Hold Courtyard
Crom hold's courtyard stretches out, its rooms standing tall against the mountains behind. Imposing and dark, the previous inhabitants have mostly never thought much of decoration, but Crom's newest Lady Holder has taken it to her personal attention to add joy and color to the rather barren countryside.
A road leads out towards Telgar and the Hold's gather grounds, while little trails by the hold take twists and turns to a pleasant garden, the stables, the minercraft hall, and a charming and scenic trail through the valleys and hills of the Crom Area.
It is a clear, crisp evening It is a summer evening.
Perched somewhere up high, you see Seikouzen.
You see Scoundrel, Spice, and Evreth here.
From here you can go:
Hold Doors Crom Road Hold Gardens
Cothold Path Mine Hall Scenic Trail
Guard Office Stables

Seikouzen dozes off...

From Sky Above the Hold Courtyard, Chesketh pops in from ::between::

Chesketh lands lightly on the ground and furls his wings.

Aldrea
Glowing embers peer out of a smooth, narrow face, sparking with a joy of life that only a child should possess. Shortened brunette locks befall the smallish head and dance about her slender shoulders as they gently curl back towards her face. The dark hair sets out her ivory skin tone perfectly, it a bit too much for one's eyes to gaze upon. Pert little nose rises from her face and a smile curves below, allowing dimples at such times of great happiness. But that smile can disappear as soon as it shines forth... she was a shy one. Short neck leads down into a small torso, developed though not outstandingly so. Young... that is what her body speaks of so far. A slim waist then moves towards long legs, muscular, though not overly so. Speaking of such, her feet aren't much to gaze at either. They just sort of peek out from the ends of her legs and carry her where she wishes without complaint.
Her clothing is pretty simple really. Nothing to gawk at or swoon about draps this trim figure, though it sets out her features quite nicely. A light blue tunic covers her upper half, the neck strings holding it shut tightly and the lower portion being belted down. The belt, made of soft wher-hide, clings tightly to her small form and makes the tunic bag a bit about it. Frolicing runnerbeasts careen about the belt and the buckle is of a subdued gold hue. Her trous are a simple brown color, nearly matching her hair. They crinkle at her ankles where the cuffs meet with her shoes of soft leather. A deep, rich brown they are and make her feet look smaller than they actually are.
A double cord and single loop of yellow and white wrap around Aldrea's shoulder. A small tail comes of the end of the cord and loop, denoting her as a Herder Craft Senior Apprentice.
She is awake and looks alert.

Aldrea just looked at you.

K'no dismounts from Chesketh.

K'no
Short, golden locks of hair crown the man's head. His eyes are the color of the bluest skies, and his tanned skin, that of perfet leather, but not as tough. Under the skin, muscles hid. Slightly calloused hands show wear of riding, carrying, and climbing. Powerful chest toped by broad shoulders which have two strong arms connected to them. Powerful legs carry his body. He stands at a good six hands tall. Upon his face is a smile outlined by small whiskers giving him that rugged look.
Under the leather riding jacket is a white tunic. His riding pants, which are leather also, are tucked into heavy, leather riding boots. His jacket sleeves are tucked into the leather gloves, and a black belt is tied around his waist. Sliding with graceful ease around K'no's throat is a collar of blaring flaxen. Little verdant silver studs whirl around the dyed leather form, perfectly splitting across the middle; bright collar matching that of someone else's throat addition...
Upon K'no's shoulder languidly sits a near pristine knot of ebony and ivory. Double corded, double looped, with a little silver glittering tassel hanging down the middle. Brown string, more of soft mahogany is intertwined with said knot, which all in all signifies him as a Telgar Weyr Assistant Weyrlingmaster with a brown lifemate.
He is awake and looks alert.
He's a father again. This makes seven kids to his name. Yet, he is as proud as he was when he learned of Shain. He has that proud little look in his eye to prove it, too.

Chesketh
Insubstantial wisps of smoke curl over his large wings, dwarfing a streamlined body and condensed limbs, as ivory mixes with flecks of sienna on spars and sails. Feathery hues of wispy beige blow through a maze of shadowed knotholes and over brawny limbs, and sorrel and oak blend to the hidden shades of twilight claws while a glint of the infinite threads over camouflaged mahogany ridges, silver speckles vanishing into the cosmos of his hazel neck. His tail, a compact appendage all muddy spots and sandy breezes, falls short of eternity, terminating in a hazy fog as uncertain as the inkling of dusted azure that winks upon his sage forehead before fading into non-existence; but his muzzle, rimmed with ocher, spreads into glorious wings of tawny flame that engulf his watching, faceted eyes, an advent of illumination.
The brown straps that chesketh is wearing almost can not be seen. They are perfectly tanned to match the brown scales of the dragon. They look fairly sturdy, though. The brown lengths of leather wrap over the dragons shoulders them meat again at the abdomen, then loop back to the sadle, which is a lighter-tanned seat, pearched on the two ridges behind the neck. On it is embroided the paterns of fireballs. The buckles and rings are a polished brass, which shine in the sun's glow.
Chesketh is 8 Turns, 5 Months, and 12 Days old.

K'no shimmes off the brown dragon that just gracefully landed in the courtyard. The brownrider tugs off his gloves and stuffs them in his pocket. He looks up and notices a woman. "Hello there!" he calls out cheerfully. "You wouldn't happen to be a Herder, would you?" He's too far away to recognize any kind of knot.

Aldrea looks away from her care of her runnerbeast, golden brown eyes settling upon the dragon and rider a distance away. Skitter, as usual, finds a reason to dance about and does so, tossing her head and giving short, little bursts of noises as she rolls her eyes at the brown. Grinning faintly, herder-girl takes a firm hold on the lead shank before attention is turned back to K'no. "Yes sir, I am. Can I help you with something?"

K'no looks delighted. "Yes ma'am, you can! I've got a young friend back at Telgar who'se just turned 16 turns. And it just happens that she's taking lessons on riding Runners. Well, I told her that I'll buy her a runner, preferibally a young one since she's just learning and, in a setimental view, so they could grow up together. And... Because she's only a little over four feet tall." K'no raises his hand to about his chest. "And so I came down here to see if you have any young runners for sale." His statement turns into a question as he approaches her. "The name's K'no, by the way. That's Chesketh." The rider points a thumb over his shoulder and the brown croons a greeting.

K'no just looked at you.

Aldrea listens to the man, one hand soothingly running down the finely chisled muzzle of her mare. "Taking lessons? Good for her!" Beaming, she bows towards the rider, though keeps a firm grip on the lead of her runner. "We might at that. Or, if there aren't any in, I could easily order one for you. Depending on what you want, it could be in in a few days." Giggling softly, she inclines her head politely to the dragon before gently turning and leading her mare back towards the stables. "My pleasure K'no and Chesketh. Follow me, please..."

Stables
Upon entering, the nose is assaulted with the smell of fresh hay mingled with the smell of runners, not at all an unpleasant mixture. The lazy buzzing of vtols and an occasional snort or whinny helps to break the silence. On either side of the massive room are rows of stalls, each kept meticulously tidy by the stablehands.
A doorway leads back to the rest of the herder's area, while other exits and gates open out to the courtyard and a nice green pasture.
You see Glory, Quicksilver, Wildfire, Enigma, Beast Pen, SilverWind, Misty, and Peppered here.
The following runners are here, and not in the stables: Cornix, Araby, Purple, Blue, Surreal, Breeze, and Dolli
There are runners in the stables. Type '@stable' to see a list.
From here you can go:
Pastures HerderHall
Courtyard Ladder

Beast Pen
A rather extensive Pen oftentimes filled with the various beasts of the HerderHall. OOC: The animals in here are for sale. Contact a Herder should you have one catch your eye.
Contents:
Fuzzy Round Pony
Playful Ebon and Snowflake Hued Runner
Chestnut Stallion
Proud Bay Runner

K'no walks in from Hold Courtyard.

K'no runs after her to catch up and tries to shallow out his breathing as he enters the stables. "Whew..." He walks up nex to her and comments, "Ack... Different /types/? I didn't count on that." K'no rubs his chin in thought. "Lemme just see what you have for now?"

Putting Skitter in its stall.

Aldrea returns Skitter to her stall, making sure the mare has food and water before heading towards the pen that contains the runners that are for sale. Looking them over, she slowly shakes her head when the man comes in. "We haven't gotten any new runners for a while. A new load is coming soon, but until then, this is all we have." She points to the Proud Bay Runner. "He's our youngest right now... at seven turns. Not what you had in mind was, it?" She turns her gaze to K'no, one brow lifting.

K'no peers at the mentioned runner and laughs quietly. "Hmm... A bit old... Not really what I had in mind.. But you say there's gonna be a new load soon? Do you know how soon, then?" He looks back at her and smiles. "If you don't know, then I'll consider this one... Can't wait /too/ long." K'no winks.

K'no just looked at you.

Aldrea chuckles softly, coaxing the gelding to her, fingers slipping through his halter as she strokes his neck. "Runners live pretty long sir. If taken care of, he can be expected to reach around twenty five to thirty turns." But her lips purse lightly as she thinks over his question. "The new load should be here in about five days time. Or I could order one which, depending on what you wanted in it, could be here much sooner. If you aren't all that picky, I could have a younger runnerbeast transfered here in two days. It's all up to you, sir."

K'no blinks. "Twenty five to /thirty/ turns? Oh yeah, they can grow up together." K'no looks the horse over again and nods, as if coming to an agreement in his head. "And he isn't too tall, either... Do you think he can put up with a stubborn weyrbrat?" K'no's eyes dance. "How much is he, then?" K'no approaches the Bay and holds out his hand to feel his muzzle.

Sariani has connected.

Aldrea's grin is there again, teeth showing slightly before she lets go of the halter and moves to the gate of the pen. Slipping through, she approaches slowly, talking to the runnerbeast to show she's there. She waits as the gelding sniffs at K'no's hand before reaching out and clipping the lead she'd grabbed onto his halter. Walking out of the pen, she swiftly closes the door before any of the others could think about sneaking out. Moving to K'no, she smiles at him as runner's throat is given a scritch. "That's under very good care, sir. And he's about the usual height of a runnerbeast. I'm going to stress that when your friend and this gleding are together that someone that knows how to handle a runner be with them at all times until they get to know and work with eachother. That's very important. Though he's been gentled and trained, there are things that can rile him up. Dragons, for instance." Brow quirks. "How are you planning on getting him to your friend, might I ask?" Must know this before a price is placed.

Sariani goes home.

You remove Proud Bay Runner from Beast Pen.
Proud Bay Runner has arrived.

The runnerbeast Proud Bay Runner has the following abilities (ranked out of 10).
Speed: 7
Stamina: 4
Jumping: 4
Temperament: 5

Proud Bay Runner
Star of black glints 'tween glossy eyes as dark forelock of purest midnight floats to the side of runner's compact head. Barrel chest, muscled haunches, the slender legs of a gelding with the speed to sprint, and ski-chisled lines are all fine traits that decorate his HerderCraft-bred sixteen hands of height. Deep red glosses sorrel, tainted with the dullness of rust, colors his sleek coat. Legs are dipped to the fetlock with purest ebony, darkness upon richness over savvy.

K'no smiles gently at the runner, then looks to Aldrea. "I'll be sure of that. I can't go to Telgar a whole lot, so I'll get R'sha to tell one of the herders at Telgar to watch after Tarlin and the Bay." He thinks a monet, and replies, "Well now, that poses a bit of a problem about the dragons. What with Tarlin living at the Weyr. I don't suppose it's the /sight/ of the dragons that scares him, is it?" K'no looks nervous. "That wouldn't be good if it was the sight." K'no scratches the back of his head and looks a bit more pensive. "I'm not sure. I was going to bring Tarlin up here as soon as I could after I bought her a runner, so that means I might have to bring who ever is training her along as well to ride the runner back..." K'no starts formulating a plan. "I obviously couldn't carry it on a dragon and certainly not between." K'no chuckles lightly. "No matter how gentle Chesketh says he'll be." The rider leans against a pole and thinks again. "I suppose that'd work, wouldn't it? Having Tartar and who ever is teaching her fly over here, then ride back? Could the bay handle that? I don't think Tarlin's /that/ heavy." But he doesn't know who's training her, either.

Avaly walks with a slight sway of her hips and a smile on her lips in from Hold Courtyard.
Avaly walks with a slight sway of her hips and a smile on her lips toward Hold Courtyard.

Aldrea listens intently, eyes never leaving K'no's face while the gelding stands quietly at her side. "It's usually the sight, sir. Dragon's are big and a natural enemy of a runnerbeast. But," and she holds up a finger, wagging it almost teasingly, "A runner, depending on it's personality, can he trained to trust them to an extent. If Tarlin and her trainer are willing to work with him and teach him slowly and gently, he can be accustomed to the fact that he lives with beasts that would usually have him for supper. There is a chance it won't work and if so, then you or they can bring him back to me and we can get a younger, more docile runnerbeast to train up to it. Though I think this fellow might be able to take it." She gives a playful tugs on the runner's black mane. "That's fine, having them fly over and ride back. It's a journey but easily made at a reasonable speed. He's a strong guy, he can take it." Giggling she then drops the lead shank, mutters a soft command to 'stay' and ducks quickly into a room. She returns with some hides and takes the lead back into her hands. "He's running at eleven and a half marks with out a saddle and bridle. Will you be purchasing those as well?"

Avaly walks with a slight sway of her hips and a smile on her lips in from Hold Courtyard.
Avaly walks with a slight sway of her hips and a smile on her lips toward Hold Courtyard.

K'no smiles delightully. "I'm sure they can teach him the dragon's won't bite. They've got other things to eat at the weyr... Come to think of it, Tarlin's already gotten a wherry to live among the dragons peacfully. Even though she got it when it hatched and died it a bunch of different colors." K'no snickers. "Well then, let's talk about the price." He joins her and listens to the price. "Eleven and a half? Hmmm..." K'no takes a pouch from his pocket and peers into it. "Lessee... Wow, that's cutting it close." He smirks, then shakes his head. "Nah, I'm sure they've got a saddle and a bridle back at the weyr. I'll make sure they bring those with them when I bring them over here." He digs around in the pouch a bit more and produces a handfull of marks. "Umm... Eleven and a half, you say?" K'no pokes the marks, counting them. "Eight... Ten... Eleven..." K'no pokes again and produces the half mark. "There it is." He puts the counted marks into the pouch and the few uncounted ones back in a pocket. "Don't think I'll be buying a lot any time soon, now." He smiles and hands her the pouch of marks. "What with a rider's pay and all. That should do it. Will you put him out into a field or keep him in the stable for me untill I can bring Tarlin over to get him?" K'no starts grinning excitedly.

Avaly walks with a slight sway of her hips and a smile on her lips in from Hold Courtyard.

Avaly
The Harper's long locks of honey-brown hair have just recently been chopped off late one night. Now the longest bits end just below her shoulders, while the shortest bits end at her jawline. The layers aren't cut into her hair in a way that they blend in. Instead they're slightly choppy and ... different. Most of the time she has them curled so that the layers aren't quite as noticable. Pale blue eyes take everyting in from under long lashes that caress her cheeks when she blinks. Skin is pale with a hint of sunkissed sheen to it. Lips are a wonderful rose color and are often seen in song or just a smile. Limbs are long and slender, almost graceful. Her body is well toned as it should be after hours of running after kidlets. Though her limbs might be well toned the right areas have slender curves. Her bustline is again more curvy than the rest of her. Though quite curvy uptop, one would never make the mistake of calling her topheavy.
Soft, deep brown, wherry hide pants surround and conform to well toned legs and end around mid-shin. A pale, almost ice blue, shirt hugs her middle and has large flowing sleeves that look almost like wings. Wherry hide boots in the same color of the pants encase her feet and end a little below the pants.
Upon the Harper's shoulder is the knot of a Journeyman Harper. Intertwined are cords in Igen's colors since that is where she's posted.
She is awake, but has been staring off into space for 60 seconds.

Avaly comes wandering in, leading Starlight behind her. Once inside she pauses to adjust to the slight light difference before looking for an empty stall.

Both of Aldrea's brows shoot towards her hairline at that. "A wherry? My, she's pretty good at that kind of thing." A soft laugh is given before she trains her gaze on the marks, not counting, just watching. She has trust, see. Taking the pouch, she tucks it next to her own before the hides are brought to bare. "These contain his bloodline and general information. And this," she pulls one away from the others, "is where you sign to say you bought the runner." She pulls out a stylus and scrawls her own name before handing both towards the man. "We can put him up here for a while. Just send a firelizard... you do have a firelizard, right? When you're ready to come and get him. I'll have him ready then." Avaly is spotted and grinned towards, since her hands are rather... fully occupied. "'lo Avaly. How's Starlight?"

Avaly smiles over as she catches Aldrea's voice, though the smile looks slightly strained, "Hello Aldrea. He's doing rather well. Getting plenty of exercise." Weather the runner's happy about that or not is hard to tell since he always appears rather ... stoic. Runner stomps his hooves impaitently, urging Ava to find him a stall and some wonderful grasses to nibble on.

K'no chuckles. "It was quite a chore to get the wherry to listen. Should have seen it on the leash being tugged around by a 12 turn old girl." K'no shakes his head while laughing quietly. He takes the stylus and the hide and scribbles down his name onto the hide. "Been a while since I've had to sign anything." He grins and returns the stylus and the hide to the woman. "Do I ever. Too many!" He rolls his eyes and takes the other hides and looks over them. "Wow..." he mummers quietly, glancing at all the names. "I'll send one as soon as Tarlin and her teacher are ready, then. Nice doing buisness with you." He holds out his hand to the woman to shake on the deal.

Aldrea notes the strained look, head tilting slightly to one side in silent question, though she doesn't probe more than that. "I can well imagine," she says to K'no, eyes dancing with laughter as she takes the signed hide back and allows the others to be taken. Rolling the statement of sale up, she tucks it into an open pouch. "Good and thank you." She takes his hand and gives it a warm shake. "Oh yes... tell them that if he grows ill and the weyrherder can't take care of him, this is the best place to bring him since we've trained and known him. I'll tell all this to Tarlin and her teacher as well, so if you forget, don't worry." Laughing softly, she leads the gelding to a stall and places him in it, shuts the door and removes the lead shank. "There we go."

Putting Proud Bay Runner in its stall.

Avaly leads Starlight to a stall of his own and comments as she passes, "Buying someone a runner K'no?" Then she goes about making sure that Starlight's settled so she can go settle herself in.

K'no shakes her hand firmly. "No, thank you! Tarlin will be so happy." K'no hears the advice and nods. "I'll be sure to tell them that." K'no takes another look at the Bay and grins again. "Oh, Hey Avaly! Yes, it's Tarlin's turnday gift. I promised her I'd buy her a runner."