A Remarkable Tale

Writers: Estelle, Yvonne
Date Posted: 27th July 2020

Characters: L'keri, H'run
Description: L'keri tells H'run the story of his limp
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 13 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: D'ale, Urlene

L'keri

H'run

There weren't many good sides to a leg injury, L'keri thought, but one
of them was that he always got a seat at wing meetings without having to
arrive early. He thanked the greenrider who'd given up his chair with
the deepest sincerity and gratitude, and settled down to look attentive
while he listened to D'ale. He wondered, as the sevenday's duty schedule
was discussed, how much longer he'd be able to milk this. Perhaps not
too much, now he hardly needed the cane. Best to enjoy it while he could.

Once the meeting was over, he pushed himself to his feet with a mildly
pained expression and followed the others as they filed out. The
bluerider who held the door ahead of him wasn't a familiar face, and he
remembered he'd been introduced as a new wingrider.

"Thanks - H'run, right?" he asked. "I'm L'keri, Rhalith's rider."

"Guilty as charged, I am indeed H'run," the bluerider said, sweeping a
bow as L'keri passed. He nodded at the cane, curiosity sparking in his
eyes. "And I suspect that you are a man with a very interesting story
behind that limp."

"Oh, it was nothing," L'keri said modestly, realising at once that the
new arrival wouldn't yet have heard about his mishap at Dolphin Cove.
"Merely the result of a minor act of heroism, a few months back. Hardly
worth talking about."

"Hardly worth...!" H'run staggered. "My dear brownrider, I'll have you
know that I have yet to hear the story of a limp that was not worth
talking about-- and I am a Harper with a very fine sense of a good tale.
Can you make it as far as the Dining Cavern, friend? Perhaps you could
regale me with your tale over a pint?" The evenings could be long, and
H'run wanted a friendly face to while a few candlemarks away with.
Despite his best efforts, he missed his friends back at Dream's End Weyr.

"Gladly. I could do with a..." His face fell dramatically as he
remembered. "Oh. Well, I'd be more than happy to tell you all about it,
but it'll have to be over a mug of klah for me at least. I've sworn off
drink for the time being. That's another story."

"A tale told over klah is no less than a tale told over beer," the
bluerider said diplomatically. "And I am more than happy to hear two
tales instead of one."

"Well, the tale of why I can't drink is the simpler one," L'keri
explained, with a mournful air, as they made their way towards the
Dining Cavern. "I lost a wager with a beautiful Healer. As a result,
I've given my word as a dragonrider not to drink any alcohol for a full
Turn."

"Of course a beautiful woman is involved. What sort of story would it be
if there wasn't?" H'run made a mental note to find out who, exactly,
this beautiful Healer was. "And if you keep your sworn word as a
dragonrider, and not a drop of liquor passes your lips for an entire
Turn--" an eternity -- "What sort of prize do you claim?"

"My prize? Let's just say it'll make a Turn of abstinence seem entirely
worth while." L'keri gave the bluerider a sly wink as he snagged a jug
of hot klah and some mugs from one of the serving tables.

H'run's imagination ran wild. He paused for a moment where he stood,
speculating not only on the beauty of this Healer -- which had to be
extraordinary to inspire a man to abstain for a full Turn -- but also
the storytelling potential of the thing. **This would make for a very
catchy song.** The bluerider shook his head and hurried after L'keri.
"This healer of yours, she must be worth waiting for. Did you meet her
when you injured your leg?"

"She was responsible for healing me, yes." L'keri decided not to mention
the rather embarrassing occasion when he'd encountered Urlene for the
first time. He took a seat at the nearest empty table, with a sigh of
relief as he took the weight off his leg. "Ah, I can picture her now. It
was late in the night at Dolphin Cove, and she came running out in her
nightgown, her golden hair falling loose around her lovely shoulders,
when she heard that a dragonrider was hurt. But I'm getting ahead of my
story."

"I am all ears." H'run sat across from him and folded his hands on the
table, giving L'keri his full attention.

The brownrider sipped his klah, thinking quickly, then began his tale.
"It all happened after a party at Dolphin Cove that one of my old
wingmates had invited me to. We'd had a long and enjoyable night, and
I'll admit I'd had a few drinks by the time the party started winding
down in the early hours. Then, I offered to escort a rather pretty
greenrider back to her weyr. She'd had a little too much wine, and I
couldn't leave her to go back on her own. We were walking back together
past the weyrling barracks, and suddenly, I heard a strange noise. A bit
like this." He paused, then made a soft, plaintive mewing sound.

"I couldn't make out what it was at first, but then my friend pointed
and I looked up. There, clinging to the edge of the roof of the barracks
was a tiny, fluffy kitten, looking back at us with round, terrified
eyes. The poor thing must have climbed up there and couldn't find its
way back down. What could I do? I had to help it."

"Naturally. Any good man would do the same," H'run said. So far it
sounded a bit far fetched, but L'keri was turning out to be an excellent
storyteller-- and any Harper worth his words knew that a good story was
sometimes worth far more than the truth.

"Trying to coax the creature down clearly wasn't going to work. It was
trembling with fear, and besides I was afraid it might fall," L'keri
explained. "So that's when I decided there was nothing for it but to
climb up there myself. There was a water barrel near the corner of the
building that I could use, and with a certain natural agility and a bit
of help from my greenrider friend, I scrambled up onto the roof. Inching
my way along the edge, step by perilous step, I finally got close enough
to scoop up the kitten and tuck it safely into my jacket. Then I started
to make my way back. It wasn't until the last moment that disaster struck."

His voice dropped. "A loose roof tile slid out from under my foot, and
with a sickening lurch, I lost my balance and toppled over the edge. My
last thought was to twist myself in the air so that I wouldn't land on
the rescued kitten. Then there was a terrible thud and it all went dark.
When I came back to my senses, I was looking up dazedly into a pair of
clear blue eyes of the most astounding beauty, and felt a soft hand
stroking my brow."

"Your aforementioned healer," H'run guessed. "Dressed all in white, with
her golden hair streaming like a banner."

"Yes," L'keri sighed, his gaze going dreamy at the memory. He shook
himself. "And that's the tale of how I broke my leg and ended up in the
Infirmary at Dolphin Cove for a month." Storytelling was thirsty work,
he thought. If only he didn't have to stick to klah.

H'run shook his head. "Remarkable," he said, although he wasn't sure if
it was a comment about the tale or its teller. "Was this when your
Healer wagered that you couldn't drink for a Turn? Or did that come later?"

"Oh, that was later. And it was all my own fault," the brownrider
admitted. "She bet me that I'd feel better than I had for a long time
after my stay in the Infirmary, and if I did, I'd have to give up the
drink. I didn't believe it was possible, but it turns out she's talented
at her craft as well as beautiful. I'm afraid I didn't take my loss as
gracefully as I could have, and so she made a second wager, that I
wouldn't be able to keep my promise. But this time, I'm determined to win."

"She sounds a worthwhile prize indeed." The bluerider wasn't convinced
that any woman-- or man-- could keep him abstinent for an entire Turn
and make it worthwhile, but it was L'keri's choice to make. "Well. That
is quite the tale, and I thank you for telling it to me. And my hope for
you is that your Turn passes quickly so that you can claim your prize."
He lifted his mug of klah in a silent toast.

"So do I," L'keri replied fervently, raising his own mug in return. He
tried not to think about how many months remained in his dry Turn. "Now,
I've just told two fine tales, and I'm not even a harper. It's your
turn! Let's hear the story of how you came here to Dragonsfall."

"Well.. that's less of a story than yours, I'm afraid. I simply broke
one heart too many and it became too much for the Weyr to bear." H'run
batted his eyelashes at L'keri. "It's simply not my fault if I have yet
to find the person who can capture mine. But transfer stories... I _do_
have an excellent one, back from when I was at Dream's End Weyr. There's
this bluerider there named I'pov. He arrived in the middle of the most
tremendous thunderstorm..."

Last updated on the October 13th 2020

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A Remarkable Tale