Chap. 248 Roany

Chap. 248 Roany

Rahman's assistant approached him as he finished repacking Greta's backpack.

"Hmm," he said, "Wonder who put a bug in HER bustle?"

K'ndar looked up from his bench.

"I'm..um, what?"

The man laughed. "Oh, that's an old saying. You know Rahman, he's always coming up with these incredibly old sayings that have no context whatsoever."

K'ndar laughed, appreciating the chance to shake the mournful feeling he'd had since finding the bones.

"Oh, aye, I know it! "Lead on, M..""

"MacDuff!" they said in unison. The assistant grinned.

"I was referring to Glorus. She just passed me looking as if she'd swallowed a bug. That old pill, she was in a snit about something, but then, she always is. I wish...well, I shouldn't gossip. I'm glad I caught you before you headed out on your research," the man said, "would you be upset if Rahman requests transport early? Like...now?"

Relief flooded K'ndar. I've not accomplished a scientific thing other than get a twist in my sleep. But I have solved Greta's disappearance. And if we leave NOW, it will be night time at home, and I'll be able to get a good nights' sleep in my own time zone. I just hope I can stay awake long enough to unharness and get to bed.

"Of course. I'll need a few minutes to get my things together and harness my dragon, and then I'm ready to go. Is something wrong?"

The man looked concerned. "Thank you. I worry about Rahman. He's so very old, but he refuses to accept it. He says the time change doesn't bother him, but I know better. He says he's feeling a little under the weather and would like to go. He's accomplished the study-we actually sighted Sagittarius A! It's feeding right now. Would you like to see it? You'd have to come back tonight."

"Um, I..."

"It's officially SgrA*, but the asterisk is never pronounced. It's the black hole at the center of our galaxy. Normally you can't see a black hole, but some wandering star passed too close and gulp! Sagr nabbed it!" the young astronomer exulted. "For a few days we'll be able to see the event horizon! It's magnificent."

K'ndar grinned, knowing how academic passion of any sort can sound weird to the novice.

"I remember reading about black holes, but honestly, I'm so whacked with the time change and the cure Glorus gave me, I just want to go home. I'm already sleep deprived, I'd never last until dark another night. So I'll pass, thank you," he said.

"Let me guess-Glorus told you all the good stuff about the cure, but none of the bad?"

"Aye. Until afterwards when she laughed at me."

"Typical. Sorry you got caught by her. She's a bully. I'm surprised they still keep her on here. But-what's that pack? It looks much the worse for wear."

K'ndar put his hand on it.

"Yes. It was Greta's. The geologist who was with my survey team, last time I was here? When we surveyed both islands?"

The assistant nodded. "She's not been here in quite some time. She left her pack? That's odd. She was a nice girl,very competent, very focused. She came back here after your survey team departed. I'm not sure why. When we learned she was sleeping with her dragon outdoors, we put her up in a room and didn't have the heart to charge her board. She paid for her keep in labor. She made herself useful, took on all the little jobs that no one else wants to do; cleaning the latrine, running what passes for a kitchen here, even though she wasn't officially a staffer. She could make a pie to die for. She even developed a desire to do astronomy, wanting to look through the new scope. Rahman encouraged her. Well, so did I. I had sort of developed a soft spot for her. Then Glorus arrived. She took one look at Greta and they had a mighty set to, and Greta left. We've not seen her since," he said.

"Huh. Did you know they were mother and daughter?"

"WHAT? Shards, no. Really? How do you know?" the man asked, shocked.

"She told me this morning. I was inventorying the pack and she wanted some of the equipment. A lidar, specifically."

"K'ndar, please. Tell me you didn't..."

"Not a chance. No. It wasn't hers to begin with, the Lidar was from Landing. That was after she revealed she was Greta's mother, but they were estranged. I'm telling you, had she been my mum, I would have stabbed her in her sleep."

The man laughed, bitterly. "I can understand that. Poor Greta! We never saw her again. What, where did you find her pack?"

"In the Strait. She's dead. Her and her dragon, Earth-I saw their bones on the rocks at the base of the cliff. I don't know what happened, or why she was there, but I managed to recover her pack," K'ndar said. He shook his head.

The man looked distraught.

"No! That's terrible. Those winds, I'm told they're ferocious. Whatever possessed her to try them? I know the dolphins and the sea folk don't dare the current, they say it's too dangerous."

"It is. Yesterday was an anomaly, the winds had done a 180 and were mild as milk. That's how we were able to snag this pack, otherwise I'd never have dared. I wouldn't have even seen their remains."

The man was quiet for several moments, absorbing the news. "We thought she was out nomading. We thought she'd be back, after all, her fire lizard is still here. I thought they were bonded, like your dragons?"

"Roany? He's alive?"

"A little blue one, right? Dark blue head, darker than your blue there. It had to be hers, there are no fire lizards here, it's not the right habitat, I guess. He comes and goes, no one has tried to catch him. No one can even get near him, he's gone wild, I wager. Last time I saw it, he was looking pretty ragged. I don't know what he's living on."

K'ndar looked inward. A bonded fire lizard who didn't suicide? But do we know that they actually DO that? We've only started keeping them in the last, what twenty years? Forty? And not everyone has one, or has done research on them other than what Kitty Ping did 2500 years ago.

"Well, sir, are you up for taking Rahman home?"

K'ndar tore his attention back to the man.

"Yes, yes, of course..."

"He won't be long, he packs light, like dragonfolk," the man said. "I'll tell him you're willing to go."

He looked over his shoulder, as if he was afraid of being eavesdropped.

"Thank you for telling me about Glorus, K'ndar. It explains a lot. Don't forget to come back, someday. You'll like seeing Sagr." The man left.

K'ndar pondered the news. Roany? Roany is here? How can it be? What do I do?

I will call him. He knows me. We should at least do SOMETHING for him Raventh said.

Siskin chipped, his eyes suddenly whirling a strange green. He launched-and disappeared.

Shards, I can't have him disappearing NOW.

He's looking for Roany. He'll be quick, don't worry.

I have to get my things together. If Roany shows up, try to keep him with you. I don't know what we'll do, but we have to do something. It's only fair to him and Greta.

I will.

He was grateful that dragonriders travel light. It didn't take but a few moments to pack his belongings in his own pack, and put a line through his name on the "guests" list. He wrote "Thank you!" after his name.

It never hurts to be courteous, he thought, remembering his mother's teachings.

He came out to see Siskin and Roany. The dark blue was gorging on what remained of Siskin's crab.

He's so thin. He's been hungry for a long time.

He's been hunting, right?

No. Apparently the tunnel snakes here go into dormancy during the winter. I don't know what he's been living on, maybe dead fish on the shores?

They're not scavengers, I don't think.

All us dragons will eat dead things if we're hungry enough. I haven't, but then, I've never been abandoned.

He's not fishing?

Raventh was silent for several moments.

He can't compete with the seabirds. They dive at him, like we saw in the Strait. The sea wherries are far worse, they're bigger than he is, and he's sending me images of being attacked, even having his kill stolen right out of his talons. He's been living on scraps.

K'ndar approached the two fire lizards. Siskin was overjoyed, chirping happily.

He approached slowly.

Roany hopped into the air, wary. Siskin chittered at him, and the other landed next to him.

"Roany. Remember me?"

The fire lizard turned his head sideways, his eyes rolling an uncertain orange.

K'ndar was astounded at how small a starving fire lizard could be. He could see the lizards hips and ribs. His wings had been torn and had several holes.

"I'm Greta's friend. Siskin, Raventh, they are my brothers. Where is your mum?"

The fire lizard dropped his head. K'ndar swore he heard it give out a low moan.

He doesn't know where they went. He's been here all this time waiting for them to return. He is afraid of the humans here.

Is he afraid of me?

A little. I told him you are a friend. I told him Siskin and I are friends.

He looked at the dark blue lizard.

He pushed an image of the bones at the base of the cliff.

"She's gone, Roany. Her and Earth. They are dead."

The dark blue dropped his head. K'ndar could feel his sorrow.

"You're looking pretty rough, little one," K'ndar said.

Roany did not respond.

Is he even listening to me?

He is.

Siskin looked up at K'ndar. He didn't need translating.

"Roany. Come with us. Come with Siskin and Raventh. We'll go back to where you can find things to hunt. You need to eat, little one. Come back with us?"

What am I going to do with two fire lizards?

The same as with just one. He might not stay with us. But let's try. He's starving to death here.

Rahman approached, his arms full of ledgers, a pack on his back.

"Are you ready, K'ndar? Because...oh, there's Greta's fire lizard. He's been hanging around here for months. I wonder why he's not with her."

Then he saw Greta's pack at the foot of the bench. And then at the pack on K'ndar's back.

He looked up at K'ndar, a big question on his face.

"She's dead, sir. I found their bones at the base of the cliff this morning. We snagged her pack just before the winds picked up again."

The elder man shook his head.

"She attempted the Strait? I am betting she wanted a closer look at that artifact on the seabed."

K'ndar nodded. "Yes sir, I think so. She had no fear. Of anything. I had thought she had tried to board the Yokohama," he said.

Rahman looked shocked. "Perhaps. She did seem pre-occupied with looking at the starship. I thought she was just fascinated by the ship, but I wouldn't have dreamed she'd tried to reach it, especially without a suit," he said.

He shook his head.

"Science, K'ndar. We don't know if she tried until we get more data," he said.

K'ndar nodded, silent.

"You're prepared to return us to Landing?"

"Eager, sir. I need some sleep. I don't do time zone changes well."

He hefted Greta's pack.

"I'm assuming you're taking her things back to Landing?"

"Yes sir," K'ndar said, "Raventh's waiting on the dragon pad."

"Her fire lizard? He needs some care, and a good feed."

"He's coming with us. I hope. I'll take care of him. If nothing else, we've told him he doesn't have to wait here for Greta anymore."

Rahman sighed. "Ah, Greta. Such a young lass. So brilliant, yet so ephemeral, like a candle in the wind."