“Greedy?”
“No, they’re engaging little pets. Nothing as intelligent as my Lioth there,” and N’ton grinned indulgently at his bronze who was scrubbing one cheek in the sand. As he turned back to Elgion, N’ton noticed the line of awed children, lining the seawall, all eyes on Uoth’s action. “You’ll have no lack of help, I suspect.”
“Speaking of help, Wingleader, a young girl of the Sea Hold is missing. She went out the morning of the last Fall and hasn’t been seen since.”
N’ton whistled softly and nodded sympathetically. Tfl tell the sweep riders. She probably took shelter, if she’d any sense. Those palisades are riddled with caves. How far have you searched?”
“Thaf s it No one has bothered to.”
N’ton scowled and glanced towards the Sea Holder. “How old a girl?”
“Come to think of it, I don’t know. His youngest daughter, I believe.”
N’ton snorted. “There are other things in life than fish.”
“So I used to believe.”
“Don’t be so sour so young, Elgion. I’ll see you come to the nest Hatching at Benden.”
“I’d appreciate that”
“I suspect so.” With a farewell wave, N’ton strode bock to his bronze dragon, leaving Elgion with an ^easier conscience and the prospect of some relief from monotony of the Sea Hold.
Chapter 7
Who wflfa, Can.
Who tries, Does.
Who loves, Lives.
It took Menolly four days to find the right sort of rocks to spark a fire. She’d had plenty of time before that to diy seaweeds and gather dead marshberry bushes for fuel, and to build a little hearth in the side of the big cavern where a natural chimney took the smoke up. She’d gathered a generous pile of sweet marsh grasses for bedding and picked out the seam of the carry-sack to make herself a rug. It wasn’t quite long enough unless she curled up under it; but the fire lizards insisted on sleeping about and around her and their bodies made up the lack. In fact, she was quite comfortable at night
With fire, she was very comfortable. She found a stand of young klahbark trees, and though the resultant brew was harsh, it woke her up very well She went to the clay deposits that Half-Circle Hold used and got sufficient clay to make herself several cups, plates and rude containers for storage, which she hardened in the ashes of her fire. And she filled in the holes of a dish-like porous rock in which she could boil water. With all
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the fish she needed in the sea in front of her, she ate as weH as, if not better than, she would have in the Hold. Although, she did miss bread.
She even made herself a sort of path down the cliff face. She carved out footrests and staked in some handholds, to make both ascent and descent safer.
And she had company. Nine fire lizards were constantly in attendance.
The morning after her hectic adventure, Menolly had been absolutely stunned to wake with the unaccustomed weight of warm bodies about her. Scared, too, until the little creatures roused, with strong thoughts of renewed hunger and love and affection for her. Driven by their need, she had climbed down the treacherous rock face to the sea and gathered fingertails, trapped in the shallow tidal pools. She wasn’t quite able to dig rockmites, but when she showed her charges where they could get them out with their long, agile tongues, the creatures found their instinct adequate for the job. Having fed her friends, Menolly was too tired to go in search of sparking rocks and had eaten a flat fish raw. Then she and the fire lizards had crept back into the cavern and slept again.
As the days went by their appetite drove Menolly to lengths she wouldn’t have attempted for her own comfort TTie result was that she was kept entirely too busy to feel either sorry for or apprehensive about herself. Her friends had to be fed, comforted and amused. She also had to supply her own needsas far as she was ableand she was able to do a lot more than she’d suspected she could. In fact, she began to wonder about a lot of things the Hold took for granted.