. You cut off your hair. No, you butchered your hair.”

“I did. I should have cut it off long ago. Me and Mum are the only people on Pern with red hair, I think. We stick out like sore thumbs wherever we go. It’s brought me bad luck.”

“But,”

“The bandana? I found it at the bottom of your clothes trunk. It will cover the wound on my head nicely.”

The bandana. MY bandana, the one that…

She saw the bewilderment, and even some resentment in his eyes. Maybe I’ve pushed him too far. It WAS her gift to him, after all.

“Mum made it for you.”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve kept it all these years to remind you of her.”

He cleared his throat to cover his pain. He nodded, not trusting his voice. Then found it. “But now you need luck, too.” Maybe her taking it is a good thing. This way I’m over her once and for all.

“I promise I will return it, one way or another.”

He sighed. “Thank you.”

“Okay. Now go round the other side of the pillar, try and find the spot. If you can’t, I’ll show you. Memorize it, then you need to go.”

“Yes.”

She walked carefully retracing his steps in order to leave as slight a trail through the grass as possible.

After several moments, she came back with a grin. “Amazing. It took me a few moments. What a clever idea. The feather helps.”

“Good. Now, I’ll lash the cheese box to the back of the saddle and send you on your way.”

He gave her a leg up on the bay and stood back to check his handiwork.

“Don’t look up when they pass you. You’re tired of having to tote this stinking cheese, why do they always pick you to transport it, it’s just not fair. All you want to do is get rid of it so you can go back home and do whatever a cheesecrafter’s kid does. Probably milk cows. Got it?”

“Yes. I’ve never milked a cow in my life, but yes, it has to be better than toting a stinky cheese all day.”

“Aye,” he laughed.

He put his hand on her calf and looked up at her. This may probably be the last time I’ll ever see her. Which is a good thing. She is far too tempting, he realized. I’m old enough to be her father. Maybe even old enough to be her grandfather.

THAT thought sent chills down his back. I’m not that old. Yes I am.

“Now you be careful. Stay in character until you get to Toric’s men, and tell them in detail the men, what they look like, what they did, and that you are tasked to report to Lord Toric with important cargo.”

“I’ll be careful. Thank you, thank you Lizard, for your help. I’ll never forget it, and I’ll let Lemos Hold know you deserve some sort of compensation.”

“That’s okay, lassie. It was my pleasure. If and when you see your mum, tell her I wish her all the happiness in the world.”

“I will.” I should have kissed him, she thought, but it’s too late, now.

“Lizard. What do I do with your horse?”

“Um-you gave me two horses for one. That’s a deal, in my mind.”

“But this one, Lizard? I don’t want to ship him back to Lemos. I don’t have the money, and I don’t think it’s right to just abandon him.” She stroked the bay’s neck.

A certain earnest face swam into his mind.

“The horse? Please, don’t just abandon him. If you would, do this for me. When you get to the port, ask for a boy called Hey Porter.”

“Hey Porter?”

“It’s a joke, between him and me. His milk name is Kim, but only use it in private, and he’ll know to trust you. Give the horse to him, and have someone there witness it, the Port Authority man, for instance. Tell him it’s a gift. From Lizard.”

She smiled.