Cooperative efforts -a new mission

Coming out from Between over the expansive metropolis of Telgar Hold, it greeted all four riders with high-flying banners of bright red, blue and white over monumental pillars which served as a main gate for the Hold. Walls of stone fortressed the outer perimeter of the city, creating a barrier between farmland, which spread as far as the eye could see in a southerly direction, and the well-developed interior of the Hold itself. Nestled into the cliff face which the Hold proper had been carved into, the residence of the Lord Holder was constructed on a grande scale that served as a poignant reminder the influence he held.

There were a number of dragon landing pads situated throughout the hold, but the one located nearest the residence of the Holder was the one they would be headed to. As they neared the site, flying over the city just for a little sight-seeing opportunity for those unfamiliar with it, the closer they got to the Hold proper, the more it looked like a giant ship built into the side of a mountain. Or perhaps it was a giant ship that ran through the mountain? It nothing else, its sheer scale in size inspired a sense of awe and grandeur unmatched by likely any other Hold on Pern. It had been built more than seven stories high, all of its windows bearing large bronze shutters that, on sunny days, reflected the sun's rays, giving off a golden appearance.

The landing pad they headed to, was also against the stone face, which, peering up at it toward the higher altitudes, one could see where the treeline began once more, though they were short and sparse alpine trees, and had been kept cleared some distance back from the hold itself. Looking out in the other direction though, they were given a tremendous vista from which to view the entire valley to the South. It was a spectacular sight to behold.

Dismounting from Zemarith, S'jiro could feel the thinness of air at ground level, taking a deeper breath to fill his lungs. The beauty of this mountainside was very different from Fort's own mountains. Here, the clouds clung to the tops of them like a crown, further cooling the air below. Even now, in the early afternoon, the mist from them appeared like morning dew. It was an overcast morning as it was, which made S'jiro glad to be wearing his riding gear. He may have found the climate here a little cool for comfort, if not.


Greeted promptly by the Steward of Telgar Hold, the riders were led inside the residence of the Lord Holder. The interior walls and corridors were perfectly even and smooth, seeming to have been recently painted. Tapestries and paintings depicting events in Telgar history were hung throughout the hold, especially in the Main Hall as they entered. Many of the paintings were also of family. The great, vaulted ceiling of the Main Hall were beautifully off-lit by wall-sconce and chandelier-mounted candles, but otherwise, was left rather empty of furnishings or people. There were only the staff of the Hold to be seen present, running about in the background, fulfilling their day's tasks, appearing briefly from connecting corridors before disappearing into another.

The riders were guided through one of the ground level corridors constructed with rooms designated for small groups for meetings. There seemed to be several of these. It wasn't uncommon for there to be multiple meetings going on simultaneously, attended by groups of varying interest.

The Steward left them to one of these rooms in solitude to wait for the Holder's appearance. "Please be seated. Lord Holder Matoi will be with you presently."

The space was furnished like the other smaller meeting rooms; not large enough for one of the massive tables which seated endless numbers of people, it was made comfortable with clean, tightly woven grass mats for flooring and furnished with large cushions upon which to be seated beside individual tables/ trays where drinks were made available for each guest. Furnishing the smaller rooms in this way made it easier to accommodate for quick meetings of varying size without having to bring in extra chairs, trying to squeeze people in uncomfortably at the end of a table. The space overall, was cozy, and the grass mats, like a rug, kept the room a little warmer in the winter months.


S'jiro turned to the other riders when the Steward had left them, supposing that he and N'kyr would sit up front, before the slightly raised dais where he guessed the Lord Holder would be seated. The Bronzerider had opened his flight jacket and of course by that point, having left his head-gear with Zemarith, so made himself comfortable on one of the pillows; all of which were covered in a soft but sturdy fabric decorated in Telgar's famous batik prints and bright colours. The design on these however, were all the same, and were all made to bear the crest of the Lord Holder in Telgar's colours on a royal blue background. It was all for appearances sake. In all truth, Matoi didn't care quite as much for appearances as did his father, the previous Lord Holder -though in his old age, the old holder was becoming a special case. Or maybe just an odd one.

Speaking of which, as they were all being seated, a short, balding old man came through the door.

S'jiro looked up to see if the Holder had arrived, but this man did not appear to be the man they were all waiting for, judging by his dress. The man must have been about 80 turns in age, expression lines punctuated more now by wrinkles. His eyes were not small, but they were shadowed by a thick brow, and he wore a plainly coloured robe, even if it did look to be well-tailored, but there were no knots of rank to be seen. And surely, none of them would have expected what would happen next.

The old man was grinning ear to ear all of a sudden, speaking nothing, but quietly chuckling under his breath, seeming rather pleased with himself. Eyes resting on the pretty girls first, the happy twinkle in his eye turned slightly mischievous. Teetering over to the first of the two female riders, he carried a little dish of hard candies with him, made by the Hold kitchen staff. Seeming no more than average height for a girl, the curious old man hardly had to bend over to offer the sweets to their guests, passing them out to be had with the tea on their trays.

Instead of hobbling like an old man should, he more like... hopped...back to the door. With a grandfatherly smile then, he turned back around and gestured for them to enjoy the sweets. "Go on. You wouldn't turn an old Grandfa's kindness down, now would you?" The old man laughed quietly then, before being startled from behind.

Behind him, the door opened once again, and this time, a taller, younger looking figure greeted them. Though his thick, black hair was beginning to grey and his features were well refined by the maturity one gains in middle-age, he was still lean and handsome in appearance -probably no more than 45 turns. His voice, too, was marked by a depth of dignity, slightly coarse, but none the less alluring. In fact, most women seemed to find his deep voice somewhat suggestive -evocative even. He was surely the heart-throb of many girls in his youth. "Kindness? What did you give them?"

The elderly figure seemed alarmed momentarily, but then sulked at the accusation. "What do you mean? Everyone likes candy." But then, as the taller man walked past him, the old man turned to disappear through the door, giggling mischievously even as he closed it behind him.


Curious about what had just happened, S'jiro's eyes were longer on the old man than the more stately figure who'd just come in. The candy was already in his mouth, sucking on it. But as he realized just who had joined them, he stood from his place to greet the man properly, deciding to quickly chew the candy and swallow it so that he could speak. "Lord Holder Matoi, I presume?"

The tall, well-dressed man had walked down the center of the room, between their ranks where they were seated to either side of a path that led up to his dais. There, in his fine suit of blue, the man turned to face them, taking his place on a cushion at the head of the room. "Yes. I am Lord Matoi. And don't eat whatever he gave you, if you haven't already. You'll probably live to regret it." Of course by that time, it may have been too late; they may have all already tried it.

And indeed, at just that time, S'jiro was finding out that the middle of the candy had been flavoured with something terrible and bitter. He tried to bear it long enough to swallow and forget he'd ever tasted it, but it was too pungent; he ended up spitting it out. After the Lord Holder's comment, S'jiro didn't feel bad for making a face as the rotten candy.

Uhg! What a rancid taste!

As he leaned over onto the cushioned arm rest/support beside the place where he sat, getting comfortable, Lord Matoi's laughter filled the room. He couldn't do anything about his father's antics, and found it amusing anyway. Hopefully none of the riders would react poorly toward it, and take the mischief for what it was. "I'm sorry. My father is known for being quite the trickster."

Lancelle didn’t think any Holder would be as impressive as Fort’s. Then her family had faithfully and loyally served Fort’s Holder’s for centuries, or at least as far back as anyone could recall or decipher. Not that Telgar was that bad, she certainly wasn’t a Lady but she had some idea of what luxuries were to be had. Arriving at the cold, damp Telgar landing, she thought she might have been better to wear her winter riding shirt.

Where is the sun? This mission…sucks.The dragon had been hoping to sun during the meeting. Ugh, don’t I know it. I’m Fort bred too remember. Raidenth turned her neck to watch her rider dismount. Good luck finding some sunshine, love.

The Bronzeriders were taking the lead on this one so she decided to wait for them to move toward the Hold before following. Her boots clicked on the stone floor as she walked behind N’kyr. She didn’t like walking, standing or in any other way being near S’jiro. There was a definite hate-hate relationship between them. She didn’t like him as a person nor Sh’nar. She could work with him but that was about where it ended. Lance wasn’t a very forgiving person but they would be glad she was there.

Wary of everyone they passed, her eyes examined everyone. She thought about where the Guards would be posted. What if Karene sent them instead of going herself because she didn’t trust the Lord Holder, very unlikely. The Weyrwoman faced challenges head on, she would never let other people handle something she could do better.

The room they were to wait in was not to her taste at all. Everything was so colorful and strange. Hmm well maybe that was how they decorated here. She waited to see where the Bronzeriders would sit before she moved. She was uneasy. Sitting behind the bronzeriders, because after all they were leading this part of the mission, she wondered just how long they were going to be kept waiting. It was probably a good thing she wasn’t the one to deal with the Lord Holder. She didn’t like having to wait. There were important things that needed to be done. This was wasting time and possibly lives.

Someone entered and she tried to hide the disappointment that he wasn’t Matoi. When the old man eyed her quirked an eyebrow and thought perhaps he was a little crazy. She took a candy, “Thank you.” And slipped it into her mouth, it would be impolite to do otherwise. As the old man left and Lord Matoi entered, she realized she should not have taken the candy. As she got to the center she found the contents disgusting and it was all she could do not to spit it out right there in front of the Lord.

N'kyr looked rather uncomfortable when he finally chose a cushion to sit on.  His posture was stiff and formal, at odds with the bright colors and  soft lighting in the room.  Of course, it didn't help that once he'd finally gotten settled, he had to stand up again at the entrance of the older gentleman.

It was only polite, after all, even if he was not the Lord Holder.  Still, there was something vaguely familiar about the man and the young bronzerider was trying to wrack his brain for the answer as to who he could be.

Having been raised to only accept treats once the host had partaken, he did not actually take a piece of candy when they were offered.  Which, as he would find out, was probably a good thing.  It would most certainly not have been proper to make faces or spit out something one didn't find palatable, no matter that they would basically be given leave to do so.

Tashamoretta, on the other hand, had no such qualms about taking the candy that was offered, and with as bright a smile as she could muster under the circumstances to boot.  If they hadn't been meant to eat it, surely the old man would not have held the dish out to them.  And it was rather pleasant-- not the best she'd had, considering she was extremely fond of the hard candies one of the minor holds along her family's trade route produced, but not the worst, either.  Well, at least it wasn't at first.  That thought would come later, though not before she'd spent a good deal of the time trying to mentally sort through what little they knew so far on the attacks they were investigating.

Her mind was still racing, trying to understand just who would, or could, have disrupted the supply chain by actually stealing goods bound for a Weyr.  Oh, sure, there were groups who hated the Weyrs, but did they disagree so much with the actions of dragonriders that they would resort to stealing and perhaps even murder?  Aside from the disbelief, there was a healthy dose of sympathy for those left among the groups that had been attacked.  Though she didn't know who the victims were at this point, it was still hard not to identify herself with them, having lived almost all of her life in a caravan.

The situation still begged the question, had there not been enough people guarding the trains?  Or had the attackers simply been that overwhelming in number?  If there were multiple events, it certainly sounded like a concentrated effort, and Karene seemed to believe it was not the work of random raiders.

And what about the sweepriders?

Unable to stay silent, the young greenrider turned to her classmate, who was clearly far calmer than Tasha herself was.  "I still don't get it.  Who could have done this?  I mean, stealing the supplies to protest, or even the Holdless taking them, I suppose I can see, but cutting down the people with the trains?  Just because they didn't want to be found once they were done?"  Of course, she'd heard of such bandits among the Holdless, but there was usually safety in numbers for caravans.  And given that the trains bound for Igen would surely have been considered high profile, surely a single bandit or two would have left them alone?

Of course, there wasn't much time for Lance to respond, as someone else came into the room.  N'kyr, who had been in the process of sitting back down (it had taken him a while to decide whether he should or not), instead straightened and gave a slight bow as the Lord Holder of Telgar walked past.  This man he recognized-- and now he could see the resemblance in the older man as well-- from previous events they had both attended.

The young bronzerider waited for their host to take his seat, before once more awkwardly settling himself on a cushion.  Trying to ignore the noises and faces the others were making (Tasha, in particular, had let out a slightly louder-than-appropriate 'Gross!' aimed at Lancelle), N'kyr  waited for the Telgar Lord's laughter to die down so they could get to the business at hand.

It was only natural, of course, that he, as a Wingsecond as well as another member of a Holder family and clearly already familiar with their host compared to S'jiro, take the lead in speaking with him.  "My Lord, thank you for meeting with us.  This situation aside, I hope you have been well since we last spoke at your son's wedding?"  Quick of wit and tongue he may not have been, but pleasantries had been drilled into him from a young age.  

"Weyrwoman Karene sent myself, along with S'jiro of bronze Zemarith," here he gestured faintly to the other bronzerider, "Lancelle of green Raidenth, and Tashamoretta of green Sionnath, to discuss the loss of the tithing trains headed for Igen and see what we can do to help assure that the next one arrives there safely."

Tasha raised a brow at lance from behind N'kyr's back.  She was glad he'd at least got their names right, though she rather thought the word 'help' coming out of his mouth seemed out of character.  Then again, he sounded just like every other bs-talking bronzerider or Holder.

"We, of course, have already heard about the situation from the Weyrwoman, but would appreciate if you could describe events in your own words so that we can get a better idea of what has occurred."

S'jiro wasn't speaking for the time being, and might have considered urging Lance to be patient and wait for the Lord Holder's arrival -for he would surely be answering all of their questions- but before he was able, the man himself walked in. Good. Saved him the trouble. He couldn't blame the Greenrider for being anxious to join the caravan. He had to admit, he was too.


Expression still lifted by a smile, Lord Matoi leaned himself comfortably, motioning for N'kyr and the others to be seated. Glancing about their knots of rank displayed, Matoi was privately intrigued that the Weyrwoman had not sent at least a Wingleader along with them, seeing as a Wingleader would have been the most diplomatic choice. But if she hadn't, he had to wonder at the personal experiences of the four who were presented him now. Seeing as though Weyrwoman Karene never did anything thoughtlessly, there must be good reason for these four to have been chosen.  Telgar was in good standing relationships with each of its nearby Weyrs anyway, so he wouldn't fault her for it. And it did appear as though their Wingsecond was well versed in the pleasantries of Hold life, so he would gladly accept their visit.

Nodding in response to the Bronzerider's words, through the introductions, the Lord Holder met each dragonrider's gaze briefly, giving acknowledgement before his eyes once more turned to N'kyr.

"Thank you. Yes, I thought I recognized you as well, from that time. Thank you again, for having attended the wedding celebration. It has always been a pleasure to host to Riders whenever possible." Giving pause before he indicated more pressing topics, Matoi went on, "I'm not certain how much information the Weyrwoman covered with you, which she and I had been in contact regarding, but I would be glad to fill you in on what I am able. Unfortunately the entire situation is not 100% clear to us yet, either. Though we have our suspicions, but due to our lack of concrete evidence regarding those suspicions, have been unable to take any real action in response to the threats.

"Telgar's recent past, unfortunately, has been marred by conflict with a group incited by the dishonest actions of a Minor Holder who once held land to to the south. Grave misunderstandings led to a deep seated distrust, by a good number of people, of the Hold in general, but also distrust in the Weyrs. A particular group arose from these numbers, known as the Chorong Rebels, organizing themselves to pit a rebellion against me and any increase in influence held by the Weyrs. These rebels were suppressed, and it was thought that they had disappeared completely.

"Just prior to the wedding of my son to the young Lady of Igen, Eolyn, she was kidnapped and some evidence was found to cause us to believe that they were at least partially responsible, and that there has been a resurgence in their activity. We fear that their numbers are growing once again, and that their goal is to put a stop to the rebuilding of Igen Weyr and create further unrest within the holds and wyrs, in order to spread fear and distrust as it happened before.

"We are in a different situation now, though, than in the past. We have more knowledge of their methods of operation and have experience confronting them. I just don't want to go after lives which are innocent, thinking that they are involved, if they are not. I cannot ignore what evidence we already have on the matter, but due to certain circumstances at present, I cannot bring myself to act on mere assumptions. Doing so could cost the Hold dearly.

"If the raiders attacking the Caravans are simply holdless, then I want no harm to come to them if I can help it. They already lead hard lives and I have other plans for them. What I would like to ask of the four of you, is to collect any evidence left behind by the group, as to their true identity. I would like to ask you to fly a distance from the main road so as to be on the lookout for any of their camps." Then he emphasized. " Please do not land at any of these camp sites on your own. That is not the day's mission, and could prove too dangerous."

"If you happen to scout out any of them, mark the maps you will each be given. I will send my own soldiers there to confront them in due time. If you catch up to the caravan and there has been a raid, look for evidence on their bodies or from what's left behind...or any pattern in what they've taken. What seems to be their goal. You'll be able to assist us in finding consistencies to find the relation, if any, between the Holdless and the Chorong.

"Please report all of your observations and findings to Wingsecond N'kyr and then if you would N'kyr, report back to myself." The Lord Holder met N'kyr's eyes once more, to ensure that he understood what was necessary of them.

"I have sent a compliment of guardsmen with the caravan, in order to protect it; when you arrive, they will be dressed as civilians, not as soldiers. There are five of them. Yeoun is the young man I placed in charge of their special unit. And should you need to know when you get there, Grel is the name of the Caravan Master in charge.

"After confirming that the caravan is all in one piece, N'kyr, feel free to lead your Wing on a forward patrol sweep of the area to reduce the threat of any attacks on the remainder of the journey."

The Lord Holder eyed each of the Riders with a special concern then, wanting them to understand the seriousness of the situation should their assumptions be correct in who was behind the raids. "I am not so much concerned about the tithe goods as I am about your welfare. Be aware that if there are indeed Chorong amoungst the group of raiders, that they will likely be well trained in combat arts. The Chorong arose from dissident Telgar Guardsmen and Soldierborn. They are dedicated to their set of beliefs as much as we are, and I can only assume they pose just as much a threat as they have in the past. Please be careful. I can replace tithes, but I cannot replace your lives. I would prefer it if dragonriders did not involve themselves in fighting at all, if you happen to encounter it. If you can manage to intimidate raiders by the  mere presence of your dragons instead, that is preferable."


Matoi let those things sink in, taking pause for breath, but did not leave enough time for questions just yet. "The Weyrwomen of Telgar Weyr, Fort Weyr and I, decided to put up a united front against the rebels in the case of their resurgence, because we'd all like to show strength in our being united and also be able to end the threat quickly. If Telgar is drawn into another conflict so close to the return of Threadfall, it would undoubtedly effect the Weyrs in a manner undesireable, putting them at risk unnecessarily. It also makes things easier for me, having the eyes of a dragon in the sky periodically-" He was about to go on when there came a brief rap on the door from the end of the room, at which point Lord Matoi glanced that way. "Report."

The man's voice from the other side of the door announced, "My Lord, I've received word about the escort team."

"Bring the report to me."

And as Lord Matoi bade the man to enter, the door opened, admitting the soldier. The guardsman was not exceptionally tall, but his eyes were sharp and focused. His dark blonde hair was cut in slightly longish layers with the forepart falling forward to cover most of the side of his face where, just beneath them could be seen the end of a scar across his face. He wore the dark blue uniform of the Telgar Guard, his coat collar was heavily embroidered in red and white, the knots on his shoulder and the flash of the sash beneath the belt at his waist indicative of a Captain's rank. From a fellow guardsman's perspective, it would seem as though the soldier were highly decorated in honours by the look of his uniform; as though he'd been very active and successful in his carreer, though he appeared to be young.

The soldier bowed from the door before entering and moving across the room to present Matoi with the report, at which point he bowed to make the presentation. The man seemed not to have noticed the Riders present, making no acknowledgement with eyes or otherwise that they were in the room, but somehow, there was an aura about him that lent to a more dangerous perception of what was actually the truth; that he 'saw' them without needing to 'look'. Almost too perceptive.

Taking a step back, the soldier awaited further direction, which was given only after Matoi had read the message just passed to him.

"Captain Toshiro, please have a seat to join us."

Bowing his head to acknowledge the request, the Captain came to seat himself near the Lord Holder on one of the unclaimed cushions toward the head of the room. Both of his weapons were removed and set on the floor to his left side.


Addressing the riders, Lord Matoi's attention returned to them. "As you may have understood from my earlier mention, the caravan you are all to rendezvous with is not here. Since we suspect there is someone on the inside leaking information to the group responsible for directing the timing of the raids, I sent the caravan ahead of you, two nights ago, ahead of schedule. That way, if there were a raid planned, the traders might be able to pass the raiders' location while they were unprepared, giving us more of an advantage.

"I will have the Captain here, give you the coordinates on a map, for where exactly the caravan should be at this point in time, so that you can go there. Also marked on your maps will be the geographical locations most suitable for staging such raids. On your route to rendezvous, if you happen to fly over these locations and find suspicious persons there, please feel free to use intimidation to run them off -your mere presence, with dragons, should be enough.

"No more of my men will be traveling with you, but if you have any other questions or concerns about the mission or about the Chorong, whom you may run into, please ask now. Captain Toshiro has much experience in dealing with them."

The Lord Holder left conversation open then for what questions or concerns the riders might have.

When the candy was finally gone, she found herself wishing for a glass of water. Anything to wash the taste out of her mouth, really and where was Raidenth to take her mind off the dullness of this meeting. Sadly she never had a chance to discuss anything with Tasha because she would have been happy to excuse herself. Stifling a yawn, she put her hand to her mouth, hopefully no one would notice.

Listening intently before she became anymore rude, Lancelle paid almost too much attention to the interaction between N’kyr and Lord Holder Matoi. Aristocrats! Ergh. Couldn’t they just skip the pleasantries? Who cared about a wedding at a time like this?! Lancelle kept her emotions to herself, green eyes focused on the Lord Holder. Whatever information he had, it wasn’t good enough. Otherwise the Guard of this Hold would be in pursuit of whoever was attacking the Caravans. Whatever group of vagabonds they might be fighting, had a leader with a head for strategy. These were not simple Holdless types. Organization on the scale they were talking about was troubling to say the least.

Never having been allowed to officially apprentice with the Guard nor take any of the tests, Lance had learned all of her skill from her brother, he had also been happy to share with her some of the more tactical things they learned. Her family had been Guards for so long it was commonplace to hear much of it as children. S’dric would have been just as good to handle this part of the mission as she was.

When the Captain walked in the with report she did not realize who he was. There were a couple of people in Telgar, the Swordmaster and his apprentice which all Guards heard about for their impressive prowess with the Sword. When the name Toshiro was spoken, her eyes went wide. She couldn’t help but say, in a very fan girl kind of way. “THE Captain Toshiro?”

Seeing as now everyone was probably looking at her like she grew another head, she explained, “The swordmaster? Don’t tell me none of you have heard of him?” After an irritated eye roll, she went back to being quiet. The Bronzeriders were probably none too pleased with her now. She couldn’t help it. She never thought she would meet a swordsman of his caliber. Maybe he could teach her a couple tricks on the mission. Couldn’t hurt to ask right?

This mission wasn’t going to be as horrible as she thought. When she got back to the weyr though, she had no doubt that both N’kyr and S’jiro were going to mention this outburst. S’dric was going to die though, when she told him. A Telgarian Swordmaster…it was too awesome for words. It did not matter that he had yet to be given the full title. Everyone knew of his skill with the blade. Everyone who knew about swords did anyway.

N'kyr listened attentively as Lord Matoi spoke.  He'd heard about the kidnapping through his mother, but she hadn't elaborated on who might have been responsible.  The Holdless were who she blamed, but apparently Telgar's Lord thought it might be another group altogether.  He wasn't discounting the Holdless, from the sound of it, but clearly had reason to believe the attacks could have been carried out by a far more official and sinister group.

The young bronzerider wasn't inclined to believe it was the Holdless, himself-- partly due to his overly suspicious nature, but also because he doubted such people would have the resources available to carry out organized plans.  Lucky they could be, but surely not when the situation involved multiple events in a relatively short period of time.  Such a feat would require quite a bit of planning and more strategic placement of people.

No matter the case, however, N'kyr wasn't entirely pleased that he and the other riders present had been asked to simply scout the area and keep an eye out for trouble that might be headed for the caravan currently making its way towards Igen.  It would have made more sense for the dragonriders to be sent as guards for the entire length of the train's trip, not potentially risk lives by sending them with human help alone for part of the distance.  And surely a few blues and greens, with one bronze or brown to direct them, would have sufficed to keep wrongdoers away-- such a group would have been easier to spare than the three bronzeriders who had been sent to cover the various tasks at Telgar and Igen.  S'jiro seemed rather unnecessary, after all-- did Karene not trust him, N'kyr, to be able to accomplish the task he'd been assigned without help?

Though he did have to admit, he wasn't looking forward to potentially finding the caravan after it had been attacked, if nothing was left.  The fact that Lord Matoi was expecting nothing but bodies to remain suggested that he hadn't sent enough protection with the train.  Surely that was part of his duties as Lord Holder, to protect his own, not to leave them to their own devices when it came to protection from raiders?  Unless he valued what he was sending to Igen so little that it didn't matter what happened to the people escorting the supplies?  Amd if that were the case, why enlist help from the Weyr in the first place?

Conflicting messages aside, N'kyr well knew they couldn't refuse.  Karene would have his head, if not all four of theirs, for jeapardizing her relations with the Holds, especially when it came to the reopening of Igen.  So for now, they'd have to go along with the Telgar Lord's request.

How well the greenriders would listen to his orders not to engage, however, was questionable.  From what he knew of the two, at least one of them was fairly quick to jump into a fray, and since Karene had sent her because of her knowledge of trade routes and the activities of trader trains, he didn't doubt for a moment she'd refuse to hold back if a situation arose.  And if the Weyrwoman had sent the other greenrider because of her fighting skills... it was almost as if the woman had expected them to become part of the fight, not to stay away from it.

N'kyr also didn't doubt they'd refuse to listen to his own orders, simply because they'd rather defy a bronzerider than respect his rank outside of wing practice.  Just from what he'd heard via the rumor mill, anyway.  Then again, he wasn't Sh'nar.  And if they blatantly disrespected a direct order in front of Holders, it could undermine what respect Karene had earned.  He hoped the two girls understood that.

Focusing back on the Lord Holder's words, the young bronzerider nodded to acknkowledge his understanding of the man's request, listening to his description of the caravan itself, and the additional orders.

***

Shard it! Tasha thought, her fists clencing where they rested on her thighs.  They were wasting time here with the pleasantries.  And shouldn't they be going ahead to watch out for trouble, not following behind the caravan?  The Lord Holder should have sent his train with dragons right away, since he knew something could happen!

Growing more and more agitated the longer the man talked, the young greenrider was ready to get up and walk out, head for Sionnath, and start searching.  She knew she needed some vital pieces of information, however, like information on the caravan itself-- Grel, she needed to remember that name-- and its predicted whereabouts.  They'd been promised maps, but none had shown up yet.  And son of a wher, but she wasn't going to stand back and watch while the caravan was attacked, no matter what some stupid Holder said!

You will not need to fight.  They will run from me and Raidenth, Sionnath put in helpfully, a little edge to her mindvoice as well.

Tasha could just picture her tail swishing back and forth like a feline's as it waited to pounce.

"Shardit, we need to leave," the greenrider finally hissed lowly to Lance, just as the door opened to admit someone bearing a report.  That, of course, had Tasha perking up for an entirely different reason than her classmate.  She was waiting for the news of the train and whether ill had befallen them in the time they'd been sitting here chitchatting.  And if she gave Lance a faint sideways glare at her fangirling over the man who'd brought the report, well, it was probably to be expected, right?

***

As Lance probably expected, N'kyr was irritated with her outburst, though he was far less inclined to bring it to light later.  It added little to the conversation, though it didn't take away from the Lord Holder's words, either.  It was simply an annoyance that should be ignored and let pass.  Why was it girls had such a hard time focusing on the task at hand?

Letting it be, the young bronzerider turned his attention back to the rest of Lord Matoi's words.

Maps and coordinates were certainly things dragonriders were familiar with, as they were used extensively for Between training.  They would only be so useful, though, as they also well knew from sweeprides.  Humans, at least,were far larger than thread spores, and should be easier to track.  Or so N'kyr thought, despite the idea of the raiders trying to hide amongst trees and rocks.

I will find them, was Ramirath's two marks.  The bronze was clearly confident that he'd not be fooled by any camouflage the raiders might employ.  Or he just hadn't thought that far, which was far more likely.

Ignoring his dragon's words, N'kyr waited for the Telgar Lord to finish speaking and open up the floor for questions.  "If I may ask, Lord Matoi, if you suspect there is someone leaking information to the raiders, how do you know they are in the dark as to your sending the caravan out early?  Would they not likely be aware of the current situation as well?  And possibly the fact that you requested dragonrider help?"

“THE Captain Toshiro?”

Lance’s fan-girl screech startled the Captain. Heaing his name, by the time he’d sat, he was staring a bit blankly at the girl. Toshiro seemed not to really understand why she’d become so excited until she went on.

“The swordmaster? Don’t tell me none of you have heard of him?”

That was right. In the last conflict with the rebels he’d earned himself quite a reputation though most people had never seen him or had no idea what he looked like beyond a long scar on his face and lighter hair than most. But this young woman was from Fort’s territory -unless transferred from Telgar Weyr- so it was strange to him that she seemed familiar with him. And she was so young. She hadn’t probably even been old enough to apprentice in a trade by the time he was on the battlefield. The connection there must be through her family... It was possible that this was the Greenrider whose family were all Soldierborn. He'd been filled in on a brief background on each of the riders during a briefing of who all would be assisting in the mission.

Well, it was certainly different, meeting someone so excited to see him. Most people he’d met in his life weren’t. Toshiro wasn’t really sure how to feel about that. So, giving a bow of his head, he acknowledged the Rider that seemed to know him.

Their attention needed to be on the task at hand however, so taking on his previous unapproachable expression, the Captain cleared his throat quietly and turned his eyes back toward the Lord Holder who’d gone back to visiting with N’kyr.

---

Matoi took a deep breath, silently and to himself, wondering if this group of riders, as young as they were, was capable enough to follow through with the orders given to them. Had the holder heard Ramirath’s comments to N’kyr, he would have appreciated the Bronzes confidence in fulfilling the tasks given to him; it would have been more reassuring to him than what he saw in human counterparts before him now. Though the Bronzeriders seemed disciplined, the Greenriders seemed to need to work on showing a little more restraint. He wondered if it had anything to do with what he'd heard about Greens being more flighty. Maybe it effected their attention span or some such.

Watching varied reactions throughout the meeting, especially as Captain Toshiro entered the room, Lord Matoi was duly glad that he had no need to request their assistance as a main escort force. For all their sakes, he could only hope that their Wingleaders were able to manage more discipline from those of them who seemed to lack some discipline. Even if these four were not usually assigned to the same Wing, they should still be able to act like a cohesive group. They still had ranks amoung them, yet it seemed by their behaviour or mere glances, that those ranks might easily be disregarded at whim. He did not perceive that any one of them was a recognized 'leader' amoungst them. At least not one respected enough to be able to maintain order if worst came to worst. Of course it was possible that he was reading their group dynamics wrong; they could very well surprise him.

Seeing how antsy the greenriders had become also made him a little skeptical, hoping they weren’t about to become a danger to themselves. Or others. Or perhaps put the whole mission in jeopardy. Well...he would have to trust in the Wingsecond to maintain order amoungst them. And perhaps he was being a little too critical since he'd never worked so closely with any of the Riders from Fort. Maybe it was only natural they would need to feel out eachother's capability as they started working together for the first time.


Anyway, this was a good chance to see just how disciplined Fort’s Wings were. And to find out just what to expect from Igen once transfers were sent there? He also needed to show Karene some trust in her decisions if they were to keep up amicable relations and continue to work well together in the future. And wouldn't these Riders need to see his trust in them, too? He would have to trust in them to do their part.

If things went awry by the fault of one of her riders, or if they disobeyed direct orders, then it was their own heads, and Fort Weyr’s reputation at stake. No matter how gung-ho these young riders might be, he hoped they would at least have the common sense enough to realize that.

He, D’nier and Karene would be reviewing a full report on everything that happened. He hoped it would be one that would make both sides proud -and one that would make him look forward to watching some of these riders fill the new weyr that would be watching over his territory.



Without prior personal knowledge though of their performance, Matoi wasn’t about to delegate a task to them like the protection of one of his caravans. That shouldn’t have to be any of their concern anyway. Riders were not Soldiers in the same sense as the Hold Guard. He’d already told them would not put their lives in jeopardy if he could keep from it; not all Rebels or holdless would be scared away by their dragons. Not when emotions ran as high as they did over such conflicts.

Even if each of the Riders perfectly competent with a sword,  there was a fine line there, between Hold and Weyr responsibility, which he was not in the mood to meddle with. A Lord Holder could request certain support from the Weyrs, and vice versa, but Weyrs did not interfere in Hold affairs, so inviting dragonriders to take the place of his own Guard as an escort was a preposterous notion in his mind. Not to mention, it would be an insult the pride of his Guard and his Hold on the whole.

He could have managed the entire job on his own, without the Weyr’s aid, but he’d chosen not to. He was doing everything he could at the time being to show coordinated efforts between Hold and Weyr, while at the same time, trying not to endanger the lives of Riders or cross those boundaries between Hold and Weyr that didn’t need to meddled with at present. By coordinating efforts, he’d simply hoped to more quickly squander the Rebel’s efforts, and do so with fewer casualties.

Now ask, what is it that Dragonriders are so good at, if not simply because the have dragons to give them eyes from the air? Patrolling and sweep rides of course. Which was another reason why Matoi had delegated this important assignment to them. That’s what Dragonriders did best -even if what they were usually on the lookout for, was in the air.



"If I may ask, Lord Matoi, if you suspect there is someone leaking information to the raiders, how do you know they are in the dark as to your sending the caravan out early?  Would they not likely be aware of the current situation as well?  And possibly the fact that you requested dragonrider help?"

Well, the Lord holder didn’t just go walking around talking openly about every executive order he was going to give. He was wondering if the Bronzerider questioned his capacity to handle the situation simply because he was asking for an ally in the Weyrs; the matter could easily begin to concern them as well.  

But Matoi answered N’kyr, giving the barest hint of a rueful smile. “Because no one knew about my plan to do so except for myself, the Captain here, and the Caravan Master. No one knew I was going to make the order to send the caravan out ahead of time, until it was time for them to leave. Not even the escort team knew their departure would come early. They are not likely to have had the time then to relay their messages to prepare for a full scale attack, if there is a raid planned.

“My communications with your Weyrwoman and Weyrleader remain confidential. I only share pertinent information with others as necessary. Not maintaining a certain level of confidentiality could very well jeopardize the trust between us; so your involvement in this operation is by and large unknown. The particular team of Guardmen I sent with the caravan are a specialized unit. They, the caravan master and Captain Toshiro would be the only ones aware you’ll be arriving to provide scouting assistance; so again, even if there are spies in the caravan’s midst, there should  not have been time enough to prepare for your early arrival. They would not be expecting you for another couple of days.”

That was...as long as things went as planned.

---

S’jiro wore a quiet expression of thoughtfulness as Matoi addressed them, only to have it break momentarily into one of horror when the greenriders had to start making unnecessary rucuss. Only because he was practiced at maintaining a fair amount of composure did he not /facepalm right at that moment. Did this whole situation right here not perfectly exemplify just how incompetent commoners could be?

The Bronzerider was simply aghast at their behaviour -utter lack of refinement in two Green packages. What must their host think? It made S’jiro glad that the girls were part of N’kyr’s Wing and not his own. He’d have been mortified if his Wingmates acted as outrageously as Lance in the presence of a Lord Holder.

.And what did it matter if Lance had heard about the Captain before? They were here to serve as representatives of the Weyr and perform a specific duty that had nothing to do with sight seeing. So, S’jiro forced himself to look away, first to the Captain and then back at Lord Matoi, frustrated with both of the girls’ ogling over Toshiro.



Listening as Matoi went on, S’jiro was more interested in making sure they carried out every aspect of their mission without a hitch, able to report back to Matoi and their Weyrleaders later, with a good review. They weren’t sent here to get into trouble or mess with matters that didn’t concern them.

At a time like this, S’jiro wasn’t going to let their petty distractions interfere with events that may very well help determine his future. Whatever happened,he was determined to keep a cool head -outwardly at least- and the rest would just have to wait until later. It was good that he was adept at wearing that cool -if not slightly disdainful- expression, because he was sure that the entire mission these two Greens were going to put his an N’kyr’s patience to the test.

Lancelle did not mind having the Bronzerider’s annoyed with her. She caught the polite and humble bow and took that to mean he was exactly the kind of person she expected. No one else would have known. No one else had fathers and uncles who were in the guard or generations of guardsmen in their lineage. Her family talked about problems in other Holds, always aware that something similar could happen in Fort. They knew of the best fighters on Pern because it was their business to know. Being prepared for anything wasn’t easy either.

Hearing and feeling how tense Tasha had become, she understood the other woman’s desire to get moving, however given the situation and the fact that she had already pissed the guys off, she remained quiet. Focusing her green eyes on the conversing Holder and N’kyr she decided she wasn’t cut out for this kind of mission. She was more a woman of action. Raidenth was sitting next to Sionnath and just as ready to move on as the other green was. Perhaps picking up on the emotions of her rider, she calmed a little.

She wasn’t pleased about the thought of not defending those who might need it. What if their dragons were not enough? What if there were lives hanging in the balance? Maybe the Lord Holder was unaware of their particular…traits...for which they were chosen for this mission? They shouldn’t be promising not to cause anyone harm. They should do as their duty might dictated. She had seen enough lives lost because of her inability to convince a Bronzerider he was wrong.

Lance wouldn’t allow that to happen again. So hopefully Tasha knew Lance would be ready and prepared to save lives even if she had to disobey a Bronzerider’s order. She would hope that such a situation did not come to pass. Lancelle wondered if maybe this time the Bronzeriders might be swayed to do the right thing even if they were wrong. The real issue here was that Lance had no trust. She wasn’t going to trust anyone until they proved themselves worthy.

If they wanted her to take this whole mission at face value, then they must be thinking of another greenrider. She questioned authority. She questioned everything, even herself. Lance didn’t become a rider by luck. She worked hard, got her dragon through her physical injuries and had been dealing with emotional issues since the accident of her classmates. She was tough skinned now and no, she didn’t believe anything that was coming out of the Lord Holder’s mouth. She would not until she had solid proof.

Which was why Lance was not in charge of this part of the mission, she couldn’t trust people in power and she didn’t care if that made the Weyr look bad. N’kyr and S’jiro were much more diplomatic. Her hot-headedness, was not going to come in handy here. Still at least she had managed to regain focus on the mission. Raidenth’s comforting presence was helpful now as Lancelle remembered to keep her mouth shut, even when she might have a question. Neither N’kyr or S’jiro wanted her opinion, no matter how honest it may be.

N'kyr nodded.  Lord Matoi certainly seemed to have minimized as many of the risks as possible.  Of course, there was still a chance the information could have been leaked, but as the Holder had noted, the riders and caravan hopefully would have at least a bit of a head start on whoever might be planning a raid.

Then again, it was always possible one of the Telgar Lord's more trusted people was the one giving the raiders their information, or passing it along to a lover or someone else who might do such a thing.  Whether or not it had been passed on fast enough would depend on how fast the runners they used were, or if they had a firelizard...

Lord Matoi certainly didn't sound as if he suspected one of the people he'd chosen to tell about the tithing train's early departure, though, so for now, they'd have to trust his judgement.  "A wise course of action, my Lord.  It's best to keep knowledge contained to a need-to-know basis, given this situation."

Of the actual people they might run into, the bronzerider rather thought they should ask for further details of this Guard Captain who had experience with them.  "Captain Toshiro, could you tell us more about the rebels?  What sort of tactics they use?  What evidence these prior raids gave to indicate they might be the ones behind the attacks?"

Lord Matoi was free to relax, glad at that point to simply listen into the rest of their conversation, figuring the Captain could close things up and then go with them to Southern Telgar Hold. From there, the riders would go to join the caravan and the Captain would be on looking into other pressing matters for him.

So, as questions were turned to Toshiro, the swordmaster let his eyes turn toward those who spoke in turn.

"Those who have been raiding the caravans thus far have been holdless from what we can gather. Holdless are mercenaries, not soldiers, so though they do boast more skill than most holdless bands we've come across in the past, they likely going to be easy to pick apart if they try to act as a group. It is more likely they will try to cause confusion by fighting individually and by spreading themselves out. This makes it more difficult for us as the defender to target them or know how to weaken them, because there is no centralized force to reckon with.

"Unless their numbers have been bolstered by additional rebel forces, this should be true to what you will find. We should expect them to be better prepared than most holdless groups obviously, for engaging in such a raid, but they will not be suspecting your arrival, nor an armed escort. That being the case, your presence is likely to cause enough panic to put them in disarray, quickly causing any attack to dissolve. Hopefully it won't even come to that.

"If they have been infiltrated by other rebel forces however, you'll need to be prepared for greater resistance, should you be faced with them in combat."

With a short pause, Toshiro went on, "My own suspicion is that the Chorong have not fully infiltrated the holdless groups along the way to Igen Weyr. The Chorong Rebels are too full of lies to make such direct attacks themselves; even if it is true they have made it possible for another group to do so for them.

"Our reasons for believing Rebels may be behind these raids is because they were involved with other holdless groups earlier in the turn, having supplied many holdless with armaments and other supplies in exchange for their assistance in the kidnapping of Lady Eolyn of Telgar River Hold. So, it is indeed very possible that there is still some connection between the rebels and other holdless groups in the area."



[Sorry I'm trying to forward this a little bit. Add what you need to before they leave if you have more to add. We'll adjust it.]

When Captain Toshiro was sure all questions which could be answered had been answered sufficiently as need be, his attention turned to his Lord Holder, bowing his head momentarily. "If there is nothing more, I will accompany them to Southern Telgar Hold."

With Matoi's blessing then, the group was dismissed. Matoi was the first to stand and leave from the room, while the Captain was next to follow. The rest would go with him to the landing platform where he could hand out the maps with coordinates they would each need for their mission. He would also need to ask one of them to ferry him with them, to Southern Telgar Hold.  [Who would it be? 0.0]

Lancelle took the information given and made up her own mind that Toshiro’s theory was sound. The Holdless had never been an organized group. They were drifters with little to nothing to their names. What did they have was not worth anything to anyone other than themselves. When they wrapped up the conversation and the other riders were done asking more questions than they really needed to ask to complete the mission, Lance was glad to finally be on their way. Before anyone else could offer, “Captain Toshiro, you are welcome to ride with me.”

In other words no one else better offer because she wanted to talk to the Captain without people gawking at her. She really didn’t have two heads and she really didn’t care if the others thought she was crazy. Her family would probably be the only people she knew who would think meeting a Sword master was anything but amazing. But then her family was connected through generations and generations to the Guard and cared deeply about their profession. Fort’s Guard was prestigious, not that Telgar Hold’s Guard wasn’t impressive but Lancelle was quite proud of her family and her past.

Speaking then to the Bronzeriders, “I’ll meet you at the proper coordinates after taking Captain Toshiro to his post at Southern Telgar Hold.” And no, she really wasn’t leaving this to open discussion. Lance had made up her mind and she was probably more stubborn than anyone else in the room. To top it off, she did not have any real trust in either S’jiro or N’kyr. They had not proven themselves to be trustworthy just yet. She had Bronzerider issues which went back to her Weyrling accident. No one but Belisse knew the details.

“Raidenth will meet us in the courtyard.” She said to Toshiro and began to lead the way. Her exuberance was being reigned in a little. Though her green was reflecting the obvious excitement coursing through her rider. Will he show us a trick? I don’t know. Would it be a bit, presumptuous to ask him to show some of his skill? Yeah but how many chances are you going to be given to ask him?

“I apologize for my excitement earlier. I never thought I would actually meet a Swordmaster. At least I hoped never in combat.” She smiled, “My family have been Guards for generations, for Fort Hold. I wasn’t supposed to train but my brother decided to teach me behind my father’s back, so I do know a little about using a sword. Probably nothing compared to your skill but I do enjoy sparring with people who have some skill. A challenge, you know?” She said conversationally.

Lance wasn’t normally one to engage in any small talk but she was going to make an exception today. Besides he seemed more like the quiet, serious sort. When they got to where Raidenth waited, the large green, had lowered herself to make it easier for them to mount. “I’m guessing you’ve ridden dragonback before. I’m going to get settled first, then come up behind me.” It made her more comfortable to get herself settled first and begin thinking about the exact location they were headed to.

As with most riders, there was a practiced ease in her mount. Upon settling in, she waited for Toshiro. Okay darling, we’re going to Southern Telgar. The coordinates are good. We should have no trouble. They were a little paranoid about Between and for good reason. The dragon and rider seemed to triple and quadruple check coordinates. With time maybe they would learn to trust more.

N'kyr found it interesting that Matoi had asked them not to harm simple Holdless raiders, and yet Toshiro mentioned engaging them in combat.  How would he and the other riders would be able to tell just which sort of group they were facing?  He doubted the insurgents would be wearing a uniform, like the Guard wore, to indicate their allegiance to the rebel cause.  And of course, if they were a more organized group, no matter how mixed in number, and the dragons weren't enough, he and the other riders would have to engage them some way or other.  They'd have no choice, if they wanted to stop the raid from happening.

He'd just have to hope the dragons did the trick-- they'd accomplish their mission, stop the attack, and move on, without facing the potential consequences.  Like someone getting hurt.  He didn't want to find out what that would look like to Weyrwoman Karene, especially when it was clear she had entrusted the success of the mission to him-- he was the most senior rider among them, after all.

Then again, it was better to be prepared.  So it was only natural to ask just what sort of weaponry they might need to watch out for, should the rebels be participating in the attacks.  Holdless, he doubted, would have anything too sophisticated.  However, if the rebels were that much of a threat, they might have some sort of projectiles that could be used against dragons.  And that would not be a good thing, even if the raiders weren't expecting help from a Weyr.

>>>>>

Tasha hadn't counted on Lance not being with the rest of the group for any part of the mission.  Though it would be a short trip, she really felt that the only one of the other riders she could trust to feel as she did was the other greenrider.  Sure, N'kyr might be a 'second in their wing, but he wasn't their wingleader.  And he was Holdbred-- he wouldn't understand why the situation bothered her so much.  She couldn't trust him to act immediately if the situation arose.

Of course, she didn't quite have Lance's perspective on bronzeriders in general, so she wasn't completely opposed to joining the group in heading for their destination.  But she really hoped her former classmate would hurry.

>>>>>

N'kyr, of course, frowned at Lancelle's attitude.  Not that it wasn't expected, given her behavior during practice, but she wasn't the senior rider here, and he didn't entirely appreciate her acting as if she held such a rank.  Had he been given the choice, he probably would have assigned Tashamoretta the task of ferrying the Guard Captain, however, given that she was less likely to spend time fawning over the man instead of joining the others to complete their mission.  Since Lance had decided she was doing it whether she had approval or not, he made sure to remind her that there wasn't time for idle chitchat before she left with the Guardsman.  What she did on her own time, of course, was her own choice.  But right now, they had a job to do.

Well, it was the infamous Captain who had learned to prefer bloodshed after all that he'd been through in the previous rebellion. He'd been conditioned many times over to be gratified by it, and thus, whether Matoi or anyone else thought that violence was the right path to take, it was simply a part of him. Ironically enough, it was Matoi whose decisions in the past created such a monster in him.

But none of that mattered to Toshiro now. It had been his decision to join the fight during the Rebellion.


Toshiro nodded toward Lance, acknowledging that he'd heard her, but he was not yet ready to follow after. While the Greenrider was perfectly absorbed by the fact that she might have the opportunity to ferry him, the Captain did not miss that the Bronzerider was not so keen on the idea. He could read it in the man's body language even before he took time to remind Lance that there was a mission to be done. Respecting N'kyr for his rank, ranked just below his own, Toshiro assured the WingSecond that he would not monopolize her time.

The Captain had handed out the maps to each rider before they departed, making sure to answer any final querries. Joining back up with Greenrider Lance lastly, he was appreciative of the hand up on the dragon's back when it came to that.


“I apologize for my excitement earlier. I never thought I would actually meet a Swordmaster. At least I hoped never in combat.” She [Lance] smiled, “My family have been Guards for generations, for Fort Hold. I wasn’t supposed to train but my brother decided to teach me behind my father’s back, so I do know a little about using a sword. Probably nothing compared to your skill but I do enjoy sparring with people who have some skill. A challenge, you know?” She said conversationally.

"Mm" Toshiro seemed to be nodding, making barely audible acknowledgement to her words. He didn't really feel as though he had much to say to that; he'd been told some about the history of each of the Riders who'd come to meet with the Lord Holder in person. That was part of their preparation for taking proper security measures. After the last Rebellion, and with the current threat, they had to be sure that none of the Rider's who'd attended the meeting were of Telgar origin, and possibly previously involved with the Chorong in some way.

Anyway, it was sort of interesting to have Lance there, being that, as a girl, she was so enthusiastic about swordsmanship, the Guard in general, and had even heard of stories about himself, from the time of the last great conflict. Though he didn't mention it, it was amusing to him, yet at the same time, it disturbed him. Stories were heroic, but when it came to actual deeds, they were not; no matter how glorious the outcome for the victor.

"I have been riding before." And when the Captain was seated behind her, Toshiro was able to get himself strapped in pretty securely on his own, having remembered how to do so. Before they took off, he double checked all of his weapons, ensuring that they were knotted to his belt tightly.

Lancelle had no delusions about what might happen when they got to the Caravan. She understood more where the Captain was coming from than where the Lord Holder was. In the kinds of situations Guards were put in, there was not always a peaceable means to end a conflict. She could not see how they would be successful in apprehending any of the Holdless without some amount of force. Lance didn’t respond to what N’kyr told her, mainly because she had no reason not to keep her mind set on the mission and the only thing she had to say about it was negative. Better to keep her stinging words to herself. Lance knew better than they might realize what duty was. The only thing she managed was a slight nod.

The young woman made nothing out of Toshiro’s quietness. She kind of expected that he would be so. Ruthless killers weren’t known to be conversationalists. And she was sure she had not made the best impression on the man. Probably would’ve been better if S’dric was there, she thought to herself. Raidenth took them Between before she had a chance to think about anything else. Black, blacker…

The green arrived above Southern Telgar Hold in the exact coordinates she should. Taking a few minutes to land in the courtyard, one of the larger areas in the inner hold. Lancelle turned her body so she could say farewell. “Best of luck to you, Captain.” She said as a farewell. “May you return home safely.” Wherever home was to him. She counted the Weyr as home now which was why, as soon as Toshiro was a safe distance from the dragon she had her in the air again.

Within seconds she was gone Between again to the coordinates where she would meet up with the others. As she arrived, she had to have Raidenth backwing almost immediately because they’d come up a little too close to the treeline, though the coordinates were supposedly perfect. Raidenth was quick though to correct her position.

Southern Telgar had never been anything more than a battlefield to Toshiro. The last time he'd been here, that's exactly what it had been. In that aspect, it was the furthest place from home he could have been.

Before Lance look flight again, he bid her farewell, uttering his thanks. And as soon as she was Between, he turned to his own mission. Well,... he needed to report to the Guard Hall first and visit with the local Commander over a few details before he got started. But he got the impression that things would quickly turn out very interesting for him.


[going to start another thread for him here in a bit. for some plot filler mainly, and then leading up to his investigation of the Fight Club. ]