It was a bright day at Aneris Hold. The sun is hidden behind the clouds. The wind is gusting all around you whipping the waves in to a froth. You are on the beach looking for fire-lizard eggs for Weyrwoman Rhiannon. You are about to give up and turn back, then you spot something unusual.

You walk further up the beach to get a closer look. It's a girl with long black hair and pale skin. She has something in her hand. You move in a little closer. It's a small piece of metal. Curiosity gets the better of you and you decide to address the girl.

"Hello," you say coming into full view of the young woman.She looks up at you with bright green eyes. Her face is slighty rosy showing a hint of sunburn from sitting here on the beach for a while.

"Hi,"she says with a bright smile. You notice a long scar on the right side of her face. It runs from her one of her high cheekbones down to the corner of her mouth.

"What do you have in your hand," you ask motioning toward the small piece of metal.

"What this," she says holding up the small piece of gold.

You lean in closer and can tell it's a ring. It has an empty setting on it. The girl pulls the hand with the ring back in. Then she turns away from you and begins to watch the waves again.

You move around to the front of the girl to get a better look at her. She seems to have seventeen turns. In her lap, there is a piece of cloth covered in strange rocks. They are all slightly different shades of blue and green and sparkle up at you as the sunlight hits them.

She looks up at you again as though sensing your stare. "Excuse me. I don't mean to be rude, but why are you staring?"

"Sorry. I am just looking at those strange stones in your lap. May I ask what you are doing?" "What does it look like I am doing? I am trying to finish this ring, and you are blocking my view."

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I am just curious is all."

"Well you know what they say. Curiosity killed the feline," she says with a smile.

"I did know that. Anyway, I live up at Aneris and was just looking for some fire-lizard eggs for Weyrwoman Rhiannon. Have you seen any likely mounds or maybe even an actual clutch?"

"I don't know, but I bet Thera will. I'll call her."

"Who's Thera?"

"You'll see," she says. The the young woman issues a piercing whistle.

You stare at this peculiar girl wondering what in the world she is talking about when a strange colored fire-lizard appears and lands on her shoulder. You look closely. The flit appears to be purple with a hint of something else on her wing.

"Hello, Thera. Where've you been?"

~~Water, Fish, hungry~~ The fire-lizard sends to her owner.

"I see. Do you know where any clutches are? This person is looking for eggs."

The strange little fire-lizard cheeps understanding and then flies circles around Amalthia's head indicating that she wants her owner to follow. Her wings flash a peculiar color in the sunlight.

"Hold on, Thera. Let me finish this ring," Amalthia says. Then she looks down at the stones in her lap then back at the waves. Then she selects a deep aquamarine stone and places it firmly in the setting. Satisfied with her work she packs up all of her gear in a leather bag. "I hope the Master fisherman's wife likes this. Let's follow Thera. She evidently knows where a clutch is."

"I am sure the lady will love the ring. You took very careful observations before selecting the stone. I take that you are a jeweler," you say as you follow the medium-sized girl and her fire-lizard.

"Yes I am. I was just made a Journeywoman half a turn ago. The ring you saw is my first commissioned piece, so I wanted to be really careful with it and make sure it was perfect."

"If you don't mind my asking, where did you get such a unique fire-lizard?"

"Thera was actually a gift from Weyrwoman Rhiannon when I was Searched. Her egg actually came from Sapphire Weyr. I was shocked when she hatched, but after seeing Arca I was okay with it," Amalthia says still following the chittering Thera.

After half a candlemark of walking, the two of you are finally standing over a clutch of 15 fire-lizard eggs. A large golden one sits in the middle. Looking around you spot the body of an old queen fire-lizard. She had apparently died while laying the eggs. Wherries are circling overhead trying to get the body and the very new eggs. Thera squawks angrily and begins to attack them. A fair of wild fire-lizards appear from between to help her.

"They're awful," Amalthia says glaring at the wherries. Then she picks up one of the very soft eggs and puts it in her leather bag carefully. Then she picks up another. You quickly get the idea and begin putting eggs in a special carrier that Weyrwoman Rhiannon had given you for the purpose.

"We have to get these to the weyr quickly. They are really too fragile to be moved, but if we leave them here they don't have a chance at all," she says as the last egg is placed in your bag.

Seeing the clutch of eggs secure, the fair of fire-lizards leave. Thera lands on Amalthia's shoulder and wraps her tail around her slender neck.

The walk back up to the weyr takes you longer than it had because of the burden you are bearing. The candlemark long walk takes you two and half. You and Amalthia rush into the Lower Caverns and find Headwoman Natarana. You immediately give her the eggs to place on a warm hearth.

The emergency handled you and Amalthia get some food and grab a table. You are eager to find out more about this young woman.

Continue....

Moyra's Web Jewels