Pern-Laidan - Saturday, September 30, 2000, 2:00 PM --------------------------------------------------- Eastern Bowl, High Reaches Weyr(#840RJs) Standing on the eastern side of the bowl, you realize why this is one of the most striking Weyrs on Pern. Arrayed around the north rim of the bowl are the Seven Spindles: high crownlike points formed of old volcano flows which were eroded to sharp spikes. The bowl itself is a rough ovoid shape, with a large lake taking up a good portion of the southeastern part. The bowl seems to slant down to the lake shore, and the soil becomes a little looser in that direction. From the east, the slight aroma of herdbeast and wherry hide rises from the feeding grounds. The northeast section of the bowl is full of activity: training of dragons both young and old goes on in a large clearing near the entrance to the weyrling barracks and dragon infirmary. Several small boulders dot the area to the north, forming a winding path to the ledges leading into the weyrleaders' quarters. The afternoon is clear and the sun shines brightly. A light wind blows and the spring air is cold. Contents: Sweep Obvious exits: Weyrleader Ledges Western Bowl Floor Dragon Infirmary Weyrling Barracks Weyrling Training Room Feeding Grounds Lake Shore You meander towards the western side of the bowl. Western Bowl, High Reaches Weyr(#880RJs) Standing on the western side of the bowl, the high crownlike spires of the Seven Spindles on the north wall tower magestically above the roughly ovoid bowl floor. Near you, a large boulder stands, placed almost exactly in the center of the bowl. This side of the bowl is busy with the constant flow of residents and visitors around the entrance to the living cavern to the southwest and the lower caverns to the west. To the north, the large opening on the upper wall leading into the hatching grounds catches your eye. Directly below it, the ground entrance to the same area seems almost tiny. Northwest, the weyrs belonging to the junior queens of High Reaches are accessible from a short set of stairs. To the south, a few ground weyrs remain unoccupied, in case any visiting or injured dragons need them. The afternoon is clear and the sun shines brightly. A light wind blows and the spring air is cold. Views: Junior Queen Weyrs Contents: Gyreventh(#9922JVaeps) Nepenth(#4050Vaps) Dalrianth(#3773MQVaeps) Temornath(#888JVaps) Jyrinth Behemoth Silventh Londoth Tezcath(#11475JQaeps) Kerilinth Darloth Obvious exits: Lower Weyr LIving Cavern Lower Caverns Hatching Grounds Ground Level Guest Weyrs Eastern Bowl Floor Behemoth croons Laidan waves to the dragons. "Hi!" Behemoth peers at Laidan and blows hot air at her Laidan peers back at Behemoth. "Who's your rider?" she asks. not that she can get an answer.. What a large young dragon this appears to be. A fine sturdy fellow with good muscles and a stocky bone structure. Sadly, he seems to know it, and has taken to adopting a rather crouched posture so he doesnt seem that much bigger than his fellows. He is a handsome creature, a rich bronze hue touched with sulphorous streaks of mahogany which flow across him with the light like lava. His extremities shoot little green flickers now and then. The whole effect comes to a head on the wings, where the mainsails are marked with deep, rich whorls of bronze. His wingspars are viciously sharp, and he holds them out of the way so as not to do any further harm to anyone. He moves with a rather cumbersome, lumbering gait, as if he is too big to move on the ground comfortably. Behemoth is approximately 36 meters in length with a wingspan of 60 meters. You might estimate he first emerged from his egg some 1 Turns, 2 months, and 27 days ago. Behemoth looks at the Living Cavern and back at Laidan. He extends his wings and bellows loudly Laidan wows at the sound. She grins. "You look a lot like me, you know.. too big for yourself." Behemoth cocks his head and croons queryingly Laidan straightens up a bit more, showing how tall she's getting. "I'm bigger than almost everyone else my age.. sometimes it feels like I'm too big.. need a smaller skin or something. Like I'm growing too fast." Behemoth croons and looks towards the far wall. He stands, and with a great gallumphing gallop heads for the oil cans stored theer Laidan acks, hoping the dragon's not thinking what she thinks it's thinking. Behemoth is thinking that. he picks up the oil and starts to head back, tiny can in his jaws (relatively speaking. it still has a gallon or two in there) and yep, he is heading right for Laidan Laidan whoas! "People don't need oil! We got our own!" She laughs in spite of it all. Behemoth isnt listening. Fast growth means cracked hide! Cracked hide needs oil! He crushes the can in his jaws and tries to spray oil at Laidan Laidan eeks and ducks. Behemoth sprays a couple of gallons of oil about the near vicinity, much to the annoyance of those present You say "Okay! Okay! I'm oiled!" G'rad meanders out of the living cavern. G'rad has arrived. Laidan stands up, dripping oil. "Shells!" G'rad comes out and puts his hands on his hips. "Behemoth, who are you tormenting now....? I.." he pauses. "Laidan?" he beams Behemoth looks sheepish, oil can in his teeth. He leans down and puts the can down gently and then sits back up, looking at the sky and warbling a distracted tune Laidan looks over at G'rad and beams back. "Hey! Haven't seen you for a long time!" She shakes some more of the oil off. "I'm going to get it from mom.." G'rad walks overm giving Behemoth the hairy eyeball *tm* "Come inside before you freeze, dear. I am going to have a VERY long talk with a certain bronze wherry soon." Laidan chuckles and drips her way after G'rad. Behemoth sits again, and looks a little sheepish G'rad leads inside G'rad meanders into the tunnel to the living cavern. G'rad has left. You stroll into the tunnel to the living cavern. Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr(#1000RJs) The impressive living cavern is seemingly as large as the bowl that cradles the hatching sands. Rivers of polished wood tables and benches arrow towards a raised platform crowned with a compact version of their sturdy design. Neatly crafted pegs, some fancifully carved, are tapped into holes in the wall and support clothing dangling like lazy sleepers. Woven baskets, both useful and decorative, hang along another wall. Tiny bouquets of the first hardy flowers are crammed into jars and mugs, dotting the tables with their pastel colors and light fragrance. The faint, musty aroma of wet wool mingles with that of spice. Banners worked with the designs of Holds and Halls beholden to the weyr cascade down the walls high above, interspersed with several brilliantly colored tapestries. Small groups gather here and there in the cavern, relaxing over a snack of freshly baked goodies as they cheerfully gossip. Contents: G'rad Jemah T'risch Sh'yar Firelizard Perch(#5030Jae$) Obvious exits: Kitchen Bowl Lower Caverns Laidan walks in after G'rad, dripping oil. Sh'yar says "And here I thought only Gyreventh had a penchant for dousing people in oil." G'rad leads Laidan in "Laidan, meet Sh'yar and T'risch. All, Laidan is a very old friend of mine from my days at Telgar. Now, do we have any towels handy?" Laidan icks and peels off her outer layer of clothes and waves to the others. "Hi." T'risch points, "In the water cavern, as usual." Sh'yar smiles, "Pleased to meet you Liadan, the water cavern is just around the corner." Sh'yar lobs a roll at T'risch, "Outta my head you!" G'rad sets to fixing some new baking hot klah. "Indeed. If you want to pop in I can fetch you warming klah and see if Emilly has any clean clothes?" Laidan nods and shuffles into the water cavern to get a bit more clean and dry. T'risch bats the roll away as it nears, "Bah, everyone knows we kep the towels in the water cavern. Especially for G'rad." G'rad peers at T'risch. "Are you implying I am often wet?" T'risch shakes his head, "No, I am implying that you always get into messes. What with the oil and whatnot." G'rad rolls his eyes. "You betcha." And he leads Laidan to the water cavern G'rad wanders through the archway, into the lower caverns. G'rad has left. You walk through the archway, into the lower caverns. Lower Caverns(#1090RJs) Heavenly scents of the afternoon meal wash in from the busy sounds of the Living Caverns; this large cavern is abuzz with activity as people stop work to go eat, return to work, or merely pass through on their way on any of a number of errands. The sounds of children playing rings throughout the cavern, mingled with the laughter of those who have stopped to talk, or to help out with a task. The sunlight has reached its zenith and begins the slow, gradual descent downwards as light begins to cast longer golden shadows along the cavern's floor. Passageways lead off in many directions around the cavern, forming a nexus of sorts. An archway opens up into the bowl; a wide tunnel leads out of the weyr; a well worn set of stairs rise up to the living quarters of the Weyr staff; and sounds and smells from the south indicate the presence of the Living Caverns and Kitchen. Contents: G'rad Obvious exits: Storeroom Corridor LIving Cavern Bowl Water Cavern Kitchen Resident Quarters Tunnel out of the Weyr INFirmary A Bronzerider hurries past you on some errand. He nods as he passes. G'rad strides into the water cavern. G'rad has left. You walk into the water cavern. Water Caverns The cavern's shape resembles a huge, big bellied ship, beached and turned upside down. Tendrils of steam fill the air regardless of the time of day or night. The soothing lap of water provides a quiet background melody. Two pools take up the majority of the cavern. The smaller one is used for laundry, while bathers prefer the irregular, larger oval. Pipes, with fanciful feline head spouts, continually supply the cavern with both hot and cold water, and hidden drains lure the used liquid away. Benches slouch back against the rough stone walls, and a few hooks allow clothing to be hung during bathing. The cavern is mostly empty, with only a few loads of wash left to be done. The occasional rider, returning from sweeps, occupies the bathing pool for a long soak. Views: Laundry Pool Bathing Pool Contents: G'rad K'gen Obvious exits: Lower Caverns The warm, moist air surrounds you. G'rad points to towels and the hot pool. "Help yourself." he suggests, and turns his back for the sake of privacy, "Tell me, how have you been? I've really missed you!" Laidan peels off the rest of her oil sodden clothes and splashes into the hot pool. "I've been good! Missed you, too, though." Laidan takes a long moment to duck under and rinse off. G'rad chuckles. "It's a busy life being a weyrling. Hey, guess what? I made wingsecond!" Laidan blinks up at G'rad through the water. "Wow. That's wonderful." G'rad shrugs, "Unexpected. So, what is new with you? Still sunning yourself at Igen these days?" Laidan squeezes out water from her hair. "Naw.. went back to Telgar again after a while. Been learning to carve.. Kiran said I'm a natural woodcrafter." "Kiran?" G'rad pauses. "No sure I know him. Has he been there long...I think Emilly mentioned him but we've never met." He sighs. "I miss Telgar. It was my home for a very long time" Laidan nods. "Kiran's from a trader family. He stayed when they went on. He's new- helps out with the runnerbeasts a lot." G'rad ahs, and peeps backwards, then looks forwards again. Bad weyrling. "You've grown. Lots. I almost didn;t recognise you there" Laidan grins. "Yeah. I get taller all the time. I'm taller'n mom, now.. almost as tall as aunt Schmitt. If I get to be tall as I'sai, I'll get worried." Laidan splashes back out of the water and starts to dry off. G'rad laughs "I would be. I miss him too. So, you're a woodcarver now? That's quite interesting - I wanted to be, but was WAY too clumsy to manage it. Have you made anything delicate?" Laidan ums. "I haven't actually gone and talked to someone from the hall, yet.. but I did make something.." K'gen has disconnected. Laidan starts to pick out the dryer clothes and get dressed. G'rad sounds intrigued. "What did you make?" he pauses. "Heh. I recall that our names are still on a shed at benden!" Laidan grins and finishes getting dressed. "Ugh.. this'll get cold as soon as I go outside.." She laughs. "Yeah, I was thinking about that." G'rad smiles and turns again. "C'mon, I'll get you warmed uo with some of my spiced klah and we can chew over old times. Plenty of places to get lost in here, too" Laidan nods. "Sounds like fun." G'rad holds his arm out. "This way, ma'am?" he bows