Kellie
(after the return from the cavern)

     "There's a million things I ought to be doing," Kellie said, as she and
Turner dismounted from the freshly-scrubbed Varie.  "But right now I don't
feel like doing any of them."

     Turner took her by the hand and led her into the apartment.  "There *is*
one thing you need to do," he told her.  "Ribbon-cutting ceremony!"

     Kellie's eyes widened.  "Ribbon-cutting...my shower!" She all but danced
for joy when Turner gestured over to the bright red ribbon that stretched
across the bathroom door.  "Oh, how long I've waited for this!"

     "Well...I'd *hoped* you might have been waiting for something else, too?"
the smith said, smiling suggestively.

    "Oh, that too!" she said, taking his knife from him and rushing over to
cut the ribbon.  "But if I got into bed right now, the sheets would end up
smelling like soot from dragon-flaming, just like I do!"

     The ribbon parted quickly, and Kellie rushed into the bathroom.  "Oh
Turner...it's *beautiful!*" she cried, as she beheld his handiwork.  Not only
was the shower nearly twice as large as it had been before, but it even had a
shelf cut into the stone at about chest-height to hold soap and other useful
items.  She turned around and hugged Turner tightly.

     "Oh, now, you shouldn't have gone and done that!" he chided her.

     "Why not?"

     "Well, because now *I* smell like soot and ash.  Hmmm...guess that means
when you test out your new shower, I'll have to test it out with you!"

     "The more the merrier, I suppose," she agreed, as she began to strip off
her soot-stained riding leathers.  "Maybe we should invite Varie in too!"

     <Oh, could I, my rider?> Varie teased.

     *No, dear...Turner's all mine for tonight, I'm afraid.  Go and find
yourself some nice dragon to cuddle with, why don't you.  But make sure you
pick one that doesn't smell like soot.  I don't want to have to scrub you
again tomorrow morning!*

     She wasn't sure just what Turner had done to the piping, but the water
coming from the hot spring down below seemed *hotter* than usual when she
turned on the tap.  She almost moaned with pleasure, closing her eyes and
letting it caress her.

     Her eyes snapped open when something *else* began to caress her.
"Turner! I didn't even hear you come in!"

     "Good workmen learn to move around quietly, so as not to disturb their
clients," he reminded her with an impish grin on his face.  "Hey, that water's
HOT!  That new insulation I used really did the trick, didn't it?"

     She turned her hear around to kiss him as he began to lather soap onto
her.  "It did indeed, O Master-Builder!" she chuckled.  "Do you know any other
tricks you might wish to impress me with tonight?"

     "I've got a million of them," he assured her.  "And if you're *really*
nice to me, I might even show you one or two this evening!"

(Tag Barb)

* * * * * * * *       
Trevor
(next morning)

     He woke up to find Cynthia gone, and wondered how late he'd slept.
Judging by the amount of light that was streaming in through the doorway that
led out into Syren's part of the apartment, it must have been quite a bit
later than was usual for him.

     He yawned, sitting up in bed.  Suddenly the outside light was blocked out
and as Trissana slipped her head through the doorway.  The pearl dragon
regarded him fondly for a moment, and the corners of her mouth curled up into
a broad smile.

     <Good morning, my rider!> she said cheerfully.  <You should be up and
about!  It's a beautiful day out, and you've already missed part of it!>

     Trevor rubbed his eyes, wondering how he had managed to become joined to
a "morning-dragon."  For his own part, he was pretty much useless until he'd
had his first cup of coffee.  *And a good morning to you,* he told her.
*Where's Cynthia?*

     <Oh, Syren's rider left *ages* ago,> she informed him.  <It seems that
Syren had some complaint about the hatching cavern, and she had to go out and
see to it.>

     Trevor couldn't help but laugh when he heard about the nature of Syren's
complaint.  *Well,* he told her, *it's easy to see that you two are related!*

     <My rider, what are we going to do today?>

     *Um, I'm not sure,* he admitted.  *Has that Nomad woman been found? The
one who was kidnapped last night?*

     <No, my rider.  They're still out searching for her.>

     Trevor nodded glumly.  He'd wanted to go out and join the searchers last
night, but Cynthia wouldn't hear of it.  Trissana, she'd explained, hadn't had
time to build up her wing muscles yet, and the young dragon had probably
overworked them from all of the unexpected flying she'd been called upon to
do.  The Warrenlady had been quite clear that Triss wasn't to fly any farther
than the feeding grounds today - if she could manage even that much.

     *How do your wings feel?* he asked.

     Triss slowly extended them, and winced.  <Oooh, they hurt when I do
that!>

     *Just keep them folded, Cupcake, until they're not sore anymore.*  He'd
have to run over to the med center and see if S'lomon had any linament that
worked well on dragons.  *I guess, for today, we're sort of at loose ends.*

     Triss blinked in confusion.  Up until now, her days had been filled with
training, or with all the other little things entailed with getting herself
situated in the warren.  She'd never been at "loose ends" before, and she
found the prospect a bit unsettling.

     <You mean...we don't have *anything* to do?>  she asked.  <What am I
going to do all day?>

     *Just take it easy, I suppose,* he told her.  *I'm sure there'll be
plenty for us to do tomorrow, when you can fly again.*

     He came over and looped an arm around the top of her neck, and she
nuzzled him in return.  *Look at it this way,* he told her.  *Look at it this
way...now that Syren's moved down into the hatching cavern, you've got the
queen's ledge all to yourself! Not many dragons get a privelege like that!*

     <Well, I suppose that *is* something,> she agreed as he headed for the
stairs.

* * * * * * * *

     After making his obligatory stop at the dining hall for his coffee,
Trevor went to find Cynthia.  She was, as he'd expected, in her office.  "You
were up early," he observed.

     Cynthia filled him in on what had happened this morning, adding a few
choice comments about grumpy queens which quickly had Trevor laughing.
"Thanks," Cynthia said.  "Remind me to laugh at you sometime!"

     "Sorry...but I *do* find it a bit funny that Syren could be so upset
about a rock."  It reminded him, in fact, of the story Turner had told him,
about how Triss had been so convinced that her new bed would be too small for
her.

     "Actually, so do I," Cynthia admitted, then looked back down at the
papers covering her desk.  "Anyway, do you have any ideas for narrowing our
search for these rogues?"

     Trevor nodded, and pulled out one of his omnipresent maps.  He'd had
plenty of opportunity last night to consider the problem after his return from
the cavern.  He laid the map - a small-scale rendering of the explored
portions of the Nomadlands - down on her desk.  "I've marked the places that
have been patrolled so far on this map.  I'll continue to mark as the patrols
report in where they've been."

     Cynthia pointed to the mountain range to the north, the one where they'd
been to yesterday.  "If they've found a cave up here to hide in, they will be
very hard to find."

     "I agree," he said.  "Bt if we're vigilant and lucky, we'll see a dragon
leaving or returning."

     "If we're not lucky," Cynthia observed, "we'll be looking for awhile.

     "There's something else," he said.  "The place where Ankara was taken was
*way* the heck south of here...if the rogues are up in those northern
mountains, then what was she doing down there?"

     Cynthia shook her head.  "Good question."

     "And one more thing...that cavern we were in yesterday didn't look as
though it had ever been lived in...I think their real base is somewhere far to
the south...probably in some area we're not patrolling yet."

     The Warrenlady looked closely at the map, nodding.  "But we still have to
keep watch on those mountains," she decided.  "They may come back there again.
And they may not have taken Ankara back to their main retreat."

     "In other words, about all we can do is what we've been doing," Trevor
said.

     "Yes, and if we had fifty more dragons and riders, we still wouldn't have
enough," she sighed.

     Trevor thought for a moment.  "There *is* one other thing," he added.
"Triss spoke to that yellow dragon, the one who dived on us outside the
cavern...and apparently the same one involved in the kidnapping.  There hasn't
been an opportunity to really find out whether she really can home on other
dragons...but if she really can, maybe that's how we could find them.   I know
she isn't supposed to do much flying today, but maybe tomorrow I could borrow
one of our dragons and riders for a bit to do a few tests..."

* * * * * * * *
Trissana
(on Syren's ledge)

     When the loud *thump* shook the floor beneath her, Trissana welcomed the
interruption to her tedium.  <Syren?> she asked.  <What happened?>

     <Nothing important,> the queen replied.  <One of the humans just did
something that got rid of that piece of rock I didn't like.  The hatching
cavern looks much better now!>

      Triss replied.  <Syren, I have a problem...>

     <Yes, dear, what is it?>

     <Well...I don't have anything to do! I'm bored!>

    Syren chuckled.  <Since you will never have to spend your days confined to
a hatching cavern, you'll never know the *real* meaning of boredom, Trissana.>

     Triss raised her eyeridges.  <Really? I always thought queens led very
exciting lives!>

     Again, the queen's chuckle wafted up from below.  <Well, then, you should
have no problem!> she advised.  <You're using my ledge, are you not?>

     <Well, yes.>

     <Then pretend you're me for today.  What do you think a queen does?>

     <Um...runs the warren?>

     <In a manner of speaking,> the queen answered.  <Actually, my rider
attends to all of the small details that humans trouble themselves over, so
you don't need to worry about those.>

     <Oh...all right,> Triss said.  <Then...just what *do* you do?>

     <You keep an eye on *your* domain,> Syren told her.  <When other dragons
are having difficulties, you advise them.  When real problems occur, a queen
may need to give orders...but you don't need to worry about that either.  If
there's any sort of problem either Tymor or I will deal with it.>

     Trissana giggled back at the queen.  <In other words, I should sit out on
your ledge and keep out of trouble, is that it?>

     <That is *exactly* it,> Syren agreed.  <Now, if you will excuse me, there
is something very important I have to do!>

     As the queen broke the contact, Triss settled herself back out on the
ledge and gazed out over Cleft Warren.  Actually, because it was situated so
close to the floor of the canyon, the queen's ledge didn't really provide the
best view of things - her own ledge (if it *ever* got finished - would provide
a much more scenic spot to observe things from.  Still, this *was* the ledge
from which the senior queen oversaw the warren, and that made it a very
important place indeed.  And since she seemed to have plenty of time on her
claws at the moment, she decided to indulge herself.  She lay down and gazed
out over the warren, and imagined what it must be like to be a queen...

     And, of course, if any dragons *did* see fit to ask for her advice, she'd
be only too happy to provide it!

* * * * * * * *
Trevor

     After leaving Cynthia's office,he went to the med center to visit J'errid
and R'bert.  The wingleader was recovering from his knife wound, but S'lomon
was reluctant to say just when he'd be able to return to duty.  Seeing R'bert,
on the other hand, left Trevor deeply troubled.  The ex-rider did little more
than stare at the ceiling when Trevor tried to talk to him, and gave back only
one-word answers - if he answered at all.  Even when he looked at Trevor, he
seemed to be staring at something *beyond* him.  And Trevor had the unsettling
feeling that he knew what the man was seeing - that same terrible darkness
he'd seen at the edges of his vision when Trissana had been so close to making
that final teleport to nowhere.

     As he walked down the corridor after leaving R'bert's room, he realized
that his visit had perhaps given him an insight he hadn't had before.
C'aranth, if the rumors about him were true, had once lost his own dragon and
had therefore been just as R'bert was now.  Maybe, he reflected, some of the
things C'aranth did only seemed incomprehensible to others because they
*hadn't* been there...like taking the scale from that dead wilder.

    Almost without realizing it, he found himself knocking at the door to
C'aranth's room.  As soon as C'aranth had given permission to enter, he opened
the door.  The man was lying in bed, heavily bandaged and looking much the
worse for wear.

     "I just thought I'd stop in and see how you were," Trevor told him.

     C'aranth shrugged.  "I have been better, as you can see.  So...are you
here also to lecture me as Lenna did?"

     Trevor blinked.  So Lenna had been here before him?  He'd have to ask her
later what she'd found out, if anything.

     "No," he replied, as a sudden inspiration struck him.  "I came to give
you something."

     C'aranth raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

     Trevor reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, shiny object about
the size of the palm of his hand.  It was a dragon scale.

     "One of Trissana's," he said.  "Young dragons shed them pretty fast
during their first week or so.  I just happened to have kept this one."  He
leaned over and laid it on the bed within C'aranth's reach.  "I was the one
who took that scale away from you in the cavern after you passed out," he
said.  "I had to do it, of course...the dragons wouldn't take you while you
were carrying it, and we couldn't leave you up there to die.  Still, I
understand you...um, collect these things...so I thought I should do something
to replace the one I took."

(Tag Darren)

     Trevor was just leaving the med center when Trissana's excited thought
entered his mind.  <My rider! My rider!  There are eggs on the sands again!
Syren has laid her eggs!!>

     That brought him up short.  *Wonderful!* he said.  *Where is Syren's
rider, Triss?*

     <Syren says that she is with her, in the hatching cavern,> Triss replied.

     Trevor headed for the hatching cavern at a dead run.  He found Cynthia
inside, sitting near Syren as the queen lay curled around her eggs.   Syren
looked sharply in his direction, and hissed.

     Cynthia saw him enter, and hurried over to him.  "She's a bit snappy
right now," she told him.  "Queens are like that when they've got a clutch on
the sands, you know."

     He grinned.  "Oh, I know all about that," he replied.  "Tymor almost got
Turner and me both on my first day here," he said.

     "But you got the last laugh on her," Cynthia replied.  "After all, you
did get one of her eggs!"

     Trevor nodded, looking in wonder at the clutch of eggs.  "I wonder who
will get these," he mused.

     "Time will tell," she replied, looking back in the same direction.

     "I think this calls for a celebration," he said, putting his arm around
her shoulder and drawing her in close for a kiss.  "I've got this bottle of
*very* old wine I brought with me from Ralengarde when I came here..."  He
held up his other hand, showing her the bottle.

     Cynthia's eyes widened.  "I still can't believe how much you managed to
bring here with you on that skinny horse!"

    "I believe in bringing necessities," he said.  "Never know when something
like this will come in handy."      

     He quickly opened the bottle and poured out two glasses.  "A toast!" he
said.  "To the proud mother!!"

     Cynthia took the glass he offered, and touched it to his.  "A toast," she
said softly.

     Trevor looked over at the eggs.  "That big brown one...never seen one
quite like it before.  Does Syren know what it is?"

     Cynthia shook her head.  "Not yet," she told him.  "Maybe later on she
will."

     Trevor's attention was drawn to the large egg in the center of the
clutch, pearly white with gold flecks.  He looked back at Cynthia and smiled.
"But that one...is that what I think it is?"

(Tag Alton)

NRPG:

Just a short one, to keep Trevor up with everyone else.  I'm waiting for one
more thing to happen before I do another post with Khazeen...and then, as
Alton said, things will probably start to happen rather quickly...!

Submitted by:

John

Trevor & Trissana
Kellie & Varie
Cleft Warren