[Glynweith, on the way to Eos, Evening, Day 2]

"There..."  Glynweith said, twitching the last fold of silk into place
before looking into Bryn's eyes.  "That's perfect...  Come and see yourself
in the mirror, my dear...  Oh, that Darril could see you like this..."

Darril's young woman blushed shyly before turning to see herself in the
mirror.  The gown was beautiful, tailored by a small army of
Ladies-in-Waiting who had, indeed, been waiting at the Inn where they
arrived.  In a few short days, Bryn would have a wardrobe worthy of a
princess -- or a Duchess, Glynweith laughed silently to herself.

The child was so freshly innocent, so sweet, that Glynweith, who had been
helping the girl out of her concern for Darril, found that she liked Bryn
for herself...  And wanted to help the girl in any way possible.

Glynweith didn't delude herself that Gerard would allow his brother to wed
the lovely Bryn, even if the girl was carrying Darril's child.  So...  She
needed to camouflage Bryn as something that Gerard would find acceptable.

"What do you think, my lady?"

"I'm not --"

"While you're in my company, you are."  The black-clad Duchess' sad green
eyes glowed with a sudden pleasure.  "In any case, who is going to gainsay
the Duchess of Eos?  If I say you're a Lady, you are, and that's all there
is to it."

Wylla giggled from the door of the sitting room.

"Please, Bryn.  It gives Glyn here so much pleasure to do this for you,
don't fight it."

Glynweith threw her chief Lady-in-Waiting/bodyguard a disgusted look and
then laughed.  "True, in a world where it seems that nothing is true or
real...  Your love for Darril is such a gift...  Please let us help."

-----
[Haedin Meradh]

"You always find a way to lay the blame on someone else. You should take
credit where credit is due you, my dear."

Coneta looked disconcerted by that, as though she had never even considered
that *she* might in any way be responsible for Gerard's actions.

Haedin smiled.  "Now, Tevran tells me that you're doing well.  Do you enjoy
serving him."

Coneta flushed, reacting just to the sound of Tevran's name, and Haedin
held back from mocking laughter.  Oh, Tevran.  Since she wouldn't join the
cause on her own, subversion might actually work.  Haedin's finger slid
gently along the back of Coneta's hand, petting lightly.

"Your first lesson from me, pet, is that you must always be aware of the
effects of your actions... and the actions of others upon you.  Tomorrow
evening, I want a *written* report concerning how *your* actions in the
past seem to have affected Gerard...  And whether you think he would react
the same way now.  We will discuss it after dinner, where you *will* come
down, of your own free will, wearing whatever Tevran selects for you."

"Yes...  My Lord."

He looked at her and smiled gently before placing a brief, chaste kiss upon
her lips.

"Serve well and be rewarded, pet.  Learn everything you can.  Return to
Tevran and complete those tasks he sets for you, as well."

Coneta's pale skin flushed again and he smiled.  "Sleep well, pet."

------

[Rhiannon, Morning, Day 3]

Ce'lot nodded, "Yes. I decided it was best .. under the circumstances. I
wanted to find Belarade and not get thrown out on our ear .. or worse yet
killed for .. being other then we were .." Ce'lot hoped she would
understand, "We came on horseback, not dragonback. And I'd hoped to leave
within the hour  .. We were stopped by the storm. Gerard heard we were
there and insisted on us joining him for dinner. I .. missed him. B'lin,
Carlynee, Halyn and Belarade had dinner with him and the Duchess while I
waited .. well away from Gerard." He shrugged, "It was a long ride and I
was tired."

"I understand," Rhia said calmly.  Damn her Alpha Wingleader for a fool,
but there wasn't a lot that could be done about it.  Bella was perfectly
safe in the Duchess' company and Menia could be trusted to know whether her
rider was in immanent danger... but after coming so close to loosing her
junior Queenrider, Rhia didn't have a great deal of emotion to spare for
her irritation. "I will chat with the others. I'd like to hear what they
all have to say."

Ce'lot nodded, "We left first thing in the morning .. before Gerard was up
so we didn't see him." He left out the embarrassment of morning, though he
was pretty sure b'lin would feel the need to share it with the WarrenLady
--Regardless of whether it was necessary or not.

"You didn't find anymore refugee's on the way back?"

"No, however we picked up a friend of Halyn and Iralyn's out of Lotherra."

Rhia nodded thoughtfully.  "Okay.  Now, to the current problem.  Sarilyn
has just received a letter from her... father... regarding a gathering that
may become dangerous to the Warren."

"From Aelxirn?" asked Chalia, surprised.

"Yes.  He claims that Lady Tellari has a Queen..."  Her voice drifted off. 
"Actually, he didn't say that, but he says that she's got a female dragon
laying eggs, and that Lady Tellari, Lord Meradh, and the erstwhile Lord of
Lotherra intend to make mischief.  There are eggs on the sands, apparently,
even as we speak."

"You're joking," said Ce'lot.  Rhia shook her head.

"No joke, friends.  For now, they're not doing anything...  The winter
storms have started, so they're less likely to do much -- if anything -- at
this season, but once spring arrives..."  Rhia frowned.  "I want the
patrols to pay particular attention to the lands surrounding the Tellari
estate -- just to see if they can pick up anything, but...  We can't afford
to linger there any longer than normal, lest they get the idea that we know
about them."

"Aye, Lady."  That was from Chalia, who's hair swished softly as she nodded
her head.  "Revel and Venith reported that they'd seen a rather large
caravan heading toward Tellari recently, but I hadn't thought anything of
it, as they seem to do a lot of trade there...  But now that you mention
it, it may just be a bit heavy on the 'animal husbandry' side, given the
actual sizes of the herds..."

"Huh."

"For the moment, I just wanted you to know the situation.  I would like
current Wing reports and a summary of ideas on what you think we should do
within the next day or so.  You're dismissed..."  Rhia smiled a bit, "Ilara
and I have a lot of paperwork to do."

-----
[Tevran]

Tevran came awake to the exquisite sensation of a gentle hand caressing his
almost painfully erect member and smiled slightly at Coneta's burgeoning
understanding of her duties.

"Mouth," he commanded softly, gently, looking into her blue eyes as he
captured her teasing hand.  "Now."

The Lady of Lotherra hesitated slightly, blonde hair down in a golden
tangle that drifted like raw silk against her breasts and he caressed her
lower lip gently with his free hand.

"Service and reward, sweet..."  His finger trailed down to her collarbone
and then to her breast as Lothar's wife knelt beside him and obeyed his
command.


------
[Haedin, breakfast]

"So, I take it you have a plan?" asked Lothar as Dawn's gentle hands
massaged whatever kinks the man could have had out of his shoulder.

"I always have plans, Lothar."

"Where is my wife?"

Haedin smiled coldly.  "Learning her lessons, I should hope.  Despite
her... ways, you must have noticed that she is politically very savvy."

Lothar frowned and then nodded.  "Yes.  She's very good at helping me avoid
-- "

"Blunders?"  Lothar's frown deepened but he didn't deny that.  Haedin knew
that the man couldn't...  Coneta's charm and political skill was one of the
things that kept other nobles dealing with Lotherra.  "Your wife was more
resistant to my... persuasions... than I was expecting, but I believe that
she can be brought under our control...  She seems to know a great deal
about Gerard --"

"Treasonous, adultering bastard --"

Haedin refrained from pointing out that if Gerard was a bastard, Lothar had
to be as well.  Dawn kissed the man's ear gently, pressing young, full
breasts against his back and it was almost laughable how quickly the man
subsided.

"Adulterous?  Gerard?  I doubt that...  Though I have hopes..."

"What?"

"Lothar, what better way to... hurt... your brother, than to give him what
he most wants, other than Lotherra...  Give it to him and use it to siphon
off information that we can use.  Your wife is barren, whether by her own
hand or by nature, so you'll not have to support a bastard of Gerard's, and
I believe that she can get closer to him than anyone."  Haedin laughed
darkly.  "Imagine the look on his face, Lothar, when he finds out how
exquisitely she betrayed him...  Swearing undying love while yielding a
sweetly skilled body, and all the while sending every scrap of information
she can put her hands on to us...  It will twist the knife in his gut when
we kill him.  And when we're done, she *will* yield to you -- to anyone you
ask her to -- whenever you desire...  What better revenge could you have on
either of them?"


------
[Tevran]

He stroked Coneta's body idly while his heart rate calmed, keeping her
gently aroused, but not pushing her too far toward the need for release.

"Mmmm..."  He smiled into her eyes and kissed her sweetly, tasting himself
on her tongue.  "Not bad, sweet, but you must do better.  I suppose that
this is what we'll spend today working on...  I'll enjoy that..."  He
kissed her neck, caressing her with soft, gentle hands and Coneta moaned. 
"...and so will you..."


-----
[Haedin, dinner]

Sherri's scent traced the air as she swished by and he smiled.  She glanced
at him and smiled back, a private, seductive smile that sent a small curl
of heat through him.

A challenge.

"Innel says that it won't be long now. We need more people to join,   
urgently!" stressed  Sherri "Then Innel and her children will be free to   
provide support to your ground troops. If we wait a few months we will   
have lost the element of surprise but then the newly hatched dragons will  

be ready and trained. It is up to you my lords!"

He glanced up as Coneta came in, admiring Tevran's selection of gown.  It
was somewhat more concealing than the simple silk shift she had worn
before, but still screamed that she was readily available to any man who
cared to explore what was beneath her skirts.

Still, she carried herself like a queen, taking her place beside him
without argument or apparent unhappiness.

"Very good, pet.  You're learning..."  He nodded to one of his own
servants, and a small plate was brought with a simple wooden fork.  For
that performance, she would be allowed to feed herself.  He turned back to
Sherri and smiled faintly at the flash of something -- jealousy?  anger? --
something dark, anyway -- in her eyes.  She didn't approve of what he was
doing to Coneta, but that was no matter, Coneta was a tool whose edge had
been dulled by complacence, and he would hone her until it was bright.

"You're wrong, Lady Tellari.  If you don't approve of the girls in my train
or my soldiers, then it is up to you and your... riders... to find suitable
candidates.  Dragonriders take girls and boys from estates and farmsteads
all the time...  Go fetch some if you think you need them so badly."  The
subject was boring.  He didn't much care if they lost one or two dragonets
-- that dragon of hers mated at least twice per year, so it wasn't as
though more wouldn't be available later.  As it was, dragonets would take
some time to grow and train, and the weather...

As if echoing his thoughts, a cold wind slammed into the glass of the
windows and icy rain drove frigid spikes into the ground.  Haedin
considered the spectacle as lightning arced blue-white across the sky and
nodded to himself.  Winter had arrived.

"Whether the eggs are going hatch immediately is unimportant, Lady Tellari.
 Only a fool goes on campaign during the winter months, and neither Lothar
nor I are fools.  The information concerning aerial combat will be
useful... but keep in mind that we're not talking about dragons fighting
dragons, we're discussing using dragons against ground forces...  You will
have to modify the tactics to match..."  Haedin considered it for a moment.
 "What we really need to concentrate on is the other abilities of
dragons...  There must be something other than dragon fire that we can find
useful?"  He looked at Coneta and smiled, a warning clear in his eyes. 
"What do you think, pet?  How best could we use dragons against Gerard?"


-----
NRPG -- I would like to remind everyone that while Haedin is impressive,
he's not so impressive that his little spies can beat dragon flight for
information (not that he doesn't have dragonriders on his payroll, I'm sure
;).  So remember to wait a few 'days' before having him be aware of
something...  The information about Lecia came a day and a half later from
a series of couriers that killed several horses to get it to him.

Tag all.

-----
GENERAL MESSAGE:

Bridget will be dropping Chelea and Rivirn due to a RL lack of time. 
Hopefully she'll have enough time to post a wrap up with Rivirn :) 
Bridget, if you don't have the time to do so, tell me and I'll just ask
everyone to remove you from the list.

Oh, everyone, please remove freehaven@usa.net.  Leslie hasn't posted in
forever and isn't answering her email.
-----

Sam -- (if this doesn't bounce) do you want me to write out Ilara, or do
you have time to do it yourself?

Everyone, if Sam's addy starts bouncing, remove it from your mailing
list... I'm hoping we'll be able to wrap stuff up neatly before his account
goes bye-bye.

Jeanette, if you're able to do it, please send mail to say something about
whether you're going to be able to be back...

James -- could you send me mail on what your posting frequency is likely to
be like (just cause I'm curious).

Kris -- Hi!

Lisa, Sarsif -- I need to see some posts from y'all, okay?  If you're
having RL time problems, please send me some private email, just so I know
that you haven't dropped out, okay?


Respectfully Submitted,
Jill E. Flansburg
Rhiannon, Glynweith, Haedin, and Tevran

                 X-FILES                         DRAGONLANDS

  Assistant Director                     Rhiannon, WarrenLady  *Xylian*
  Sterling Kincaid, Team Leader, ECHO    Elswyth and Aedra   *Keldarra*
  Damien Cunningham, UD DELTA            Katla and Satinka *Whiteriver*
  Xan X. Xavier, Trainer, Classroom A    Zera and Mazel       *Norwall*

 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			      Vasaris, the Fuzzy Dragon
       Jill E. Flansburg	    |		            vasaris@az.com
       CS HMC 1994	          |		jflansbu@muddcs.cs.hmc.edu
       History, WWU 199?          |		vasaris@divcom.umop-ap.com
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