A Deadly Message Delivered (3/3)

Writers: Suzee, Miriah, Devin, Avery
Date Posted: 2nd March 2019

Characters: Urlene, N'vanik, Y'gel, Cyradis, Timassa, A'kades, J'ackt, Silain, Grevan
Description: The Weyr's leaders respond to J'ackt's crisis.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 28 of Turn 9

Urlene

Zith had been stopped from ripping off the lower cavern's door by a
large gold body. Pressed into calm, he mentally strove to assure his
life mate, but his alarm couldn't fade. His rider didnt feel right.

"Think I'm hurt a bit, " J'ackt mumbled as he watched his aunt run
back down the hall. He turned his gaze back down to the blood pooling
at his side and shivered. "Yeah." He felt light headed, cold, and
dizzy. He tried to answer Zith's panicked questions. **I'm okay...I'm
okay.**

Grevan was in a muddled, painful panic. This was wrong! It wasn't
supposed to happen like this. The blow to his stomach made him heave
and struggle to breathe. "Needs to die." He panted through his teeth.
"Let him die."

A'kades shook Grevan hard enough to rattle his teeth. "You sharding
fool! Do you know what you're asking for? Do you really, *really* know
the consequences of fighting a sharding dragonrider?" he snapped.

"The man's a dragonrider. Kill him, and you kill his dragon. Kill his
dragon, the Weyr loses a Threadfighter. the Weyrleader realizes
people from the Hold kill his men, maybe he doesn't fly over your
lands, and they fall to Thread. Because you're a moron who's going to
put his petty grudge above all of Pern."

So maybe he was exaggerating a bit, but he wanted to put the fear of
Thread into the man who thought he could bust into the Weyr and just
stab a dragonrider. A'kades didn't know J'ackt very well, not like
N'vanik did, but he knew him as one of his wingriders and so he was
going to bat for him.

Timassa had retrieved a couple more healers among them a very large
Bronze riding Master Dragonhealer. They carried in a stretcher and
together got the wounds bound and J'ackt loaded on the stretcher. She
kept hold of his hand and walked with them back out of the lower
caverns.

Out in the bowl, Cyradis stood on her ledge while Panitath controlled
Zith. **How are they doing down there.**

Y'gel responded to the Weyrwoman's inquiry via their lifemates. **He's
lost some blood and may pass out. The wounds don't appear
life-threatening but we'll know more when we get him to the infirmary.
We're going to have to attend to the Holder as well. We will make sure
he has no more weapons.**

Silain stopped to briefly look at the other man. "Bring him up to the
Infirmary," he said dismissing him with his eyes. Then he shook his
head. "You're lucky," he said. "He could easily have killed you."

"Search him," Y'gel lifted his chin at A'kades. "Make sure he has no
more weapons." Y'gel reached for the young man and pulled him away
from A'kades and pushed him into the wall.

Grevan watched, maddened by frustration and pain, as J'ackt was
carried away. Blood from a split lip and a bitten cheek pooled in his
mouth and in a gesture of defiance, the young man spit the bloody mess
directly in A'kades face. He grunted in pain as he was pressed to the
wall. "I stuck him good. I hope he dies, he deserves it. I can't wait
to hear his dragon scream."

J'ackt grunted, barely acknowledging the movement to the stretcher. He
shivered, his face pale, but felt the grasp of the small hand on his.
He weakly squeezed back, then eyelids fluttered closed and he went
slack.

If Panitath hadn't keep such a tight control over Zith, he may have
/betweened/ at that moment out of sheer panic. He shrieked, that lack
of contact nearly drove the bronze past her, but as the mental control
of the queen increased, he felt the remaining bond. The bronze slumped
against Panitath, leaning against her and taking comfort.

"That's a very bad thing to say to a pair of dragonriders," Y'gel said
in a low growl. He looked at A'kades and saw reflected anger in his
eyes. He could even feel his own blood pressure rising. "I'm gonna use
good judgment," he said mostly to himself. "I haven't lost my temper
in forty turns, but holder you caused a lot of trouble this morning,
might have got J'ackt killed... and somebody oughta belt you in the
mouth. But I won't, I won't. Shaffitl I won't!" Y'gel's fist flew
into the man's jaw and he landed on the floor like a sack of tubers.
"I think he's out," Y'gel said. "I'll go get another stretcher."

N'vanik raced to the lower caverns and met the healers carrying J'ackt
as they came down the hall. He was getting jumbled, overlapping
information from Loseth as the bronze communicated with other dragons.
The updates were broken up as Loseth roared and raged in the Bowl.
When N'vanik saw that pale, limp form on the stretcher it stopped his
heart. He only knew the boy wasn't dead because the dragons weren't
keening. "Is he gonna be alright? How bad is it?" N'vanik stepped
aside to let them pass and trailed along behind the healers and
Timassa.

Under his sharp fear for J'ackt, N'vanik was furious. He was going to
_kill_ whoever was responsible for hurting him.

After the man hit the floor, A'kades stooped to investigate him for
any kind of clues. He confiscated the small belt knife and found
nothing else weaponry wise. Inside the holder's pocket, he found a map
of the caverns with marks on certain rooms. On the floor, he spotted
the bloody knife that had been cast away and picked it up to bring
to the Weyrleader. As he looked at the floor, he spotted another piece
of hide, slightly crumpled as though it had been clutched in a fist.
It was a note directing J'ackt to the caverns and signed Cyradis.

He narrowed his eyes at the evidence, and then rushed after the
stretcher, looking for N'vanik, who Volaith told him was following the
Healers. When he caught the Weyrleader, he said. "This was planned.
The holder was aiming for death, he admitted it in front of _multiple_
bronzeriders. And I have things you should look at."

Y'gel shrugged and picked up the unconscious holder and threw him over
his shoulder. Then he followed A'kades and the healers out of the
passages and toward the infirmary. He wasn't very gentle and if the
man's head occasionally banged into the passage wall or a doorframe he
didn't really care. He carried him toward the infirmary and dumped him
on the floor. Then he just watched him lay there.

As they reached the infirmary, a Senior Journeyman Healer, Urlene,
approached lips set firmly as they laid J'ackt on the table. She bent
over him and listened quietly to the murmured report from her peer.
She pressed a hand to J'ackt's neck, and her lips set into a tense
line before she began to hurriedly pull items quickly from a cart.
"All of you except Silain out right now. You're in our way. " She
blinked, looking down at the sprawled man on the floor and then
glanced up at Y'gel disapprovingly, "Put him on a bed. I don't care
who he is, he can't be treated on the floor." She stared at the
assembled riders. "You heard me. Out."

N'vanik stepped out of the curtained area, much as he hated to have
J'ackt out of his site right now. But the healers needed to do their
work. He spotted the man who'd hurt his boy lying there and his leg
twitched with the urge to kick him. The attacker was a mess of blood
and bruises. "Someone patch him up. Can't put him out for Thread if he
dies here." Anger and terror washed hot and cold through him.
**Please, Faranth. Let J'ackt be okay.**

Silain began to peel back the blood-soaked bandages to reveal the
knife wounds in his side and on his shoulder. "This one's not very
deep," he said but he's lost blood."

"Yes," Y'gel glared at the healer. "Fine," he picked him up and put
him on a cot. "But you better tie him down because he's dangerous"

Cyradis came in and hearing the dragonhealer ordered the man bound. A
couple of apprentices rushed to do as she told them She took in the
scene and then the healers. She walked straight up to N'vanik. "You
come with me," she said and took his hand. "Zith can still hear him so
he isn't gone yet. Panitath has him under her wing and is wrapped
around him. We have to let them work. She tried to lead the Weyrleader
from the Infirmary but he was much bigger than she was. "I'm
contacting Corowal about this... person."

A'kades knew how serious the Healers could be when they were chivvying
people out the way. He walked to Cyradis and N'vanik, ready to head
out with them. "Weyrwoman, what do you need me for?"

She looked at A'kades and how stunned N'vanik looked. She pushed down
her own emotions knowing she was naturally calm in a crisis. She'd
fall apart later. "I want to know who he is, how he got here, and how
he got J'ackt alone. Was he aiming for J'ackt or just any
dragonrider." Her fear was the latter. It could mean they were all in
danger. "Search him and bring us everything. We'll be in the Council
room."

Last updated on the August 22nd 2019

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

A Deadly Message Delivered (3/3)