From:
"Andrew" <lawman67@earthlink.net> Date: Tue Oct 8, 2002 1:45
pm Subject: [DL-T] Something Wicked This Way Came
Day 5
Evening.
Eth'n sighed as Warton circled over Telnor. It didn't seem right returning
without Mae. This was their home, and he had planned on building a future
here ... with her.
They landed a short distance from the warren offices, and Eth'n wondered
what he should do next. He knew that Ann and Mari should be told at once,
but he just couldn't imagine being the one to tell them. His stomach
growled and he realized that he hadn't had anything to eat the entire day.
He'd tell them after he had dinner.
Turning away from the offices, he set off for the dining hall.
Absentmindedly, filling a tray with food, he glanced around the hall. He
saw the strangely dressed "knight" who had assisted in the rescue the
previous evening sitting alone. He decided to join him.
"Mind if I sit here?" Eth'n asked, plopping his tray down on the table
before waiting a response.
Darius regarded the younger man, remembering him from the rescue work the
previous evening, though not knowing his name. "Help yourself" he said, his
accent adding to his 'outsider' appearance.
"I'm Eth'n -- the trainer here. Thanks for all your help, last night! I'm
sure we would have had some more serious casualties if you hadn't been
there,." Eth'n remarked. "I'm sure I haven't seen you around before,
though, I admit I'm fairly new to Telnor -- and it is a rather large
warren."
"My name is Darius" he replied in between a swallow of his steak and a heavy
pull on his wine. "Last time I was in Telnor was probably not too long
before you were born."
"Ah, then that would explain things... and I wasn't born in Telnor, so no
chance of my knowing you, then," Eth'n grinned. "So... what brings you
back, and from where?" Eth'n asked, good naturedly.
Darius' look saddened a bit, then as he pushed the memories aside, he
replied. "I've always lived nearby, about two hours by dragonflight. I was
tracking a trio of wraiths when one of your young riders decided she was
ready to play in the big leagues. I was in the right place at the right
time."
Eth'n raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the older man, "You have a dragon,
yes? I thought I saw you with one.... You were part of Telnor once, why
did you leave, only to live a few hours away?"
Darius took another heavy pull on his wine, downing the rest. He then
refilled his glass and took another sip before replying. "I was a rider
here, though honestly I spent more time away than at the warren. I was a
wraith hunter, and would go out for weeks at a time, tracking them, and
killing them." Feeling the pain of memory coming back, he downed the
contents of his glass again, his fourth that evening.
"So, you started staying away for longer and longer periods? And eventually
just stopped returning?" Eth'n asked.
"Not quite" he said, the wine taking the edge off. "I was married, and
where I come from, a man does not EVER share his woman. I came home one
night to find my wife in the throws of dragonlust with another man."
"Oh... your trainer didn't explain to you about... that?" Eth'n asked,
fearful to find out the outcome of the encounter, which obviously led to
either the man's being banished from the warren, or at least voluntarily
leaving Telnor.
"Trainer? I dno. I knew the effects, but Larin and I ALWAYS won the chase
when Tzessra went into heat, and I was always away when the other females
did. When it finally happened, I wasn't prepared, and well, I have always
had a rather short temper. I butchered that poor rider, I just couldn't
stop. I hacked and hacked until even the bed was a pile of rubble, and then
I went away."
Eth'n gagged, his eyes growing wide. His appetite was suddenly gone.
"Well.... I can certainly understand why you went away.... Are you planning
on going away again?"
Darius downed another glass of wine and filled it again, the big man not
showing any signs of drunkenness. "Mae asked me to stay, but the memories
here are quite painful. I've been gone for almost 20 years, but
those years are nothing to the power of memory."
"I can imagine... those certainly are memories that would last a
lifetime...," Eth'n stared at the older man, wondering what had possessed
Mae to ask him to stay. What if he decided to kill another dragonrider?
"So... are you staying?" Eth'n asked, not sure if he'd like the answer.
"I don't know. Even without the past, Larin and I have been on our own a
very long time now, and are quite set in our ways. Though seeing that young
rider rush into something way over her head, I'd wager you have a serious
shortage of riders experienced in dealing with the, how shall I say, hazards
of the job."
"Hunting wraiths is something I myself have very little experience in,"
Eth'n admitted. "I've had few personal encounters with the creatures, and
here I am supposed to train these new riders on how to become a dragonrider,
whose primary responsibility will be killing wraiths...." Eth'n's eyes
narrowed, speculatively, "Hey, you wouldn't care to demonstrate some
techniques to my class, would you?"
"I can do better" he began, a youthful glint in his eye. "I can take them
to a cave complex 3 hours from here, where they can see the real thing."
Darius reached for his cup, then his hand trembling a moment, pulled it
back. "Its dangerous business, but in my day, we believed that the best way
to control wraith activity, was to aggressively hunt and kill them. I've
been doing just that these past seven years since their return to the
Lands."
"Well... yes... when their dragons are flying and able to carry them, I
suppose that might be good...," Eth'n sounded doubtful, worrying that
seeing the real thing before they were even trained in basic flaming
techniques might not be a good idea. "But I wouldn't mind a demonstration
myself. How do you know where to find the wraiths? I mean, that's why we
have patrols, because we never seem to know where the wraiths will strike,
so we have to watch everywhere.... and often even that isn't enough."
"Its not any particular method or rle, but rather an instainct. Its almost
as though I can smell them And in this particular cave complex, well sit
long enough, and they always turn up." Finally he picked up the wine again
and downed the glass. "I'll show you, if you are up to it."