Chap. 357 Bolster 270°

Chap. 357 Bolster 270°

They landed in what was obviously a dragon bowl. Having never been there before, K’ndar immediately requested authorization from the watch dragon.

The conversation was by necessity shouted, as the watch dragon was on the rim of the palisades. K’ndar noticed the dragon stones and immediately memorized them.

“K’ndar, rider of brown Raventh of Landing, with passenger, Fire Lizard Man, trader.”

The blue rider called “State your business, please?”

“My passenger requests permission to petition your Weyrleader.”

The man was surprised but said, “You may dismount. Please wait while I ping my Weyrleader. I’m also sending an escort for your petitioner. Have you had anything to eat?”

At least they follow proper and civil weyr habits here, he thought, no matter how young the weyr is.

“We’ve eaten, thank you.”

K’ndar helped Lizard dismount. He’s really in more pain than he wants to admit, he thought with dismay. “Should we leave our fire lizards here, with Raventh?”

“I think so. Some weyrleaders don’t care for them. Lessa, for instance, I’m told, refuses to allow them into Benden Weyr. I think I heard the only one that could get away with bringing his in was Master Harper Robinton.”

Lizard shook his head. “Such a good man, murdered by shaffing Abominators.”

A young girl appeared. K’ndar immediately noticed she was wearing a Weyrling braid.

“Please, sirs, follow me.”

“What is the name of your Weyrleaders?” he asked, noticing that the Weyr’s buildings were based on slate but built of lightwood, to allow for cool breezes during the hot summer months.

“Weyrleader A’garn, rider of bronze Remlanth and Weyrwoman Marais, rider of gold Dianath,” the girl said, “I’m Weyrling Killan and I ride my green Serapth.”

K’ndar laughed as they entered a large building, out of the glaring sunshine, “I know your Weyrwoman. She was in the class ahead of mine!”

The girl stopped, her jaw agape. “Pardon me, sir, but you don’t look that old.”

K’ndar was gobsmacked. Old? I’m not old! he thought.

Lizard bit his tongue to keep from roaring.

He heard a familiar voice. A woman came trotting towards him.

“K’ndar!! Dianath told me you and Raventh are here! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” the gold rider said. She gave him a hug. “Wow, it’s been forever? What brings you here?” Marais said.

The girl came to attention and saluted. The brown rider hadn’t lied. He DID know Weyrwoman Marais!!

“Thank you, Henrietta,” Marais dismissed the weyrling, who still looked awed.

Lizard nodded his head. “Ma’am, I am Fire Lizard Man, here to petition your Weyrleader.”

Marais kept her face straight. Someone wanting something HERE? in these Stony Wastes? But it’s his business. “Sir, it is pleasure. K’ndar, Fire Lizard Man, won’t you please accompany me to the outer office? A’garn will be with you shortly. Would you like some wine?”

They both shook their heads. Marais noticed Lizards puffed left shoulder underneath a very nice shirt.

“This is nice,” Lizard said, “it’s all so clean.”

“And new. We established the weyr about a year ago, and are still building homes. A’garn insisted on building the port first. It paid off, we’re starting to get ships coming in from Northern.”

“Marais, it is so good to see you, but I’m all flattened right now.”

“Why?”

“When I told that weyrling you were a class ahead of me she said I didn’t look that old.”

Marais laughed, but it was with a bit of a grimace. “I know the feeling. K’ndar, I’m only twenty three! A’garn is twenty years my senior but stars, the kids think I’m grandmother age.”

The Weyrleader stepped out of the office. It was separated from the rest of the building with an actual wall of slate, more for privacy than for any other reason.

“Fire Lizard Man, won’t you come in, please?” he said. K’ndar went to follow, but Marais put her hand on his arm to hold him back. They met eyes and she shook her head ever so slightly.

The door shut behind Lizard with a definite click.

“No. This isn’t dragonrider business. A’garn doesn’t mind but he says if he lets everyone into his office he’ll never get a thing done,” she said.

“No matter, I didn’t want to go in, anyway. To this day I get rattled when I’m around my superiors.”

“Not with me, I hope?”

“No, although I was so surprised to see you, Marais! You look happy! And now you’re Weyrwoman. Congratulations! I thought you were at Honshu Weyr after the hurricane?”

“I WAS at Honshu, right after the hurricane, but once Thread stopped falling, we had an awful lot of dragonriders wanting to join Honshu. From all over Pern, K’ndar! The more golds that showed up, the further down the ladder I and Dianath were moved. Dianath was still a junior gold, you know, oh, I’m taking up air, aren’t I? Let’ see, where do I start? Once Honshu filled up, I went North but it was the same thing there, only worse. Southern Weyrs lost SO many riders! Whereas me, the longer I was in Northern, the more I didn’t want to stay there. Too cold for too long and there are people there, oh so impressed that they’re at Benden, or Telgar, even Crom, for star’s sakes. No matter where I went, I was always going to be a junior gold rider. So I came back here, just in time for the new Weyr to actively recruit dragon riders. I really hadn’t planned on Dianath being flown, but..she did. Oh, the chase she led the males! She laid thirty eggs, her first ever clutch, K’ndar, thirty eggs! Three golds and a half dozen bronzes! We had so much trouble finding that many candidates, we started taking older ones, like you did at Kahrain. And now I’m Weyrwoman and I am so very glad Danelle was such a good teacher. It was easy being the first for this weyr. You’re the first person I’ve had show up from Kahrain. Who is Weyrleader now?”

He grinned. Telling her F’mart would amaze her. Weyrwoman she might be, but she still wanted news from ‘home.’

______________________________________________________________

She’d had to leave, despite wanting to talk. He asked her to tell Lizard he was going to park Raventh outside the weyr.

Once on the other side of the palisade, he walked across the trail to the empty port.

A man met him at the beginning of the wharf.

“What can I do for you, mate?”

“I’m just looking, sir. I’m K’ndar, rider of brown Raventh from Landing.”

“Landing! Never been there. I’m the Port Authority. Are you looking for something special?”

“Well, in a way.” He pulled the drawing of the bolster from his backpack.

“Is this on your wharf?”

The man looked at it. “Aye. It’s on the northwestern side, all t’way to the end. Anything special about it?”

“Not that I know of, sir, but I have this drawing and it may have something to do with the raiders that were here a few days ago.”

“Oh, that lot. Y’know, they’s always someone wanting to take a look at it. Sometimes a person will just go up to it, take a look at it, and then leave. I usually don’t allow just anyone to come onto the wharf, when there’s ships in port, mostly to keep things moving smoothly. But as there’s no ships in port right now, feel free. You can see some spectacular sunsets from the end of the wharf. As for the bolster, I’ve looked at it, it’s just a bolster. But you’re more’n welcome to look at it, too.”

“Thank you. Before I do, though, I have something that I hope you can return to the owner,” K’ndar said.

He pulled the sea cap out of his backpack.

“There was a girl that came off the Sea Treader a few days ago, wearing this cap. There was a pack of raiders after her, and she managed to give them the slip.”

“Aye, I remember that lot. Three of ’em were locals, I heard that one of them’s dead?”

“Aye. Took on the wrong man in a knife fight and got killed with his own dagger. The one from Northern, he’s dead too. Stopped an arrow with his forehead.”

“Heehehehee! Good riddance to ’em both. But I has to admit, the Stella Maris’s crew gave them one shaff of a beating afore they got away. The girl, she came back here, dressed up like a cheesecrafter apprentice. Gave a big cheese to the Stella’s and didn’t that make ’em happy! Then she met up with Lord Toric’s men and they rode off to Southern Hold.”

“That’s good news. I met a friend of hers, he’s in with the Weyrleader at the moment. He helped her get away from the raiders, and she left this cap with him, hoping he’d find a way to get it back to the rightful owner. Do you think you can do that?”

The man took the cap. “I know who that friend is. He’s a trader, helped out the lad who’s been portering, the lad what showed up here about a month ago. The Sea Treader’s, they’s good folks, and even the Stella’s, when they keep their fights off the wharf. Harbormaster don’t allow that noise, and iffen he finds you drinking on his wharf the whole ship is banished. For good.”

“Thank you, sir, in advance.”

“Thank YOU, dragonrider. Sea Treader’s Cooky will appreciate your returning her cap. “

K’ndar walked out onto the wooden wharf. He immediately felt it moving with the swell. I have about five minutes before I start getting seasick, but I have to see this bolster. 270. 270.

Do they start numbering at 1? Here at the land end of the wharf? None of them have numbers!

Okay, then, it’s time to use compass azimuths.

He oriented the drawing he’d made with the horizon. Don’t pay attention to the walkway beneath me going up and down. They say to keep your eyes on the horizon but that only makes it worse. Ah, I see it. That has to be it.

It was all the way at the bitter end of the wharf. It was, like all the other bolsters, connected to the wooden walkway by a thick iron ring collar allowing the entire wharf to ride up and down the bolsters without binding.

At this time, it was as tall as he was and so wide he could barely put his arms around it. Where did they get this wood? These are tree trunks, one solid piece of wood with grain so tight you can’t count the rings.

There was no opening on the wharf side. Shards, I’m going to have to search on the water side. He felt the upper end for an opening, but felt nothing. Kneeling, he ran his hand down the seaward side. Maybe I’m wrong, he thought. Maybe it’s just a bolster. But then his hand felt an opening, not much bigger than that of a fire lizard with its wings folded. About half a meter below was a white ring, the sea having bleached it at the highest tides. Ah, there, beneath the opening, was a small bar, just enough to give a lizard purchase before entering the chamber. The bolster was too wide for him to reach in from the sea side.

Then he saw, on the wharf side of the bolster, a thumb sized knot in what was otherwise unmarked wood. He pushed it.

A door opened inward, the hinges almost invisible.

He could see the sea through the doorway. The interior cavity was large enough for a fire lizard, not much more.

There was a cylinder inside, and a small pouch.

His stomach asked him if he noticed how violent the sea was getting?

No IT ISN’T, he said, but he knew what would happen should he stay much longer. I’ll never live down Tillek Sea Hold’s name for me, Sea Sick on the Dock. I don’t need that reputation to follow me here, even without a ship’s crew here to witness.

He pulled the pouch and cylinder out and stuffed them in his backpack…and hurried back to solid ground.