It is the thick man’s blue, Ruth said from outside.
“I’ve only the one blue firelizard and we just did him, didn’t we?” Menolly asked in surprise, glancing about the room at the others.
“It’s Brand’s. I’d better get back to Ruatha Hold. I should’ve gone back hours ago.”
“Well, don’t be a fool and meet yourself coming,” she said with a laugh. “You’ve been on legitimate business this time.”
Managing a light laugh, Jaxom caught the roll of charts she threw in his direction. She couldn’t know what he had in mind. He was entirely too sensitive to her random remarks. Sign of a guilty conscience. “Then you’ll alibi me to Lytol?”
“Anytime, Jaxom!”
Back at Ruatha Hold, he had the whole tale to tell again with an audience as rapt, astonished, angered and relieved as the harpers and the Fort Holders. He found himself unconsciously using Menolly’s turns of phrase and he wondered how long before she’d make a Ballad of the event.
He finished by directing everyone owning a firelizard to band the creature with Ruatha colors: brown with red squares, banded by white and black. He got that task organized when he noticed that Lytol was still seated in his heavy chair, one hand playing with the corner of his lower lip, his eyes fixed on some indistinct point on the flagstones.
“Lytol?”
The Lord Warder recalled himself to the present with an effort and frowned at Jaxom. Then he sighed. “I’ve always feared that the conflict might come to dragon against dragon.”
“It’s not come to that, Lytol,” Jaxom said quietly and as persuasively as he could.
The man looked intently into Jaxom’s eyes. “It could, lad. It so easily could. And I, and you, owe so much to Benden. Should I go there now?”
“Finder remained.”
Lytol nodded and Jaxom wondered if the Lord Warder felt he’d been slighted. “Better for Finder to travel on dragonback.” He passed his hand over his eyes and shook his head.
“You’re not well, Lytol. A cup of wine?”
“No, I’ll be all right, lad.” Lytol pushed himself vigorously to his feet. “I don’t suppose in all the fuss that you remembered what you went to the Harpercrafthall for?”
Much relieved to hear Lytol sound like himself, Jaxom lightly announced that he had not only Wansor’s equations but some charts to work with. From then until the evening meal, Jaxom wished he’d not been so thoughtful because Lytol had him instructing Brand and himself in accurately timing Threadfall.
Teaching someone else a method is a very good way to make it easier to do yourself, as Jaxom found later that night when he worked some private equations of his own, poring over the rough map he had of the Southern Continent. There was too much activity all over Pern for him to go to an alternate “when” with any safety. And since he was going to time it, he might just as well go back at least twelve Turns, before anyone had started using the Southern Continent at all. He knew just where firestone could be mined so there’d be no problem supplying Ruth. The night stars were halfway to morning before he felt he could find his way to the then he wanted to find.
Just before daybreak, he was awakened by the sound of Ruth’s whimpering. He struggled from his furs and stumbled barefoot on the cold stones, blinking sleep from his eyes. Ruth’s forelegs were churning and his wing elbows twitched with whatever dream disturbed him. Firelizards burrowed about him; most of them did not wear Ruathan colors. He shooed the creatures away and Ruth, sighing, dropped into a deeper, quiet sleep.
CHAPTER VI
Ruatha Hold and Southern Hold, 15.5.27-15.6.2
THE HOLD DAY began by sending out firelizards with messages to all the smaller holds and craftcottages, ordering that every firelizard be appropriately marked and individually warned about approaching any Weyr. Some of the nearby holders had ridden in during the morning for reassurances about the garbled accounts the firelizards had given. So Lytol, Jaxom and Brand were kept busy all day. The next day, Thread was due to fall, and it fell at precisely the moment Lytol had calculated. This gave him great pleasure and reassured the more nervous holders.