Dragon's Fire

Sent from hold, sent from craft,
Whether old, whether daft.
Shunned for good into the wild '
Father, mother, baby child.

Harper Hall, Second Interval, After Landing (AL) 490.3


He ' s still waving, isn't he' Master Zist called back for the third time. He sat at the front of the wagon as it slowly drew away from the Harper Hall. The last of the winter snow covered the fields on either side of the track. Every now and then the wagon skidded as the workbeast lost his footing on the hard-packed icy snow and struggled to regain it.

'Yes, he is, 'Cayla agreed, looking back out of the brightly painted wagon at the small figure slowly diminishing in the distance.

' We couldn't bring him, ' Zist said regretfully. 'He'd be too obvious.'

At least, Zist thought to himself, the lad was taking it better than he had when they ' d first told him their plans.

Pellar had thrown a silent tantrum, had sprawled on the ground in the Harper Hall ' s courtyard, feet and fists hitting the ground in his outrage. He stopped only when Carissa had started howling in sympathy with him.

' She ' s crying for me, isn ' t she ' he scrawled quickly on the slate that was never far from his hands.

' Yes, I suppose she is, ' Cayla answered.

Pellar swiftly rubbed his slate clean and scrawled a new comment on it, thrusting it under Zist ' s eyes. ' Are you taking her '

'We have to, she's still nursing.'

'We want to know that you're safe, here, 'Cayla added.

'Aren't I part of your family' Pellar scrawled in response, tears streaming down his face.

'Of course you are!' Zist declared vociferously. 'And we need you, as a member of our family, to stay here out of trouble.'

'You are always part of our family, Pellar,' Cayla said firmly.

'You've been part of our family since we first found you, ten Turns ago,' Zist told him.