Chap. 104 The Bell Maker

Chap. 104 The bell maker

"Hello, K'ndar! This is a nice surprise, won't you come in, please?"

Terylin ushered him into her cottage. It was neat and cozy. Two cats purred a welcome and Putzu warbled a hello to Siskin. 

"Sylvana, we have company, it's my dragonrider friend, K'ndar!"

Her partner came from the kitchen. "I'll get klah, you must be hungry, yes?"

"Nay, thank you, but I will take some klah, thank you very much."

Siskin chirped and flew to where Putzu, Terylin's green fire lizard, was perched by the fire. He sidled up to her, making murmuring sounds.

"What brings you here?"

"Your bells, my friend. I see you've made some bells for our fire lizards. They're extremely effective in letting people know a message is coming. What a great idea! I didn't get a chance to closely examine the one Coora was wearing. But it looked, well, like pottery? Not metal?"

Sylvana came out with mugs, and motioned K'ndar to sit in a very comfortable chair. One of the cats immediately leaped into his lap. "Careful, the klah is still too hot," she said.

"That's her chair," Terylin laughed, "but obviously, she's allowing you to sit in it."

K'ndar stroked the cat, gently.

"I don't know why I think a bell should be metal. Most of them are," he said. 

"Well, K'ndar, I am glad you asked that. I've been mulling the entire idea over. I had a bit of silver that I was paid in for a special pot that a Holder up north commissioned.  Sylvana is a master of fine metals, like silver. She can take the odd bit of metal and turn it into the most intricate thing you can imagine, with just a hammer.  We really played around with it. I first thought that making them out of silver would be nice. 

But it wasn't really do-able. Silver is valuable, and expensive, and it needs a fine touch when making something as small as a bell. So then I thought, well, perhaps forging them out of some less valuable metal. That didn't work so well, either. First had to make the molds, then get the fires hotter than I'm used to…I decided it wasn't worth the time, when I can turn out pots with clay in much less time. Besides, I just don't have that …touch, with metals, not like Sylvana. I can't take up all her time, she's got a lot going with her own interests, and I am not a metal. I'm a clay."

Sylvana laughed."Aye, my dad, he was a master of the forge, he was, and he taught us all how to turn iron ore into anything you can think of. But he couldn't tie his own shoes. Just couldn't get his fingers to remember how to tie a knot. Which made for some interesting conversations, as we kids also grew up making tapestries, which was my mom's specialty."

Terylin got up and poured the klah for them all. 

"The problem I foresee, though, is metal would add weight to the fire lizard's burden. And I know metal between would be too cold upon their skin when they pop back out. So…look, I'm a potter. I like to play with clay and get muddy. Why not make clay bells, they would be better suited to the task. I envision some sort of a leather breast protector that may be fancied up with paint or beads of the house or crafthall color, in the event recipient doesn't recognize the lizard.

This way, I can whip up as many bells as you may need. I can even put the names of the hold or weyr, and use little lumps of clay formed pinch pot style  with an opening or slit of some sort, a hoop with which to attach to harness, and a little round clapper ball within to make the tinkling tone," she said. 

Then she shook her head. "No, in thinking deeper, I would suggest the bells themselves carry color, rather than harness, which could be faked by nefarious villains. This way, I could add colors, like those of the hold or weyr, or one's name, or the lizards name, there is no limit, honestly, on what the bells could look like. For instance, here's two drawings I made when we were first hashing out the design for the bells, in Harper Hall Green."

 

K'ndar looked at them appreciatively. He was already sold. "I like that idea, ma'am. Kahrain's colors are tan, to reflect the steppe, separated from the sky blue by a thin, horizontal line of pale green."

"I'd have to work with that, K'ndar. Glazes obey gravity. Horizontal lines can bleed, or run into the color below it."

"Hmmm,' he thought, "But then, wouldn't that make each bell a bit more…individual? 

There's nothing saying it has to be horizontal, like on the weyr banner. "

"Let me play around with it," Terylin said, her mind working now as glazer. She began to envision the final product when K'ndar's face flashed with intuition.

The idea hit him like a physical jolt. "I have no idea what the kids named their fire lizards. Nor does it matter.  What if you were to put NUMBERS on the bells? Then…then, I'm sorry, it's all unfolding in my mind too quickly. Each hold, weyr, wherever there's lizards being used as couriers, each place has their own color of bell with numbers. Those numbers are listed and kept track of by the harper-they already track who is who, when he was born, what their dragons name is, so…each lizard is assigned a number. Then, when we see a lizard with, say, number 15, the list shows it belongs to this person at this place.

The Harper's Hall gets a master list of everyone's lizard, because, as D'nis always says, redundancy will save your hide."

Terylin nodded her head. "Numbers AND letters. For instance, Kahrain Steppe Weyr would be KSW1, KSW2, etc. That would make MY job of making bells so much easier. All I'd need is the color of the hold or weyr or hall, and put a letter/ number combination on each. Let the leaders decide who gets what bell."

Sylvana said, "We'd have to keep track, only to know what numbers we've used for what place. But that's probably not too difficult, we do have our own harpers, too."

"And, if a bell breaks, I just make a new one, with the same letters and numbers."

"The one problem I see, though, is that there's always going to be that one person who insists on having "his favorite number"," she said, ruefully," and isn't going to be happy if it's not available, or already taken. It gives the harpers fits."

"What?" K'ndar said, perplexed.

"Obviously, you don't gamble," Terylin said, laughing.

"Nay, ma'am, never had the head for it. I don't know how some folks can play cards all night, or have the ability to keep track of what's been played, and I for certain never had the money to gamble away on it."

"There's folks who do, and can, and when they bet, they have 'lucky' numbers. I never saw any sense in it, but…it is true."

He shook his head. "Sometimes..sometimes  I wonder if I'll ever 'grow up' to be like 'other people'. I get teased a lot because I can't drink, and I don't gamble or bet, or play cards, I spend my time reading or researching or writing…I just don't see the attraction."

Terylin frowned. "Why be anybody but who you are? So you're not a card player, like so many dragonriders-so many of whom are gamblers and drinkers. What a waste, I say. Be who you are, and don't worry about what other people think. They don't do it very often."

He looked at her and her partner with new appreciation. "Thank you," he said.

He put down his mug. Sylvana made to pour more klah, but he put his hand over them mug.

"My second reason for coming out here was, I wanted to know if you'd like to go on a quick ride out to the steppe? So you can collect more azurite and turquoise?"

Terylin stopped. "You know, having never been a dragon rider, I am constantly forgetting how immediate transport is by dragon back. Usually, if we land lubbers want to go somewhere it's by wagon or horseback or walking. I'd love to go. Right now?"

"Right now! Bring a jacket and a hat, it gets cold between. And some sacks, for the rocks. I'll have Raventh tell Putzu how to ride with us."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I've not had a chance to just go out and LOOK. All of my steppe forays, so far, have been for work and research. Today I have the time, the weather is perfect, and I just wanted to go and LOOK."

She smiled. Sylvana picked up the mugs. "You go on and have a good ride, Terylin. I've got things to do. Nice to meet you, K'ndar," she said, and walked away.

He looked up at the fire lizards. Siskin was snuggled right next to Putzu. Unusual, for him, he thought, but then the thought vanished.

"Siskin, we're leaving. Tell Putzu she's coming with us."

He chirped.

"Siskin goes everywhere with you, doesn't he?"

"Oh, he wouldn't be left behind, not for the world," K'ndar said, laughing.

We are going THERE? Where the lions were?

Yes. But I don't think we need to worry. They move around, a lot

OK. But I will stay in the air until I know there are no lions

That's a good idea

"I have to tell you, Terylin, the last time we were there, we saw lions…and the bones of a dead dragon," he said, as he buckled her into the harness.

"Lions?"

"Are you afraid?"

"Stars, no. I'd love to see lions," she said, laughing, "as long as it's from above and on Raventh's back."

She can be sure of that!

They'd come for minerals. But it was the steppe that was the true treasure.  

It was a glorious day on the steppe, one of those early autumn, crystal clear, not a cloud in the blue sky days. Far off, pronghorn and horses were grazing. Their sounds carried for kilometers. A gentle breeze whispered through the dried sweetgrass, scenting the air. Birds and wherries soared high above them. 

Raventh landed gently and they dismounted. The two fire lizards immediately headed out to hunt.

She stood, awestruck by the majesty of the vastness of the steppe. One could almost see to the end of the world, from here. 

K'ndar allowed his heart and soul to open to the sky and the steppe. What a wonderful place, he thought. This was a good idea.

"It's…it's beautiful," she said. Subconsciously, she was cataloging the subtle mixtures of colors of grass against the sky. What a tapestry it would make, she thought, somehow I must capture the feeling of this vast wilderness. "I can't find the words for it.  'Beautiful' just isn't enough."

"Aye," K'ndar said.