Gone Away, Gone Ahead - 38. Opportunities

High over the Benden mountain range, D’gar was putting the youngsters through their paces. It wasn’t as enjoyable with this half of Prideth’s clutch due to the attitude of a few, although it was good to be flying with H’rek and Rioth. To be honest, the bronzes hadn’t been too bad. It was really only three of them - M’shol, L’cal and As’gal - who still had issues with him.

Today, he’d had all of the clutch catching sacks full of rocks mid-air; good practice for when they finally joined a Wing. They were used to handling the sacks from the other end; throwing them across to riders when they were on delivery duty, so the weight didn’t bother them. Gauging the speed and angle of the catch was a skill that took a little while to perfect and it was best to learn it here, over bare rocks, where if a sack was dropped it wouldn’t damage anything - or anyone - below.

Several sacks had fallen during the practice so he’d sent the annoying threesome to collect them, together with as much of the contents as they could find. They’d grumbled, but done as he’d ordered. Once they’d finished, he got the dragons to land on a plateau while he talked everyone through the exercise.

‘You’ve all been on deliveries for a while now, so what do you think is the most difficult part of it?’

‘When it’s windy it’s really hard to keep flying level for long enough.’ As a green rider, G’kal would notice that more than those who rode the heavier dragons. Even the Benden greens with their larger size, found it hard work when conditions were windy.

‘That’s true. There’s not much you can do about that one, unfortunately. You’ll probably find it easier delivering to the browns or bronzes, as they’ll be able to fly more steadily even if you can’t.’ They’d probably not thought of that. He’d had to be told the obvious back when he’d been a weyrling, too. ‘If you’re the one responsible for scheduling deliveries from the dump, that’s something to think about. Don’t make a green deliver to another green; they’ll be all over the place.’

‘Watching out for stray Thread when you’re trying to make the delivery can be difficult,’ said B’dor. ‘I nearly got a face full when we were down south, I was so focussed on getting the sacks across.’

‘Technically speaking, it should be the wing rider’s job to scan for Thread. While a rider’s getting a firestone delivery, those on either side of him in the formation should be taking up the slack and dealing with anything he can’t.’ The Southern Wings, made up as they were of youngsters and riders recovering from injuries, were generally a lot less tight in their flying formations. ‘You’ll probably find that here at Benden, there’s better Wing discipline and less chance that sort of thing will happen. You should still keep your eyes open, though. We can all make mistakes and get caught out.’

H’rek spoke up next. ‘Sometimes it’s hard to judge when to fly up to another dragon and when to hold back.’

‘That comes with experience. You need to assess the way Thread’s falling and get your dragon to speak to the one you’ll be delivering to. He might ask you to wait until he’s flamed a clump, or he might leave it for his wing mate and get you to come up fast while there’s a space. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you all how important the communication aspect is. I’ve seen dragons get flamed by accident when someone didn’t think to let a rider know they were coming up alongside.’

Several of them winced at that.

‘Mind you, I don’t see any crispy bits on either you or your dragons, so you must be doing something right.’ That got a laugh, even from L’cal. Good. He was getting through to them. ‘We’ll discuss a bit more Thread fighting theory before the next session. All of your dragons have worked well and I’m guessing your arms and shoulders are fairly tired by now, so we’ll call it a day.’

They are doing well, Herebeth commented as they descended over the Weyr. The dragons enjoy it too.

Good. He never minded spending a couple of free hours flying and he’d found training the youngsters an enjoyable job. Might even keep them alive a while longer. Landing formation, please.

Herebeth passed it on and the group made a tidy landing, especially considering the extra weight carried by most of the dragons. That wouldn’t do them any harm either. They were fully grown now and could afford to build up some muscle.

As he dismounted, F’nor strolled over. ‘Been working them hard, again?’

‘I try to.’ He appreciated the fact that F’nor and J’cul had done much of the youngsters basic weyrling training. They’d made a decent job of it; it wasn’t their fault they’d not had any practical experience of Thread fighting to pass on.

‘If you’ve a spare minute, the Weyrleader would like to see you. He’s in the council room.’ F’nor must have noticed his expression, for he chuckled. ‘Relax, man. You’re not in any trouble.’

‘That’s a relief.’

‘Don’t know why you’d think you would be. Everyone knows you’re doing a good job.’ He waited while D’gar took the straps off Herebeth, who then gave himself a good shake and stretched out his wings. They walked together toward the Senior Queen’s Weyr and up the steps.

F’lar was alone, with several hides unrolled across the table. It looked as if he was working on a revised version of his charts for Southern. He stopped writing as he heard them arrive.

‘Ah, D’gar. Good to see you. Sit down. F’nor, why don’t you fetch some klah?’

‘Sure.’ He called the order down the service shaft.

D’gar found himself drawn to the charts; diagonal lines laid across a partial map of Pern. The northern continent was fully inked in whereas the south remained largely unknown.

‘It’ll be useful when we can get some more surveys done to find out the extent of the southern lands.’ F’lar always seemed at his most enthusiastic when he had a project on his hands.

‘Maybe the recovering riders down south could do some of that,’ D’gar suggested.

‘I suppose they could. Now we’ve a better idea when Thread’s going to fall over the Weyr and surrounding area it will be good to give them something to do on rest days. But that’s not why I asked you to come and see me.’

F’nor carried a tray across with three steaming cups, which he set down carefully on a clear part of the table.

‘F’nor tells me you’re doing a good job of teaching those youngsters.’

He shrugged. ‘Just passing on some tips, really.’

‘We can all use those. Knowledge should be passed on, rather than kept among a select few, I’ve always thought.’

D’gar nodded agreement and blew on his klah to cool it.

‘Not everyone agrees with you,’ F’nor put in. ‘Craft secrets and all that.’

‘I’m still working on some of the… shall we say, more hidebound among us.’ F’lar sighed. ‘If information had been more widely shared, we might not have lost so many techniques over the Long Interval.’

He was probably right, D’gar thought, although he wasn’t sure where it had any relevance to him.

‘You seem to enjoy training folk,’ F’lar continued.

‘I suppose I do. Plus, I’m still young enough to remember what it was like to be a weyrling.’

‘True.’ He smiled. ‘It’s been a few more Turns since F’nor and I were in the barracks.’

D’gar wondered what he was getting at. He took a cautious sip of the klah.

‘As you probably know, we don’t currently have a Weyrlingmaster at Benden.’

‘I’d heard that, yes.’

‘And Ramoth will be laying her next clutch soon, so we need to make sure someone’s in place before they hatch. I was wondering if you’d be interested in the job.’

D’gar was surprised. ‘I’m not old enough, or experienced enough,’ he protested. ‘You want someone who’s been fighting Thread for Turns in that role.’

‘Well, you’ve got more experience than any of us. And as you just said, you remember what it was like to be a weyrling. Maybe they listen to you better because you’re closer to their age. Whatever it is, they’re learning fast.’

D’gar took another drink of klah, more to give himself time to consider the possibility. ‘I wouldn’t be able to do the job full time and be Wingleader as well.’

‘No, of course not. But once R’feem’s wrist is healed, he’ll be coming back anyway. We’d been thinking…’ and he glanced at F’nor, ‘that you might enjoy the extra responsibility once that happens.’

It was true. Going back to being Wingsecond would feel strange after having been in charge. And when they finally returned to Fort, he’d probably end up as just a plain wing rider. Which reminded him of something else. ‘You’d want a Benden rider as Weyrlingmaster. I’m not.’

‘That’s not insurmountable,’ F’lar said. ‘I’m told that it’s quite common for riders to transfer when there’s more than one Weyr on Pern. If you wanted to, that is,’ he added.

‘Well…’ It would solve a lot of problems. ‘I’d have to think about that.’ Face it, he’d been thinking about it for a while; had even mentioned the possibility a few times. Now he’d been handed a solution. ‘You’d need to speak to my Weyrleader too…’ He realised he’d been thinking aloud. ‘Er, if I decided to accept, obviously.’

‘Give yourself a couple of days,’ F’lar said.’ There’s no need to rush. Ramoth won’t be laying any eggs for another month or so. But we will need to Search candidates beforehand and get them prepared, so don’t leave it too long.’

‘No.’ He finished his klah. ‘Er, can I mention this to my weyrmate? I’d like to talk it over with him.’

‘Of course.’

He left them, walking back through the empty Queen’s Weyr. The Bowl was filled with afternoon sunshine, the lake water sparkling. The weather here wasn’t always so bad, he considered. The food was fine as well, now that they were getting proper tithes in. If he decided to take it, he’d be doing a job that really made a difference. A difficult job, though. He remembered N’teren, the Weyrlingmaster back when he’d Impressed. It had been a constant effort to keep his charges under control. Could he really deal with forty or more teenage lads and a load of young dragons? Well, he wasn’t doing too badly with Prideth’s clutch, even the ones who didn’t like him much. He’d have to brush up on his Teaching Ballads and get up to date with all the additions that had been made in the last four hundred Turns since he’d learned them. But he had a good memory, so that wouldn’t be too onerous. Then there was the worst aspect of being Weyrlingmaster. How would he handle it if - when - those young men and their dragons were lost? It could happen even during training and it would definitely happen when they progressed to delivering firestone and of course, once they joined a Wing.

He realised he’d walked half way across to the Lower Caverns, so deep in thought as he’d been. The dragons had dispersed by now. He glanced up to his weyr ledge, spotting Herebeth and Rioth curled there together, enjoying the sunshine. Pity to disturb them, really.

Is H’rek up there with you? he asked Herebeth.

No. He stayed down in the Bowl.

Then I’ll try to find him. He made his way over to the dining hall. A few riders were sitting at the outside benches and tables, but H’rek wasn’t there. He went inside; it was almost a pity to be indoors on a bright day like this. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, when he saw H’rek sitting over by the night-hearth, sipping klah as Av’rar demonstrated a flying manoeuvre they’d been practising earlier using two sweet rolls.

H’rek noticed him and budged up to make space. ‘Everything all right?’ he asked.

‘Fine. Just some Wing business.’ He didn’t want to say anything in front of Av’rar, even though he was longing to tell H’rek the news. ‘Where’s everyone else?’

‘Some of them went to their weyrs and a couple of the bronzes wanted to feed after all that exercise.’

‘They were moaning a bit,’ Av’rar said. ‘About you making them pick up the rocks.’

‘It won’t do them any harm. They’re always trying to get out of work.’

‘Yeah, like shovelling firestone…’ Av’rar carried on, but right then Herebeth started talking, so he tuned it out. Marth’s rider is looking for you. He has a message.

Tell him I’m in the dining hall.

‘…but they aren’t as bad now as they were when we were in the south,’ H’rek was saying.

‘Will it stay that way though, when we go back?’

‘If they start shirking, or picking on you, you should say something,’ D’gar told them. ‘I know it feels like telling tales, but this needs to be stopped.’ He spotted a rider looking around. ‘Excuse me a moment.’ He got up and made his way over.

‘Wingleader D’gar?’

‘That’s right. My dragon just said you’ve something for me.’

He reached into his pocket and brought out a small piece of hide, rolled up. ‘A young bronze rider gave me this. Said it was to be handed only to you.’

He checked the seal and found it unbroken. ‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome.’ The man seemed a little disappointed when he didn’t open it right away, but he obviously realised he wasn’t about to find out the contents.

D’gar returned to the night hearth.

‘What was all that about,’ H’rek asked.

‘Oh, nothing much.’ He didn’t want to say anything in front of Av’rar. The youngster was probably trustworthy, but the fewer people who knew about S’fyn’s mission, the better.

H’rek looked at him quizzically. ‘Is someone sending you secret love letters?’

‘Of course not.’ D’gar laughed at the thought. ‘Look, there’s something I need to talk through with you. Sorry, Av’rar, but I can’t say much to anyone about it right now.’

‘No, that’s fine. I understand.’

‘Let’s go for a walk,’ he said to H’rek. ‘As it’s such a lovely day.’ The open air was best. Less people around to possibly overhear.

‘Fine.’

They strolled out of the dining hall. He guided them toward the lake and feeding grounds, feeling the note burning a hole in his pocket. It could wait, though. He had other things to talk about first.

‘So, what’s all the mystery, then?’ H’rek asked, after they’d gone a little way.

‘It wasn’t just Wing business the Weyrleader wanted to see me about.’

‘Oh? I can see by your smile it wasn’t anything bad.’

‘Quite the opposite. This is confidential, mind. I don’t want anything getting out to anyone.’

‘I can keep secrets.’

‘Well, F’lar asked if I wanted to stay at Benden Weyr. And be Weyrlingmaster.’

H’rek almost jumped for joy. ‘That’s brilliant. So you said yes, obviously.’

‘I said I wanted to think about it. And talk to you, as well.’

His face dropped slightly. ‘What’s the problem?’

‘Well, I’m not sure as I’m the right person for the job, to start with.’

‘Why not?’

‘A few reasons. I don’t think I’ve got enough experience, for one thing.’

‘That’s rubbish. You’ve more experience than anyone else here fighting Thread.’

F’lar had said much the same. ‘That’s fair enough. But all the Weyrlingmasters I’ve met have been in their forties or fifties.’

‘Because they have Turns of experience, presumably.’

‘Yes, and so the youngsters respect their authority.’

‘You don’t have a problem with that, as far as I’ve seen. You’d be great at it. You’re a really good teacher.’ He was getting all enthusiastic again.

D’gar realised H’rek had limited experience of the role; he wasn’t Weyrbred for a start and he’d not come through the system in the same way as someone like himself. ‘A fair few weyrlings don’t make it, you know. Some never come back from their first jump between. Others die during the later stages of training, before they even get to join a Wing. Like your clutch mate, R’gan. I’m not sure how I’d deal with that.’ It was the reason many Weyrlingmasters during a Pass only lasted for a couple of Turns before giving up the job.

‘Oh.’ H’rek had obviously not considered that, either. ‘That must be tough.’

‘So that’s why I didn’t jump at the offer straight away. I know it would solve a few problems, but I want to be sure it’s the right thing.’

They walked a little further. ‘You cope with deaths better than most of us,’ H’rek said at last. ‘I mean, most of us from Benden, or Southern.’

‘That’s through necessity. I’ve seen enough of them. And it’s not so bad when it’s someone you don’t know that well. If it’s a pair from your Wing, or your clutch; a friend, that’s different.’ As Weyrlingmaster, you invested a lot of time in people. It would be inevitable that you’d develop an affection for them. Their loss would hit hard. ‘You’ve heard what a mess I was after S’brin died. I don’t want to go through that again.’

‘You loved him, though. I’m hoping you aren’t going to go falling in love with every good looking teenage lad you end up training.’

‘Like you, you mean?’

He smiled. ‘Maybe that wasn’t the best example.’ He paused. ‘If you don’t take it, I wonder who will? They haven’t exactly got a surplus of riders here, have they?’

D’gar could see his thinking. It was a good point and possibly one of the reasons he’d been asked, rather than an existing Benden rider. ‘That’s true.’

‘We could stay together here, if you did decide to.’

‘I know. I’d been thinking about putting in for a transfer anyway, once it came near the time for us to be sent back.’ Asking for a transfer didn’t always mean you’d get it, not unless you had some particular skill that was useful to the Weyr. Accepting this job would bring certainty.

‘Or I could,’ H’rek suggested. ‘I mean, it doesn’t matter which Weyr we’re at, does it?’

‘Well, maybe, but I think I’d fit in better here than you would at Fort.’ Benden was becoming used to the other five Weyrs. Their attitude seemed more adaptable. If H’rek was at Fort, he’d stand out right away, if only because Rioth was so much larger than any of the greens bred in the past. ‘They’ve plenty of dragons there, too, so they’d be less likely to accept anyone wanting to come in. And Benden’s under strength, like you said, so they probably wouldn’t be so keen to let you go. No, it’d be easier for me to get a transfer.’

‘I can see that.’ They carried on walking. ‘How long do you have to make your mind up?’

‘There’s no rush, they said. But they want someone in place before Ramoth’s eggs hatch.’

‘Well, give it a few days, then. Are you going to speak to R’feem?’

‘I suppose I should.’ That would mean a trip to Fort. Mind you, it was about time he went back to visit.

‘He won’t want to lose you from the Wing.’

‘Probably not. Still, if there’s a space, he might take one of you youngsters. And V’vil could stay as Wingsecond…’

‘You see, you’re talking about it as if it’s going to happen. That must mean you’re seriously considering it.’

H’rek was right. He’d been doing that ever since he left the council room. He just didn’t want to jump into it because it was easy, or convenient. That was the wrong way to approach any new venture. ‘I know you’re excited about it, but please don’t say anything.’

‘I already promised not to.’

‘Sorry. Just edgy.’ He put his hand into his pocket to make sure the scroll was still there.

H’rek noticed. ‘So what was that note about?’

‘That’s even more confidential. I need to read it first before I know if I can tell you about it.’ They’d almost reached the lake. A couple of dragons were bathing, but it was a quiet enough spot. He sat down on a bench. H’rek stayed by the shore, skimming stones to give him some privacy while he broke the seal and read it.

It was short - there wouldn’t have been room to get much on such a small piece of hide - and S’fyn had obviously thought about what might happen if it was read by someone else so had avoided any specifics in the message.

“Some important information has come to my attention. Really need to meet up as soon as possible. Send message through the dragons for place and time.”

He re-read it, then rolled it up again. It would be easier for him to go to Southern than for S’fyn to get away. He could even do it on the same day he visited Fort. They way, no one would suspect he was meeting anyone in the south.

‘Well?’ H’rek asked. ‘Can you tell me?’

‘Come and sit down.’ There was no-one about to overhear. ‘Someone in Southern is keeping an eye on F’drun for me,’ he said quietly.

‘Really? Like a spy?’

‘Well, sort of. I know it sounds paranoid, but I want to know what he’s up to.’

‘Can’t blame you for that really.’ H’rek scuffed his feet on the dusty ground. ‘So, has he found out anything?’

‘Sounds like it. He wants to meet me to talk about it.’

‘Is that safe?’

‘I’ll be careful. I was thinking we could meet at that waterfall where you used to go. It’s well away from the Weyr.’

‘Trouble is, that’s quite a popular place in the afternoons when everyone’s resting. And afternoons are going to be when he can slip away easily.’ H’rek said. ‘I know somewhere better. Rioth can give Herebeth the co-ordinates then he can pass them on to your informant’s dragon. Is he a Southern rider?’

D’gar paused a moment, unsure of how much to give away. ‘He’s been there before, yes.’

‘Then he’ll know the place. We used to take the support staff there to gather herbs and stuff. It’s a fair dragon ride from the Weyr so no-one would wander there by accident.’

‘That sounds a good plan.’

‘Pity you can’t just communicate through the dragons. It would save a lot of trouble.’

‘Yes, but you know how dragons are. Sending simple instructions is fine, or arranging a meeting. Trying to have a complicated conversation just doesn’t work very well.’

‘I suppose not.’ He sighed. ‘Another two sevendays and we’ll be going back again. Time’s flown so fast.’

‘I know. Still, look on the bright side. Prideth’s going to be laying more eggs soon. Once they hatch there’ll be more weyrlings to bag up firestone. They might decide to bring you all back to Benden permanently then.’

‘I hope so. You think F’drun will stay there?’

‘As long as he keeps on the right side of Kylara, I don’t see him coming back. Makes life easier for me and the Wing that way. I’m just sorry that you’ll be in his way.’

‘He can’t do anything, really. He’s got no authority.’

D’gar didn’t want to have to tell him about the threat F’drun had made. It might come to nothing. Or he might know more after speaking to S’fyn. ’Still makes life unpleasant though, if he stirs up those bronze riders again.’

‘We’ve talked about that, me and some of the others. If they start trying to push us around, we’re going to complain to T’bor. He must have stopped F’drun bullying C’vash, after all.’

That was true, although it had probably been as a result of intervention by the Benden leadership. T’bor didn’t strike him as a bad person, but his weak spot was his love for Kylara. That was a woman used to getting what she wanted and she had no qualms about how she managed it. ‘You can try. If enough people complain, he can’t ignore it.’ Not if he’s a half-decent Weyrleader, he added silently. ‘Anyway, we’d best get back. Do you think those lazy dragons will have had enough of a rest by now to take us up to our weyr?’

‘Let’s hope so.'