“When was I first here?” Jaxom asked Ruth, having learned not to confuse the firelizards with generations. “Can they remember?”
When you came out of the sky in long gray things?
Ruth sounded bewildered even as he relayed the answer.
Jaxom leaned against Ruth, scarcely crediting the reply. “Show me!”
Brilliant and conflicting images stunned him as he saw vistas, unfocused at first, then resolving into a clear picture as Ruth sorted out the myriad impressions into one single coherent view.
The cylinders were grayish, with stubby wings that were poor imitations of the graceful pinions of the dragons. The cylinders bore rings of smaller tubes at one end while the other was blunt-nosed. Suddenly an opening appeared about a third of the way from the tubed end of the first ship. Men and women walked down a ramp. A progression of images flashed across Jaxom’s mind then, of people running about, embracing each other, jumping up and down. Then the images Ruth obtained from the cluttering bugling firelizards dissolved into chaos-as if each separate firelizard had followed one person and each was trying to give Ruth his individual image rather than a group view of the landing and ensuing events.
There was no doubt in Jaxom’s mind that here was where the ancients had taken refuge from the volcano’s havoc, the ships that had brought them from the Dawn Sisters to Pern. And the ships were still here because for some reason they couldn’t go back to the trio of stars.
The opening into the vessel had been a third of the way from the tube end? With ecstatic firelizards doing acrobatics about his head, Jaxom paced the grass covering the cylinder until he thought he’d reached the appropriate spot.
They say that you have found it, Ruth advised him, nudging Jaxom forward. His great eyes were spinning with yellow fire.
To support their verdict, scores of firelizards settled on the bush-covered place and began to tug at the vegetation.
“I should go back to the Hold and tell them,” Jaxom muttered to himself.
They are asleep. Benden is asleep. We are the only ones awake in the world!
That was, Jaxom had to admit, rather likely.
I dug yesterday. I can dig today. We can dig until they wake, when they can come help us.
“You have claws. I don’t. Let’s get some of the tools from the Plateau.”
They were accompanied in both directions by excited, happy firelizards. With a shovel, Jaxom marked out the approximate area he wanted them to unearth to reach the door to the vessel. Then it was only a question of supervising Ruth and the sometimes obstructive assistance of the firelizards. They stripped the tough grass from the earth, first, the firelizards depositing it in the bushes beyond the scar. Fortunately the covering was firmly packed dirt blown over the landing site in the course of thousands of Turns. Even so, rain and sun had hardened a thick covering. When his shoulders began to ache, Jaxom eased his pace. He munched on a breadroll, occasionally urging squabbling firelizards back to work.
Ruth’s claws scrabbled on something. It isn’t rock! Jaxom jumped to the spot, slamming his shovel through the loose dirt. The edge hit a hard, unyielding surface. Jaxom let out a wild yell that set all the firelizards gyrating in midair.
Brushing away the last of the covering dirt with his hands, he stared at what he had unearthed. With cautious fingers, he touched the curious surface. Not metal, not the stuff of the mounds, rather like-improbable as it seemed-clouded glass. But no glass could be that hard!
“Ruth, is Canth awake yet?”
No. Menolly and Piemur are. They wonder where we are.
Jaxom crowed in triumph. “I think we’ll go tell them!”
They were waiting for him and Ruth when they arrived from between in Cove Hold-the Harper, Menolly and Piemur. Over their babble of questions about his disappearance to Ruatha the night before, Jaxom tried to explain what he’d found. The Harper had to silence the babble with a huge bellow that stunned every firelizard into between. Having obtained silence, the Harper took a deep breath.
“Who could think or hear in such noise? Now, Menolly, get us some food! Piemur, get drawing materials. Zair, come here, my beautiful rascal. You’ve to take a message to Benden. You are to bite Mnementh’s nose if necessary to wake him. Yes, I know you’re brave enough to fight the big one. Don’t fight! Wake! High time those lazy louts at Benden were up anyway!” The Harper was in great spirits, his head high, his eyes sparkling, his gestures broad. “By Shard and Shell, Jaxom, you’ve started a dull day with a bright promise. I was laggard in bed because there was nothing to rise for but more disappointment!”