Not Just Anybody

Writers: Aaron, Francesca
Date Posted: 6th April 2022

Characters: Brennault, Jarrin
Description: Jarrin enlists Brennault's help in searching for his son.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 1, day 25 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Jarril

Brennault

Jarrin had been at Topaz Seahold for almost three sevendays and had
nothing to show for his efforts except for a dwindling collection of
half and quarter marks. Kalshek had been an honest captain, and had
given him the name of a merchant at the Seahold who had set him up
with a bed and some daily food in exchange for doing manual labor.
However, he frequented taverns every evening, in the hopes of finding
some information about his son. And, of course, he needed to order
something, so he ended up downing several drinks, which wasn't cheap.

He couldn't stay at the Seahold much longer, unless he sought out a
more permanent job, and he was beginning to think Jarril wasn't there.
He had already visited each tavern at least once, and he checked in
with any newly docked ships to see if any of the sailors could
remember traveling with a hard of hearing boy. All he needed was one
hint to set him off in the right direction. Thus far, he had heard
about a few stowaways, but none that matched his son's description.
And, he had met a deaf boy who had no knowledge of any others like
him.

If he didn't learn anything soon, he would need to start making his
way along the coast, perhaps towards Dolphin Cove Weyr. At least then
it would be easy for him to find his own food. For now though, he
headed to a tavern close to the docks. The place was rundown, with
floors that seemed to be permanently sticky with spilled drinks and
food, and a pervasive smell of cheap alcohol. Drinks were cheaper than
at other places and no one looked down their nose at him. Jarrin had
also found that it was one of the better places to get information,
even though none of it had been useful to him as of yet.

This time, as Jarrin entered and scanned the room, he noticed the
normal pairs and small groupings of sailors and laborers. But, he also
saw a young man with runner knots, who looked like he had recently
arrived. An idea began forming in his head as he approached. "Hi there
runner," he said, his tone respectful. "I'm called Varron. Mind if I
join you?"

It had been some time since Brennault had been to Topaz, but Lesti had
business there and had asked him if he wanted to come along. He was
hardly the type to refuse, so he gathered up everything the runners
had headed for Topaz and brought it all at once.

For the time being, he and Marvel were left to their own devices while
Lesti took care of her errand, whatever it was. She had not said, and
he had not asked.

When the man, Varron, approached and asked to join, Brennault grinned.
He nodded and motioned to an empty seat.

"By all means. Have we met before?" he asked. There was something
familiar about him, but Brennault could not place where he might have
seen him, and the name did not ring any bells.

"I don't think so," Jarrin replied, taking a seat across from the
runner. "I'm from Leeward Lagoon Hold. I've only been here a few
sevendays. Do you normally deliver messages around here?" At least the
young man was more likely to have seen Jarril than many of the people
he had spoken to.

"Oh, I've been there!" said Brennault. He leaned forward with some
excitement. "I went to do some work for my father so I could
commission a sword. I must have seen you in passing while I was
there!"

"Sorry." Brennault shook his head and refocused. "You're here about a
job. I can deliver messages to wherever you need. I've got wings
today. What can I do for you?"

Marvel cheeped at the man from where he sat curled around Brennault's
shoulders. He was not so sure he recognized him, but memory was a
peculiar thing for firelizards.

Jarrin was both excited that Brennault was so well traveled and
relieved he wasn't recognized. And, he had a firelizard! "You probably
did see me then. I'm a diver, so I spend a lot of time in the water."
And in the taverns, but there was no need to mention that. "I actually
have a request that isn't exactly a message to a specific person...
well, unless you know how to find someone. You see, I'm searching for
my nephew."

Jarrin gestured to a tavern worker passing by. "Can I get you a drink
while I explain?" He didn't have many marks left, but this seemed
worth the price. "I'll have a dark beer," he asked the young woman.

"A wheat beer, if you please," Brennault asked. He leaned forward
further, arms crossed and leaning on the table. This was intriguing,
indeed. He had never been sent to find someone who was missing,
although he tracked people down any day he was making deliveries.

His experience with Lorican and his troubles weighed suddenly on his
mind, but then he felt guilty for it. This was certainly nothing like
that. But he could always make sure that this nephew wanted to be
found before he went telling his uncle where he was. There was no harm
in it.

"A runner is probably your best bet if you're looking for someone.
Finding people by name is part of our job."

"I didn't realize that." Even though he still had no idea where his
son was, this was very promising. "Well, how does this work? I can
describe him to you. I don't really know where he is though; just that
he has been gone for about a Turn." The task was suddenly feeling
impossible again.

"Well. If you don't know where he is, that complicates things. But I
can keep an eye out for him. I won't charge you for carrying a message
if you don't know where it's going," said Brennault, "but I would
appreciate whatever gratuity you feel is fair to keep an ear to the
ground wherever I go."

Jarrin was surprised by how open and trusting this young man seemed to
be. He thought runners needed to be suspicious of everyone. He fished
an eighth of a mark out of his pocket and put it on the table.
Hopefully it was money well spent. "Well, his name is Jarril," he
began, then gave a brief description, including that he was almost
deaf. "His father has been searching for him all over the island but
couldn't just abandon his life at the hold. So, here I am." He added a
note of concern to his voice. "I hope he's ok."

Brennault nodded and pocketed the coin. Deaf, hm? That should be easy
to track. The fact that Uncle Varron had not come looking until he had
been gone a whole Turn certainly did not bode well for Brennault
"finding" Jarril, even if he found him. Anyone who lost a deaf son and
waited a Turn before he even sent someone else ashore to search for
him raised a red flag in Brennault's mind.

"Me, too," he said. "Rest assured, if he can be found, I will find
him. I'm sure... I'm sure we can still hope for the best."

There was a real possibility that Jarril was dead after having
disappeared for so long. Probably back on the island.

"If you keep me abreast of where you're staying," he said, "I'll send
Marvel to keep in touch. Send you any updates I find."

"That sounds great." Having a firelizard sounded pretty useful in
cases like this. He wondered if they were also good at catching fish.
"I'll only be here another day or two. Then, I'll head toward Dolphin
Cove Weyr, staying close to the coast when I can." His plans were
suddenly clearer than they had been just a few minutes ago. "Is that
enough for him to find me?" He had no idea what he'd do if he made it
all the way to the Weyr without finding Jarril. However, he had
sevendays to figure that out.

"The Weyr is my home base," said Brennault. "If he's there, I'll find
him right away. If you want to take a different path, it might widen
your net."

If this boy, Jarril, was trying to avoid being caught and brought
home, the Weyr was a good place to end up. It was good to rule it out.
If Brennault did need to keep Uncle Varron on a wild wherry chase, he
wanted to know it as soon as possible.

"Huh." It took Jarrin a moment to rethink his plans. The runner had a
point though. Besides, he couldn't imagine Jarril going to the Weyr.
"Ok, then. I'll head along the coast in the other direction. Oh," he
added, embarrassed, "and what's your name?"

"Brennault, at your service," said the runner. He held out a hand to
shake, and Marvel cheeped again. "You can send messages to me with any
runner you meet, and if you keep me abreast of where you are, as long
as it's not too remote, Marvel can ask one of my dragon friends how to
get there."

Jarrin nodded in understanding and shook Brennault's hand, a wide
smile on his face. The server arrived with their beers and he
immediately held his up. "Here's to finding Jarril soon."

Brennault toasted the man.

"I won't rest til he's home."

Home was not always where you grew up.

Last updated on the July 15th 2022

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