Sometime during that exhausted rest, Sharra must have joined him, for when he awoke just as the sky was lightening, she was there, nestled against him. What had roused him were unmistakable greetings of Gatherers, arriving after an overnight journey. His nose told him that the spits were already turning over open flames in the roasting pits, and his stomach told him that he needed to fill it. He must have slept an entire day.
"Mmmm, Jax?" Sharra murmured, sleepily reaching for him.
"Yes, love, who else were you expecting?" He leaned over and kissed her. "You let me sleep?"
"Hmmm. Ruth said you were very tired. Meer wouldn't let anyone in the room but me."
He angled himself up to a sitting position, scrubbing at his tousled hair, running his tongue around his teeth, and hoping that his breath wasn't too rank. Meer appeared, Talla right behind him, chirping a gentle inquiry.
"We're up, we're up!" Jaxom assured them although Sharra hauled her pillow more firmly under her head, her eyes determinedly shut.
The two fire-lizards disappeared, and very shortly there was a timid scratch at the door of the bedroom.
"Come!" He could smell the aroma of klah as soon as the door opened. A drudge who looked freshly scrubbed and attired entered with a well-stocked tray.
Once he had had some klah and had cajoled Sharra into waking up enough to join him, he revived sufficiently to bathe and dress in new Gather finery.
"Whatever were you doing that exhausted you and Ruth so much?" Sharra asked as she let him fasten her new Gather gown, a splendid affair in the golds and rusts that so suited her.
"Well, there was Fall, and then Ruth and I had to test those new gloves Hamian's produced and-" He waved his hand airily. "I guess things just mounted up. Did you get enough rest?" he asked solicitously, dropping a kiss on her bare neck before he fastened the topaz necklace which had been his nameday present to her.
"Well..." she began in the tone he knew was to make him feel guilty, but then she turned in his arms, her face alight with love and mischief. "I did the honors of the Hold for our guests from Cove Hold, and Lord Groghe and those from Fort Hold and"-she grinned up at him-"they said I'd better get an early night and they'd make themselves comfortable. Master Robinton was well on the way through the first wineskin, but he was so pleased that you had some of the 'sixteen' for him."
A loud halloo from the dawn-lit road brought them to the window, and they saw a huge contingent of riders, bearing Tillek's banners.
"Come, we must greet Ranrel," Sharra said, grabbing him by the hand. "And it's high time the Lord of Ruatha Hold showed himself to his diligent Stewards and staff."
The Gather attracted hordes from every Hold, Hall, and Weyr. This was one of those few days when there was no Fall to be met, and it would be one of the last of the Northern Gathers before winter weather made roads impassable. Jaxom and Sharra, accompanied by Jarrol and Shawan, now a sturdy toddler, walked the long line of booths until Shawan had to be carried and Jarrol revived by one of the first bubbly pies out of the oven. There was an exuberance and buoyancy to the day that affected everyone and was mirrored in the gay new clothing and high spirits. Harpers strolled up and down the Gather line, playing and singing; children congregated in knots to play their favorite games; adults settled in their own groupings or at tables around the huge dancing square where brewers and wine sellers were doing a brisk business.
Jaxom and Sharra hosted a midday meal in the Hold at which those Lord Holders, Weyrleaders, and Craftmasters gracing the day were entertained. Robinton, Menolly, and Sebell gave a special performance of the latest ballads and airs with full orchestral accompaniment, conducted by Master Domick. It was a leisurely meal, and Jaxom enjoyed it, though he noted that Lords Sigomal, Begamon, and Corman were conspicuous by their absence-which caused him to recall the abduction plot.
The racing went very well, with one Ruathan sprinter winning its first race and their other runners taking placings in almost every one of the eight starts. Among the beasts for sale, Jaxom and Sharra found a well-trained little runner to start Jarrol riding, for they had nothing in the beasthold suitable for a beginner. Saddlery then had to be arranged with the Tanner Hall. In between these chores, Jaxom and Sharra circulated among their guests, speaking to all the small holders that looked to Ruatha.
About midafternoon, young Pell brought his intended to meet his lord and lady, and Sharra was warm in her responses to the darkly pretty girl, daughter of a hill holder from Fort. There was nothing in Pell's manner to suggest that he was not totally engrossed in his future as a joiner, especially after his lady showed Jaxom and Sharra the beautiful little coffer Pell had made her.
Ruth, his white hide radiant after a restoring sleeps. had emerged sometime in the morning and was on the fireheights, sunning himself with the other dragons. Hundreds of fairs swarmed about the Hold, their cheerful voices a descant to whatever music the harpers were making.
Whether it was the long sleep or the stimulation of the day, or both, Jaxom found himself in fine fettle for the Gather exertions. He and Sharra led several of the energetic dance figures, and then he allowed Sharra to be swirled away by N'ton, then F'lar, while he partnered Lessa. During one of the breaks, he sat at the harpers' table with Robinton, D'ram, and Lytol and made certain that the Masterharper had sufficient wine. A dark-haired young drudge whom Jaxom did not recognize-so many were hired temporarily to assist during a Gather-kept the Harper supplied with food, even bringing some tidbits for Zair.
It was no wonder then that Robinton would need a short nap, and because Jaxom was busy doing his duty dances with Lady Holders, he only noticed as he danced past that Robinton was alone at his table, asleep, Zair curled up beside him.
It was Piemur who discovered that it was not Robinton asleep at the table, but a man dressed in clothing similar to Robinton's Gather suit-a dead man. And it was Piemur who realized that Zair was barely breathing, his color dangerously dull and his weak breath tainted with a sickly odor. Piemur had the good sense not to alarm anyone, sending Farli to summon Jaxom and Sharra, then D'ram, Lytol, and the Benden Weyrleaders.
"This man's been dead a long time," Sharra said, putting her hand on a cold cheek and testing the muscular resistance. She shuddered. "This is too macabre!"
"Robinton's ill?" Lessa asked in a hoarse whisper as she and F'lar arrived. "That isn't Robinton!" First relief and then fury distorted her features. "They did abduct him! Right out of a Gather."
She, Jaxom, F'lar, and D'ram alerted their dragons.
"Don't just jump about in panic," Lytol said, even as the big dragons landed quietly in the shadows beyond the dancing square. "Let us decide what to do and who is to search where. There're enough dragons here to cover every possibility. Why did it have to be here, where that device of Aivas's won't reach to Landing?"
Sharra was bending over the limp Zair. "He'd find Robinton no matter where he is. Union, Zair."
"D'you need your medical kit?" Jaxom asked.
"I've already sent for it." But her face as she turned to Jaxom was anxious. "Lessa, is your healer here? She knows more about dragon and fire-lizard care than I do. Zair's been poisoned, but I don't know what was used."
Jaxom picked up a half-eaten piece of meat from the table, sniffed cautiously at it, and promptly sneezed vociferously. Sharra took it from him and smelled more daintily.
"Fellis, all right," she announced, "but mixed with something else to disguise taste and smell. Poor Zair. He doesn't look good. How wicked!"
F'lar picked up the wine goblet Robinton had been using and carefully sipped. He spat it out immediately. "Fellis in the wine, too. I should have known Robinton wouldn't pass out from mere wine." The Weyrleader was disgusted with himself.