An Unpleasant Conversation
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: AmajoS, Paula
Date Posted: 16th March 2019
Characters: Zandan, Saranni
Description: Saranni discovers her belongings might be in danger and discusses the matter with Zandan.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 9, day 11 of Turn 9
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Saranni tied a message tube to Berry's left leg and gave the little
firelizard a gentle scratch along his headknob. "Quick as you can, my
love," she said, carefully imagining the man she wanted the message to
go to. The blue firelizard gave a happy chirrup and launched himself
from the back of the chair he'd been perched on, vanishing /between/ a
moment later.
That done, the young lady went in search of the Hold's Captain of the
Guard, who she hoped could set her mind at ease. Word had not spread
as far as her home hold and she'd only found out this morning about
the Holdless bandits that had been plaguing the countryside around
Emerald Falls. Apparently it had been a major operation, and the other
ladies had been so surprised when they realized she had no idea what
they were talking about. That had been embarrassing enough as she'd
been here for a few days now, but the vast majority of her belongings
were currently en route via a trader caravan due to arrive the day
after next or the one after. She was rather horrified to be finding
out about how much of a risk it had been to send her best dresses, her
jewelry, expensive books, everything, over land.
She'd been told that the danger was past, but she wanted to be sure.
She'd been getting by on the few outfits she'd brought with her on
dragonback, but she could not continue much longer without having to
rewear things. One could get away with that given enough time and a
variety of accessories, but not with such a limited selection. She had
an image to create in this Hold and that of the poor darling waif with
barely more than the clothes on her back was not it. Plus, she -liked-
her things and wanted to keep them, not have them pilfered and sold
off to who knew what sort of person for a few quick marks.
When she arrived at the office, she knocked, hoping the man was in and
she wouldn't have to try to track him down.
"What?" Zandan asked with crumpy tone. He never liked doing hidework
and once he got around tackling it, he didn't like interruptions.
Well, he was in at any rate, even if he didn't sound particularly
pleasant. She supposed that one didn't need to be pleasant to be a
guard, or the captain of them. It was probably easier if you weren't,
in fact.
She opened the door and stepped inside, "I hope I might be able to
have a moment of your time, Captain?"
Zandan stared her, well, this was unusual. "What the shells you need
from me?" He asked, admittedly curiously.
Choosing to ignore the off-putting words in favor of the curious tone,
she offered a smile, "I've only recently arrived in the Hold and
learned of the troubles with the Holdless bandits you've been having."
She helped herself to a seat, since none was offered.
"And why would that interest you? No relatives among them, I hope,"
Zandan asked.
"Certainly not!" She gave him a look of astonishment. Did she look
like the sort of person whose family dabbled in such things? "No," she
continued in a calmer tone. "I simply wish to find out if you caught
them all or if there is still a danger to goods being transported
through this area."
"We caught this band, so traders should be safe now," Zandan replied.
There were still other holdless there, but none were as organized as
this group. Most tended to be solitary, like J'ackt had been, not
trusting their fellow holdless. They stole food and items from Holds
but didn't have the resources or man-power to rob a full trader
caravan. Those traders were armed and knew how to fight.
She nodded with a small smile, though she wasn't completely convinced
yet. 'Should' didn't always mean 'was' after all. She needed more
information to decide if she could stop worrying. And, for Berry to
return with a reply to her message. "I admit I'm curious about what
happened exactly. I hadn't heard about it at all before I left home or
I might have sent my things another way."
"If you're that curious, attend the trial. It will be free for
audience. Now, meanwhile, your stuff is safe, noone is interested in
stealing your pretty dresses," Zandan's tone was deliberately
patronizing.
"I'm certainly glad to know that my pretty dresses will be safe. Along
with my jewels, my instruments, my books and even some of my
furniture," she smiled sweetly at the irritating man. "And I look
forward to attending the trial as well. I'm sure that it will be quite
fascinating to discover how these events unfolded. How such a scourge
happened to take root in the first place."
At that moment her blue firelizard appeared in the air between the two
of them. He chirruped happily and landed on her shoulder his leg out
for her to remove the note tied there. After reading it, she returned
her attention to the Captain, "It seems my things will be arriving
tomorrow afternoon." She rose from her seat and dipped a shallow
curtsey, "Thank you for your time and your reassurances, Captain."
"My pleasure," Zandan replied with tone that indicated the opposite emotion.
Saranni kept the smile on her face until she left the office and then
sighed. She wondered if it was a requirement of the job of Guard
Captain to be singularly unpleasant in all Holds, or just this one. No
matter, really. She doubted she would have any reason to deal with him
again, she hoped not anyway! At least she knew her belongings were
safe. And there would be a trial soon, that should be diverting.
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a bit of dried herdbeast she
kept in a handkerchief there and gave the treat to Berry, "Thank you
for being so quick and clever, my dear." The little blue firelizard
chirruped and nibbled daintily on the snack as they walked.
Last updated on the March 19th 2019