What Jaxom remembered most of that session was feeling sorry that the Master Harper was unable to see the mountain first hand. But, if Jaxom had waited until Master Oldive permitted the Harper to fly between..
«I know you've just flown Fall, Jaxom, but if you'd just give Mnementh the visualization…» F'lar began.
N'ton burst out laughing, pointing to Jaxom. «The look on your face, lad. F'lar, he's got to lead us! Give him that!»
So Jaxom got back into slightly damp flying gear and roused Ruth from his sandy baking. Ruth was pleased enough with the honor of leading the bronzes of Pern, but Jaxom could barely contain behind a composed expression the thrill he was experiencing. Jaxom and the white dragon, leading the most important people on Pern.
He could have asked Ruth to jump directly to the southeastern side of the Two Faced Mountain, his private designation. Somehow he wanted everyone to experience the full impact of those two sides the benign and beautiful.
From the expressions on the riders' faces as they settled briefly on the ridge, he could see that he had achieved the desired effect. He allowed them time to sight the Barrier Range, glistening in the sun, ragged white teeth on the horizon. He gestured seaward where neither morning mists nor Thread now obscured the tail of volcanoes snaking northeasterly out into the sea, smoke just curling from the curve of the world in that direction.
At his request, Ruth soared across the inlet as he had done before, climbing high before he gave the coordinates of the next jump between. They came out above the broad expanse of the southeastern side of Two Face, as dramatic an approach as anyone could have wished.
Mnementh suddenly surged into the fore and, as Ruth relayed to Jaxom, said that they should land. Politely, Ruth and Jaxom circled as the great bronze settled near the intersection of some of the regular lines, as far as possible from the three secondary cones. One by one the great bronze dragons of Pern settled in the grassy sward, their riders and passengers striding through the tall waving grasses to join F'lar, who had hunkered down to dig with his belt knife into the edge of one of those curious lines.
«Covered with Turns of blow dirt and old grasses,» he said, giving up his attempt.
«Volcanoes often blow out quantities of ash,» T'bor of the High Reaches said. He would know since quite a few old volcanoes were in Tillek which was beholden to the High Reaches Weyr. «If all those mountains blew at once, there'd be half a length of ash before you'd reach anything.»
For a split second, Jaxom thought they were being threatened with ash. Sunlight was blotted out and a chittering, fluttering mass swooped down, almost touching Mnementh's head before the hundred fire lizards lifted up again.
Amid shouts of consternation and surprise, Jaxom heard Ruth's announcement.
They are happy. Men have returned to them!
«Ask them about the three mountains, Ruth? Do they remember the mountains blowing up?»
There was no doubt they did. Suddenly there wasn't an unbanded fire lizard in the sky.
They remember the mountains, Ruth said. They remember fire in the air and fire crawling on the ground. They are afraid of the mountains. Men were afraid of the mountains.
Menolly came running up to Jaxom, her face contorted with concern. «Did Ruth ask those fire lizards about the mountains? Beauty and the others just had a fit. About those blasted mountains.»
F'lar came striding up to them. «Menolly? What was all that fuss with the fire lizards? I didn't see any banded ones. Were they all Southern ones?»
«Of course men were here. They're not telling us anything we didn't know. But for them to say they remembered?» F'lar was scornful. «I could accept your finding D'ram in the Cove with their aid… but that was only a matter of twenty five Turns in the past. But…» For want of appropriate expression of his skepticism, F'lar merely gestured at the dead volcanoes and the long covered traces of a settlement.
«Two points, F'lar,» Menolly said, boldly contradicting the Benden Weyrleader, «no fire lizard in this time knew the Red Star, but they were, nonetheless, all afraid of it. They also…» Menolly paused, and Jaxom was certain she had been about to bring up the fire lizard dreams about Ramoth's egg. He hastily interrupted.
«Fire lizards must be able to remember, F'lar. Ever since I've been in the Cove, I've been troubled with dreams. At first I thought it was leftovers from firehead fever. The other night I found out that Sharra and Piemur have had similar nightmares… about the mountain. This side of it, not the one facing the Cove.»
«Ruth always sleeps with fire lizards at night, F'lar,» Menolly said, pressing their case. «He could be relaying those dreams to Jaxom! And our fire lizards to us!»
F'lar nodded, as if granting them this possibility.
«And last night your dreams were more vivid than ever?»
«Yes, sir!»
F'lar began to chuckle, looking from Menolly to Jaxom. «So this morning you decided to see if there was any substance to the dreams?»
«Yes, sir!»
«All right, Jaxom.» F'lar thumped him good naturedly on the back. «I suppose I can't blame you. I'd have done the same thing given the opportunity. Now, what do you… and those precious fire lizards of yours… suggest we do now?»
«I am no fire lizard, F'lar, but I would dig,» the Mastersmith said, striding up to them. His face was aglow with perspiration, his hands grass and dirtstained. «We must dig beneath the grass and soil. We must find out how they managed to make lines straight as rules that last Turn after Turn. Why did they build in mounds, if that's what those things are. Dig, that's what we must do» He pivoted slowly, staring about him at the desultory digging efforts of some of the dragonriders. «Fascinating. Utterly fascinating!» The Smith beamed. «With your permission, I will ask Masterminer Nicat for some of his craftmasters. We will need skilled diggers. Also I promised Robinton that I would return immediately and tell him what I have seen with my own eyes.»
«I'd like to go back, too, F'lar,» Menolly said. «Master Robinton is in a swivet. Zair's been here twice. He must be impatient.»
«I'll take them back, F'lar,» Jaxom said. Suddenly he was as possessed by an irrational desire to leave as he had been eager to come that morning.
F'lar would not permit Ruth to carry weight again, not after the morning's excursion and Threadfall. He sent Master Fandarel and Menolly back to Cove Hold with F'lessan and Golanth, with instructions to the young bronze rider to take the Mastersmith wherever he wished to go. If he was surprised at Jaxom's wish to return, he gave no sign.
He and Ruth were away before the Smith and Menolly had mounted Golanth. They returned to a Cove delightfully empty of people. The warm, sultry air, after the cooler, clear atmosphere of the Plateau, was like an enveloping blanket, enervating Jaxom. He took advantage of his unremarked return and let Ruth take them to his clearing. It was cooler there and, when Ruth had settled himself, Jaxom gratefully curled up in the dragon's forearms. He was asleep in two breaths.
A touch on his shoulder roused him. His flying jacket had fallen from his shoulder and he felt chilly.
«I said I'd wake him, Mirrim,» he heard Sharra say, her tone one of annoyance.
«Does it matter? Here, Jaxom, I've brought you some klah! Master Robinton wants to talk to you. You've slept all afternoon. We couldn't figure out where you'd got to.»
Jaxom muttered under his breath, wishing with all his heart that Mirrim would go away. He resented her implication that he hadn't any right to sleep in the afternoon.
«Come on, Jaxom. I know you're awake.»
«You're wrong. I'm half asleep.» Jaxom indulged in a massive yawn before he opened his eyes. «Go away, Mirrim. Tell Master Robinton I'll be in directly.»