«Earth shakes happen in the North,» Jaxom said, «in Crom and High Reaches and sometimes Igen and the Telgar Plain.»
«Not the kind I've been through,» Piemur said, shaking his head at the memory. «Not where the earth drops beneath your feet and two paces beyond you lifts above your head half a dragonlength.»
«When did that happen? Three, four months ago?»
«That's when!»
«Earth only trembled at Southern, but that's scary enough!»
«Ever seen a volcano pop up out of the ocean and spew fiery rock and ash about?» asked Piemur.
«No, and I'm not sure you have, either, Piemur,» Sharra said, eyeing him suspiciously.
«I have, and N'ton was with me, so I've a witness.»
«Don't think I won't ask him.»
«Where was it, Piemur?» Jaxom asked, fascinated.
«I'll show you on the map. N'ton's been keeping his eye on the place. Last time we met, he said the volcano had stopped smoking and it had built a regular island about itself as neat as… as neat as that mountain of yours!»
«I'd prefer to see it with my own eyes,» Sharra said, still skeptical.
«I'll arrange it,» the harper replied with good humor. «That's a likely tree!» he added and, leaping in the air, grabbed the lowest branch and swung himself neatly up. He began to sever the stems that held the redfruit, dropping them carefully into the waiting hands of Jaxom and Sharra.
It had taken them only two hours to walk to the fire lizards' clutch along the beach. But it took them almost three times as long to hack a narrow path back to the shelter through the thick undergrowth. Jaxom began to appreciate the arduousness of Piemur's journey as he slashed valiantly away at the sticky sapped bushes. His shoulders ached and he'd branch spiked shins and skinned toes by the time they emerged near the shelter. Jaxom had lost all sense of direction. But Piemur had an uncanny sense and with Ruth and three fire lizards, had kept them on a direct line to their goal.
Once there, only Jaxom's pride kept him from collapsing on his bed and sleeping off his exertions. Piemur was all for a swim to wash off the sweat and Sharra thought that broiled fish would make a good supper, so Jaxom struggled to keep going.
That might have been why, he thought later, he had such vivid dreams when he finally did crawl into bed to sleep. The mountain, smoking and spewing out fire ash and glowing rock, dominated the dream, which was full of streams of running people. To Jaxom that was very sensible but he was also part of those people rushing away and it seemed that he couldn't run fast enough. The red orange glowing river that poured over the lip of the mountain threatened to engulf him and he couldn't make his legs move fast enough.
«Jaxom!» Piemur shook him awake. «You're dreaming! You'll wake Sharra.» Piemur paused, and in the dim twilight of predawn, the sound of Sharra's moaning was clearly audible. «Maybe I should. She sounds like she's having a bad dream, too.»
Piemur started to crawl out of his sleeping furs when they heard Sharra sigh deeply, and fall into a quieter sleep.
«I shouldn't have talked about that volcano. I relived that eruption. At least, I think that's what I was dreaming.» Piemur sounded confused. «Probably too much fish and fruit! I made up for lost meals tonight.» He sighed and made himself comfortable again.
«Thanks, Piemur!»
«For what?» Piemur asked in the middle of a yawn.
Jaxom turned over, found a good position and dropped easily back into a dreamless sleep.
Ruth's bugle woke all three the next morning.
«F'nor's coming,» Jaxom said, having heard Ruth's message.
F'nor brings others, Ruth added.
Jaxom, Sharra and Piemur had reached the cove when four dragons erupted into the air, the other three dwarfed by brown Canth. Shrieking in surprise, the fire lizards who had been draped about Ruth abruptly disappeared, leaving only Meer, Talla and Farli.
It is Piemur, Jaxom heard Ruth tell Canth. And then F'nor began to wave wildly, clasping two hands above his head in a signal of victory.
Canth deposited his rider on the sand. Roaring a command at the other dragons, he waddled happily into the water where Ruth was quick to join him.
«Well met, Piemur,» F'nor cried, unloosening his flying gear as he walked toward the others. «Began to wonder if you'd gotten lost!»
«Lost?» Piemur looked outraged. «That's the trouble with you dragonfliers. You've no respect for ground distances! You've got it too easy. Up, up and away! Wink out and you're where you want to be. No effort at all involved.» He made a sound of disgust in his throat. «Now I know where I've been, every bloody finger's length of it!»
F'nor grinned at the young harper and pummeled his back with such vigor Jaxom was surprised to see Piemur unmoved. «You'll amuse your Master then, with the full and properly embroidered tale of your travels…»
«You're to bring me to Master Robinton?»
«Not yet. He's coming to you!» F'nor pointed to the ground.
«What?»
F'nor was searching in his belt pouch and brought out a folded leaf. «This is my reason for coming today! And don't let me forget the fire lizard eggs, will you?»
«What's that?» Jaxom, Sharra and Piemur clustered close about the brown rider as he made a show of unfolding the sheet.
«This… is a hall for the Master Harper, to be built in this cove!»
«Here?» the three demanded in chorus.
«How'll he get here?» Jaxom asked. «He surely wouldn't be allowed to fly between.» He couldn't help the edge of resentment in his voice. F'nor cocked an eyebrow at him.
«Master Idarolan has put his fastest, largest vessel at the Master Harper's disposal. Menolly and Brekke are accompanying him. On a sea voyage there is nothing that can disturb or worry the Harper.»
«He gets seasick,» remarked Jaxom.
«Only in small boats.» F'nor looked at them with a very solemn expression. «So. We'll set to work at once. I've brought tools and extra help,» and he gestured toward the three Weyrlings who had joined them. «We'll enlarge that shelter to a proper small hold,» he said as he glanced down at the leaf. «I'll want every bit of that underbrush cleared off..»
«Then you'll fry the Harper in the sun which is unpleasant,» Sharra pointed out.
«I beg your pardon…»
Sharra took the leaf from him, frowning critically at it. «Small hold? This is a bloody hall,» she said, «and not the least bit suitable to this continent. Furthermore,» and she dropped to the sand, picking up a long shell fragment with which she began another sketch. «First, I wouldn't build where the old shelter is too close to the cove in rough seas and they have them here. There's a rise… with mature fruit trees screening it, over there…» She pointed to the east of the shelter.
«Mature trees? For Thread to eat?»
«Oh, you dragonriders! This is Southern, not the North. It's all been grubbed. Thread sears a leaf every sevenday or so, but the plant heals itself. Meanwhile, you're coming into the hot season and, believe me, you'll want as much green about you as possible to keep cool. You want to build off the ground, on pilings. There's plenty of reef rock for foundations. You want wide windows, not these tiny slits, to catch every breeze. All right, you can shutter them if you want to but I've lived south all my life, so I know how you should build here. You want windows, and corridors straight through the interior for breezeways…» As she spoke, she was delineating the revised hold with strokes that were strong enough to stay in the hot dry sand. «And you want an outdoor hearth for so many. Brekke and I did most of our baking here in stone pits,» she pointed to the spot on the cove, «and you don't really need a bathing room with the cove a few steps from the door.»