Chap. 5 The Thief in the Night

Chap. 5  The Thief in the Night

"That's the second time this week that we've been short a loaf of

bread." Mariko, the headwoman said.

The dining hall, just outside the bakery, was noisy with the sound of

riders and Weyr residents eating breakfast.

Oscoral, the night baker was emphatic. "I KNOW how many we baked."

Mariko nodded. They'd been a team for more years than she could

remember. If the man said he'd baked 15 loaves, it was 15, no more, no

less. Thus, someone was stealing them.

"Think it's the new girl? Lindea?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. She doesn't strike me as a

thief. Besides, I've kept an eye on her, as she's new at the job. She

takes on anything I've tasked her with nary a complaint. She learns

fast."

"Well, then, we have a night time nicker, I think. Wouldn't be the

first time." She surveyed the entire hall with a practiced eye. "You,

my dear, are relieved. Go get some sleep. Tonight, though, let's talk

to the night shift drudges, and see what they say. Don't scare 'em,

though. If they think they're in trouble they'll shut up tighter'n a

clam."

He grinned. His upper body was as muscled as a dragons' from years of

grinding grain and kneading dough. "Me? Scary? Pfft, I'm just a dough

boy."

Smiling affectionately, she poked him gently in his ample belly. "Ah,

go on with your puns, you daft wherry.   The drudges do say you look like a

dragon when you're in front of an oven."

Laughing, he made claws of his hands and growled at her.

__________________________________________________________________________

C'val, blue Rastabenth's rider, had been relieved of watch rider duty

and was de-briefing the Weyrleader.

"Sir, everything outside the Weyr was quiet, but at about midnight, I

heard the watch wher fussing."

"Hmmm. Did Rastabenth talk to it?"

"He did. He wanted to report to Milvath, too, but I said no, not to

disturb him or you. I didn't think it worth interrupting your rest.

Yesterday was a hard day for Thread."

The Weyrleader ran his hand through his hair. "Aye, that it was,

C'val, and it was made harder due to your being on guard duty.  Your

wingleader tells me you both are very, very good at fighting Thread."

C'val dropped his eyes. "Thank you, sir, but I've had good teachers.

And a good dragon."

"I'll have Milvath talk to the watch wher, but do you have any idea

what it was about?"

"Rastabenth just got the wher's impression of a person walking around

after dark, 'skulking' was the feeling I got from him. There's no

crime in walking around at night-we've all had sleepless nights. But

still, it was an unusual reaction from the watch wher."

________________________________________________________________________

B'rant, the Weyrling master, had the Candidates in the classroom.

"As soon as Norelth leaves the Sands to feed, we're going to the

Hatching Sands to accustom you all on what to expect at Hatching. I'm

certain you've already heard a lot of things from dragonriders and just from being here at the weyr."

He looked at their young, eager faces. There were twenty of them,

three of whom were girls. In the back of his mind, he was playing the

betting game he'd done for years. He could almost pick out who was

going to Impress what color of dragon. This time there would be no

gold rider as Norelth hadn't laid a gold egg. That concerned the

Weyrleaders, but …you couldn't very well demand eggs to order, now could you? He could just see them, standing in front of the gold and saying, we'd like two bronzes, three browns and a dozen each blues and greens, please?

He'd started keeping score a few years ago and after doing the

math, realized he was usually right. No, more likely, he mused, it was

the dragonets who were always right. They were dab hands at judging

character, right out of the egg.

__________________________________________________________________________

"Can you make bubbly pies, young lady?" Oscoral asked.

Lindea brushed away that darned lock of hair in her eyes with the

back of a floured hand.I'm going to cut you off, I am, she

thought, irritably.

"Sir, I grew up on a ship. After the captain, the most important

member of the crew is the cook.  If you don't feed 'em right, a crew

will toss you overboard. Of course I can make bubbly pies, the best."

she said, proudly.

"Why don't you make a few? Let's see what you can do," he said.

"Yes sir!" she said, happily. It was much more fun to make pies than

bread. That, and she knew she was as good a baker as she was a cook.

"I haven't been thrown overboard yet!"

He smiled. This would not only prove her worth, but keep her in sight

at all times. We'll see if any bread is missing at breakfast.

___________________________________________________________________________

I'm taking candidates to the Hatching Sands. Let me know when

Norelth has finished feeding and is on her way back, B'rant asked

his dragon.

I will. She's on her second buck already. She was ravenous. I don't

think she'll be long. You know how she is with her eggs.

"Now, despite the fact that the queen is out of the chamber right now,

we need to be very quiet. I don't want to hear any shouting. You may go and touch the eggs, but don't attempt anything that might disturb the growing dragonets."

The crowd of candidates tiptoed onto the sands. A ray of bright sunlight

pouring through a break in the roof of the cavern illuminated the

eggs, bathing them into an almost opalescent glow. It was dry and warm in

the cavern, so unlike the chilly day outside.

Kandar looked at the eggs with awe. He'd thought they'd be much

larger. Some of them had swirls of color, some had zigzagged stripes.

How could such enormous creatures come from these little eggs?

He stroked one, feeling the pebbly feel of it. It wasn't hard and it wasn't soft. It was…eggshell.

"Which one is the bronze?" Borost asked, in his normal voice. One

glance at the eggs convinced him he already knew which one it was.

"I have no idea, Borost," B'rant said, "and I told you to keep your

voice down. I've heard some say they can tell by the color, but I

can't."

"Can they hear us?" one of the girls whispered.

"Yes. The queen usually croons to her eggs."

"We have to be barefoot out there?" a boy asked.

"Yes. That's tradition. Your feet will get very hot. If you shift your

feet one after the other, it makes it a bit easier."

"Does the queen know we're here?"

"I'm certain of it. This is HER chamber, those are HER eggs, and I'd

be astonished if she hadn't told the Weyrwoman she was going hunting."

One of the eggs wobbled and the crowd gasped.

"Is it hatching?" a girl cried out.

B'rant said 'ssssssssssshhhhhh!" and shook his head.

"No, it's a bit too early, yet. The dragons will tell us, trust me.

When the eggs are about to hatch, all the dragons in the weyr will

hum. They tell us they hum to tell the dragonets it's safe to hatch,

and to welcome them."

Norelth has finished and is on her way.

Thank you, my heart.

"Now let's go back to the classroom. There's a lot you still need to know."

The crowd turned to follow him…all save Borost. He waited until the

group was out of sight, then  darted out to the egg he was convinced

held a bronze. Knife in hand, he quickly scratched a B on the egg. The

body of the giant queen blocked out the sunshine and he heard the sweep

of her massive wings. He ran across the sands all the way to the

tunnel turn, then  forced himself to a fast walk until he caught up to

the rest of the class.

___________________________________________________________________________

As Lindea walked past the cooling counter to get more flour, she

noticed that one of the three pies she'd made was missing. Astonished,

she wondered for a moment, did I miscount? How can you miscount three

pies?

This is crazy, she thought, I KNOW I made three. I know it's

the middle of the night, but I can still count.

And where, she wondered, was Drul, one of the drudges, who'd been by

her side not five minutes ago? Hmmmmmmmmm, she thought, putting two and two

together.

She snagged another of the drudges. "Where is Drul?"

"Last time I saw her, it was by that tunnel over there," he pointed.

"When was that?"

"Just a few minutes ago.  She said she was headed for the latrine."

Lindea ripped off her apron and ran down the tunnel. Ahead of her,

she could just barely see the light of a glow moving away from her.

"Drul! Drul!" she called.

The girl stopped. "Yes'm?" she whimpered in a terrified voice.

"Where are you going?"

"Um….down the tunnel."

Lindea caught up with her. The girl was holding something behind her

back. She began to cry.

"Don't cry. What are you hiding?"

Drul dropped her head and produced the bubbly pie.

"Don't beat me, please, don't."

"I won't, but only if you tell me why you took the bubbly pie. Is it

because you're hungry?"

"No," she said. "It's a secret."

"Let's go put it back, okay? We don't want you to get in trouble with

Oscoral, do we?"

"Oh no, please, no, please, don't tell."

"We need to put the pie back, okay? Then you can tell me why you took it."

They returned to the kitchen, and the girl carefully replaced the pie.

Then she really began to cry, but, to Lindeas' eye, they were tears of relief.

"Now you tell me why it's a secret."

Drul couldn't meet her eye.

"It's a boy. He said he's a dragon rider. He makes me bring him bread

and tonight could smell the pie baking so he wanted one."

"What's his name?" she thought, wondering if she was treading on thin

ice. One didn't take the word of a drudge over that of a dragon rider

lightly.

"He wouldn't tell me. He said that if I don't bring him bread he would

throw me into the watch wher's pen and I'd get eaten up."

"Now you listen to me."  Lindea said, "when something like this

happens, you must ALWAYS tell someone. Like now, you and I are going

to tell Oscoral."

"Noooooooooo!" she wailed, and would have bolted had it not been for

Lindea's quick grab.  She turned the girl to face her.

"Drul, LISTEN to me.  Oscoral won't hurt you. No one will hurt you if

you tell the truth. Okay?"

"He made me swear to not tell, it's a secret! I don't want to be eaten

by the watch wher!"

"Drul. When someone makes you do something you KNOW is wrong, making

you swear is his way of protecting himself…and not YOU.  You know the puppet shows? He's making you a puppet. He's using you to do something wrong, like stealing, so

that HE doesn't get in trouble. It would be YOU in trouble, and he

would get the bread. Don't you think that's unfair? Do you

understand?"

She stared at Lindea, then nodded. Lindea doubted if she really

did. She was probably too frightened to trust her.

Despite his bulk, Oscoral had silently entered the kitchen and heard

the entire confession. Part of him was overjoyed that Lindea was not

the thief. He also appreciated that she was able to get a confession

out of the drudge. The girl almost certainly wouldn't have told him.

He moved into the bakery. Drul almost fainted in fear. He looked down at her.

"Drul, what Lindea said is correct. Don't ever be afraid to talk to

me. You must help us identify who this boy is. To make you feel a

little better, I can promise you that he's NOT a dragon rider. No

dragon rider, actually, no one here would make you steal. You have

been here for a long time, so you know how we do things. If someone is

hungry, what do we do? We give them something to eat. Right? There's always

something to eat on the night hearth. So this boy is not just a liar,

he must be someone new. Do you think you would be able to point him

out to me if you see him again? Or Lindea?"

She nodded, snuffling.

He smiled. "And I promise you that he won't ever do anything like this

to you again. We won't let you be thrown to the wher.  Will you

believe me?"

"Uh huh."  She sighed with relief. She was safe. She thought she was

the only one who knew who the boy was. But she was wrong.

Norelth knew.

__________________________________________

"Oscoral?"

Drul, the drudge, tugged gently on the night baker's sleeve. She had

to look up and up…the man was at least 6"6.

"Let me guess. He's back."

 She nodded, dumbly.

 "And he's mad, right? Because you failed to nick a pie for him last night?"

Again, she nodded.

 His smile turned wicked. This, he knew, was going to be fun.

 "Lindea, I know you've been working all day. I need you to hold

down the fort for a while longer. Double shifts happen when we have

such a large crowd. But it's important. Our bread thief has returned."

"Oh, do I have to stay here? I do so want to catch him." Lindea's

fatigue evaporated.

"You are undoubtedly faster on your feet than I, my girl, but I doubt

you are strong enough to wrestle him into submission." He laughed,

deeply.

"Yes, sir, but I do want to get my licks in, if I may."

 "Alright, Drul, here's what I want you to do. Play your part exactly

as I tell you, and we shall snag this little tunnel snake right out of

his hole." Oscoral said.

____________________________________________________________________________

He heard rather than saw Drul approaching.

 "What? No glow?"

"I dropped it back near the kitchen. I was in a hurry."

 "And where were you last night? I warned you what was going to happen

to you if you disobeyed me."

 "No, please," she begged, "I couldn't help it. They kept their eyes

on me all night. I couldn't get away, not even for a minute."

"Where are you? Why don't you come out here?"

"If I go out there you're going to throw me into the wher's pen."

 "I just might."

 "I have to go back. I am already in trouble."

 "Did you bring a pie?"

 "Yes."

 "So give it to me."

"No, I told you, I don't want you to grab me."

 "Have it your way, then. Drop the pie and go back. But don't be so

late tomorrow, you hear me? You're going to make me hurt you."

 "Here." She put the pie down and backed off, making a great amount of

noise running back up the tunnel.

He strode into the mouth of the tunnel to where he could just barely

see the pie.

A powerful force snatched him right off his feet. A deep voice said,

"Ah, so you wanted one of my pies, is that it, my bullyboy?"

He fought for a handhold on the mighty arm that held him by the

collar, but was helpless as a puppy dangling from its mother's

jaws.

"Lemme go, lemme go," he managed to get out of his constricted throat.

"Why, certainly, but only after we have a little chat on who you are

and why you are terrorizing my people. Let's never mind your pinching

my baked goods.  What's your name, boy?"

 The boy managed to wheeze "Uh, uh, K…K…Kandar."

The voice, sounding as though it was issuing from the bowels of the

mountain, said, "Drul, bring that glow back here, so we can get a good

look at this wher in my grip."

 The girl came back with the glow.

 "Kandar, eh? Is this your little beastie, girl?"

"That's him, that's him."

Well, Kandar, let's take you back up to where we can get a good look

at you. Mariko will skin me for bringing filth into her kitchen, but I

want to see what sort of vermin you be."

"No, let me go, I won't do it again, I promise."

"Oh, there's no doubt about THAT, Kandar my lad. No doubt in my mind,

at all," he chuckled. It was a sound like that made when a wher's

teeth cracks a bone.

Lindea saw the big man enter with Drul behind him (carrying the

pie). Oscoral had a boy in his outstretched fist, the feet just barely

touching the ground. One look and she shrieked.

"BOROST!!"

 Oscoral dropped the punk. The boy scrabbled on the stone floor,

coughing and wheezing as he tried to get his throat to unknot.

 "Borost, is it?  Lin, you know this piece of wherry dung?  He said

his name is Kandar."

 "NO!  I mean yes!  He's not Kandar, he's Borost. He's a Candidate for

the Hatching. "

 Borost got to his hands and knees. One massive foot planted itself in

the middle of his back and flattened him, a little harder than was

necessary.

"So what shall we do with you, Borost?"  he asked, nudging even harder

with his boot.

 Borost struggled but had no chance of escaping the giant on his back.

"Let me go, I won't even stand for the Hatching, I'll leave."

 "Aye, that's certain, you surely won't stand for the Hatching."

Oscoral said. "And, given that you've lied to me at least once

tonight, slandered an innocent Kandar, extorted and terrorized my

drudge, and have been stealing my baked goods for at least a week, I'm

not inclined to allow you to stand at all. In fact, if I snap your

legs in two, you'll fit nicely into one of my ovens. I'd love to roast

you over a low fire, but it's late and I don't want your screaming

waking the entire weyr.  Stop squirming, boy, while I cogitate on this

matter."

He looked up at the ceiling, scratching his chin theatrically.

 "Where, where to put this pile of offal?"

 "How 'bout the wherry pen?" Drul suggested, helpfully.

 "Now then, Drul, while I grant that's an excellent suggestion,

remember, we eat those wherries, eventually. Will you poison them with

this tainted meat? No. Let's lock him in with the spit dogs, eh?

It's a dirty trick to pull on decent dogs, I agree, but we don't

have a cell and I'd rather not block up the latrine pit."

___________________________________________________________________________

 Mariko had just entered the dining hall when one of the day shift

drudges came running to her.

"Ma'am, the spit dogs got out and they're running loose."

 "SHARDS" she gasped, "You, you and you," she pointed to three of

them, "See how many you can catch. Take some fresh meat, that usually

brings them back."

Oscoral came out of the kitchen, smiling.

"Mariko, we caught the bread thief."

 "Where is he?"

"I locked him up in the dog kennels."

"Well, he's escaped, then, and released them. They're running loose."

 He began to curse in words she'd never heard in her life.

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