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 Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:51 pm
"Hey, Narisa!" Set'al replied cheerfully. "Not much, I don't think, but I just got here right before you did. Looks like we're just getting started."
Cepheith's is there? Sit up straight, Mine! Don't slouch, I know you're slouching.
Hey, I'll slouch if I want to. Pipith also informed him that he should ask this brownrider, B'ol, some questions as well, but Set'al figured the others were doing just fine; who would want half a dozen people all trying to ask questions at once, anyway? He'd just leave it be and listen for now.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:58 pm
"Oh good, then we don't have to play catchup." She smiled at Set'al, looking towards the other group that was forming. She didn't see anyone else in their own group besides them just yet, however. But if everyone else had just gotten here, they were probably on their way. Hopefully.
Narisa returned the wave to Optheli, happy to see her friend was in good spirits today. She also spotted N'var, offering him a returning smile before her attention fell on the brownrider that seemed to be of interest right now. What had he just told the other group his name was? B'ol? Of Phaenoth? The goldrider frowned slightly. That was not a name she knew, though this was not a huge surprise to her. She was still doing her best to learn all the names she could. And this brownrider was a senior rider at that.
Not one of ours, he says? This had been, as far as she knew, something that many believed. As well as everyone pointing fingers at another Weyr.
Of course it wouldn't be one of ours! Cepheith snorted where she lay, fanning her wings until they settled against her back. She spotted a familiar green and crooned in greeting towards Dynith.
She listened quietly as S'kagi and Cetalese questioned him further. They were good questions, or at least she approved of them. She also agreed with S'kagi, wishing she could feel as confident as not only this brownrider but Cepheith as well. A resounding snort in the back of her mind informed her of what said dragon thought of this. Narisa's lips twitched slightly, turning her head to see N'var had joined their group.
"Hey, N'var!" She greeted pleasantly, giving the brownrider, B'ol, her attention again. Though it flickered to S'kagi as he asked an interesting question. Rumor of a strange blue? Narisa could not recall if she'd heard this before. For now, she filed that away as useful information to have on hand. A strange yet warm sifting through her thoughts let her know Cepheith was digging for something. She waited patiently until the gold dragon found what she sought.
Ask about that, mine. Don't just wait quietly for the right things to be said or asked. We have a right to ask too.
Yep. Cepheith was still grumpy, though it seemed she was relaxing little by little as more people arrived that she felt her rider was safe enough with. And more dragons she was able to focus on. Narisa sighed, and spoke up as well. "Rider B'ol? I am Narisa of Cepheith." She offered the senior rider a small bow of respect. "By chance have you heard anything about the assassin himself? Like S'kagi says, it would be very helpful to discern whether or not he is, in fact, a rider. Though I myself have heard he's rather infamous..." She trailed off to await a response from the brownrider.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:22 am
As his fellows started to quiz the brownrider Z'iv frowned thoughtfully. The cynic in him felt that the man was far too quick to insist it couldn't have been somebody from Trine. He wished he'd heard more than just snatches of those dark whispers.... He couldn't believe that somebody from Trine wanted their own Weyrwoman dead, well unless they were making a personal play for power.... Amber eyes flicked over to Narisa and studied her carefully as she asked her own question. No. Not her. She was too sweet... but her dragon was ambitious. s**t, he didn't want to be thinking these things about his fellows. Why had all of this happened? Why couldn't life just be easy and comfortable?
Zetath demanded sharply, not intend to miss something important because you were sulking to yourself.>
Zetath was right - the black often was - the sooner they found out who was doing these things the sooner life would go back to normal. Pushing his fingers through his hair Z'iv focused his attention back on the brownrider and waited for a response.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:50 am
The other group was here as well. Cetalese turned as Narisa approached and introduced herself, smiling faintly at her yearmate and inclining her head slightly in greeting. The more the merrier. Yes, they were separated for the sake of having multiple teams out looking for clues, rather than everyone converging on someone at once, but it seemed as if that might happen anyway, at least for today. Cetalese wasn't sorry for it, though. More minds meant more questions, which meant more likelihood of them learning something from someone, which was the point.
Suddenly, a thought semi-unrelated to the investigation came to her and she found herself staring at Narisa. If Abigail didn't wake, if she could not lead the weyr... Narisa would become Senior Weyrwoman. She would take on Abigail's responsibilities when she was ready, and when Cepheith rose she would become senior Queen, thus placing Narisa squarely as Senior Weyrwoman. The murderer was dead, so she shouldn't be concerned, but what if he hadn't been working alone? What if the evidence was meant to mislead? He wouldn't have done that just because, he would only do that if there was a bigger scheme in mind. Which meant he might not be alone. Which meant Narisa might be a target now, too. Not that all Goldriders weren't already considered targets, but Narisa was their only Gold now. If something happened to her...
"I had heard," Cetalese admitted slowly, trying to turn her thoughts away from that line of thought, "That the evidence found with the body was meant to mislead the Weyrs. To throw doubt on the riders."
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 6:46 am
...They'd punish someone who did this, planting lies... if they were caught... correct? Luvith nudged, as S'kagi tucked away what he could pick out from the questions for his own future reference.
Narisa's question certainly made sense. If the assassin wasn't infamous before, they certainly were now. Two goldriders killed, a third's life teetering on the knife's edge... you couldn't strike that kind of blow and not become a terrible legend, the imagined predator in the darkness that scared children. And she had good reason to ask, with so much potentially riding on her shoulders... and so much potential danger.
We will help protect her. We can make it... difficult... for this hunter to strike twice. Luvith added, picturing the way a herd became more defensive after the first time they were struck by a dragon.
We're all doing our best... S'kagi answered back, though his own worries made the imagined shadow on Luvith's pictured herd the shadow of the mysterious blue.
Ceta's question was also good, making his imagination spin off in curious directions. Who would plant the evidence? The Bluerider? What did they have to gain? Was someone that desperate to change the rule at the Weyrs? Was someone in place trying to gain influence over the junior goldriders? Had they already done so?
"...Good question...and raises a few more." He glanced over at Narisa, flashing her a slightly concerned smile. He personally didn't see her as the killer. Not after talking to her as he bathed Luvith. Maybe he was wrong but he couldn't see it in her, not with her earlier uncertainty about her qualifications. "...Maybe we should be finding out if there's any common threads of people becoming involved with the junior goldriders at the Weyrs." He suggested. "Find out who's close to them, see if there's anything in common that might tell us something."
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 10:08 am
"Who did it?" B'ol showed his teeth in a snarl and banged his cup down on the table. "Sharding murderer, that's who. Bloody Benden dimglow nigh on killed our Abigail! I'm glad he's dead." The rider's anger seemed to ebb somewhat with that outburst and he looked down into his klah with a sad sigh. "She didn't deserve that, nor did Malvren's poor Weyrleader. It's Benden's hand in this right enough, and as for that strange dragon," he nodded to S'kagi, "bet you twenty marks it hailed from Benden and has been carrying that killer around. Nobody I know of has seen more of the beast since Malvren, but I'm certain it brought the murderer here too."
Then turning to Narisa B'ol flashed a slightly wan smile and returned her respectful nod. "I know well enough who y'are junior weyrwoman, glad to see you at least still safe and sound.... I've not heard anyone with any facts about the killer but I'm sure he was from Benden. Might not have been the rider of the blue dragon himself but he's come from that wretched Weyr, no doubt in my mind at all. Infamous though y'say? How's that then, other than the reputation he's got himself by what he's done?... And misleading?" B'ol raised his eyebrows at Cetalese. "Isn't anyone can say that for sure. Maybe he was cocky, sure he'd not get caught and so he wasn't afraid to have things like that on him, or then again maybe it's a double bluff, hiding behind 'it's too obvious'. Sneaky, wouldn't y'say?" As the crimsonrider spoke up B'ol pursed his lips and frowned thoughtfully. "Can't hurt to do that," he acknowledged, "especially if they're newcomers. Who's to say Benden isn't planing more murderers right now, waiting to slit more throats? I don't think they'll let the loss of one killer stop them for long."
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:39 pm
F'ren was listening carefully from a corner of the room ear the riders being 'questioned' so far he apparently had not been noticed. F'ren, usually one for the center of attention had been keeping only Toulonth's counsel lately, thinking things over since the murders. He'd been thankful that Abigail was safe but things prickled at his mind, things he just couldn't quite remember.
He stepped out and towards B'ol, his face lightly scarred from threadfall from when they'd time-jumped. "Need i remind you B'ol .. that it was Benden's only Queenrider that was murdered FIRST. Now.. i am in no way saying they're innocent.. someone is guilty here but i don't know any rider here that would willingly kill a Goldrider" and he pointed to himself and other riders he knew in the room, "if only for the thought of her dragon" he sighed. "I heard tell that the Assassin turned on their Employers... and i'm not entirely sure said employer was within one of our Weyrs either. I'm more concerned with just HOW they knew the whereabouts of our weyrleaders to strike them" he said, somewhat oddly calm and his tone flat as he looked at B'ol. He grabbed a chair and sat at the table, his crimson and silver flits appearing as soon as F'ren thought of food. He rubbed his face slightly as if he were weary but straightened. "Anyone for Klah ... i know i could use some a hot, fresh brew" he said, abruptly losing the flat tone for one attempting some cheer.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 6:43 pm
S'kiro watched intently as each of the others were talking. Catching sight of Narisa, he got up to greet her. He felt that his friend could be wrong about who it was, but there was always the chance. As they were to be in groups, he didn't see that it would matter talking to the others.
Not getting to far, he spotted a couple of the others in the group entering. He couldn't figure out the best way to mention what his friend had told him. His feelings about a rider committing murder were mixed. The rider would be going against his dragons instinct, or so he thought. He stopped though to greet the others. "Hello, Narisa, Optheli..." His voice trailed off, since the group was getting a bit larger and he wasn't one for that.
Saykiromine, they wont bite you. And even if they do, you all have blunt teeth so it wont hurt. Tell them what your friend said. The reassuring voice of Neptanth calmed S'kiro's nerves and he moved into the group a bit more.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:17 pm
Narisa gladly took the small distraction to greet her yearmate, S'kiro. "Hey." She replied in a lower voice, so as not to bother the others asking questions.
She still felt too tense, for all that she had relaxed a little being in the mess hall. Part of it, she knew, was because of Cepheith, who did not like being separated from her rider very much during these times. But the other half, that was her own feelings, just down right felt uncomfortable about having to even ask such questions. She did not want to throw blame where it wasn't deserved. Or make assumptions without proper reason for it. She couldn't afford to. But she was glad that her fellow weyrlings all seemed to be on about the same page. For the most part. To have even considered one of them for the losses and state of Weyrwoman Abigail hadn't crossed her mind. Nor did she wish it to.
Narisa glanced back towards Cetalese as she asked another question. She gave her a small, encouraging smile as there were no stupid questions here. Though once she asked it, Narisa and Cepheith - who was keeping up closely with the conversation - agreed with it. Even if neither had heard confirmation on this.
That tense, uncomfortable feeling increased as S'kagi added another question to the many being thrown out there. It also had her thinking if there was any truth to his words. Though, she personally was not super close with anyone. At least not well enough it could be used against herself or her Weyr! And the responses given by the brownrider didn't help those feelings decrease. Narisa shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying not to let her arms move up and wrap around her middle. She was not going to let anything belay the growing anxiousness she felt.
She was grateful when another rider stepped forth and gave a small reprimand for such blatant accusations towards Benden. Something that seemed, in her opinion, to be a favorite thing of lately. Which begged another question.
"If I may, can I ask why you feel so strongly that Benden is to blame?" Narisa asked B'ol slowly. "I understand they have not always...made the best decisions. And that there could very well be good reason to believe it them. But, how can you be so sure?" She did her best to phrase everything carefully and not allow herself to appear as if she blamed Benden as well. No, she had to keep her mind open for now.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 7:54 am
"I can guess at a very real reason for people to continue to resent Benden... but it doesn't necessarily mean they're the ones to blame, it just makes them the most obvious Weyr to frame if someone's trying to break the alliances between us..."
He was thinking of course of the dead Crimson rider and her dragon, something some of the newer weyrlings might not have been present for, but which still left a bad taste in more than one mouth. B'ol seemed ready enough to share what was on his mind that he reasoned that the other rider would be perfectly happy to explain, and he was content enough to let him do it, though he added.
"SOME dragon rider may be involved, I saw the same blue that was mentioned at Malvren the same day that Abigail was attacked...but I couldn't tell you what Weyr they were actually from, or if they were here to assist the killer, or to try and find and stop them."
He had little doubt someone would react badly to that statement, probably B'ol, though it had taken some time to put things together. If he'd known at the time that Abigail had been attacked, he might have pursued the blue, but the stranger had been gone before he had the chance to do much more than take note of it being in the area.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 1:53 pm
Optheli grabbed Kytara’s hand and pulled her toward S’kiro and F’ren when she saw the other riders. There was one more in the group, but she wasn’t sure where G’brel was. After giving the other riders a smile of welcome, she listened to the conversation. It seemed as though Benden was still blamed. Her brows wrinkled in thought, and she felt Dynith in the back of her mind.
“We know the assassin was killed right?” Optheli said aloud to no one in particular. “That bluerider was said to be seen in several places during the assassinations. Did anyone hear the dragons grieve for the blue?” She looked around worried. If not, then that blue and his rider were still out there. Free and able to take another assassin wherever one wanted to go. Optheli said as much. It couldn’t be hard to find another assassin if one had already been found.
The greenrider shifted nervously thinking of the paper she’d found in the hearth. They needed to know about it. Her eyes caught those of her group. “I found a piece of paper, half burned. It talked about spies and traitors in the Weyrs. Could this bluerider be one? How good are dragons at keeping secrets from one another? Perhaps he’s a roguerider.” Optheli waited to see what the others had to say.
Dynith took her eyes off the entrance for a moment to chirp shyly back at Cepheith. She hoped none of the bronzes or browns noticed. The green fidgeted as her rider revealed their new to the others. Would they take her seriously?
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:03 am
B'ol regarded F'ren levelly over his cup, remaining still for a few moments before lowering it and holding it cradled in his hands. "You don't have to remind me of that, I'm quite aware," he said with a shake of his head, "and I'll come to that in a minute... I don't know about the assassin turning on those that paid them, and as for finding our Weyrleaders? Well, a big gold by the lake isn't hard to spot, and nor is the senior Weyrwoman's quarters in Malvren. I don't think the killer would have had any trouble locating them, certainly less trouble than getting about so unseen."
Then turning to Narisa, B'ol sighed and shook his head slightly. "It's a fair question, and I come back to that question I avoided first. Benden lost their queen first, but who's to say the same person killed her as rode around on that blue. If you saw it here," he nooded to S'kagi, "all the more reason to think it was them. Nobody at Malvren knew the description, and you didn't know it either? Can't be either of our Weyrs then, now can it? The Benden Weyrwoman's death was just a perfect excuse to 'take revenge', on targets that appeal to them, which is Malvren and us for helping 'runt' dragons to hatch rather than leaving them to die in their shells. That Weyr's always liked picking on people you know, thinking they're better'n everyone. They've been nothing but trouble from us since time remembers, and it's only gotten worse since the whole business with the mystweed got started. Remember how they sent their riders and healers in here without asking, like they owned the place? They hate that we exist, and I bet they'd like nothing better than to poison every last one of us."
As Optheli spoke up B'ol gave a thoughtful frown and took a long slow sip of his klah. "You're right," he said eventually, "the assassin who tried to kill our Abigail is dead, but the dragons didn't mourn. Either that blue had been sent far enough away that they didn't feel it, or the assassin wasn't a rider. Maybe Benden found it easier to get a non-rider to do the deed because even their riders have some bad feeling about murdering their own kind.... Spies and traitors. Dragons can keep secrets from one another just as we can, d'pends on the dragon.... Could be Benden has eyes and ears here, maybe a crafter or something come down from there. Wouldn't be hard for them to send letters by a flitt, and then the assassin could be sent in on the blue dragon."
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:56 am
"And if the people at Benden also say they're unfamiliar with the dragon in question?" S'kagi challenged, then added, with furrowed brows... "Wait, let me guess... They'd be obviously lying, right?"
B'ol's prejudice was on the one hand frustrating, and on the other hand understandable, but at the moment, it wasn't very helpful, regardless of which 'hand' you considered.
"Even if they decide to lie to us, if we could get someone on the ground it would be difficult for them to hide it entirely, with a whole weyr it seems a bit of a stretch that someone would miss the warning to be silent about a certain dragon."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully, wondering what it would take to get that sort of investigation in motion.
"Even if they hate us it would make more sense for them to attack the atypicals..." He shuddered mentally, thinking of what it might have been like to wonder if someone had come for Luvith.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:05 pm
B'ol shrugged eloquently. "Didn't claim to have all the answers, but I'm sure Benden's involved. Hey, maybe the blue's Timed it or something and that's why nobody know it? Whatever the case I'd bet about anything Benden's at the bottom of this, it's got the stink of their arrogance all over it. Now, if'n you'll all excuse me," the brownrider got to his feet and drained his cup, "I have sweep duty to be getting to." Setting the cup back down on the table the stocky man nodded to the crowd, gave a little half bow to the junior weyrwoman and sauntered away.
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