Suspicions

Writers: Estelle, Yvonne
Date Posted: 29th January 2021
Series: The Lighthouse Keeper

Characters: M'gan, Alina
Description: Alina follows J'ackt's advice... mostly.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 17 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: J'ackt, N'vanik

Alina

Alina asked Imarith to see if M'gan was free after drills, and when
she'd recieved an assent she couldn't wait for the day's drills to be
over. She hurried to take off her dragon's straps, promising the green a
bath later, and took a momet to hang up her jacket and rebraid her hair
before knocking on her Wingleader's door.

"Come in!" M'gan had been surprised by the request, since usually when
he called an end to drills the wingriders couldn't wait to get away, to
see to their dragons, bathe and rest. Shells, he hoped she wasn't going
to tell him she was pregnant; he didn't want to lose a good greenrider
to the queen's wing. "Ah, Alina, Isarth told me you wanted to see me.
How can I help?"

Alina stepped inside and quietly closed the door in case anyone walking
by had big ears. "I'm sorry to bother you sir, but I'm not sure who else
to talk to..."

That sounded ominous, although at least it didn't sound like a pregnancy
or transfer request either. "No bother at all. I'm here to listen to my
wingriders when they need me." He sat and leaned forward, over the desk.
"What's troubling you?"

Alina pulled her braid over her shoulder as she sat. "It's the weather
reporting, sir." She took a deep breath. "I don't know... I don't want
to cause trouble..."

Weather reporting? M'gan's brow creased slightly in confusion. He would
have thought collecting the weather reports was the most mundane task
imaginable. "Don't worry, Alina, I know you're not the type to stir up
trouble. What's happened?"

"I just... I'm not sure if the Starsmith at Eastmark Lighthouse is the
right Starsmith, if you know what I mean," Alina said in a rush.

"Not the right Starsmith?" M'gan repeated. He paused for a moment,
trying to make sense of her words, without success. As far as he was
concerned, Starsmiths were pretty much interchangeable. "Well, no, I
can't say I do know what you mean. There's someone there to give you the
report, right?"

"Well, yes. But." She took a deep breath. "There are a couple of things
that are... that don't seem right. Journeywoman Onook approached me the
other day to ask me to ask Starsmith Rehaan to calibrate his instruments
since his reports aren't quite right. Then I was speaking with J'pil. He
said that Rehaan is an old man with a limp, but the Starsmith I know
isn't either. So I told my weyrmate and he said that I ought to speak
with the Starsmiths, but I thought that it was wise to come to you
first, sir."

"That does sound odd." M'gan couldn't make much sense of it. "So J'pil
says this Starsmith - Rehaan - is old and limps, but you saw someone
different. What does _he_ look like?"

"He's... middle aged, I guess. Not too tall, with brown hair. He's clean
shaven now." Alina paused. "The first time I met him, on my first
delivery, he was an utter mess. His hair and beard were wild and he
looked like he hadn't bathed in sevendays."

"Hmm." His frown deepened as he began to suspect what might have
happened. "So he looked like...a holdless man."

Alina frowned at the implication "My weyrmate was holdless through no fault of his
own."

"Well, I'm not saying he's done anything wrong." Yet, M'gan thought.
"Anyone would look rough after living in the open for a few months, if
not longer." Still, it might all be a misunderstanding. Perhaps the
fellow was new to his post and had cleaned himself up after the first
visit from an attractive young greenrider. "But he has been producing
reports, even if Journeywoman Onook thought there were problems with
them? That would suggest some knowledge of the craft."

"I suppose." Alina bit her lip. "I just... I wasn't sure. Maybe he is
Rehaan and I'm mistaken."

"No, you were right to bring this to me. It does sound like there's
something strange going on." M'gan thought for a moment. If there was an
impostor at the lighthouse, he should report it to N'vanik. It would be
a matter between him and the smithcraft, and possibly the Lord who held
that territory. On the other hand, it wasn't certain that was the case,
and if it was a simple mistake, he didn't want to bother the Weyrleader
with it.

"Look, why don't I fly over there with Isarth and talk to the man.
Hopefully we can clear this up," he suggested. If it was a holdless man
sheltering there, it might be kinder to warn him off rather than descend
on the place with guards.

Alina relaxed in her chair. "Thank you. I don't want to cause trouble
between the Weyr and the Crafters if I can help it."

"Not at all. I'm sure there's a simple explanation for all this, but you
did right to tell me about it. Eastmark Lighthouse, you said?" At her
nod, he made a note. "When were you next due to go there?"

"My next delivery is in five days," she said.

"All right, I'll see if I can't figure out who this man really is before
then." He looked up. "As I said, I'm sure it's nothing, but don't go
back there until I tell you, understood? And don't let that weyrmate of
yours go, either."

She tried to hide a smile as she looked down at her hands. "I can try...
but when J'ackt decides that he wants to do something, he'll do it."

The bronzerider smiled. That sounded about like what he'd heard from
N'vanik. "Well, try and make sure he doesn't want to do this particular
thing, all right?" He got to his feet. "I'll have Isarth tell Imarith
when it's safe to return."

"Thank you, Wingleader," Alina said. "I appreciate your help."

"Don't mention it. That's what I'm here for." He had to admit, it did
sound like an intriguing little mystery. "Now, I've got a bronze dragon
who's itching for his bath, so unless there was anything else...?"

"No." Alina rose from her seat. "Thank you for your time."

M'gan nodded and watched her go, the details of her tale nagging at his
thoughts. Could it really all be a misunderstanding, or was it more
serious? He even wondered whether J'pil and Rehaan might be pulling
Alina's leg. If they were, it was...rather a clever joke, though it
wouldn't stop him giving the old bluerider a few night watches to spend
contemplating the limits of a sense of humor.

Still puzzling over it, he headed over to a shelf to look up the
coordinates for Eastmark Lighthouse.

Last updated on the February 19th 2021

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Suspicions