Part 24 (2/2)
”Later, love. Tell me, K'van, does he have settlers all lined up and ready to settle?”
K'van nodded. ”I had nothing specific to report to you until now, but we keep our eyes open to Toric's doings. Discreetly, of course. Over the past few months there have been more than a normal number of well-laden s.h.i.+ps making port at Southern.
Each carrying ten to twenty pa.s.sengers, sometimes family, sometimes singles. You know he's built four coastal cruisers?
Yes, well. They're lumberly craft but have shallow draft and good cargo s.p.a.ce. At any rate, he's got a lot of people in and about the Hold who haven't gone inland as I'd've thought they would - if they were his new settlers. He's never hidden the fact that he's been recruiting crafters. All perfectly legal since he hasn't settled all the land he rightfully holds. No reason for a Weyrleader to poke his nose where he's no right to sniff.” K'van grinned, his eyes glinting cynically. K'van kept strictly to the Traditions that governed Weyr and Hold, knowing that Toric would rave about any infringement by Weyr on Hold iprerogatives. ”But when no-one moved out, by land or by sea, all I could do was wait until I had something definite to bring to your attention. At the last gather, there were marks circulating from every northern Hall and Hold and some rumors Fthat Toric's been selling sites. In his own Hold, he has that right but K'van lifted his hand, ”not across the river!'
”He wouldn't dare!” Indignation and outrage fueled Lessa's anger. ”He's got the gall to charge for what settlers should have by right of their own hard work?”
”A neat scheme,' F'lar said, sardonically amused by such connivance. ”And I wouldn't doubt if the payment in marks isn't followed by a different sort of payment later on.” K'van nodded. ”When the Council of Holders might need to vote on other business.”
Lessa opened her mouth, her dark eyes widening as she began to understand the scale of Toric's plan. ”Base isn't a vile enough description of what he plans to do! I knew we were wrong to call a complete halt to new settlings,' she said, in spite of what Fandarel and Nicat said, and in spite of the lack of suitable places. They wouldn't have been half so eager to take up Toric's offer if they could have come to us.
”So, do you have proof of Toric's encroachment on unapportioned lands?” F'lar asked.
”Indeed we have. The storm flattened whole swathes of forestry as wide as a Threadfall and what do you know? There were five settlements all too visible to my sweep riders. So we went looking to see if there might be a few more, and located another three. All built and ready to be occupied. And then there's Lord Toric's harbor full of laden s.h.i.+ps . . . ” K'van shrugged, not needing to say more.
”He didn't lose any s.h.i.+ps to the storm?” F'lar asked, a tinge of annoyance in his voice as he nodded at the reports spread out on the table, itemizing storm losses.
K'van grinned. ”I know that Master Idarolan pa.s.sed a dolphin warning on to him as well as to the Weyr so Toric had time, and the good sense, to batten his s.h.i.+pping down. toric doesn't leave much to chance.”
”Does he know you've overflown these totally illegal sites of his?” Lessa said, her voice harsh with the anger seething inside her.
”I doubt it,' K'van said. ”Once they realized what they were seeing, my sweep riders avoided Southern Hold on their way back.”
”We can tackle this encroachment several ways,' F'lar said, leaning back in his chair, a malicious smile on his lips as he idly twirled the stem of his gla.s.s.
”There's only one way - Lessa began and he held up his hand ”Hear me out. We could dismantle those settlements so there'd be no . . . ah accommodations left for these settlers of his when they finally sail forth. They'd be forced to go back to Southern. This is not the season to be without shelter, if that storm is any preview of a rough winter down south. But 1 would like to show other Lord Holders, who have been courteous enough to bide their time, what sort of trickery toric has been up to. Making people pay for land they have the right to!'
”He's so certain that we're holding out the best lots for ourselves - Lessa began, giving vent to her outrage. ”Just because he wasn't at the Council when the Lords asked the Weyrleaders to officiate, he refuses to believe that we did not want anything to do with land settlements, that we protested about taking on such responsibilities F'lar regarded his diminutive weyrmate with more amus.e.m.e.nt than choler. ”We didn't protest that strongly, love, now did we?”
”Only because it was all too plain what would happen if someone with some claim to impartiality didn't take charge.
And it was we who insisted that all Weyrleaders took part, not just Benden which was the intention of Larad of Asgenar who proposed the notion. And we also insisted that the Harper Hall keep records of all transactions.”
”I know Toric's certain that dragonriders will get preference, K'van began.
”And shouldn't we?” Lessa demanded of the young Weyrleader.
”I certainly feel we should,' K'van answered firmly, all too aware of the Weyrwoman's temper and determined not to fall foul of it, ”since it's the last concession we'll expect of Pern.
Adrea and I found a place that we feel we'd be very happy in.
Found it on my very first mapping sweep.”
”Adrea likes it?” Lessa asked, momentarily diverted from her castigation of Toric.
”Oh, yes, we've been down half a dozen times to make sure, and,' K'van grinned, ”it looks better every time we see it.
It's what we want but I don't think many people would find it so perfect.”
”That's what I mean,' Lessa went out, gesturing emphatically with one hand as if sweeping Toric's exceptions aside. ”Our needs and tastes are very individual and there's so much land out there She made another expansive gesture. ”And he has the unmitigated gall to take marks ” She was speechless for such presumption. ”The man has tried my patience for the last time.”
”I do believe you're right, my love,' F'lar said, still grinning with malicious antic.i.p.ation. ”And since he isn't even on his own Hold grounds, I think we have him just where we need him. And do us a favor of becoming a lesson for anyone with similar inclinations. A lesson that will last until the end of this Pa.s.s.”
”I'm with you there, F'lar, and K'van lifted his gla.s.s in respect of that claim.
”Exactly how did you mean to set the lesson?” K'van asked.
”Mind you, you have Southern Weyr's total cooperation. There have been times when it was all I could do to keep a civil tongue in my head with a great and greedy Lord Toric. And I'm not the only one in the Weyr to find him a bit too high-handed and arrogant.”
F'lar's amber eyes were sparkling with such orange lights that for a moment K'van wondered if some of Mnementh's fighting characteristics had transferred to his rider. His slowly widening smile was both sinister and amused.
”I think I'll borrow a moment from Benden Weyr's past. How long do you think it will be before the storm damage to Toric's fleet is repaired and he's ready to move out?”
”Oooh, I couldn't say, F'lar, but I can sure find out. How much leeway time do you need - to prepare this lesson of yours?”
F'lar laughed, rising from the table. ”No more than I did the first time.” He took a roll of maps from those stored in a container and, motioning Lessa and K'van to clear the table, spread it out with a practised hand. ”Now, can you show me the exact locations of each site?”
”Yes I can,' and K'van took some notes from his inner pocket. ”I checked them out myself against our chart of the area.” Referring to his notes from time to time, he used F'lar's stylus to make small x's, all on land east of the river that the Ancient maps called Island River. One was where a river branched off to the old Stakehold of Thessaly and a second well east of Drakeslake. There were three in coves along the coast, and three well inland.
”That toric!” Lessa said in exasperation. ”He's he's grasping, avaricious, covetous and unrepentantly rapacious!
He's like . . like Fax!'
”Is there anyone in any of these sites now?”
”Half a dozen at the most, builders.”
”Have they prepared any fields?”
K'van shook his head. ”We'd've noticed that a lot sooner, I can a.s.sure you.
”Yes, I suppose you would. Is he doing anything at all on his own Hold?”
K'van shook his head again, grinning. ”He's had all his crews where they've no right to be,' and he tapped the encroachments on the map.
Although he refused K'van's adroit attempts to find out what he intended, Lessa was refilling their gla.s.ses when she suddenly looked at F'lar and burst out laughing.
”Figured it out, have you?” he said.
As she also spilled the wine, he took the wine skin from hands shaking with laughter as well as malicious antic.i.p.ation.
”Now, now, Lessa love, that's good Benden red you're pouring. In the memory of our good Robinton, have a care of it.”
<script>