Gathering Facts

Writers: Eimi, Shelly, Yvonne
Date Posted: 29th March 2006

Characters: K'far, Corvera, Parna
Description: Nineba's disappearance is brought to Corvera's attention, and the Weyrwoman does a little investigating
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 9 of Turn 3
Notes: Follows 'Interrupted'

"...and she was always talking about him, and following him around."
Parna frowned, lost in thought. The laundress looked out of place and
nervous in the new Weyrwoman's office, and was put a little off
balance by her. She didn't know what to expect from the goldrider.
"K'far put up with it for a time, but lately he's been shouting at
her, and once she came back with a bloody nose. She said some
greenrider hit her, but I think she was lying. She adores K'far."

Corvera rubbed her temple as discretely as she could. The love
affairs of drudges and the worries of laundresses were not at the top
of her list of things to do today, but never-the-less... here they
were. "And how long has it been since you've seen her?"

"Almost two sevendays. It's not like her." Parna bit her lip.
"Nothing's been taken from her weyr, either."

"You're certain she hasn't been to her weyr in those fourteen days?
Or that she hasn't been living with someone else?" Two sevendays did
warrant some concern. Certainly someone should would have seen her in
that amount of time.

"I went over a time or two to see if she was sick, but she was never
home," Parna said.

"Has she hasn't shown up for work in this time?"

The laundress shook her head.

"Well you can rest assured that I will be looking into this." The
Weyrwoman hoped that would cheer the woman. "I'm sure everything is
fine, but all the same I'll see to this personally."

"Thank you." Parna knew when she was being dismissed, and rose to her
feet. She curtsied and turned toward the door, then turned back to
the Weyrwoman. "K'far... make sure that you talk to him. I wouldn't
trust him any further than I could throw him. He had more influence
over her then any man should have over a woman."

Corvera nodded seriously, but did not reply. Perhaps this was a
serious matter after all...

The laundress curtsied for a second time and slipped out the door
into the hall. Outside, K'far was already waiting - no doubt called
via the dragons. Parna shot him a nasty look before flouncing off
back to the Lower Caverns.

******

"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm K'far. You wanted to see me?" the brownrider
asked, rather unsure as to the reason why he had been summoned.

The Weyrwoman took a moment to survey the rider before speaking. He
was much larger than she was, though that was no great
accomplishment, but it was worth noting none-the-less. "Yes, please
take a seat." She gestured to the chair on the other side of her
desk. His manner of speaking and the light in his eyes seemed kind
enough.

He did as he was told as he too took the measure of the woman. This
was his first chance at seeing the new Weyrwoman up close. She
seemed rather confident and self-assured. That was important in a
leader. And there was something behind her eyes... Strength,
intelligence, but something else...

"K'far, I'm going to save both of us some time her and get straight
to asking questions." She leveled him with a very solemn stare. "Do
you know why I called you here?"

He shook his head as his eyes met hers. "No ma'am. I can't say that
I do."

Corvera searched his eyes, she was fairly sure that he was telling
the true. "It has come to my attention that a certain drudge has gone
missing and that you may have information about her."

K'far folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his
chair. "A drudge, eh?" There was only one drudge he knew well enough
to warrant questioning. "Nineba?"

The Weyrwoman nodded slightly. His reaction to the question certainly
was interesting. "What do you know, K'far?"

"I know my life has been quiet and peaceful for the last couple
sevendays. I was hoping that it was because she got the hint and
decided to leave me alone."

"You haven't seen her at all?"

He shook his head. "Not for a couple sevendays. I went out riding
one day and she followed me around the stables, but that was the
last time I saw her."

Corvera made a mental note to go and speak with someone at the
stables to confirm that Nineba hadn't gone with him or after him. "Do
you know where she might have gone or who she could be staying with?"

The brownrider shrugged. "Well, hopefully she's wised up gone back
to Dolphin Cove and to her husband."

"She's married and still fawning over you?" The Weyrwoman leaned
forward a bit.

"Yes," K'far nodded. He sighed deeply. She might as well know.
"Nineba and I had an affair when we were at Dolphin Cove. She
_claims_ she ended up pregnant, and begged me to save her from her
husband. He obviously would not have been pleased when he found
out." He shrugged. "I felt responsible for her, and she was pleasant
enough. I couldn't just abandon her and the child, so I transferred
here with her. Well, there never were any signs of her pregnancy,
and she started acting... possessive and obsessed with me. I ended
the relationship and she just couldn't handle it."

Corvera was more than a little shocked. K'far was proving to be
hardly the man she thought he'd be. "How long ago was this?"

"Oh, shards, I don't know. Four months ago at least. Before the
tragedy at Dolphin Cove." He would never have left after that.
Shards, he should never have left. But who knows, perhaps that
decision saved his life.

The goldrider nodded respectfully. She had heard about what happened
at Dolphin Cove and many riders from Far Island had gone to help fill
out their numbers. "Is there anything else I should know or that
you'd like to tell me before I dismiss you?"

"I know her husband loved her, or at least didn't want to lose her.
He might have agreed to take her back. Maybe send word to Dolphin
Cove. That's all I can say, really."

"All right. Thank you, K'far. You're dismissed." She gave a nod of
dismissal.

Last updated on the April 9th 2006

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Gathering Facts