Worrisome news

Writers: Chelle, Paula
Date Posted: 25th February 2015

Characters: Corowal, Zandan, Sarban
Description: The news from attack in the Weyr reach the leaders of Emerald Falls hold and they plan for their reaction.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 11, day 1 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: J'ackt, N'vanik
Notes: reaction to "Unchained Rage"

The news of what had happened at the Weyr reached Emerald Falls Hold fast.
After all, one of the involved (and injured) men was Hold's Guard.

"No, you're not going there. I won't let you anywhere near Weyr or
dragonriders. You won't be able to control your temper. Don't even think
about sneaking there behind my back either. Do you think I don't know about
you and the watchrider?" Corowal told his Captain of the Guard. Zandan
looked like he was about burst through a wall or just tear somebody to
bloody pieces. "Get yourself under control," Corowal commanded.

"He could have killed my man!" Zandan roared.

"He was stupid to challenge a dragonrider. There's reason we don't fight
with dragonriders. It's several dragonlengths long, has sharp talons, big
scary teeth and it breathes fire. The man was lucky to not get eaten."
Corowal snapped. "And what was Cronfur doing there in the first place? I
haven't sanctioned any trips to the Weyr, not for a guard," Corowal's voice
was like cold steel.

Sarban let Corowal have his say but he was considering all of the angles of
the situation. Sure the man had acted on his own. However, it was also not
fair to let the Weyr be allowed to injure holders as it saw fit. Perhaps
the guard had committed violence but the dragonrider had also committed
violence. The guard had been punished by his injuries but what would happen
to the rider? And would this mean that, in the future, other riders would
feel free to commit violence against holders without recompense? No-he was
pretty sure the boy needed to be made an example of-at least to prevent
further happenings. After all, the dragonriders were supposed to protect,
not to almost kill them. Besides, this was the same boy who had previously
injured holders, stole, and whatever else. Clearly, he had not learned
anything since Impression or changed at all. Waiting until his cousin was
ready to listen, he also realized this situation gave them leverage on the
Weyr. But what could they use the bargaining chip for?

Zandan wanted to protest but Corowal didn't let him speak. "Shut up, Zan.
You're not thinking. Right now, we don't know _exactly_ what happened."
Corowal rubbed his temples. The problem with Zandan was that he reacted
(often violently) and didn't stop to consider the broader picture. He
didn't like the idea of dragonriders injuring holders but he certainly
didn't want to damage the work he had put into improving the hold's
relationship with the Weyr either. What he needed were _all_ the facts and
those were available..in the Weyr. "I will deal with the matter directly
with N'vanik. Did Cronfur have a family?" Corowal looked Zandan, but he was
still fuming with rage, so he turned to Sarban. The steward would know,
being the one who handled the wages.

"A wife and three children. I imagine she'll not be too happy. Not to
mention his father and siblings and the rest." Sarban knew it would
probably fall to him to deal with them, but he thought some sort of gesture
from the Hold would be needed to appease the lot. They had allowed J'ackt
to escape the first time unpunished for his deeds, but a second time-that
could cause real loyalty problems.

"So, we can demand at least a compensation from Weyr to them. After all, he
provided for his family and they are now without income," Corowal said and
wrote a note. "I'm certain to bring it to N'vanik's attention." Not that
they would let that family starve...but they didn't have to tell that
N'vanik.

"Marks, what good marks will do?" Zandan snorted.

"Marks buy things," Corowal replied.

"While I have faith in the Weyrleader, you need to consider how this is
going to look to your holders, Corowal. If you don't hold the Weyr to
something regarding this boy, they're going to see you as weak and unable
to protect them. Or worse-they'll think you don't care. We cannot afford
disloyalty. If they start not paying tithes on time, we would have
problems. We could lose men and crafters if they go elsewhere. After all,
this is the third known time he's hurt an Emerald Falls holder in some
fashion, though he was suspected in the fire as well. And he's never been
punished. Does a bronze dragon make him above them or above you?" He was
quiet as he posed the question but it was a valid one. Corowal was in a
hard position and Sarban didn't envy him. However, a thousand or so angry
holders was worse than one bronzerider-dragon or not.

"I'll make sure N'vanik gets that point too. After all, if our tithes
diminish, the tithes to Weyr will diminish too accordingly. And riot does
tend to disrupt tithe trains," Corowal's eyes narrowed when he considered
options. Yes, the unrest among holders was good card to wave under
N'vanik's nose. An idea was starting to form in his mind.

"And it doesn't matter how many gourds are on the vine if there's no one to
pick them. They'll rot. I say he needs some sort of public punishment to
appease everyone. Surely, the Weyrleader doesn't want the rest of his
riders thinking it's allright to almost kill a holder they're sworn to
protect?" Sarban could see the gears moving and knew the seed had been
planted. Now, what was Corowal going to do was the question.

Sarban had a lot of good points, which is why he was the Steward. "Much
will depend on how N'vanik reacts. If he fails to remember that while they
keep Thread away from us, _we_ are the ones who keep them fed and clothed.
The next tithe train leaves at the end of the month, right?" Corowal got up
and paced around.

Nodding, Sarban waited and remained quiet as the Lord Holder had a think.
Corowal always thought better on his feet, hence the pacing. He picked up a
glass of water and drank while he nudged Zandan. He'd see the captain taken
care of one way or the other in the end.

"What are you thinking?" Zandan asked. He had finally calmed enough so he
wasn't trying tear down the wall to get to Dolphin Cove.

"A blockade. Tithe deliveries can be stopped or delayed. Roads can be
blocked or riverboats have accidents that keep them port, that kind of
things. We may not be able to starve them but we could make their life more
harder. Make them scrape the bottoms of their larders They need us to
provide them. Maybe it's time to remind them of it," Corowal answered. You
could hear the quotation marks in his voice. At this stage, he was just
tossing ideas to the air to see if one of them caught flight.

"And what if they fought back by letting one of your orchards be threaded?"
Posing the question, Sarban just thought about what someone like that might
be like. And he wouldn't put it past the Weyrleader either. "Works both
ways, after all."

"That would just enrage the holders more. If dragonriders don't protect us,
who does? It's a vicious cycle, I admit. Not something I would want to do,"
Corowal answered. "Definitely not something you do for light reasons. I
would settle for formal apology from the Weyr, maybe some compensation for
the man's family and guarantee that the guilty party gets punishment."

"What about the conditions for punishment? It can't be light after all for
the severity of the crime." He knew the ultimate punishment would be up to
the Weyrleaders but he was sure that Corowal would need to demand that it
be more than just a slap on the wrist. Dragonriders weren't folk for severe
punishment due to the dragons being around. Sarban understood why in
practice, but in this case the boy's dragon hadn't done anything to
dissuade him from almost killing a man and that gave the steward pause.

"It's hard to demand a public flogging when the one with a whip is most
likely to get eaten by a protective dragon," Corowal said with a dry tone
and run his fingers through his hair.

"Not if there's a queen holding said dragon down." That was all Sarban was
going to say on the matter. The rest was going to be up to Corowal.

"The dragonriders tend to be faint-hearted in matters like these," Corowal
remarked skeptically. "Arrange a ride for me to the Weyr and send N'vanik a
message that I'm requesting a meeting with him."

"On it." Taking that as his cue, the steward disappeared, pulling Zandan
with him. Better for the Captain to realize things had just gone slightly
his way and to walk away than to open his mouth.

Last updated on the March 6th 2015

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