Dragon Nomads

Chap. 427 The Water Bearer

“It’s a lot bigger out here than when I saw it in the shop,” K’ndar said, dismayed. The water bucket lay before him, the ropes all laid out in neat rows. The bucket had collapsed but looked like it would be as tall as a man when filled.

“Aye, it’s a big ‘un, and heavy as all get out,” Darnell said. “Ever carry one of these before?”

K’ndar shook his head. I’m beginning to have some serious misgivings about the task I’ve taken on, he thought.

“I’m no dragonrider,” Darnell said, “But, I’m looking at this bucket and I also see the wheel you brought. It’s big, too. How in the world are you going to do both? Scoop water AND carry the wheel?”

For one long moment, K’ndar was speechless at the realization that there wasn’t a way to do both at the same time.

“Uh, I, I feel like an idiot. I didn’t think of that,” he stammered. Frustration and aggravation overwhelmed him.

 “That wheel, it’s sure enough too big to pack on your dragon’s side,” the man said, speaking the obvious. “He’ll have to carry it.”

“I know. I know. We already figured that out. I had no idea that the hub for Lizard’s caravan was the whole wheel. But that’s what the wheelwright’s apprentice at Coastal Weyr said is ‘normal’ procedure.  I have no reason to doubt her. And I’m not going to disassemble it.”

Nor had I planned on spending almost an hour listening to the various bystanders who HAD to inform me of all sorts of things involved with wheel and hub maintenance, along with comments: I know what happened, why is he way out there, oh, I know that trader, you can depend on this wheel, Weyrleader A’garn is out with his dragons right now, are you sure you don’t want to wait. But didn’t they vanish when it came time to roll the wheel out to where Raventh was waiting. It was only slightly more maneuverable than a dead hog but far less amenable to rolling in a straight line, even with the apprentice on one side and he on the other. The wheel insisted on going in any direction save towards the grassy dragon meadow on the far side of the Weyr. Never mind that the hub kept banging into my shins, he thought. I bet I’ll have bruises for a month.

“You don’t want to disassemble it, K’ndar. That tyre is steel, it’s heated until it can be bent, and then they put it on the wooden part so it will cool. It shrinks down tightly. I’ve even heard it squeak when it shrinks,” Darnell warned.

“I guess I will have to make two trips, then,” he said, depressed at the thought. It might be asking too much of Raventh, after a long hard drill that morning.

I can do it Raventh said, It’s not that difficult.

“I wish I could help you with it, K’ndar, but I’m going to have to go. We have a full slate of work today and I’ll be blunt, the only reason I’m still here is because Chief likes you. I do, too, but I’m going to have to leave. Sorry, mate.”

“Thank you, Darnell. Before you leave, please? How in the world do I pick it up?”

Darnell felt an unknown pressure from Chief Orlon, despite his not being there.  But K’ndar was a friend. He scratched his head. “Now I’m shooting blind, K’ndar. I’ve seen it in use by dragons but didn’t ever see a dragon actually pick it up. All I know is how to lay the ropes all nice and shipshape. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. That big bar is for the dragon to carry. This little rope here? It’s to the valve, it looks like. I guess you just yank it to get the valve to open. I’m sorry, mate, but that’s all I know. Just have Raventh straddle the ropes and then pick it up.”

It can’t be that easy, K’ndar thought.

Darnell’s datalink squealed. “K’ndar, sorry. I have to go. Good luck, mate.”

He watched the man walk away. Frustration boiled.

I can do it, it can’t be that difficult Raventh said, it might be the same when I picked up the speartooth.

Well, maybe. At least it doesn’t stink!

How do I do something I’ve never seen done and yet have promised to do?

Okay, he thought.  I’ll break up this problem into pieces I can do. I’ll get the wheel out to Lizard right now. Then I’ll come back, pick up the bucket and go to the Lake and get water.

I wish I’d come up with another idea. I wish sometimes I weren’t so ready to help Lizard, but no, that’s not right, he’s family in all but blood and he wouldn’t have asked me if he wasn’t in trouble.

“ARRRRRRRRRRRGHH” he shouted, in utter frustration.

“K’ndar!” he heard from high up. He looked up to see P’jar on his brown dragon Falconth, the brown already setting his wings for a landing.

“Clear my landing!” P’jar called out, unnecessarily, the habit so ingrained that it was second nature.

Once he landed, he dismounted and almost ran to K’ndar.

“K’ndar, don’t leave yet.”

“I, um, well, okay. What’s up?” K’ndar asked, wondering if a mission had suddenly arisen. I’m not on standby today! I might have to abandon this for today, no, I have to get water to Lizard!

“Jansen told me what you’re planning on doing. So did Falconth, he told me you and Raventh are planning on collecting water with one of those big buckets. I learned to use them dropping water on Thread in valleys the ground crews couldn’t reach.  Have you ever done it before?” P’jar asked.

“Dragons are such gossips,” K’ndar said, relief washing over him, “No, I’ve never even seen it done. All I know is that it has been done.”

P’jar grinned.  He reached down to straighten one of the ropes. “Look at this rope. This bucket is from High Reaches Weyr or I’m a wherry.  How did it get here, I wonder?” He looked up at K’ndar. “Not only have I seen it done, I HAVE done it, and let me tell you, it’s not easy. Getting the water is the first part. Then once you’re over your target, you have to give the valve rope it a bloody hard yank to get the valve to open. I’m also going to say it’s not something you can just DO, it takes a lot of practice. But it’s fun, in a way, so I’m going with you to the Lake, I’ll do it.”

“By the stars, P’jar, done. Thank you. I am stuck, I wanted to do both, take a wheel to Lizard AND water, and it took Darnell to point out that I can’t do both at the same time.”

“This is what we’ll do,” P’jar said, not even hearing K’ndar. “I will take the bucket. I want you to watch as Falconth straddles the ropes. You carry the wheel. Do you have a cairn or a dragonstone in mind? Because I’ve never been further south than the Lake, and then only once, and I don’t know where your friend is.”

“I don’t, either, but not to worry. I’ll push the dragonstone to Raventh and he can share it with Falconth. It’s not a stone, it’s a carving in the top of his caravan, you can’t mistake it for anything but a signal.”

And I just remembered I promised Jansen I’d take a photo of it. Did I bring the camera? No, of course not. I am such a dolt.

P’jar looked critically at the bucket. “It’s been kept up. Shouldn’t have any problems with rotten ropes. I just hope it doesn’t leak.”

“Do you want to scoop water on our way down there?”

P’jar snorted. “It’s only designed for water, lad. Not dirt or sand or rocks.”

Lad? K’ndar bristled, then shoved that aside. P’jar could be arrogant at times, and I’ll probably always feel subordinate to him. But he’s offered to help and teach me. I’ll just swallow it. Like always.  I AM a novice at this, I should be grateful he’s helping me at all and even if he gives me a hard time still, he’s taught me a lot. And I damn well need his help right now.

P’jar shook his head. “I’m just being a smartarse, K’ndar. No, I think it’s smarter for us to go to where his caravan is, that way I can see where I’ll dump the water. You can drop the wheel off then, and we’ll head out to the Lake afterwards to scoop.”

He looked up at the sun. “Well, change that. I’d like to train you on collecting the water, but we might run out of time. Let’s do it this way. I’m flying with you to where your trader is broken down. Once I see where I can drop the water, you can land with the wheel, and I’ll go and scoop.”

He reached down to pull a rope out of the pile. “This is the valve rope, K’ndar. I have to say, whomever laid this one out knew his stuff, it’ll be a snap for Falconth to pick up.  Picking up and dropping the bucket is a real art, the ropes are always wanting to tangle. Scooping the water is not easy, and dropping it where you want is even harder. And you never know, sometimes you can get a full bucket first try and other times it’s like scooping water with a knife.”

“I can wait to learn, P’jar. Maybe next week you can teach me. For now, I want to head out.”

The man gave the bucket and ropes one last check.

“This is a big bucket, I wager it’s a thousand liters if it’s a gram.”

“It is, good call.”

“Does he know you’re coming?”

“He does, I told him so by fire lizard.”

“Good. I’ve always wanted to see that stretch between here and Honshu Weyrhold. I’ve already cleared it with Jansen, and Risal said she’d just add me to the manifest you filled out.”

“Did she tell you everything? About why I’m going and where?”

He nodded. “But Falconth did, too. Raventh has been asking him all sorts of questions on how to collect the water and carry the bucket.”

You did?

I did, Raventh said, sounding a bit defensive. I want to do it right, Falconth has done it. He will teach me.  

____________________________________________________________

K’ndar could see immediately that Lizard’s caravan was truly out of commission. It was smart of that girl to insist I bring the whole wheel, he thought.

They’d come out of between, Falconth carrying the bucket that swung far below his belly. He looks like a wandering manylegs, he thought, thinking of the large insect that would ride the winds with her egg sac hanging beneath her.

Siskin chipped, evoking a laugh from Raventh. He says they are delicious

“Okay, I have the coordinates, K’ndar. And I see where I can drop the water, there’s a tub or a depression that looks suitable. I’m off to the Lake, I’ll be back shortly,” P’jar had called from Falconth’s back. The brown rose easily into the air on an updraft and vanished.

Raventh had deposited the wheel as close as he could get it to the caravan.

Nicely done, Raventh K’ndar said, impressed at the precision and the care his dragon had taken.

He then flew a distance from the horses to land. They weren’t afraid of dragons, but wary, nevertheless. A dragon is, after all, a very large predator.

He dismounted and was greeted by Crunch, Lizard’s Very Large Dog.

He reached down to give the dog a friendly scritch. The dog laughed with teeth and tail, making K’ndar say “I’m so glad we’re friends, woofer.”

Lizard and Kim, the trader’s apprentice, both came up to him. Lizard’s fire lizards swirled over his head, and he waved them away. Siskin left his usual spot behind Raventh’s head to follow them. He flew up to Lizard’s queen to flirt, but Batu, his bronze fire lizard, was on HIS turf. His hiss sent the blue back to Raventh’s head.

Lizard grasped K’ndar’s hand. “K’ndar. Thank you, so much, I..uh, I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you is enough. And you’re welcome.”

“Um…water?  That other dragon, he had a water bucket, it’s not full? Don’t think I’m ungrateful but..”

“Don’t worry. That’s P’jar on brown Falconth, he’s a co-worker of mine.  He’s done plenty of water drops, he wanted to see where to drop the water and now he’s going to the Lake to get a bucket full. I’m awfully glad because I arranged for the bucket without ever seeing it scoop, never mind doing it.”

Lizard sighed in relief. “That’s good. Look at the horses, they’re thirsty. And so are we, but we can hold off. Where will he drop the water?”

“We could see a tub of some sort just over there, he said he’ll drop the water in it.”

“It’s just a depression in the rock,” Kim said. “It’s deep. I think a horse could bathe in it.”

Lizard stopped for a moment. “Ultimately, I need my barrels filled but they have to be mounted on the wagon first. I don’t think your friend can fill them from the air. IF we can get the caravan on four wheels, I’ll pull it next to the depression to transfer water. But the beasts come first, the horses and my dog.”

“Your lizards? They’re not thirsty?”

“No, which leads me to believe there’s a water source somewhere here because they’re not feeling thirsty. It’s just not HERE.”

“And us,” Kim said, “Thinking of water just makes me thirstier. I was looking at the depression earlier and it just has dried grass in it. I’ll go clean it out.”

But they didn’t hear him. He picked up a broom and a rake from the caravan and headed for the depression. I don’t want to get wet grass in my mouth, he thought.

“We’ve been dry as bones for a day, now. I’m surprised we can think straight,” Lizard said.

He slapped his head in annoyance. “I had planned on bringing a keg of water for you and Kim. I completely forgot.”

“And let the horses and Crunch go thirsty? Nay, mate. First law of horsemanship: The animals come first. Always.”

“Yes. Okay, let’s take at look at your caravan.”

K’ndar examined the caravan and shook his head in dismay. “I’ve only seen a few breaks, Lizard, this is pretty bad.”

The right rear wheel had plunged into a hole, almost invisible from above. He could see that many of the spokes were snapped.  

“Aye. All this bloody open space and I find the one hole to fall into.”

“What happened?” K’ndar asked. 

“This damned rock surface. I don’t know what it is, but it’s smooth as ice, you can feel it even through boots. I had no idea it was here, you can’t see it for the covering of moss and lichen. We drove onto it and by the time I saw my team beginning to slip on it, it was too late. It was a case of do I try to turn around? Or just pound on through hoping to get onto better soil. Well, you can see neither choice was doable.”

He sighed in frustration. “And you can see, the rock ends just a few meters further downslope. I’m glad you brought an entire wheel. Even the ironwood spokes broke.” He shook his head. “It could have been worse, honestly. It could have been the front wheel that broke, and the shaft would have made it so much worse.”

“How, um, how are you going to get it out of the hole?”

“That’s a problem I’ve not come up with a solution yet. I don’t know if the axle is broken, and I was afraid pulling it straight out would snap it if it weren’t. I would ordinarily jack it up but the caravan is on its belly, even Kim isn’t skinny enough to fit underneath it. Nor do I want it to collapse on him. Good apprentices are hard to find.”

Kim, hearing them, felt the glow of hearing praise. Yes. I try my best to be the best. Just look, I got this depression all cleaned out. The water will be nice and clear.

“Maybe, I can get it out with Raventh,” K’ndar wondered aloud.  Somehow, I’m getting deeper and deeper, he thought. I should see if there are hooks or something to attach ropes to, can we pick it up?  But no, the roof top was curved, and he saw no way to attach a block or a rope to the top. “How heavy is it?”

Lizard shrugged. “Unloaded, it goes about fifteen hundred kilos. Any bigger and I would need four horses to move it. And I’ve never seen heavy lifting done by dragons. I can’t imagine the caravan can balance. I have to be careful on how it’s loaded, the front wheels are smaller than the back ones. They make it easier to turn but the bigger wheels make it back heavy.” His tone was mournful.

I don’t know what kilos means but I can lift it Raventh said.

“Well, surprisingly, I have seen heavy lifting done by dragons. Raventh and I never did it, we were forced to be spotters. But I’ve seen big trees far heavier than your caravan lifted by two dragons. Only problem I can see is it’s short. I’m not sure about clearances for our wings,” K’ndar said.

“Maybe have Raventh lift the back end, if we weight the left side so that it tilts over. Then it might just roll down the slope,” Kim said. But the two men didn’t hear him.

K’ndar pointed at a pile of things off to the side. “All that stuff came out of this little caravan?”

Lizard nodded, pleased. “Aye. A place for everything and everything in its place, that’s caravan life. We unloaded everything to lessen the weight on the frame and springs. We even tried to pull the ‘van sideways with the team, and the wheel did clear the hole a little. But not enough.” His voice was rough from dehydration and fatigue.

“I think if we were to load the left side, something heavy, like the wheel? And have a dragon lift the rear right end, it would pop right out. Then it would roll down the slope on three wheels, it’s only a few meters to solid ground,” Kim said. Again, Lizard and K’ndar, engaged in their discussion, didn’t hear.  

He sighed in resignation. No one listens to kids.

Crunch, the dog, trotted up to him, tail wagging, wanting to reassure Kim.

Kim took him aside and gave the dog a good rub. “At least YOU listen, woofer.” Crunch laughed.

“Add to it the fact that there’s not a lick of water here. My tongue feels like dead leather. Had I known how dry it is I’d NEVER have come this route. I don’t think anyone ever has.” Lizard kicked the offending wheel in aggravation. “It could have been worse, I guess. It’s just one wheel. Had I stopped to think this route through I wouldn’t ever have come this way.” He was almost spitting in anger. “I had a bad feeling about that trio of blokes who said they’d meet me at Honshu Weyrhold. “The route’s a good one, it’s a shorter trip to Honshu’, they promised. Now I have a feeling I was set up, they’re out there just waiting ‘til dark to attack.”

Oh, shaff, K’ndar thought, add another thing to worry about.

“They might try,” Kim said, bravely, “but we have crossbows now. And I’ve been practicing.”

This time, K’ndar heard. “Good thinking, Kim.  And don’t forget, you have fire lizards, who aren’t afraid of attacking a raider.”

Lizard chuckled. “Aye, I still have a shoulder that works, thanks to you and your friends. I’d have bled out there if it hadn’t been for you and B’rost and Francie.”

Batu chattered, peeved, from his perch atop the caravan. Lizard laughed.

“Oh, of COURSE, Batu, you were the best help of all. You went and fetched Raventh.”

K’ndar laughed. Fire lizards! “Have you sent your fire lizards out to scout them out?”

“Aye, and they see nothing. Nothing but wildlife, not a horse, not a man. But still my gut is yelling that something’s not right.”

He heard his team snort.

Raventh bugled. P’jar had appeared out of between, the water bucket dangling beneath Falconth’s belly.

“Ho! Below! Gunga Din here, bearing water!!”

“I thought his name was P’jar?” Kim asked. Lizard anxiety lessened.

Kim ran to the depression and waved at P’jar.

“It’s all clean, sir!” he shouted.

“Move back unless you want to get wet!”

The horses, out of curiosity, had merely watched, but even from the distance, they could smell water. They moved closer. My stars, they’re thirsty, K’ndar thought.

Lizard whistled. Crunch, his dog, had been taking in the entire situation without comment. Now he raced to Lizard’s side.

“Crunch, move the horses back. Keep them far, there’s a good lad.”

The dog jumped up with a happy bark and ran to the horses. They moved back at his urging, not out of fear.

Falconth hovered, pumping his wings hard to keep stationary. He lowered until the downrush from his great wings blew the detritus further from the rim of the depression. Kim, backing up, felt a surge of pride at his foresight. The bucket swung gently, P’jar feeling it rather than seeing it. I’ll time it just right, he thought.

“Water dropping on my mark! Three! Two! One!!” P’jar called and yanked on the valve rope.

For a moment nothing happened. K’ndar moaned, oh, no. But then Falconth was tossed upward into the sky as the water roared out of the bucket with a wooosh!

And landed precisely in the center of the depression, splashing upwards and hitting Kim despite what he thought had been a safe distance. He cheered despite being soaked. It felt wonderful.

Did you see me get tossed higher in the sky? Falconth asked Raventh.

I did. I will feel that when I try?

Yes.

At the same moment, three horses darted past Crunch, not caring that the dog had orders. Crunch joined them. There was no holding them back, even had they been hobbled. As one, the horses rushed to the depression, and plunged their muzzles into the water. K’ndar could see their ears rocking back with every gulp. He could feel their relief. Yes, they were VERY thirsty.

P’jar shouted, “K’ndar, change of plans. I’m going to go back to get more water.”

“You don’t want to teach me?” he shouted.

“Look at the sun, K’ndar. It’s getting late in the afternoon, I don’t think we’ll have time to help get the wagon out if we both leave. And I’m sure once I drop the bucket at Landing it will take some time to straighten the ropes, no matter how careful I will be. We can train you later, what?” P’jar said.

“Okay, I want to see what I can do to help with the caravan, anyway.” K’ndar shouted.

“Right. I’ll be back with more water.”

Falconth flapped to gain altitude and then blinked out of sight.

“Oh, stars, but-forgive me, K’ndar, but I need to drink,” Lizard said. He hurried to the depression across from the horses. Kneeling down, he thrust his face into the clear, cold water. Kim joined him.  

K’ndar laughed. Two human butts in the air on one side and horses and dog on the other, all drinking. What a funny picture it would have been!

After several long draughts, Lizard got to his feet. “I’m sorry, K’ndar, but I couldn’t help myself.”

K’ndar grinned. “Probably a good idea, I was wondering if the horses would empty it.”

They returned to the caravan. “There’s got to be a way I can have Raventh lift it,” he said.

Kim said, “Um, I have an idea?”, without having an expectation that the two would listen to him.

This time, they did.

“I think, well, I said earlier, I think the springs are still okay. If we load the left side of the caravan with the wheel, it’s heavy! If we put enough weight on the left side, and have Raventh lift the right rear end, it might be enough to lift the wheel out of the hole. The shaft is already up, so one of us can sit on the bench to man the brake when the caravan rolls down the slope. On three wheels.”

The two men gaped at him.

He blanched. “I mean, it’s just a dumb idea, I guess. I just wondered,” he said, apologetically.

It took the two men a few moments to grasp the concept.

“That’s not a dumb idea,” K’ndar said, “I think it’s a GOOD idea. It’s a shaff lot better than anything I can come up with.”

“Kim, I’m sorry,” Lizard said, softly. “You’ve been talking and we’ve not been hearing. It just might work, and if it doesn’t, well, it’s not as if we didn’t give it a go. When P’jar comes back maybe two dragons can do it.”

I can do it. I can lift it, it will be easy. Just make a rope for me to lift with Raventh said.

K’ndar grinned. “Raventh’s all on board. He says he can lift it, he don’t need no big fat Falconth to help.”

Falconth is fat? What does that mean?

Never mind, it’s just a saying K’ndar said.

Lizard felt a sense of desperation…and hope.

“If you can get it out of the hole, me and Kim can get the wheel on, we have all day tomorrow,” Lizard said. Now that we have water, that is. That was the best water I’ve ever drunk in my life. Never again will I let myself go this long or far without it. Even my brain has started working again.

“Kim, get that heavy rope, the thick one. The Wanderer I bought the caravan from said, “It’s heavy, aye, but don’t dump it. Mark my words, Pern man, one o’ these days you’ll be wanting this rope. It’s heavy for a reason.”

I am so grateful I listened to him. I’ve been carrying it around forever, it seems. Suddenly it’s worth all the extra weight it’s added. It will just fit in the eyebolts on the frame.  I’ll reeve a smaller rope for Raventh to lift it with.

 “Keep the heavy rope as short as you can, K’ndar. Hmm, I don’t know how to get it to him when he’s flying.”

“Hovering. I’ll be on his back, Lizard. I don’t think Siskin can lift the heavy rope, but put a lightweight one on it for him to hand off to Raventh.”

“He’ll give to Raventh in mid-air?”

“Aye,” K’ndar said, proudly.

“He can do that? You’ve trained him to do that?”

“Nay. He and Raventh came to it themselves. They make a great team. We’ve done something similar a long time ago, I’ll tell you the story one of these days.” He watched as Kim wriggled underneath the caravan, just barely able to reach the eyebolt with the rope.

That’s a good kid, he thought, and I know now we were ignoring him while trying to figure this out. He’s got a good mind. He’s sharp.

“I will have to train mine to do the same,” Lizard said. “Right then. Let’s get this bloody wheel mounted onto the left side of the caravan. We’re burning daylight.”

——————————————————————————–

P’jar came out of between, the water bucket spinning. I’ll have to wait until it slows down a little, he thought.  

It was heavier this time Falconth said. The wind kept blowing it up too high.  Only when I dropped it straight into the water did it work.

Pulling it straight up, full, is hard work. Of course it’s going to feel heavier. You did a good job.

Then he looked down, and was astonished.

 The caravan! They got the caravan out of the hole!