The Capture (2/2)

Writers: Devin, Estelle
Date Posted: 12th February 2024
Series: The Hunt for Gil

Characters: N'vanik, Iskara, Gilbek, Rhysel, Amigene
Description: N'vanik and Iskara's nine take Gil into custody
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr, Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 9, day 10 of Turn 11

N'vanik

Loseth took a step, his eyes whirling faster, but N'vanik only crossed
his arms. "Well then it's good you're going to the Weyr, where you'll
be far out of his reach. And if you're telling the truth about how
little you knew, then you'll be _much_ better off with me." The only
reason he was bothering with so much talk was because he wanted to
avoid the chance of his riders getting punched -- or stabbed.

}:Is your rider inside with the humans?:{ Loseth asked Hylith.

}:She is speaking with them.:{ Hylith pictured a window at the back of
the cot, the shutters open and two figures lit from behind by warm
firelight. Iskara was outside, speaking quietly to the cotholders.
}:She has told them they should climb out, in case the man comes back
inside, but they do not think he is a danger. She wants to know if she
should go in?:{

Gil looked doubtful, clearly having little faith in the Weyrleader's
words. He glanced up at Loseth, then let his hand drop again, as if in
defeat. "All right. May I say goodbye to the cotholders? They didn't
know anything," he added hastily, "but they were kind to me."

"Not while you have that knife." N'vanik nodded toward the weapon.

}:Tell yours to go inside and watch the door. Bar it if she can,:{
Loseth told Hylith.

Iskara motioned to the cotholders to step back and climbed through the
window, taking care not to make a sound. Once inside, she saw a short
bar attached to the door, but it didn't look strong enough to
withstand a good kick; likely it was there to keep out wildlife rather
than intruders. Still, it would slow the man down, so she crept across
the room and slid it into place, then took up a position beside the
door and asked Hylith to report back.

Outside, Gil looked down at the knife, clearly reluctant to give up
his only means of defending himself. "It's not mine, it's Rhysel's. The
cotholder. He lent it to me for hunting. If I hand it over, will you
give it back to him? A blade like this is valuable to them."

N'vanik nodded. "We can even give them some meat to compensate for the
loss of your hunting skills." He didn't know how the cotholders viewed
the Weyr, but might as well make a gesture.

Gil seemed surprised at the offer. "Thank you. I'm sure they'd
appreciate it." He hesitated, then slid the sheath off his belt
without removing the knife and held both out to N'vanik, hilt first.

N'vanik stepped forward and took the sheathed blade, watching Gil
carefully as he did so. "You got any other weapons on you?"

He shook his head and held out empty hands. "Not on me. I have a bow in
the cot, but it's not strung."

The Weyrleader nodded. He took off his own beltknife so Gil couldn't
get to it and handed both to one of the other riders. "Step back from
the door and stay a few feet away from the cotholders as you say your
goodbyes. And I'm going to hold your arm just to be sure." N'vanik
didn't want to give him a chance to attack the old couple.

Gil's lips tightened as though suppressing an angry retort, but he kept
it to himself. "Fine." He backed up a few paces, staying close to the
cot and away from the bronze dragon.

Once the door was clear, it opened slowly and Iskara looked out, her
wary gaze falling on Gil. "We can come out?"

N'vanik stepped over to Gil and gripped his upper arm, firm but not
tight. "They can come out, but have them keep their distance." Through
their dragons, he directed a large, muscular greenrider to move closer
behind Gil in case the man tried something.

"Yes, Weyrleader." Iskara stepped back inside, and after a moment
re-emerged, followed by the cotholders. The old man held his arm
protectively around his wife's shoulders and their faces were bewildered
and anxious, but they appeared to be more intimidated by the dragons and
riders that encircled their cot than by the man who waited for them
outside. The woman even made a move to approach, but her husband held
her back and shook his head.

Gil's arm tensed when he saw them, as if he'd have liked to pull away
and go to her, but he stayed still. "Rhysel, Amigene, I'm so sorry. I
never meant to bring trouble to your hold. I should have left as soon as
I was well."

Rhysel looked from Iskara to N'vanik, his eyes widening as he recognised
the knots. "Weyrleader." Clearly he'd not expected such a high-ranking
dragonrider. He swallowed. "What's going to happen to him?"

"That depends on how willing he is to help us find the people who
poisoned the hatchlings." They could probably pick up on the threat
there, but he didn't want to seem too harsh. "But for now, he'll be
staying at the Weyr and can speak to the woman and child he saved."

The cotholder frowned. "I don't understand. He saved a woman? Did he
have something to do with the poisoning, or not?"

"I didn't know what they were going to do. I promise you it's true." Gil
spoke urgently. It was obviously important to him that the cotholders
believed him, even if the dragonriders didn't.

The old woman gave her husband a sharp nudge with her elbow. "I told you
so!" She turned a fierce gaze on the Weyrleader. "You haven't seen what
was done to him. He was half dead when we found him, and his back..."

"Amigene, please - it's not important," Gil said hastily. "You and
Rhysel saved my life, when you had no reason to help a holdless man. I
only hope I've been able to repay you in a small way."

"We've been more than repaid," Rhysel admitted. "He's been a good
worker. No trouble at all."

"I don't know all the details, ma'am, but I did hear that Gil was
badly beaten by some of the people who plotted against the Weyr."
N'vanik didn't need to say any of this, but he was going to put on a
bit of a performance. Maybe smooth things over a bit with the
cotholders, maybe convince Gil that he wasn't doomed and make him more
inclined to cooperate. "There was a woman who overheard these holders,
planning to hurt the Weyr somehow, and she warned us. When the
conspirators found out, they planned to punish her. Gil warned this
woman and she was able to escape with her young daughter in time. And
then the conspirators punished Gil for his mercy. Gil, it seems, is a
complicated man who was used by people that never told him the horror
they were planning."

The cotholders both relaxed a little, reassured by what they'd heard.
Even Gil seemed roused from his despair, if only by embarrassment.

"I wouldn't burn a family in their cot. Anyone else would have done the
same. It's not _that_ complicated," he muttered.

Amigene took a step towards him, ignoring the warning looks from her
husband and the dragonriders. "But would you do it again? After
everything that followed?"

Gil was silent for a moment, closing his eyes, his face tight with
remembered suffering. Then he nodded.

The cotholder woman inclined her head, satisfied, and let her husband
draw her back from him. "You should tell the Weyr what they need to
know," she said. "It doesn't sound like those people who planned the
poisoning are going to stop. Next time, they might succeed."

He didn't reply to that, not directly, but seemed thoughtful. "Thank
you. For your hospitality - for everything."

If this was an act, Gil was one of the best fakers N'vanik had ever
seen. "Anything personal you want to take with you?" he asked Gil.

He shook his head. "Rhysel and Amigene gave me everything."

"I'll get you a warm coat and a scarf." Amigene eyed the heavy riding
leathers the dragonriders wore critically. "You'll catch your death of
cold up there, otherwise." She went back into the cot, returning with an
armful of woolens.

N'vanik had one of the riders take it, still wary of letting Gil go.
"He can put them on just before we mount up," he told Amigene. Then he
asked Gil, "Ever ride a-dragonback before?"

"Once. A long time ago." He looked uncertainly up at the towering form
of the bronze. "She was a green."

"Loseth's a little bit bigger, but we'll get you up." Then to the
cotholders he said, "Ma'am, sir, we'll be taking our leave. U'varr,
please give Rhysel his knife." The greenrider handed the blade to the
cotholder. N'vanik led Gil toward his bronze as another rider
followed, carrying the coat and scarf for Gil.

It was almost full dark and the rising moons cast a pale sheen over the
dragons' hides. The cotholders had retreated to the door of their hold,
and the hearth fire's glow lit them from behind, drawing a longing
glance from Gil. Reluctantly, he turned back to take the scarf and wrap
it around his neck, then the coat. It was made for a shorter, more
solidly built man, probably Rhysel, and he pulled it on awkwardly,
betraying a stiffness in his shoulders and back that he'd concealed
until now.

Loseth's eyes still whirled with a hint of red, but it was fading into
a calmer blue. He crouched low and N'vanik climbed up easily to settle
himself before turning back to offer an arm. Loseth too offered a
forelimb to help Gil up, even if he was displeased at having to carry
him. The other rider stood ready to help assist if Gil needed it.

Gil tilted his head back to look at the place where the riding straps
met at the base of the bronze dragon's long neck, just above the wings.
Even crouched, he'd still have to stretch up above his head to reach
N'vanik's arm. He started to do so, but grimaced and changed his mind.
Instead, he turned to the other man, a brownrider, who frowned but
stepped forward to help him scramble up first to Loseth's foreleg, and
then to his back. Although he sat easily enough, as if he was used to
riding runners, there were lines of strain in his face, more than a
short climb would have warranted.

"Heard they did a number on you back at the Hold," N'vanik said as he
buckled Gil in front of him.

Gil turned to glance warily back over his shoulder. "It's nothing. I'm
just tired. Been out all day, hunting."

The Weyrleader gave him a skeptical look before he finished securing
Gil. Loseth tensed and then launched into the air, quickly gaining
height above the small cothold.

The rest of the nine followed, leaving the cotholders gazing upwards as
the dragons' forms diminished to tiny bronze, brown, blue and green
shapes against the moonlit clouds. Iskara visualised Dolphin Cove at
evening and waited for the signal to jump /between/.

**We did well,** she told Hylith, touching the green's warm hide. They'd
captured the man they were after, no-one had got hurt, and she had good
reason to hope she'd impressed the Weyrleader. When the signal came and
they vanished into the frozen darkness, she couldn't help feeling pride
- the night could hardly have gone better.

Last updated on the February 14th 2024

[Prev: The Capture (1/2)] Series: The Hunt for Gil [Next: A Little Bit of Mercy]

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

The Capture (2/2)