Chap. 258 The Call

 

Chap. 258 The Call

Rand led the way through the undergrowth until they reached an obviously human made corral. A three meter high wall of dead vines with long thorns formed the circular structure. In one side was a small framework serving as a door.

Following Rand in, K’ndar could see a few tracks left from the rains in the bare soil. One spot had been covered with dead leaves.

“Here’s the boma. Beware, those thorns are vicious, K'ndar, they even make the jungle wherries stand off. But not the beast!! Now I’ve got bars across the top. See the tree standing off a few meters from the one side? He came down that tree, K’ndar, jumped over into it, grabbed me pig, and jumped back up and over. The wall must be at least two meters high and he cleared it with room to spare. Then ran up the tree like it were a flat racer.”

K’ndar gauged the jump and whistled in amazement.

“Here’s where my dog was killed. What surprised me was that there wasn’t hardly a footprint from the beast. It’s like he hovered over my chickens, my pigs, but the time I saw it, it wasn’t hovering, it was already in midair, leaping UP and over the thorns. But I did find one track, that weren’t anything like I’d seen before.” He carefully pushed aside the leaves.

K’ndar examined the track. It wasn’t a very good one, but still, he could see a resemblance to the foot pads of the strange beast.

“Siskin, track? Take a sniff of the track?” he asked, pointing at the track.

The fire lizard dropped from his shoulder and took a perfunctory sniff, then returned to his perch.

“Nothing?”

“Apparently not.”

Rand led him out of the boma and carefully replaced the gate.

It was not far to a massive stump of a pussy toes tree that had been killed after a falling bowl tree had crashed into it years before. The remainder of the trees lay pointing the way the wind had come that blew it over. The stump was covered with vines and iridescent fungi.

A light breeze wafted around them, bringing the scent of flowers and trees-and something else. They were downwind.

Siskin, chittered and launched. He flew back to the boma’s tree, moving up several meters. He clung to the trunk, his head weaving back and forth as he took in a scent. K’ndar could sense the lizard’s excitement, but it was nothing like the original reaction. The fire lizard half climbed, half flew up the trunk, clinging momentarily at scent spots. He reached the first of a maze of horizontal limbs. As they watched, he worked his way along the length of the branch, weaving through the thick clumps of leaves. The branch ended far out from the central trunk. Across a gap of several meters was the end of large branch of a bowl tree.

“He’s tracking it, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” K’ndar said, concentrating on the feelings the fire lizard was sending. “I think it’s old scent, he’s not so excited as he was”-was it only a few days ago? -

“when it got on me. Obviously, the animal leaped across that gap. What an amazing beast.”

Siskin flew across the gap onto a bowl tree limb. He raced across it as the scent grew stronger. K'ndar closed his eyes to better see Siskin’s images. The scent led the fire lizard to the trunk, higher, higher until he reached a thickened section where a branch had broken off, years before.

Rand said, “What..”

“Shh, I’m concentrating. He’s showing me a hole, it’s...oh, it’s hollow, it’s deep! It..it’s a den!” K’ndar said, still keeping his eyes closed.

Siskin chittered. He warily put his head into the hollow.

“Careful, Siskin, careful!” he said, not knowing if the lizard would hear it or not.

Siskin perched on the lip of the opening and sniffed. The scent was old but still strong. Realizing the den was empty, Siskin entered it.

The den was bedded with soft leaves and feathers. Here and there, a bone stuck out of the leaf litter. Otherwise, it was empty.

“He’s found the den. It’s a good sized hole in that tree, over there,” K’ndar said, opening his eyes and pointing. “There’s nothing in it, though.’

He sent an image of Siskin retrieving a feather. Siskin obliged by tugging one from the nest.

“To me, lad,” K’ndar said. Siskin returned to his shoulder. “GOOD lad, Siskin! So clever!” K’ndar said, scritching the lizard, “There’s no smarter lizard than you!!”

Siskin beamed proudly.

He took the feather from Siskin’s forefoot and handed it to Rand.

“I have GOT to get one of those lizards,” he said. He inspected the feather.

“Aye, it’s a chicken feather, no doubt. That one had specks all over her,” he said, glumly.

He glanced at K’ndar’s hand.

“That hand, K’ndar, must be hurting you more than you’re letting on. We’ve been tarrying. Come on and we’ll get her fixed.”

He led the way to one of the toes on the stump. He grinned slyly.

“Can you see the door?”

“Um…”

Rand laughed. He reached into the claw slit and pushed aside a cleverly woven mat of vines.

“I would have walked right past it,” K’ndar said.

“That’s the idea, mate. Keeps strangers like the raider from finding me, although they’d be blind to miss the boma. Mind your head, you’re taller’n me.”

He pushed the mat aside and entered a gloomy ‘toe’. It opened up almost immediately and soon entered into a single room of great size. Filtered sunlight from several gaps in the ceiling provided warm illlumination.

“It’s hollow!”

“Aye, partially. Overhead is still pretty much solid wood. These trees are tough un’s, K’ndar, even this one, it will last for me lifetime before it starts to fall apart.”

He motioned to K’ndar to sit on a small bench. K’ndar noted it had been carved into the wooden interior wall of the stump. Even after carving, at least a half meter of solid wood remained.

“My word, but this stump is sturdy, the walls are so thick!”

“Aye, they are. I didn’t have to put up shelves, just carve ‘em out.” He turned to scan the niche.

“This is nice, Rand. Comfortable.”

It reminded him of his first private weyr, the one he’d moved into once he no longer was required to live in the weyrling barracks. He and Raventh lived in a hut on the beach at Kahrain Steppe weyr. I loved that hut, he thought, to this day I miss it, for some reason. It didn’t have any amenities, not like Landing, but still...

It was ours. We had it to ourselves. I could go and swim any time I wanted. I would watch for dolphins. Remember seeing the night sea glowing blue? I miss that Raventh said.

Nostalgia flooded him. I do too.

“Tain’t much, compared to Toric’s place, nor even Landing, but it’s home.” Rand said. “I’ve not made any klah, sorry to say.”

“That’s alright,” K’ndar said. Rand took down a small pot from one of the niches.

You’ve been unusually quiet this morning he said to Raventh.

I’ve just been watching through you. But there’s something else, I feel as if someone is searching. A dragon, it feels like.

Searching? For what?

More like a who. Maybe Rand.

Maybe it’s the raider?

I don’t know.

“Okay, let’s see that paw, K’ndar.”

By now, the hand was swollen and hot. It hurt far more now that he was paying attention to the pain. Only his concentration on the hike and then the amazing forest had kept his mind off it. He shrugged off his backpack with difficulty. His back thanked him.

Rand slathered salve on the hand. “Ah, I sees where you were stung. Yes, it were a vespid. This is numbweed, K’ndar, I’m sure you know what that stuff is, but there’s also a salve in there to break the venom. When you gets back to your own home, soak it in vinegar. It will sting when it hits the wound, but the vinegar will make what’s left of the venom break down.”

“Vinegar! Okay. Do I need a bandage?”

“I wouldn’t, but it depends, if the wound is too deep, one might help protect it til it heals. You’re lucky, most times, the vespid’s sting will break off and keep working it’s way in. You must have just barely hit it. I don’t have any bandages, but the plant that grows the best leaves for bandages is back in the scrub. No worries, though, the salve will be absorbed soon enough.”

The numbweed took effect almost immediately. He hadn’t realized how much the hand had been hurting.

He sighed with relief from the pain, then took a closer look at the salve pot. He recognized the potter’s work immediately.

“Where did you get that little pot?”

Rand held it out gently.

“It’s a good ‘un, K’ndar. It’s got a tight lid, very well made. I got it as a barter from a Wanderer. They’s savvy bargainers but I think I got the better part of the deal.”

“May I see it?”

Rand handed it over. It had been painted, then glazed with an unusual color of blue. A tiny chip of turquoise was embedded in one side. Feeling an unusual sense of professional superiority, he tilted it up til he could see the bottom.

He saw what he was expecting to see, two engraved symbols. Yes.

“Yes. I know the woman who made this. Her name is Terylin,” he said. He handed it back to Rand, who took it gently, almost reverently.

“I’m no expert, mind you, I’ll take your word for it. She’s a master of her trade. I don’t have much in the way of fancy things, but this thing is beautiful, and functional. I don’t ever have to worry about insects getting into it,” Rand said. He replaced the pot on the shelf. He turned it so that the turquoise chip was illuminated by the sun.

“Me mum used to try her hand at pottery, but she didn’t have the talent this Terylin had. Her stuff was useful. But not pretty like this. I’d like to meet her, I think. D’ya think she’d mind meeting a crusty old forester like me?”

K’ndar laughed. “She’s married, Rand. But even so, who knows. She might, just to have a nice glass of wine, and you can tell her tales of your beautiful rain forest. She’s a good friend, kind and generous. She took me under her wing when I was a greenhorn at a Gather, kept me being cheated by a couple of shysters, for no other reason than she hated seeing the shysters win.”

“Figures, the good ‘uns is always taken,” Rand said.

Siskin wheeked, remembering a certain dalliance with a green fire lizard.

“Oh, yes, thank you, Siskin, for reminding me. She has a green fire lizard, named Putzu,” K’ndar said. “Siskin and Putzu…”

“Mated?”

“Aye. And I had to apologize, neither of us had any idea until one day Terylin realized Putzu was gravid. You don’t want to be around an entire clutch of fire lizard eggs, when they hatch, they’ll all impress on YOU and you don’t need a dozen, sometimes more, fire lizards. One is MORE than enough, for me, at least.”

Siskin whickered in what could only be laughter.

Rand laughed. “You’re a scamp, Siskin.” He resisted the urge to reach out and pet the lizard.

The fire lizard looked at him warily, then chipped.

“He says “So?”

“A Gather. Been a long time since I’ve been to one,” Rand said. “Maybe I should head to the Hold one of these days to partake of one. Didn’t you say you had a trader friend who sells fire lizard eggs?”

“I did. He does. I could find out if he’s going to be coming to Southern Hold for a Gather.”

A buzzing noise came from his backpack. He recognized it as the vibration from his datalink, but why wasn’t it calling?

With his unharmed hand, he dug around in the backpack and finally retrieved the datalink. It continued to vibrate.

“Eh, there, what is this?”

“It’s a datalink. I think I need to go outside to answer it.”

“It’s a what? It’s alive? You have to talk to it? What is it?”

K’ndar grinned. “I’ll explain it later, but it will probably work better if I get a bit of open sky.”

Fascinated, Rand followed him out. K’ndar moved until he was standing under a break in the canopy. It was enough.

“K'ndar of Landing. K’ndar of Landing.”

Rand flinched.

“It talks?”

“Well, no. Someone talks through it.”

He fumbled, his swollen right hand making it difficult.

“This is K’ndar, who calls?”

“This is Raylan.”

His voice was chilly. K’ndar had never heard Raylan use that icy tone. His stomach knotted. The only time he was addressed in that tone of voice was when he’d done something wrong.

“Yes, sir?”

“Are you planning on coming to work today?”

K’ndar’s thoughts scattered like frightened chickens. He felt an almost real gut punch. He immediately flashed back to Weyrling school when he’d been caught breaking curfew.

“Wh wh what? What?”

“You’re not at Landing, are you. Your dragon is missing.”

“Uh...uh...I’m in the jungle. You sent me here last night?” K’ndar began to sweat, from fear.

“I beg your pardon? I did no such thing, K’ndar, and I’m disappointed that you’d skyhoot off with letting me know.”

K’ndar gulped. “Sir, I...I...you knew? You said I was to come here to find…”

“K’ndar, I haven’t talked to you in several days. What are you doing? You should be here, we’re meeting at thirteen hundred. We’re to discuss officially naming that beast you brought in,” Raylan said, his voice dripping ice.

Rand, sensing K’ndar’s fear, put his hand on his shoulder. It steadied K’ndar. He took a deep breath.

“Sir, I..”

“E’s with me,” Rand shouted at the datalink, “I’m the one what turned in the beast.”

K’ndar shook his head, distracted.

“Raylan. Last night, long after I’d gone to bed, somebody named Jomoke called me. He said he’d talked to you, you wanted me to come back here today and try and find samples, find out the habitat…”

“Jomoke? Was he with you yesterday?”

“No, sir, I’ve never met him. He called me out of the clear night sky. He said you’d said my data logging can wait, it was more important I bring back photos, samples, data.”

“I never said that, K’ndar. Jomoke asked me who had done the first comprehensive exam of the animal, but I never said anything about sending you back there. In fact, I’d decided to have everyone get together this afternoon. You should know better than to just take off.”

“By the egg, sir, I’m being honest with you. If you give me a few moments to gather my wits, I will try and quote verbatim what he said. He was hedging. He called me up after I’d been asleep for an hour or so, and I’m a deep sleeper, sir, I was so confused. I just believed him. I thought I was doing as ordered. I swear it on my honor, sir.”

Rand grabbed the hand K’ndar was holding the datalink in. “K’ndar’s a good man, sir! There’s not a bit o’ mendacity in him!!” he shouted into it.

K’ndar waved him silent, but gratefully mouthed the words “Thank you.”

Raylan was silent for several heart beats.

“Aye, whoever you are, I know he is,” Raylan said, his tone thawing. There was a hint of amusement in his tvoice. “I don’t doubt you, K’ndar. You’ve always been straight with me. I can’t think of any reason why you’d lie. For that matter, I can always go back and listen to the recording of your conversation. Jomoke had no business telling you to go anywhere.”

There was dead silence from Raylan’s end for several moments. K’ndar felt his racing heart begin to slow. A recording? One would validate his words. He was innocent. My conversations are recorded? Now I know why I was told to only use it for official conversations. Not that I have anyone to just idly chat with, he thought.

“I see what was going on, now. I believe you, K’ndar. I still want to meet with you today, so if you would, please, return? The naming decision can be put off until tomorrow. I’ll deal with Jomoke.”

“Thank you, sir, thank you,” K’ndar said, relieved. Rand smiled.

Raylan said, “Oh, and K’ndar? Next time, don’t be so trusting of strangers calling in the night.”