The Assignment

[Omnia Munda]

I hate to bring them all together like this, thought J'fel as he paced behind the long table the weyr's staff had just a day ago brought up to the weyr's meeting room. Upon the table waited several pitchers of water and glasses; nothing else had been provided. The weyrleader did not want his guests remaining long.

He couldn't think of a better way to achieve what needed to be done. Approaching the simple people who formed the first wave of the investigation in ones and twos in corners and doorways had been very effective, but this group needed to work together more than that. The riders, at the least, needed to be aware of one another's assignments, just in case something untoward happened at one of the Holds.

They'll also know there's no way to cover anything up, mused Jordeth from his ledge, not far away, and J'fel smiled and nodded an agreement the dragon could feel more than hear while reaching for one of the pitchers and a glass. Grouping the riders with the others had been the beast's idea, and his rider was exceptionally proud of Jordeth for such political thinking.

In any case, bringing them all together to assign them this work and their territories would be as effective as anything, and the value of letting them all see one another might outweigh the risk of it being noted so many people were convergent in one place with the weyrleader.

Aderes' absence, anyway, would help make the gathering seem less important.

J'fel straightened and balanced his free hand on the back of a chair. He didn't expect the chairs to be used, but the staff had brought them. He was considering letting the furniture become resident here; he liked the ostentatious beauty of it.

Thinking upon this possibility, drinking from his glass of water, J'fel watched the double doors through which he expected his guests - his hires - to arrive, and waited.

[Invisible]

Where are you going? Asked for the sixth or seventh time since G’tet had informed Kalpeth he was going to see the Weyrleader. He didn’t really mind having to retell her things. It only bothered him that she was teased for it. Like it was Kalpeth’s fault she couldn’t remember things. Like everyone else’s dragon had the greatest of memories. Well, even he had to admit that hers was a bit less than all the others. Still, it was no big deal. It was just part of what made her his.


I have to see the Weyrleader. A meeting of some sort, but I am sure I won’t be long. Reassurance enough for the moment. He was sure sometime within the next short while she would have the same question for him. It should, he thought, at least hold her the last few paces to the room where the meeting was being held. When he reached the door to the meeting room he paused and tried to listen within. Unfortunately he couldn’t hear a thing so had no way of knowing exactly what waited for him within.

Since he had been told to arrive he didn’t bother trying to knock and just let himself in. What he expected to see, well, he hadn’t been sure. What he wasn’t expecting was to be here alone with J’fel. A look at the table made it plain he was merely the first of many. Great. First. Ah, well, nothing for it. “Good day, sir,” he said with a smile. One hand ran through damp hair as he stepped away from the door and farther into the room so he would not block others and would not have to raise his voice to converse. If I’d known I’d be first I wouldn’t have rushed around after my bath. You need a bath? It was all he could do to bite back the chuckle at the green’s words. Instead he merely smiled before returning his focus to the other man in the room.

[rigantona]

B'nek had been unsurprised to receive a summons from the Weyrleader. They met frequently to discuss the Wings, and he assumed the meeting was going to be about that. When he walked in and saw G'tet, he realized that he had been mistaken. There was no reason to invite a Wingrider to a routine Wingleader meeting. He really didn't know why both he and the Greenrider had been called to meet with the Weyrleader. Lovely. It was so nice to be informed of things ahead of time.

His expression revealed none of this. Instead, he smiled at the Weyrleader, as if he were pleased to be present at the meeting. "Good day, Weyrleader J'fel, Greenrider G'tet." He noted that the Weyrwoman wasn't present. He supposed it was good that J'fel was doing something on his own, but not if the something turned out to be stupid.

[ignisfatuus]

A quiet, yet still audible crunching sound omitted from S'gur's back as he stretched as he walked. He couldn't help but wince slightly, it always felt a little odd when his back cracked like that. But it needed stretching out, what with his being hunched over so often as he tried to keep Glosolith clean, her feet especially.

In all honesty, S'gur was terribly surprised to be summoned by the Weyrleader. The first thought to go through his mind when he had first been told that his presence was desired in the Weyr's Meeting room was What could I have done wrong to warrant the Weyrleaders attention? He has since come to the conclusion that there had been absolutely nothing that he had done.

What is it that he wants? Glosolith asked, curious about her rider being called away quite out of the blue. I'm not sure... not sure at all. Guess I'll find out shortly. S'gur was intrigued by the situation at hand, doubley so after knocking and entering the Meeting room to see J'fel, B'nek and G'tet were all present. "Greetings one and all." S'gur said cheerfully as he felt his Greens attention wander for bow, though he was sure that she would be asking after this again later if she remembered.

[Alsivor]

The summons had come while Aleda was binding up one of the children's ankles, sure hands tucking the bandaging around splints. "P'vergonha, Tefi," she said chidingly to the lad, only ten and trying to keep up with the older boys, "you can't expect to run a curso against Adalvo and his cronies and not get hurt, let alone win. Now you're out for the count for at least two weeks." Tug, bind, tug. And then the rap against the wagon door, the very very young rider looking inside bug-eyed and she turned to regard him. "Welcome," she greeted the stranger, fixing him with a look that probably made him uncomfortable. No it was making him uncomfortable because he was shifting from foot to foot and then sticking his arm out like it was a tree branch and not a human limb towards her.

"This is for the sa -- sab -- the healer woman, Aleda. Are you her?" stuttered out incompetently but with a degree of sincerity. Aleda's mouth twisted with wry amusement and she tied a final bow around Tefi's ankle. "Now go easy on it, hm? And come see me if it pains you." She handed him embarrassment in the form of a cane and tousled the lad's hair. "Off with you. I have important company! But I will check on you later." Sighing deeply, Tefi took the cane with a bedrudging look and hopped down off of the sabedoria's table, hobbled out with a look for the yound rider. "Thank you, Aleda," the lad said just as he slipped away off the wagon, leaving her to tidy up, wipe down her hands on a towel and finally take the offered message with a nod of confirmation. "Yes, I am Aleda. The healer." She winked at the young rider and undid the binding on the small scroll.

Aleda opened the curl of hide and read the few words within, brows arching high and looked over at the bearer. "Do you know what this letter says? The young man shook his head energetically making long pale strands of hair fall across his face. Grinning, Aleda resisted the urge to tuck them back in place for him. "Hm. Very well. Thank you for bringing this to me." And she smiled at him warmly, waited until he figured out that was a dismissal and left with a polite nod and a sheepish grin. Then she re-read the note. Very interesting indeed. A little smirk crossed her face and she moved through the curtain to the back of the wagon to change.

Not long later she moved through the wagons towards the place indicated in the note. She gazed at the cavern mouth curiously, then stepped within, pushed on through the doors. She'd chosen her dress carefully, modest but flattering, deep blue with a band of daring yellow around the hem and bodice and her hair was bound back in a practical braid. Her eyes swept the room as she entered. One. Two . Three. Four. Four men. Four /riders/. Interesting indeed. She lifted her chin a little and smiled widely. "Good day, Riders."

[Selvagem]

Selvagem, in all honesty, did not know what to expect. The corridors of the Weyr and the halls where men of authority held power and executed their will were as alien to her as stone was strange to water. She had never asked to be made a candidate, never wished to even be found in a Weyr at any point in time, surrounded by the people who had seen fit to put her father to death. And now the fact that the Weyrleader had summoned her could mean only more upheavel to her already disrupted life. She could think of no reason why J'fel would want to see her, and could only assume she had mst have done something wrong. He had indeed been glancing rather darkly at her of late, but surely that was not a reason to summon her. Or not.

She sighed, footsteps weaving a soft padding sound on the stone floors. She wished life had remained simple. She wished her father were still alive.

The room came sooner than she expected; or maybe she was walking faster than she thought. The girl halted at the entrance, eyes slowly taking in the people already there. Men. Mostly men. She felt uneasy straightaway, until her eyes fell on the fifth person in the room. The woman she recognized, as she knew almost all the sabedoria in the caravens. There were not that many of them, not the fully trained ones, at any rate. With a slight, shy smile, the Caminar girl slid into the weyr and took her place by Aleda’s side. Learning the proper greetings had been tricky, but learn them Selvagem had.

“My greetings, sabedoria,” she paused, “And…duty to you all, riders.”

[Omnia Munda]

"G'tet," J'fel greeted the greenrider over the rim of his glass, assembling a loose smile that looked likely to say more. But then his attention was drawn past G'tet, for B'nek was arriving and, not far on his heels, S'gur. To each of these men J'fel offered quick grins of approval.

B'nek had been a careful choice, and the weyrleader was exceptionally pleased to see him arrive in a timely fashion and make an acceptably social greeting. J'fel wanted at least one ranking rider among his group, one of a knot heavy enough that none of the others would easily defy his word. But he couldn't waste that post on one of his more favored riders, nor risk it to a snake like S'lyn. He needed this gesture to prove to some of his fence-sitters that something was happening regarding the Caminar and the children. He needed B'nek to know it was happening, and he suspected that if the man would leak his assignment the information would go only to exactly the riders whose support J'fel most needed to cement: B'nek's friends.

J'fel held back his salute, though he offered with a gesture the pitchers and glasses. He was just about to take another drink from his own, a pause designed to illustrate to the men that they weren't the only ones expected, when an unfamiliar Caminar came through the doors.

Aleda, he assumed immediately, for he'd invited few enough of her number that there was no name to assign a stranger but this one. Nevertheless, J'fel had not expected the traders to have a healer-woman so young, so vibrant. He felt a short pang for having chosen her - but she was the latest of the wise-women to arrive at the Caminar gather and therefore the least influenced by what she'd so far seen. She had to go. Regrettable...

"Aleda," he greeted her, with an inclination of his head like a bow on accord of her gender. He repeated this gesture a second later for Selvagem, cautious to keep the satisfaction from curling his mouth. So long as your searchrider's not among us, thought J'fel, and out loud said, "Selvagem."

There were more he expected, but the boy weyrleader would rather repeat himself later than keep any of his guests overlong. Introductions, he thought, working a mental checklist. "Not everyone's here yet, but we may as well begin. Wingleader B'nek, you know S'gur and G'tet, of course." Nods illustrated for the benefit of the women each man in turn. "Aleda," to whom he gestured for the benefit of the men, "is a Caminar healer - sabedoria, did you say, Selvagem? - And of course, Selvagem's one of our own candidates." For this statement, J'fel was carefully straight-faced.

Again he offered them water and glasses with a sweep of one hand and said, "Thank you for coming. Your weyr has a special request of you all, and I hope you'll understand when I say that what passes amongst us here is not to be shared with others." He paused to lift his glass a little, to let one ever-arched brow flick upward, to make himself rakish with a bit of a grin. "Yet."

[Invisible]

At least G’tet told himself, I was not here too long by myself. It would have been terrible trying to make small talk with the Weyrleader. It was odd since they’d been weyrlings together, but once he’d ascended to the rank he had now it seemed like he was no longer sure what to say to J’fel. As more people arrived G’tet tried to keep his curiosity from showing too much on his features.

It worked well enough when B’nek arrived and then S’gur. A wingleader and another greenrider were nothing to worry about. So long as they’re not trying to shuffle me into B’nek’s wing. I’m quite content where I am. The arrival of the Caminar was a bit of a surprise and no matter how he tried he couldn’t quite keep that from showing on his face.

Aleda being first got his attention first and he grinned. At least she’s not some old crone Caminar. He rarely felt the desire to share his bed with a woman, but they were often good to look at. Idly he wondered if she had a brother, but since the odds of her having one interested in him were so slim he contented himself with watching her a moment. Selvagem was another surprise since he was pretty sure she was a candidate. He thought he’d gotten grief for searching Jansen…it couldn’t compare to whomever had searched a Caminar girl to stand for the queen.

When J’fel began to speak he focused on him to be sure he missed nothing. One eyebrow went up when he heard what was said and he wasn’t sure if a reply was warranted or not. Still, a quick few words couldn’t hurt he hoped. “Whatever you need sir, I’m your man.” Which was meant to imply his silence as well but it was always best to not make promises one was not sure they could keep.

Anyway, it’s not like if I share anything with Genet she’ll tattle or tell anyone else. Your sister is coming here? That will be nice. A sleepy response from Kalpeth on her ledge caused G’tet to smile even if it was out of place. Yes, dear. She’ll see us tomorrow.

[Alsivor]

The riders earned Aleda's scrutiny from behind the warmth of her smile, dark eyes skimming shoulder knots, facial features and the way which each man held himself. She was no expert in the knots of the Weyrfolk, but it was not difficult to pick out the differences. There, the child-Weyrleader who had invited her (though she was not much older by Turns), here three others utterly unfamiliar to her, though only one seemed to be rightly a man. Interesting. She thought to herself again and since J'fel 'bowed' she returned the favor by gracing him with a curtsey.

"Weyrleader, my duties to the Weyr that protects us." Aleda lifted her gaze to his face, keeping her face as serious and solemn as she could though she couldn't really help the dance of humor in her eyes. The other riders each received a respectful nod, the one for B'nek just that fraction deeper for his more complicated knot. Selvagem's greeting distracted her a little from further examination of the riders, but she only smiled at the girl, her surprise to find the Caminar Candidate present briefly registering on her face.

"Yes, I am a healer." Her chin lifted a little, a show of pride for her position. Let them think of that what they will. Her gaze slipped sideways back towards Selvagem, but otherwise these drageiro were her focus. What did they want of her and a Caminar girl?

[Selvagem]

Selvagem inclined her head politely at J'fel's greeting, the blood pounding in her head at having to stand (in clear sight) of so many plantado men, and riders at that. The sabedoria's presence was a help however, and she was determined not to embarress herself (and her people) by acting nervous. The fact that Aleda and her were the only Caminar present weighed painfully on her awareness, struggle as she did to conceal it.

Still polite, she nodded to each of the men as the Weyrleader introduced them, her mind grasping at the names like she might snatch at fleeting birds fleeing from her fingers. Hazel-brown eyes flicked back to J'fel as he clarified Aleda's position with her, but the older woman answered him before Selvagem could - to her immense relief. She glanced briefly at Aleda, a slight smile gracing her features, before turning back to the bronzerider as he began with explaining why he had called them together.

A light frown etched the Caminar girl's brows at his words, though it failed to touch her expressionless eyes. A request? Well, to accept or not...that would depend on the manner of the request. Anything against her people was out of the question. She tried to think of what the request might consist of, and could only surmise it had something to do with the disappearances of the holder children. Selvagem said nothing as yet though, but only nodded her understanding. She would let the older Aleda have the right of way in words, out of respect for her rank and seniority, but if she felt strongly enough about anything, she would not hesitate to speak up.

[neopanther]

Having been incredibly listles towards the task at hand -- that was sorting out a mild kafuffle between two of his wingmates -- P'nset was further disheartened to find a summons frorm J'fel. The Weyrleader.
Well? P'net searched for the opinion of Sarjenth.
{It cannot be far from logical to presume this is about the Caminar, mine.}

P'nset had presumed that was the logical choice to. For, he never was summoned to the weyrleaders quarts. Also, he knew there was trouble regarding they and the weyr, and being of his stature, and his origins, one and one made two after all.
Thanks... He felt his heart sink. Shards. Why now? Why did the Weyrleader have to drag him nto this? He sighed, and excused himself from the two younger riders, with a smile, telling them he'd help later, but he had a morep ressing event at hand.

Jogging at an intermittent pace, he swept the dark hair from his eyes, and made his way to the weyrleader's location. He had a feeling this would not sit well upon him. He would not hear false accusations against his People. But. He would have to remain as impartial as possible. For the presence ofbias was what was making thihs dilemma such a problem. People's pre-concieved ideas of the Caminar adjusted and skewed thier vision upon the topic.

Mind swimming with thoughts, hopes and doubts, he made it to the weeyrleaders place at last. To find, that it was more of a conference than he had been expecting. B'nek was there, his wingleader, G'tet, the green rider, S'gur, another green rider. Then also, there was Selvagem, the girl he had searched (shhh), the Caminar girl. The only Caminar here beside himself. Inadevertantly, P'nset came to a halt by her side.

Also there was Aleda, she was their healer, though, P'nset himself had had very little cause to see the woman during his stay, the odd accident, or illness, but he knew very little of her.

He shared a glance about the room, eyes settling on J'fel, "Weyrleader." His words were understated as always, he turned to B'nek, "I do hope I'm not too late." Basically apologising for his late arrival in comparison to so many of the others.

[rigantona]

B'nek considered each new arrival, wondering how they all fit together. He would know soon enough, surely, but he couldn't help but speculate. He was surprised to see a candidate arrive, as well as a member of the Caminar. As they were introduced, he nodded at the two young women. He knew Selvagem, of course, from the Gather. As far as he was concerned, she was Weyrfolk now, not Caminar. Aleda was an entirely different matter. What had they called her? Sabedoria. Trying to remember words from a different language gave him a headache. But she seemed very polite and agreeable.

The introductions over, he turned his expectant gaze back to J'fel. He was more eager than ever now to know why the meeting had been called. It seemed that the others didn't know the reason, either. Just then P'nset hurried in. B'nek offered a fleeting smile to his Wingsecond as well as the nod of greeting. He hadn't even known that P'nset had been invited as well. "You haven't missed much, P'nset. Only the introductions," he assured the Brownrider. He wondered if P'nset was the last arrival, or if J'fel was waiting for more.

[Omnia Munda]

G'tet responded; J'fel acknowledged his response with a smile.

From the Caminar, the weyrleader received little more than silence. Aleda's greeting and her confirmation were hardly agreements to the oath he had implied, and the candidate gave him even less to settle his mind than that. J'fel was beginning to think that the tokens were ill-chosen after all.

He hadn't much time to reflect on this, barely enough to deepen young worry lines just starting to appear around his slowly unsmiling mouth, when a greeting for the latest arrival to their little meeting was called for. At last. "P'nset. Not at all. I was just explaining to your counterparts," and here a glance around at the other faces included not just the Caminar women but the other riders, too, "that Telgar has a request to make of you all, and that we must ask you to keep this request private."

J'fel pulled his smile back to full strength and bent slightly forward to set down his glass on the table before him. He made no move to pull out a chair; addressing a gathering standing did nothing much for the young weyrleader's lack of height, but lent him more opportunity to shape his shoulders and gesture as he spoke.

"What Telgar asks of you is of paramount importance to both weyr and trader. If we're to succeed, to thrive through the rest of this decade, even through this generation, we must attend to this issue and we must do so in a way that does not build tension or conflict among us and our friends in the holds."

The key is for them to know what they're in for before I tell them, thought J'fel, as he bent forward again to take up a pitcher and top off the water he'd poured himself. It was quite lovely, the water, crystalline and cool, and for a moment the young weyrleader seemed transfixed by its travel from pitcher to glass.

When he looked up again, his eyes were endless with a fiery blue intensity of purpose.

"You must prevent outbreak of Moreta's plague."

J'fel was already a little known for his habit of making his voice lower and fuller when he felt the need to add importance to his weyrleaderly words. That his voice should be so suddenly powerful, so capable of filling the room without loudness, so rich and cool and endlessly deep, could certainly be excused in these circumstances.

[Invisible]

Kal? Our Weyrleader is insane. G’tet shared this with the dozing green while maintaining a neutral expression. It wouldn’t do to let the man know he was on to him. Although, surely, after a comment like that he would have to believe everyone thought him insane. That’s bad news? Kalpeth, tired as she was, couldn’t make out exactly what insane meant. Yes, Kal. Bad news indeed. If this gets out who knows what will happen. And, it likely will considering who all is here.

Outwardly G’tet blinked once and looked away from the Weyrleader to judge everyone else’s response. He was not going to say a word in reply to what was said. Let someone else point out the problems in that command. The main one being it’s already happened before we were all born. Aren’t we born? I certainly do not recall what being unborn felt like.

[neopanther]

P'nset nodded towards B'nek, the man was always reliable in that sense, he hadn't missed much he was assured, but J'fel continued to divulge as to what he had missed, and swiftly moved on. P'nset took it in quickly as he always did. He listened. But what he heard made no sense.

Moreta's plague? As in, the plague that Moreta fought so hard to vanquish from their continent? The one that was supposedly brought in from a southern cat? A creature of Myth? Too many questions whirred about in his head,
{So it has nothing to do with the Caminar them mine...}
So it would seem, instead we are a task force that are heere to try and correct a problem that Moreta herself fought so hard to overcome. P'nset sounded down.
{Mine, wee have some of the fiercest minds in that room before you, there is no reason we cannot come to understand this.}
Ah, but - why? I've not heard of any significant number rof people, dragons, or ever herdbeasts dying due to an unknown ailment...

P'nset looked up at J'fel, the man spoke with an authority alien to his-self. P'nset thought carefully on how to word it, and he broke the silence.

"I could be mistaken J'fel, however, I've not heard of any substantial ailments, enough to be considered the plague level of intensity that our Lady Moreta faced." He paused, "The only ailments in Pern seem to be the mising Plantado children." P'nset was careful not to upset the apple cart here. He knew there were people in this room that likely suspected the Caminar of being the kidnappers. But he would not call his own kind guilty until they were proven to be.