Menolly, Sebell and Piemur were entangled in mutual cries and thumpings of rediscovery when a tiny fire lizard queen began attacking Sebell, and a small runner beast tried to butt Menolly’s knees from under her. Beauty, Rocky and Diver immediately drove off the little queen, but it wasn’t until Piemur, dashing tears of relief and joy from his eyes, called Farii to order and reassured Stupid, that any sort of coherent conversation was possible. By that time, Sharra, Toric, and half the Southern Hold were aware that the lost had been found.
A celebration for the successful return of the harvesters would have been held in any case, but the evening was
?8°
certainly crowned by Piemur’s appearance, especially after he was reassured that his absence would be forgiven by the Masterharper in view of the extraordinary outcome of the initial folly of stealing the queen egg from Meron’s hearth.
Sebell and Menolly listened intently when Piemur accounted for his continued absence once Farii had been Impressed.
“He was wiser not to come back right then, anyhow,” said Sharra before Toric could speak. “If you remember, Mardra was in a taking over that unclosed sack and ready to flay the hide off the back of the culprit. Though what she wants with more to wear here, I don’t know!”
“The wilderness has its own thrall,” said Toric, eyeing Piemur so closely that the boy wondered what he’d done wrong now. “Tell me, young apprentice harper, how did you survive Threadfall the day your queen hatched?”
“In the water, under a ledge in the lagoon,” said Piemur as if that ought to have been obvious. “Farii didn’t hatch until after Threadfall.”
Toric nodded approval. “And the other Threadfalls?”
“Under water. Only by that time I’d sort of found a camp by the river, above the numbweed meadows… .” He glanced at Sharra, whose eyes twinkled at the truth he now chose to speak, “where I found a submerged log to hold onto and a long reed to breath through.”
“Why didn’t you come back after the second Pall?”
“I found Stupid, and I couldn’t travel far or fast until he was grown up.”
Sharra bubbled with laughter then, for the ingenuous expression of Piemur’s face was just short of impudence.
“You were certainly making tracks eastward to the sea when our paths crossed,” she said.
“You expected me to stay anywhere near people making numbweed?” asked Piemur with such disgust that everyone laughed.
“I’ll bet there were times in the marsh when you wished you were back just harvesting numbweed,” said Sharra, grinning at Piemur, who rolled his eyes upward.
“You went alone to the marshes?” Toric was not pleased.
“I know the marshes, Toric,” said Sharra firmly, as if this were a continuation of previous arguments. “I had my Ere lizards and, in fact, I had Piemur, Farii and little Stu-pid. And I’ll add one thing”now she turned to the harpers“your young friend is a born Southerner!”
“He’s apprentice to Master Robinton,” said Sebell, with a. warning to Piemur that brought a sudden silence to the -main table.
“He’s wasted as just a harper,” said Sharra after a mo-ment. “Why, I”
“And I’m not really a harper right now, either, am I, Sebell?” asked Piemur, suddenly collecting his wits. “I was only good as a singer, and I have no voice. Is there really a place for me at the Harper Hall? I mean,” and he rattled on, his eyes going from Sebell to Menolly, “I know you and Menolly thought you could get me to help you two, but a fine help I turned out to be, getting sacked up and sent south without even knowing it. It’s not as if I was good at anything except getting into trouble”
“Useful trouble, as it turned out,” said Sebell, “but I just had an idea … to keep you out of trouble for a while.” The journeyman turned to the Southerner. “You .rather like the idea of message drums, Toric? And, Saneter, you say you’ve forgotten most of the measures you learned. Well now, Piemur hasn’t.”
‘ “I could be drum messenger here?” Piemur was suddenly Open-mouthed with shock.
Sebell held his hand up to get a word in, and the radi-ance in Piemur’s face faded. “I can’t be certain until I’ve asked Master Robinton, but frankly, Toric, I think Piemur could serve his Hall very well right now as drum … no, drum apprentice-master … if Saneter wouldn’t mind being taught by one of lower rank.” Sebell then turned to the startled hold harper to explain. “Rokayas who is Master Olodkey’s senior journeyman said that Piemur was one of the quickest, cleverest apprentices he’s ever had to beat measures into. If you wouldn’t mind him refreshing your memory… .”