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The small mining hold of Hammer’s Reach was wedged up in the mountains of High Reaches Hold. It had been founded some fifteen turns earlier by a distant member of the family - a second cousin of the ruling Lord - seeking out new sources of iron. The main hold was cut into the natural cave system near the mines, which the population - if it was successful - might one day expand into. He had brought his young wife with him, and their small family had grown, producing what would one day be the hold’s ruling dynasty. The briefing the riders had been given didn’t suggest that there were any major problems in the hold - just the usual grumbles and minor problems that any hold had. Who was grazing whose sheep in the wrong place, whose husband had been caught inflagrante with that young man, and so on and so forth.

On the outskirts, a few small cotholds were visible, with vegetable patches and strips of land put under cultivation. Here and there, animals grazed, but there was no-one watching them - they seemed rather to have strayed loose. By a copse of carefully coppiced softwoods, a charcoal burner’s kiln had clearly caught fire some days before and burnt itself out. There was no flag raised to signal for rider assistance.

All this was apparent from the air.

From the ground where the small group of riders had landed near the large iron (well, iron plated over hardwood) doors of the hold, all was quiet - the quiet of a complete absence of human beings. Somewhere, a wherry sang. Grass had begun to grow up between the cracks in the courtyard behind the stone walls, against the prohibition to keep the hold bare.

The Hold had not been in touch with anyone in almost a month. None of the usual barges of goods had come down the river, and they hadn’t responded to drum signals. Concern had led a delegation from the local Minecrafters to the Weyr to ask them to investigate - many of them had kin in Hammer’s Reach, and the Master overseeing operations there was a well-liked man.

The man in charge of the group was the second wing rider C’tis. Many arguments could have been raised against this (and probably had been), but… there it was. And there he was.

Vosin and Bronze Tiaeth

When she had heard of the tiny hold that had stopped all communication, Vosin had immediately volunteered. This had the makings of a great adventure. A young hold with suddenly no communications. What had happened to the families living there?

Plus it was a way to get some time out of the weyr. She really needed a change of pace and view, and something active to do. Vos peered over her small bronze at the quiet hold below. She noted the animals grazing unattended, a burned out area where something had once stood, and fields growing a variety of foods. There's no one outside, she commented to Tiaeth.

The small dragon from times long past rumbled softly at his rider's observation. Despite his age he was still in prime condition. Perhaps they are hiding? he replied to Vos. Tiaeth also took a good long look around. His leader for this venture, a blue surprisingly, addressed the group. We understand Malcarreth, he acknowledged and beat his wings to circle for the first group to land.

As the first group of dragons took off, he settled himself into a small spot and folded his wings. Tiaeth listened intently and watched as many of the entrances as he could to see if anyone was peeking out. I don't hear anyone Vos. He sounded confused and slightly troubled. There was always people in places like these.

She frowned slightly. Peculiar. We'll find out the mystery Tiaeth. That's why we came after all. They could be really deep in the caves, or maybe run off by bandits. The woman slid down the shoulder to the ground. Landing with a practiced flex of her knees. Vos slapped the bronze shoulder, get back into the air and keep an eye out for me. She moved a safe distance away and shielded her eyes while Tiaeth leaped back into the sky. After the dust had settled she strolled over to the rider of the blue.

"Well indeed. Not the normal reception I'd say." She turned on her heel to get a 360 view. "Where do we start?"

The door swung open, unlocked and unbarred against thread or foe. The interior was that of a fairly typical cothold, though in a state of some disarray. As the door swung open C’tis was met with the sickly sweet smell of decay that had been trapped within the house.

From his perspective at the door, he could see a lump beneath the bedsheets, turned over on one side and covered neatly. At the end of the bed, a chest had been flung open and its contents scattered about the little dwelling, apparently in some sort of frantic hunt for something. The fire (usually maintained throughout the turn) had burnt out some time ago, and a copper kettle - surely a prized possession - still sat above the fire.

Ja'line & Sanuyeth


Sanuyeth flew low behind the dragons of second wing feeding detailed images of the ground below to Ja'line. The young woman shuddered as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. This wasn't just suspicious. It was downright eerie. She held tight to her straps as Sanuyeth followed Malcarreth to the ground, landing with a bump but dismounting without difficulty.

Sanuyeth stayed standing while the other dragons deposited their riders and shifted around. The young green snorted and made to roll her eyes at Tiaeth before she found that she too was ordered into the air after him. Oh goody. I get to babysit grandpa. She joked privately to Ja'line before launching herself back into the air and catching up swiftly to the smaller bronze.

Ja'line struggled not to laugh as she made her way towards the front of the group. Her sword hung heavy and comforting on her hip. Even so, her heart raced in her throat as she followed C'tis in their quiet approach. The opening of the door was almost anticlimactic if it weren't for the godawful smell that assaulted their noses. Ja'line gagged.

~...~

Z'fer & Calanoth

Z'fer was also up front near C'tis, his weapon half drawn from it's sheath. There was no mistaking that he was just a little put out by C'tis being chosen over him for this assignment. There was no changing it now though and Z'fer wasn't about to jeopardize his own position by complaining to the Wingleader. Didn't mean he couldn't act a little surly as long as he didn't shaff things up.

Calanoth took it all in stride, grateful that he didn't have to go on first patrol or do anything more strenuous than keep his eyes and ears out. The brown laid his great bulk down and rolled half on his side, tucking his wings carefully. His head swiveled in the air as he watched the team of riders but he would 'conserve his energy' for now.

[L'ssa and Caldweth]

Abandoned holds? Impending danger and doom? Mystery? There wasn't a gold on Pern that could keep L'ssa and her curiosity out of this mission. She and Caldweth blinked into existence somewhere in the rear of the formation--there was a joke to that somewhere, and L'ssa let out a snort at her own musings. Whatever wry smile she might have brought with her from High Reaches slowly drained from her as she looked at the holdings beneath her, replaced by a pensive frown that mismatched the crinkled lines in her face.

Caldweth muttered darkly, scanning the ground for signs of life.

"Don't think that's it, Cal," came L'ssa's response, her voice distant as they began their descent. The small gathering of riders looked almost alien in the otherwise picturesque stillness, and the sight of them alone left an uneasy feeling in the seasoned wingrider's gut. Ambush creeped its way into her thoughts in the form of racing palpitations, screams in the distance, but she swallowed it down, down from her mind and her gut instinct that said 'run', even after all these turns.

By her blade or another's, those bandits had died turns ago, but they lived on in the memory of a panicked weyrling's heart.

L'ssa slid from her perch in one fluid motion, her expression uncharacteristically hard to read. With a pat of her Caldweth's coppery flank, she sauntered towards the assembled group, a hand casually draped against the hilt of her sword. She bumped her hip against Valdene as she walked past, giving the bluerider a wink and a smirk, but otherwise she was silent as she slid into position behind C'tis, following him just shy of the door and then breaking off to coil herself underneath one of the cothold's windows, just in case someone wanted to play tunnelsnake-in-the-box.

She caught a whiff of the inside as the door swung inwards, her nose curling inward in distaste. "Ugh, what curled up and died in there?" Seeing no obvious look of surprise or alarm on the faces of the other riders, L'ssa crawled her way to standing beside the window's ledge, keeping her body pinned to the wall as she attempted to peer in and catch a glimpse for herself.

Vosin and Bronze Tiaeth

Vos arched her brow questioningly at C'tis for his reaction. She hadn't heard anything except her dragon taking off, granted she had been expecting it.

Tiaeth gave a laugh at his implied blunder and Malcarreth's reprimand. Sorry, I thought you'd wanted the second group of dragons to take back off after we dropped off our riders, the bronze explained. The blue hadn't explicitly stated the second group was to remain on the ground. Of course he knew how to work in a group, and didn't bother to reply with a comment. He circled overhead and dipped his wings at his rider.

Sure, he granted easily to the blue. To his rider, Malcarreth wishes me to go look over some trees for an ambush. Call if you need me. He turned on a wing and headed back the way they'd come.

Alright Tiaeth, keep your eyes peeled. Is it me or might C'tis have a stick up his a**? Her lips quirked as the man stated the obvious about the grass. There wouldn't be grass here if there were people here; if there were people here they wouldn't be here now. "Clearly someone hasn't been keeping up with the weeding," Vos commented casually. To her though, grass didn't pop up over night. There had been a problem here for some time now. She hoped the clues were still there to find.

Give him some slack Vosin. It is probably only pressure. He is a blue and leading this group into a dangerous situation. Tiaeth had to chuckle a bit to himself.

Probably right as usual. A bit of jealousy swept over her as armed riders were ordered to the fore. Smart move, but it meant she wouldn't be among the first into any area. Something she needed to work on. Vos eyed the indicated cothold they were to enter. As they headed over she muttered as she scanned the ground, "tracks or game trails." It might give them an idea if there were any people around recently. Human foot prints, or if the wildlife had lost their fear of the humans who'd once lived here and moved back in.

She wrinkled her nose when the stench wafted out of the home. With how easily the door swung open when C'tis knocked she would have thought wild animals would have gotten in to eat anything edible.

He perked up as a green quickly joined him. Hello! Come to check out the trees with me? Tiaeth rumbled a laugh as he glided low over the burned out area. Yup kiln definitely burned, no signs of life yet. Moving on to the trees, Tiaeth relayed to the blue. He ducked his head under his wings to get a good view of the kiln area just to be sure. His attention turned to the green again. So what's your name, and what wing are you in?

Vosin made a face as she hear C'tis say there was a body in there. Disgusting. She was not looking forward to going in there now. Thankfully he firmly closed the door. His question brought an uncomfortable thought to her mind. "I don't think either of those reason you'd lay your dead out like that. Bandits or....." What she didn't want to think about was disease. However, there had been only one dead and what she knew of them tended toward many people getting sick.

Z'fer & Calanoth

"Sickness?" Alarm made a buzzing feeling in Z'fer's mind. Memories of the plague, of being banned from returning home to Ista and the fear and uncertainty when Calanoth fell ill. He had been lucky. Calanoth had survived, treated and quarantined by the healers at Telgar. Many more were not spared. "Possibly a plague..." He was loath to suggest it but it was a possibility. His voice was low despite the fact the only other being there was obviously dead. "Who knows how fast it might have hit, or how far and how long it took to spread if it even did." Judging by the abandoned body though, if it was illness Z'fer would be positive that it did spread and fast. Z'fer stuffed his sword back down into it's sheath and stood, casting one last glance with a grimace into the room before C'tis shut the door on the sight.


Jasiline & Sanuyeth


She'd only just got into the air and started her patrol when Malcarreth called her off to go babysit the other time dragon instead. She rolled her eyes but banked her wings, spiraling away from Tiaeth even as the small bronze began his chatter. Sanuyeth. Second Wing. And duty calls. Sanuyeth replied with a smirk in her voice.

She dropped swiftly to the ground, landing with yet another satisfyingly heavy thump near the treeline. She eyed the forest with only a touch of aprehension. She was a green, fresh out of weyrlinghood. She wasn't a large dragon by any means but she was broad, Low-slung and thick. She might be able to slip between some of the trees, but she was not about to sacrifice her dignity and get herself stuck. Alright short stack. She directed at Suuyeth. The time blue was full grown and older, but near half her size none-the-less. I've got the outskirts covered. You go poke around inside. Stay in sight.

Oh shards it was L'ssa. Her mentor. Valdene wasn't sure what to make of her. On the one hand, for all of being a mentor, L'ssa was very... unconventional. Or, less politely, not as rigid as Valdene herself. It was infuriating to Valdene.

On the other hand, something about her was intriguing, some hidden layer behind the disorganized exterior. She gave L'ssa an uneasy nod of greeting and kept her hand by her dagger

Caldweth!> Suuyeth greeted the big bronze as he obediently – he could be that when he wanted to be – went to the copse. He was small enough to manage most of the trees, though flight from inside the grove itself would be tricky. he chirped affirmatively to Malcarreth as he arrived. He looked at the sky, waiting for Sanuyeth to join him.

Valdene coughed as the rancid smell of death and decay reached her nose. She did not like reminders of mortality – she had enough to deal with, seeing as most everybody she had ever known was now long gone. “Bandits.” she suggested. But then, there would be a lot less... anything... intact. “An attack by wildlife.” she suggested again after a moment... but she wasn't certain.

Suuyeth made a little dragonic giggle at the wherries he poked around the trees. he chirped to Sanuyeth. He didn't mind the nickname she gave him – he was proud of his size. he siad, indicating the wherries, He wiggled deeper into the copse, his size a distinct advantage in the trees... though it made him harder to spot for his allies above and nearby. He bemoaned his easily-filled stomach – he'd had a good chunk of herdbeast, and those wherries looked so tasty...

Now in the inner part of the copse, he sniffed around. he asked Sanuyeth, as an afterthought, broadcasting to Tiaeth and Malcarreth as well. He didn't want to get in trouble for being hidden, or anything!

Valdene pondered Ra'fe's idea. She hadn't even bothered to think about the mines or precious stones. She wasn't one to suggest it, but perhaps, she thought, someone should be sent to the mines to take a look...