A Secret Arrangement

Writers: Estelle
Date Posted: 26th May 2018

Characters: Terren
Description: Terren meets with a mysterious late-night visitor
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 4, day 20 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: R'fal

Long after the other inhabitants of his cothold had retired for the
night, Terren sat up by the dim glow of the hearth, making the remaining
mouthfuls of liquor in his flask last as long as possible. The heat of
the last few days had given way to cooler weather, and he could hear the
steady hiss of rain outside. It wasn't heavy, but it didn't sound like
it was going to stop any time soon.

He took a scrap of hide from his pocket. There was no name or message,
only today's date, but Terren knew exactly what it meant. Despite the
rain and the warm bed awaiting him, he had to go out to the disused barn
as the edge of his property. It was typical of his luck lately that they
had picked the night when it rained...but it wouldn't be wise to ignore
the summons, and there might be a reward in it.

With a groan, he got to his feet and took down his jacket and a hat from
the row of hooks by the door. If he came to bed with wet hair, his wife
would ask what he'd been doing outside, and he didn't need to give her
any more cause to suspect him.

Outside it was very dark, with heavy clouds blocking the moonlight.
Cursing under his breath, Terren opened his glowbasket as far as he
dared and hurried down the track, his boots splashing through muddy
puddles. The rain soaked the collar of his shirt where the jacket didn't
quite cover it, and trickled in chilly lines down the back of his neck.

When he got close to the old barn, he stopped and closed the glowbasket,
then opened and closed it again several times in the agreed sequence,
hoping his visitor would be able to see it through the rain. He didn't
want to step into the building and find himself with a knife at his
throat. After a few moments, to his relief, there was a faint answering
flicker of light at one of the darkened windows, signalling that it was
safe to approach.

"Hello?" Rain drummed on the roof of the barn, and he could hear
dripping where there were leaks. It was so dark inside that he couldn't
make out the far wall, just the shadows of old wooden crates and a heap
of rotting feed sacks and broken tools. A floorboard creaked under his
boot, alarmingly loud. He raised the glowbasket. "Is anyone here?"

"Holder Terren." A man emerged from behind one of the stacks of crates.
He carried a glowbasket, too, and the cotholder could just make out his
features in the gloom. His face was deeply tanned and lined from many
Turns spent outdoors, the hair thin and cropped close to his skull, and
the nose a shade crooked, suggesting that it had been broken at some
time in the past. He moved with a fighter's confidence, and the eyes
were dark and pitiless.

Terren took a deep breath to make sure his voice would be steady when he
spoke. It wouldn't do to sound weak or nervous around a man of this
sort. "I got your message. Do you have a new...consignment that you want
stored?"

"We might do, but first there's a matter I want to clear up." The
visitor put down the glowbasket on top of one of the boxes and moved
closer, his eyes narrowing. Though he spoke softly, there was a subtle
threat in his tone. "What's this I hear about your boy being Searched?"

"S..searched?"

"Searched and Impressed. So I was told. But perhaps it's not true," he
continued implacably. "Rumours do circulate on the road. Perhaps you can
go and fetch him out here, and prove me wrong."

Terren glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the cothold, as if
Renfal might appear out of the darkness to rescue him. "I...um, I can't
do that."

"So it is true." For a moment, the man forgot himself enough to raise
his voice. "How could you let this happen? You've put us all at risk,
you star-cursed idiot!"

"It's not my fault," the holder protested, cringing. "The dragonriders
took him and there was nothing I could do to stop them. Would you have
argued with a bronze dragon?" he asked, a note of defiance creeping into
his voice.

"A bronze?" There was a flicker of suspicion in the cold eyes. "I didn't
know bronze pairs went on Search."

"I think they were escorting the greenrider." Shards - he wished he
hadn't mentioned the bronze. If they found out the rider might be kin to
the Lord Holder... "I protested, you can be sure of that, but I was
overruled. In this Hold, a man hasn't got a say over what happens to his
own children any more."

"That's none of my concern. What matters to me is whether the Weyr finds
out about our little arrangement," the other man said grimly. "They say
that what the rider knows, the dragon knows too, and dragons don't keep
secrets well."

"The boy doesn't know anything, I swear it!" Terren felt a cold sweat
break out on his forehead. If this man, or the gang of holdless bandits
the holder knew he belonged to, thought there was a chance the
dragonriders might find out what went on his hold, they might not just
put an end to their agreement; they might put an end to him, too. Even
though he didn't know any names, or the locations of their other
hideouts, he'd still seen some of their faces. Enough to identify them
if he was arrested and questioned.

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm certain. I won't deny I'd thought about bringing him in, but I
hadn't done it yet." That much was true. He'd considered having Renfal
meet with the bandits in his place when there was work to be done
transferring the goods, but so far, fear of what his wife would do if
she found out had overcome his desire to stay safely tucked up in bed
while his son hauled the loot in and out of the disused barn.

"Even so. If you have dragonriders visiting your hold, we can hardly
carry on as before. I might have to find another place to store
our...merchandise."

"But they haven't been back. Not since the Hatching," Terren said,
alarmed at the prospect of losing his share of the marks the thieves
earned from their raids. He had that tithe debt to Galveden to pay off,
and he needed to restock his supply of liquor the next time the traders
visited. There wouldn't be an opportunity to make more marks until the
next racing meet, and with the way his luck had been running, that was
chancy at best. "Weyrling training lasts six months, and it's hardly
been two. He won't be visiting for a while."

"Good." The bandit didn't trust Terren in the least, but he did place a
certain reliance on the holder's cowardice. If he thought he was in
danger of being discovered, he wouldn't be so keen to continue their
arrangement, no matter how lucrative. "We can do business, for now, at
least. Thread falls tomorrow, and we'll need to shelter here."

"Of course. I'll make sure no-one goes near the barn." Terren rubbed
sweating hands on the hem of his tunic. There had been some bad moments
in that conversation, but he'd managed to get through them, just as he
always did. He still had several months before there was any danger of
R'fal and Marlath visiting the cothold. After that, he swore, he'd give
up storing the bandits' goods for them and lead an honest life...or at
least, one that stayed within the law. Mostly. "Do you have anything you
want to leave here?"

"A few bales of fine cloth. Some smithcraft tools, well made, jewellery,
and a chest of marks. There's a case of wine; I've counted the bottles,
so don't even think about helping yourself." The bandit's grin had a
feral edge to it. "We took them from a trader a few days ago. I didn't
expect the jewels. They'll be worth a bit."

"Won't they be hard to sell?"

"Leave that to me. I have a contact who handles this sort of item. Your
job is to look after them until we're ready to close a deal." Before
Terren had time to blink, the holdless man was inches away from him, his
breath cooling the sweat on the cotholder's face. "I've counted the
emeralds, too, Terren. If even one goes missing, you will end up
_missing_ a few fingers. Do you understand?"

"Of c-course," he stammered. "You can rely on me. I won't even look at
them."

"Best not." The visitor raised his hood. "Wait here. I'll be back
shortly, with the others." Then he stepped out into the night, and was
lost in rain and shadows.

Last updated on the August 21st 2018

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A Secret Arrangement