Part 15 (1/2)
”Which ones?”
”First, Gadareth, the bronze of young T'lion from Eastern Weyr. He was conveying me the day I inadvertently summoned the Monaco Bay pod.” She accepted that with a flick of her fingers so Alemi went on. ”Master Oldive had a very puzzling patient which the dolphins at Fort Sea Hold diagnosed as having an internal growth in the belly.
”And that caused enough problems with his Hall,' she said dryly. ”I really don't like the idea of cutting into human bodies.” She gave a little shudder.
”No more than when a child is hard to birth, Alemi said, knowing that Lessa had had to have that surgery. Probably why she disliked intrusive operations. ”The woman's recovering and most grateful. However,' and he went on briskly, having noticed her resistance, ”the dolphins are certainly proving invaluable a.s.sets to my Craft.”
”I did hear Master Idarolan on the subject but now is not the time to go off half-c.o.c.ked,' she said. ”We must not let anything interfere with Aivas' program.
”No more will the dolphins,' Robinton said soothingly. ”I've met one or two and they are charming. It's so nice to see creatures smiling all the time.”
Lessa's glare intensified and then, abruptly, she burst out laughing. ”I have been a grouch, haven't I?”
”Indeed you have,' Robinton said as cheerfully as any dolphin.
”You should meet a few. They all have names.
”Sea creatures with names?” Lessa exclaimed and her frown returned. That the dragons knew their own names at birth was an indisputable mark of their self-awareness and intelligence.
To hear that the dolphins also had names smacked of heresy to the Weyrwoman.
”Each calf is named as it's born, I'm told, Alemi hastily explained. Aivas said those names are variations on the names of the original dolphins. They have traditions, too, you see.
”I suppose the next thing will be the formation of yet another Craft Hall to take care of dolphins.”
”They seem to take very good care of themselves, my dear, Robinton said, ”if they've survived on their own in our seas all this while.”
”Hmmm, yes, well. I don't want anything to detract from the priorities Aivas has set us.”
”This won't,' Alemi said with such conviction that he won a smile from her.
She rose then. ”If that's all today?” she asked Master Robinton.
He rose, too, moving stiffly and that gave Lessa a pang of concern for her valued friend. He'd never been quite as vigorous - though he protested constantly that he was well since the heart attack he'd suffered at Ista Weyr. All this fuss with Aivas and the discoveries at Landing were not at all the sort of stimulation he needed. And yet . ”There're several very engaging fellows out in the Cove,' Robinton said, gesturing toward the beautifully colored waters of his bay.
She made a disgruntled noise, dismissing the notion. ”I've more than enough to do as it is. And far more ”visitors” to meet and sort out than I can comfortably deal with.” She saw the disappointment on the Master Harper's face and laid a kind hand on his arm. ”Once we've finished Aivas' grand scheme, I promise you I'll make time to meet these doll dolphins of yours.
”Grand! You'll love the games they play..”
”Games?” Once more Lessa's frown returned.
”Games can be as necessary as work, Lessa,' Robinton said gently. ”You don't take enough time for yourself.”
”I don't have enough time for what I have to do, much less myself,' she said, but she gave him an encouraging smile and left the cool, shady comfort of Cove Hold for the midday heat.
Ramoth waded out of the water to meet her. The sea creatures know where to scratch my belly just where it itches, she told her rider.
”They do?” Lessa looked out at the Cove waters where these dolphins were leaping and diving about her dragon as easily as tumblers did at a gather. They did have smiles on their faces.
”They were born that way,' she told herself. ”C'mon, Ramoth, we've to see if another holding is feasible below the others on the Jordan River,' she said as she stepped up to Ramoth's neck. The dragon had not completely immersed herself, since she knew they'd have to go between and Lessa would not like sitting on damp hide.
She'd been trying to find time to make this inspection for some weeks but something more urgent always came up. Not that allocating lands to properly trained northerners from overcrowded holds wasn't also urgent. It was a matter of priorities. Since the Jordan River was so close to Landing, they had been able to explore it sufficiently - the ruins of the Ancients' Stakeholds were fascinating - to release holdings: none as large as the original but respectable properties. Sometimes one had to wait until there were sufficient representatives of each of the Craft Halls to provide self-sufficiency within each new holding.
And at least one journeyman or woman healer who could tend the needs of several holds. People had also to be trained to recognize the dangers in this wilderness.
Back in Cove Hold, Alemi was berating himself for not mentioning the newest job which Jayge had suggested for the dolphins.
The Paradise River Holder had been furious over the recent invasion of his Holding. He was not the least bit mollified to know that he wasn't the only one of the dozen confirmed holds along the coast to suffer such depredations. He didn't want any more! So he asked Alemi to find out if the dolphins could patrol the waters off his Holding and warn of any more unauthorized landings.
”For a pail of fish, they'd be delighted to, Alemi had reported to the Holder after he had explained this new work to the pod.
”Good s.h.i.+ps and bad s.h.i.+ps,' Afo had told him.
”The bad s.h.i.+ps never have fish for dolphins?” Alemi asked grinning.
”You right! Bad s.h.i.+ps smell, leak ”n' leave badness in our water. Not nice.” She squirted from her blow hole to emphasize her distaste.
Alemi decided that was a fair enough measure of identification since invariably those masters willing to transport unauthorized pa.s.sengers were men who would do anything for a few marks.
Well, a good heavy sack of marks, Alemi amended. The men who had tried to land on Paradise Holding had paid a substantial amount to the captain to sail them south. The s.h.i.+p had not been in very seaworthy condition, its holds wet and dank, sails and hull patched, its bilges spewing wastes into the sea.
”As bad as the Igen caves,' one man had said in disgust.
”With all this land down here, why can't we have some?” he had demanded bitterly.
”You can if you do it in the proper fas.h.i.+on,' Jayge had told him.
”Ha! Dragonriders're keeping the best parts for themselves,' but there was a wistful envy in his eyes as he looked over the fine situation of Paradise River.
”I'm no dragonrider and I hold this proper, with neighbors further down the river who've proved up their lands.
”And paid a great sack of marks to get it, like as not.”
”No, they did not,' Jayge snapped back. ”They applied and with the required number of Craft Halls among ”em. That's what's required and, if you lived here, you'd know that this Southern Continent's not easy just because it's warm.”
Jayge had walked off then, scowling deeply, Alemi following him. Although Alemi knew that Jayge and Aramina had been s.h.i.+pwrecked, they had proved the Hold long before they had been found by Piemur. He also knew that he'd been very lucky to be asked to start a Fishman's Hold at Paradise River and he certainly knew the dreadful conditions of the Holdless, crammed into the caves at Igen and other even less salubrious places in the north. He was also now aware that settlements were being established where ruins indicated that the Ancients had had holdings.
Lord Toric had accepted quite a large number of those wis.h.i.+ng to immigrate south - even before the Council of Lords Holder and the Benden Weyrleaders had formalized the ways such settlements could be allowed. Toric had been choosy, preferring men and women who were proven hard workers and preferably at least of journeyman status in their Craft. The iron-handed Lord of Southern did not suffer fools and had one incident with renegades trying to settle the big island that happened to be part of his Holding. He had tried to get dragonriders to help him flush the squatters out but had had no luck there. That was when the policy of non-interference from the Weyrs had been reinforced a few Turns back by the Benden Weyrleaders.
Alemi had approved. The dragonriders must be above partisan leanings, no matter what hold or hall they had been born in.
But, even as he helped Jayge flush the intruders out, he had thought how much easier it would have been with dragons a-loft to ”encourage' the men to surrender without bloodshed.
Among the few people to know it, Alemi was aware that the dragonriders intended that they would have first choice of the lands in the Southern Continent. A stray remark by Master Idarolan had set his thinking in that direction and nothing had happened to disabuse him of the notion. It stood to reason that, once Thread no longer fell on Pern the dragonriders ought to have some reward for their long service to Hall and Hold and what better one than their own holds where they wanted to live.
As a Craft Master, Alemi undoubtedly entertained a slightly different opinion to that held by the Lords Holder who could well feel that they should have the disposition of land, no matter where it was. Master Idarolan had remarked that there was far too much open land to bring folks to blows over who had what and how much. As he'd circ.u.mnavigated the Southern Continent, the Master Fishman certainly had a good idea of what vast expanses of land were available.
On the other hand, fishmen needed only enough land to tie up their s.h.i.+ps in a safe harbor and sell their catches. More would be greedy. Alemi did not approve of being greedy.