From:
"Arlene E. Jacobs" <wondermom@ij.net> Date: Wed Aug 28, 2002 2:13
am Subject: [DL-T] (JP) Knight in White Satin, Never Reaching the End.
Day 4
Early Evening
Before Hatching Party.
Zareena's mind broke into Mae's thoughts, which were rather scattered,
having so many things to deal with -- a hatching party to organize, a new
junior queenrider to get acclimated, and not to mention the mating flight of
the missing junior queenrider and the aftermath that had put a serious dent
in Mae's relationship with Eth'n.
<Mae, my love... I hate to bother you.> Zareena crooned.
<*No, you are never a bother. What is it?*>
<Thrayfar just contacted me. He says that B'Larin is worried about someone
that just arrived at the Medical Center.>
<*Who was injured?*>
<Fanta and her rider Shasta, and they are both at the medical center getting
treatment for wraith burns.>
<*Oh, dear....*>
<But they aren't the reason B'Larin is asking for you to come... it was the
man who escorted them in. Larin seems like a nice enough dragon, though.>
<*What warren are they from, Keldarra?*>
<No, they aren't from a warren.>
<*A rogue?*> Mae recalled all the troubles they'd been having with reports
of rogue attacks. If this was one of that band.... <*Tell Warton, Dalanth
and Cloud to have their riders meet me at the med center and have Thrayfar's
rider stay right where he is. We don't want that rogue rider to get away
before we find out a bit more about him.*>
Eth'n, H'nry and Storm were waiting with B'Larin when Mae arrived. They
waited for the rider to emerge from the medical center and when he did they
asked him to wait.
Darius walked out and saw the small group assembled to meet him, five in
total. Anywhere else he would have carefully weighed his odds, five to one,
but the others lacked the heavy armor. He also only needed to escape from
them, not defeat them; a much easier task. But he was not anywhere else, he
was in Telnor warren, where there were far more than five, with their
dragons no doubt ready.
Striking a defiant pose he held his head high and gazed right into the eyes
of the one who looked like the warrenlady, and said calmly, his accent a
touch unsettling "I have no quarrel with you."
"I certainly hope not," Mae stated, "since I've never met you before." Her
eyes took on the far-away expression of one conversing with a dragon.
"Oh... You apparently aren't a stranger to this warren, though a stranger to
myself," Mae looked at him with concern, "But I do have to thank you for
saving Shasta and Fanta. They would have died if you had not come to their
rescue."
He watched them all carefully for warning signs, confident that they were
too young to remember, but then his eyes dashed to B'Larin and the many
pints of beer and stories of his hunts came back from the depths of his
long-forgotten memories. This would be more difficult than he thought.
"No, I am not a stranger to this warren," was all he said in reply.
Mae nodded, "Are you Darius, rider of Larin, then?"
Darius nodded, replying "You have me at a disadvantage, Miss ....."
"I'm the Acting Warrenlady, Maedralyn, rider of Zareena," the young woman
answered. She held out her hand to shake his.
Apprehensively, Darius took her hand and shook it, careful to not squeeze
hard with his metal-gauntleted hand.
She smiled warmly, "Well, Darius, I guess I should say, 'welcome home.' Do
you mind, however, telling me how you managed to be at the right place at
the right time, to save Shasta?"
Darius looked confused. It had been a VERY long time since Telnor was home.
"I was tracking a group of wraiths for most of the morning, when your rider
suddenly appeared from the clouds and swooped down on one of them. She
couldn't have known about the other two, and took care of the first quite
skillfully. The second took care of her."
"Oh." Mae blanched. "Then I am very thankful that you were there to save
her. She is young and should have been out with a patrol partner... who
obviously must have missed his or her patrol...." She glanced back at H'nry
who nodded as if to say that it who ever had missed patrol would be
reprimanded. "But, if there is something I could do to thank you... write a
letter to your new warrenlady, perhaps?"
He looked at her again, then replied "I live alone." He looked quickly to
B'Larin and then back to Mae and added "Some wine, perhaps some repairs to
my armor would be much appreciated though."
Mae smiled at first a bit hesitantly, but then more broadly, "Well, wine we
will have plenty of. We just had a hatching. Why don't you join us in the
dining hall while your armor is being repaired?"
Darius nodded and said "Thank you kindly. Been twenty years since I've had
anyone else's cooking."
"I have a few other matters to attend to... but I look forward to talking
with you again later."
Darius nodded and headed over to the dining hall, matching B'Larin's gaze as
he passed.
B'Larin turned to Mae and motioned to her, "I need to tell you something
about.... him."
Mae's eyes widened, ad B'Larin told her about the wife and her murdered
lover.
"But he's been gone for 20 years... living alone! How tragic!" Mae
sighed, "Perhaps he's paid for his crime by his own self-punishment... and
in my book, his saving of Shasta and Fanta today repaid his debt to the
Warren."
***
In the Dining Hall during the party.
B'Larin stood silently for a moment next to the table where Darius sat
before he motioned toward a seat, "May I join you?"
Darius motioned at the seat with his hand, then said "A drink for a tale
like old times then?"
B'Larin grinned, "Old times!" And he sat. "You've been away a long time,
my friend. Your dragon has been missed... You shouldn't have run like
that."
Darius took a heavy sip of his wine, his first taste of spirit in a very
long time. "I didn't exactly have many options, B'Larin, I killed a rider."
"Yes, you did.... and I've talked to Mae about it. She seems to think that
your self-imposed exile has been enough of a punishment for you and your
dragon. And you've repaid your debt, Darius, by saving Shasta and Fanta
today." B'Larin answered.
"Its not that simple, many painful memories in this place, but I will
consider the offer.."
***
NRPG: A little backpost to place the events.
Summary:
Day 4 Early Evening Maedralyn gets word from Zareena that a rider and her
dragon have been injured and that a Rogue rider has brought them to the
warren. Having some back-up, she meets the rider outside the medical
center, only to have B'Larin recognize him. The rider, Darius, is invited
to remain for the hatching party.
Evening At the hatching party, B'Larin and Darius talk over drinks.
B'Larin mentions that Mae seems to feel that Darius would be welcome to
remain at Telnor, since his self-imposed exile and his saving of the dragon
and rider had repaid his debt for the murder of his former wife's lover.
***
Respectfully submitted by:
Arlene Jacobs
Playing: Maedralyn, Acting Warrenlady, rider of Zareena, of Telnor Warren
and
Andrew F.
AKA
Darius and Larin
Rogue Dragonrider