Jerram
(late evening, Day 9 - after the fight)

     Jerram surveyed the scene of the fight with a practiced eye.  After 
knocking "Wargh the Swordsman" to the ground, he'd rushed over to see if 
anyone needed help.  He'd been more than a little pleasantly surprised to 
find out that this was not the case.  The ruffians had given up the fight, 
and appeared to have no inclination to want to resume the battle.

     "Not bad, not bad at all," he muttered to himself, twirling his mustache 
thoughtfully.  Not bad at all, he thought, for a group of trainees.  Of 
course, he'd have expected Corwin to be able to handle himself well in a 
fight...he'd never met a sailor who couldn't.  But Elly had done far better 
than he'd have expected, not to mention Aitzan...he made a mental note to ask 
Saul about her when he returned from Whiteriver Warren.  If the girl had the 
slightest trace of dragon affinity about her, he'd make sure that she stood 
as a candidate when Varaenna's yet-to-be-laid clutch was ready to hatch.

     And Gus...well, he'd figured that the streetrat must have learned to 
take care of himself on the streets of Cabral, but he wouldn't have figured 
the kid could handle himself this well against a gang of toughs like this.  
Despite himself, he was forced to feel a certain sense of...admiration, if 
that was the right word...for the streetrat.

     *Seyd, tell Varaenna about this.  We need some riders down here to put 
this bunch in the lockup.*

     [She is notifying some of the dragons to get their riders down there 
now,] Seyd replied.  [Her rider wants to know what's going on.]

     *Just tell her we had to take care of some rowdies who had a bit too 
much to drink,* he told the dragon.  *Tell her I'll give her a full report in 
the morning, but that under no circumstances are any of these characters to 
be released.  I'm sure there will be some charges to be pressed against them 
tomorrow.*

     He chose not to tell Tara - yet - what Iris had passed along to Seydor, 
that this had begun as an assault on Elly.  If he told her now, Tara would 
insist on dealing with the situation right away - including, very probably, 
holding a trial on the spot.  Jerram felt that as long as the ruffians were 
safely locked up, the situation would keep quite well until morning.  He 
still thought of himself as Tara's protector, and in his judgment she needed 
her rest.

    As the warren's reinforcements began to arrive, he decided on one more 
small touch that he felt was only appropriate.  Striding over to Wargh, he 
picked up the man's sword.  Holding it at each end, he brought it sharply 
down over his knee, snapping the blade cleanly in two.  He'd make it a point 
to stop by the lockup tomorrow and show it to the man, and inform him that he 
was now "Wargh the Half-Swordsman."  He also made a note to bring the man a 
toothbrush, along with a set of written instructions in it's use.

     Meanwhile, he noticed that Gus appeared to be injured.  The kid was 
trying not to show it, but Jerram knew what to look for.  He sighed, 
suspecting that for him at least, the fight wasn't over just yet.

/snip from Katrina's post/

"Are you all right?"

Her skin prickling with the sudden nearness of the voice, Gus spun around,
hands raising to defensive positions. Seeing Jerram, she relaxed slightly,
her hands dropping to her sides. It was only then that his words penetrated.

"Who, me?" 

Jerram made a face and Gus realized just how stupid that sounded, but he 
surely wasn't really asking her if she was all right, was he? 

"I'll live," she muttered.

"You still need to get checked out," Jerram grumbled. "Come on, I'll 
help...I'll make sure you get to the med center.  Knowing you, you'd try to 
wash that cut with seawater!" 

"I aint stupid and I don't need no healers."

Staggering only slightly, Gus turned and headed in the direction of the 
barracks. She hadn't gotten more than a couple of steps when Jerram grabbed 
hold of her arm. 

"You're bleeding, you're going."

Angrily, Gus tried to yank her arm away, but without using her stomach 
muscles, it just wasn't happening.  "Lookit, you can't really be as dumb as 
you seem so I'll talk slow for you. KEEP YOUR HANDS OFFA ME!"  She tugged 
again - and failed to break free.  "I aint bleedin that bad - it'll stop 
soon, so I aint goin!"

Jerram exhaled gustily.  "Trainees are my responsibility, so..." 

Without further warning, he heaved her up and over his shoulder.  Gus inhaled 
sharply at the jolt of pain that rushed through her - followed rapidly by 
shock, fear, anger, and a vague thought that the view wasn't so bad.  
Ruthlessly, she crushed all thoughts but that she HAD to stop this - and NOW. 
 One brief twist against his grip proved to her that a) he had a really 
strong grip and b) breaking free like that was gonna cost more pain than she 
was willing to pay - yet. Thumping her fists against his back, she tried to 
kick, but he'd thought ahead and had one hand keeping her legs still.

"Put me down, you sonofabitch!  Jerram!  Dammit, I aint that hurt and I don't 
need a healer."

Jerram ignored both her increasingly vulgar protests and the fists pounding 
heavily against his back and marched determinedly to the Med Center.  Once 
there, he unceremoniously dumped her in front of the door.

"Fine. If you aren't hurt, I'm sure they can find that out. My job is done," 
he snapped and stalked off, muttering to himself.

/end snip/

     "Why the hell do I bother?" he asked himself, sitting down heavily on a 
bench not far from the entrance to the med center.  Looking up, he saw a pair 
of luminous eyes approaching from the darkness, surrounded by a huge outline 
that moments later resolved itself into the shape of his dragon, Seydor.

     [You aren't hurt, are you?] Seyd asked.

     Jerram laughed ruefully.  *No,* he assured his dragon.  *It would take 
somebody a lot better than that half-assed swordfighter to put a nick on me.*

     [Then what's wrong?] the dragon inquired.

    *Nothing...well, yes, something,* Jerram told the dragon.  *Gus.*

     [Loki's rider?] Seydor asked.  [Hm, it seems like every time you get in 
trouble, he's involved somehow.  Though from what the other dragons told me, 
he was quite blameless on this one.]

     *That's not what's bothering me,* Jerram said.  *What's bothering me 
is...well, why I take the trouble to keep trying with him.  Every time I look 
at that little streetrat, my inclination is to hustle him through training as 
quickly as possible and get him into the wing.  From then on, he'd be 
Shawnee's problem, not mine."

     [Yes, you do say that all the time,] Seyd agreed.  [But that's not the 
way you really feel, is it?]

     *No, and I don't understand it,* said Jerram, twirling his mustache in 
frustration.  *Every time I make up my mind to do just that - like when that 
nutty dragon of his all but landed on me - something stops me.  There's 
something about him...something that screams at me that he needs my 
attention, and that something very important will be lost if I don't give it. 
 But I don't have a clue what it is...do you?*

     [Me?] the dragon chuckled.  [Rider, we dragons aren't very good at 
understanding human interactions as it is, and this problem you seem to have 
is way beyond me.]  He bent his neck down close to Jerram, a thoughtful 
expression on his draconic visage.  [Maybe it's like that old saying...the 
squeaky dragon gets the oil?]

     Jerram shrugged, standing up and stretching.  *Yeah, that must be it,* 
he decided.  *Well, I'm off to bed.  You coming?*

     [Squeak! Squeak!]

     Jerram whirled, his eyes wide with surprise.  *Now??* he demanded.  *Do 
you know what time it is?*

     Seyd cocked his head.  [Well, in case you haven't noticed, I *am* 
covered with sand and grit from helping our queen out earlier in the hatching 
cavern.  

     Jerram groaned.  *Couldn't it wait till tomorrow?*

     Seyd snorted.  [I'm sure that Makayla's rider saw to her needs right 
away.  I didn't bother you earlier because I knew you were busy, but...]

     Jerram chuckled in resignation.  *Okay, okay, let's go!]

* * * * * * * *
(Day 10, training field)

     *Are they all waiting?* Jerram asked Seyd as he headed toward the field 
where the young dragons were awaiting their first riders-on flight.

     [Well, yes, more or less,] Seyd replied.

     *What do you mean by that?*

     [Well, they're there, but they seem to have found a new way to occupy 
themselves while waiting for you to arrive,] the blue dragon said.

     Jerram groaned inwardly.  *Don't tell me...Gus again!*

     [No, not really,] Seyd told him.  [But Loki, yes...Selene too, from what 
I can figure out.  Apparently, the two of them played some kind of trick on 
Iris, and none of their riders are very happy at the moment.]

     *Damn!* Jerram swore.  Those two again!  *Gods, I've never seen a pair 
of dragons like Loki and Selene!*

     [Hmmm, well, actually you have,] Seydor told him.  [Remember when we 
were at Geode?  Remember Flerrion, the dragon who led the wing from Daere 
Warren?]

     Despite himself, Jerram couldn't hold back a laugh.  *Oh, yes, quite 
well.* Actually, T'rell's dragon had seemed normal enough at the time, but 
from the dragon-gossip that Seyd had later passed along to him, Flerrion's 
"exploits" at Daere Warren were almost legendary.  It was, he reflected, a 
wonder that T'rell didn't guzzle anything stronger than coffee.  *Hm, you 
don't suppose that HE could be their sire, do you?*

     [I suppose we'll never know,] Seyd replied, clearly appreciating the 
joke.

/snip from Dana's post/

>>K'liam stood up, shouting curses and throwing mud at the small dragon. 

>>Giggling mentally, Loki swished his tail through the mud, spattering not 
only his target but several others as well. 

>>Corwin, noticing that Gus was the only non-spattered participant, had 
filled an extra-full bucket and swung it in Gus's direction.  

>>Gus grinned. "You'll never catch me, old man!" 

>>Unfortunately the handle snapped, and the bucket sprayed Burne and his 
rider K'liam. 

>>Gus was still sniggering at the others when Jerram strode around the corner 
and stopped, aghast at the remains of his training group. 

>>At that moment, K'liam's return mud ball sailed wide, heading straight for 
Jerram.

/end snip/

     *SPLAT*

     "Aaargh!!!" Jerram's roar would have been worthy of any dragon at Jasra. 
 He wiping the mud off of his face, he glared at the trainees.  All activity 
came to a stop, and the trainees suddenly seemed to take an extreme interest 
at whatever happened to be going on the ground at their feet, or up in the 
sky...anything that would allow them to avoid eye-contact with their trainer.

    Jerram's gaze fell onto Gus.  "You...you..." he spluttered.  Then he 
noticed K'liam standing just beyond, his muddy hand clearly showing who had 
thrown the offending mudball.

     "ATTEN-SHUN!!!" Jerram bawled.

     The trainee riders quickly assembled in a line in front of him, hands 
behind their backs as they stood at attention.  The dragons lumbered up 
behind them a moment later, to stand in a much longer line facing him.

     "Well, this is just *great*!" he snapped.  "You're supposed to be 
DRAGONRIDERS, not a bunch of children attending their first class in 
fingerpainting!! And yet, as soon as I leave you alone, what happens??"

     He stopped where he was and glared at the trainee before him, who just 
happened to be Dalaine.  "Well, what happens?" he demanded.

     "Um...well..." Lainie stammered.  "We...er, well..."

     "No, forget it!" Jerram growled, turning away from the line of trainees 
and throwing his hands up in the air.  "I'll TELL you...you start playing in 
the mud like a bunch of three year olds, that's what you do!!  Is THIS how 
you expect to become full-fledged dragonriders?  Well, let me tell you, 
kiddies, you ain't going to stop wraiths by throwing mud at them!!"

     He turned and once again began stalking up and down the line.  "I have 
no doubt that some of you would like nothing better than to be rid of me.  
Well, that isn't going to happen until *I* am satisfied that you are ready to 
take your places in the wing!!  And if that doesn't happen until you are all 
fifty years old, that's quite all right by me!!"

     The trainees gulped collectively, from which Jerram couldn't help but 
take a perverse pleasure.

     "All right," he said, feeling calmer now that he'd had a chance to vent 
his anger.  "As a result of this, the flights are postponed!"

     He held up his hands to still the cacophony of protests from the 
trainees.  "Contrary to what some of you may be thinking, this is *not* in 
punishment for my getting splatted with mud.  But the fact is, I am not 
sending these fine dragons up there ridden by riders who look like a group of 
walking mudpies!!  And by the time you get cleaned up, the winds coming in 
from the sea will be picking up...and neither you nor your dragons are yet 
ready to make landings under those conditions.  The winds won't be calm again 
until late this afternoon.  Be back here - *clean* - one hour before sunset!  
Until then...dismissed!!!"

     As the trainees started to disperse, Jerram spoke up again.  "Gus, Elly, 
Corwin, and Dalaine...it's my understanding that your dragons have 
volunteered to help our queen in the hatching cavern.  I'll trust you to be 
sure that they're back here in time!"  The dragons would, most likely, be 
rather sandy by then, but that didn't concern Jerram too much...at a warren 
where the dragons' favorite pastime was cavorting on the beach, sandy dragons 
were more the norm than the exception.  But he would *not* tolerate dirty 
riders!!

     "Elly, I need to see you," said Jerram, waving her over.  Elly came up 
to stand nervously before him.  Jerram gave her a reassuring smile.  "The 
Warrenlady needs to see you," he told her.  "About last night."

* * * * * * * *
Tara
(Warrenlady's office, shortly afterward)

    "You wanted to see me, Warrenlady?" Elly asked, after knocking at the 
door and having been admitted.

     Tara looked up from reading Jerram's report.  "Yes, Elly, I did," she 
said.  "Please, have a seat."

     Elly sat down and waited expectantly for Tara to speak.

     "I've been looking at the report that Jerram wrote about what happened 
at the beach last night," said Tara.  "Elly, are you all right?"

     "Yes, Tara, I'm fine," Elly replied, though Tara noted that she seemed 
rather uncomfortable in answering the question.

     Tara nodded.  "Look, I'll be upfront with this," she said.  "This Rufus 
person is locked up, as are his friends.  The question now is...what they are 
to be charged with.  They can't be held forever just for getting into a 
drunken brawl.  However, if there was some other crime for which they could 
be charged...or at least Rufus....it would be a different matter entirely.  
Elly, Jerram has some suspicions based on what Iris told Seydor...but being a 
dragon, there are certain things she can't be expected to understand.  
Depending on what Rufus did - or may have attempted to do - his punishment 
could be far more severe."

    Elly nodded, her face pale.

     "So," said the Warrenlady, sitting down.  "Just how *did* that fight 
begin last night?"

(Tag Dana) 
  
* * * * * * * *
(shortly afterward)

>>The two dragons, one red, the other metallic silver and black, disappeared
from Ismene skies.

>>Only one reappeared over Jasra.

>>Sh'ryton's curses could be heard nearly the entire way to the ground.


     [Tara, Maryaht has just teleported in from Ismene!] the queen reported.  
[He is very distraught!]

     *What happened?* Tara demanded.  *What's wrong?*

     [He and his rider were escorting Myacura and her rider from Ismene, but 
when they came out of teleport above the warren, Myacura wasn't with them!]
    
    *Get that rider up here, now!* Tara ordered.

    Moments later, Sh'ryton was brought in.  "What happened?" Tara demanded.  
"Where's Inagua?"

    "Warrenlady, I...I don't know," Sh'ryton admitted.  "We took off 
together, teleported together...but when we got here, Inagua and Myacura just 
weren't there."

     Tara sighed.  "Did you come from Ismene in a single jump?"

     Sh'ryton nodded, and Tara shook her head.  She hadn't known Inagua 
before the queenrider's arrival at Ismene from Geode, but she recalled 
hearing that Inagua had some difficulty with long-distance teleporting that 
served to inhibit her queen in that regard.  "Was she aware that it would be 
a one-jump teleport?"

     Sh'ryton nodded.  "Her queen had the image of this warren, just as my 
dragon did."

     "Damn!" Tara swore softly.  Why hadn't Inagua insisted on a series of 
short jumps?  Teleporting across multiple pockets, and the wastes that 
divided them, were a strain on any rider and dragon.  

     "I...I didn't know what else to do," said Sh'ryton.  "I'd thought of 
going right back and seeing if they were at Ismene, but I felt I'd better 
report here first."

     "No, you did right, Sh'ryton," said Tara.  "We'll need to organize a 
search, of course.  But for right now, the best thing you can do is to get 
back to Ismene right away and make sure that the two of them actually left.  
If not, inform the Dragonlady...and in either case, come right back and let 
us know what you find."

     "Yes, Warrenlady," said Sh'ryton, hurrying out to mount his dragon.

     *Varaenna, are Fayloth and Doshayne back yet?* Tara asked.

     [No, Tara, they haven't come back yet,] the queen replied a moment later.

    Tara rubbed her chin thoughtfully.  Even if they'd been back, she 
realized, they'd be of little help.  Saul, Shawnee, and their dragons were 
very capable - but they were from the "Lost Warrens," after all.  As 
incomprehensible as Tara found the whole notion, she knew that in that place, 
there were no magic pockets...the entire territory of the Lost Warrens was, 
in effect, one immense pocket of magic.  Her new Wingleader and Searcher 
didn't yet know the geography of this land, or where the various large and 
small pockets were located....or how to enter the fringes of the wastes, 
keeping to the areas where the magic remained strong enough to support their 
dragons and the fragile bond that connected them to their riders.  The same 
thing applied to her two couriers, Darlea and Ojean.  No, she decided, this 
search needed to be handled by experienced riders who were native to this 
warren.

     Who, then?  Liseth, the Wingsecond, was still in the med center.  Jerram 
would be ideal, but she resisted the notion of taking him away from the 
trainees right now...that, too, was an important job that she didn't want to 
see disrupted, especially now that the new riders were getting ready to fly 
for the first time.  So who...?

    She snapped her fingers as the idea came to her.  *Varaenna?*

    [Yes?]

    *Tell Hesperus to have his rider come up here - immediately!*

(Again, tag Dana - looks like Ed'wen will be leading the search for Inagua.  
He can conscript other riders as needed.)

Submitted by:

John

Tara & Varaenna
Jerram & Seydor
Jasra Warren

Trevor & Trissana, Cleft Warren
Wingleader T'rell & Flerrion, Daere Warren
Martyn & Havelok, Marrid Warren