This was a group e-mail role play in which members of the Igen Weyr fanzine participated, and it was basically about a bunch of caravaners who kidnapped some weyrlings and the Headsteward - there is also a rock collapse at the Weyr which was a result of the commotion made during the kidnapping. So, here are MY contributions to the e-mail role play. I started off slow in the first segment, but it picks up in the later segments:

segment 1, written 29 March 1997

J'torian walked into the Lower Caverns carrying a glass flask, with Veggie and Threadhead on each shoulder: "Okay, Your Great Headsteward Harlegen, here's that redfruitseed oil I was talking about. Try basting the wherry with THIS and..." Finding Harlegen absent, J'torian tried the nearby caverns but met with no success. Getting worried, the bronzerider remarked: "He was *supposed* to wait for me to bring the oil..."

At the stillroom J'torian found Harlegen's fire lizard cheeping and fiddling with Harlegen's keyring. J'torian rushes to the flitter, and, kneeling, asked about Harlegen's whereabouts. The flitter immediately became agitated and in turn agitated Veggie and Threadhead, who flew out of the room; J'torian, afraid that Harlegen's would also leave, backed off.

J'torian: Storalinth, what's going on? I can't find Harlegen anywhere and he was supposed to wait for me: I was gonna help him with the wherries for tonight.

Storalinth: Hmm?

J'torian: "Hmm"? You've been taking *another* nap?

Storalinth: Haven't you learned that we dragons are solar-powered? We *must* sleep in the sun.

J'torian, worried but unable to keep from grinning: Riiiiight. Anyway, can you find Harlegen anywhere? He was supposed to be here and he's not... We were supposed to prepare the wherries for tonight, and I found his poor flitter pecking at Harlie's abandoned keyring...

Storalinth: Birtath says G'mead's coming to get you and He knows what's up... But G'mead hasn't yet told Birtath what's up.

J'torian: Alright... Ah, here's my cutie now. Go back to sleep if you wish.

Storalinth mentally yawned. So you can wake me up in five minutes with another question?

J'torian giggled: Cheeky.

Storalinth did the mental equivalent of blowing a raspberry.

G'mead ran up to J'torian, gave the dark-haired man a quick peck on the cheek, making him blush, and spoke: "There's been a rock collapse in the Weyr."

J'torian, eyes widening: "What?"

G'mead: "You heard me. Get that bronze beast of yours to stop napping and see if dragon help would be useful. My poor blue and my fire lizard are still weyrbound after that last Fall."

J'torian: "Harlie is probably at the rockfall then, helping mend any injuries, and Ralenaya too." J'torian called Veggie and Threadhead, and when they appeared he said, "Okay ladies, I want you to go find Slip and Shod and get them to get Ralenaya over to the accident area if she's not already there yet. Got it?" Veggie and Threadhead cheeped and disappeared on their mission. "G'mead, could you get Goldrider to follow them?"

G'mead: "Done."

J'torian: Storalinth...

Storalinth: I heard. Told you I couldn't go to sleep.

J'torian grinned as his eyes refocused. He reached up absentmindedly and brushed G'mead's forelocks away from his brow, saying, "Where's the accident?"

G'mead gruffly grabbed J'torian's hand to stop its caressing motion and kissed it lightly to soften the admonishment: "Follow me."

The two rushed out of the Caverns into the Weyr Bowl.

Ralenaya sat in her weyr drinking cold klah and reading a massive Record when her Slip and Shod - as well as Veggie and Threadhead and G'mead's bronze Goldrider - popped into view.

Ralenaya, startled: "Slip? Shod? What..." She quickly picked up the mental broadcast and just as quickly packed her medicines and utilities before heading out into the Bowl.

segment 2, written 5 April 1997

At the rock collapse:

J'torian smiled winningly at the rather cute male weyrling on whose arm he was slathering numbweed. As he finished, he said, "There you go. It's not serious, and you don't need bandages cause your wound needs to breathe, but don't go around hugging people or you'll get the gunk all over them." With a clean hand he tousled his patient's hair, successfully causing the injured boy to blush as he left the area, and got up to walk over to Ralenaya when he saw G'mead blocking his path, arms crossed in mock admonishment.

G'mead spoke, within hearing range of the weyrling J'torian had been attending to: "Flirting with the young ones again?"

J'torian grinned challengingly but his effort was ruined by the red flush that quickly suffused his cheeks: "Oh come on, don't spread Threads if you live in grass weyrs."

G'mead, a huge smile on his face: "Excuse me? When did I..."

J'torian: "Oh, don't play the innocent little boy with me. Besides, that guy I just mended is just two years younger than me."

The pair grinned as they continued their banter; Locia, who was handing a busy Ralenaya different utensils as she needed them, continued to listen in and couldn't help shaking her head in exasperation:

G'mead: "Oh, whatever."

J'torian: "It's true! Now, stop blocking my path, Ralenaya needs my help, don't you Rallie?"

Ralenaya, busy stitching a wound shut, didn't look up from her work as she quipped impishly: "You're on your own, J'torian hon."

G'mead: "Ha! Since when did she need your help, BOY?"

J'torian: "Since you started blocking my path."

"Hmph! Pay the toll if you wanna get by."

"Oh? And what's that?"

G'mead pointed to his face: "A kiss on each cheek... all four of them."

J'torian opened his mouth in surprise and appreciation of the risque humor and he blushed fiercely, bopping G'mead on the arm with a closed fist. "Your *toll* will be paid later." With that, he shoved a non-resisting G'mead out of the way and walked to Ralenaya, who was stitching up a tiny but rather deep cut on a girl's arm. G'mead followed behind him and snaked his arms around J'torian's waist as they stopped in front of the table Ralenaya was working at. Ralenaya's fire lizards, as well as J'torian and G'mead's, were perched on the table watching her actions.

Ralenaya continued to stitch deftly as she said calmly: "Hey, you randy little watchwhers. What's the latest news?"

J'torian grinned at Ralenaya's choice of words: "G'mead went to find that out, and now he's back to tell us."

G'mead nodded as he and J'torian sat down at the table, and then G'mead began: "Well, Harlegen was taken along with the weyrlings, and apparently someone in the caravans has fire lizards, or someone in the caravan should have been Searched out and taken to a Weyr, because those idiots somehow know when the weyrlings are trying to contact their dragons and obviously the thieves have forbidden that contact. Harlegen obviously wouldn't be able to reach his fire lizards either."

J'torian was immensely surprised at the news; Ralenaya was too, as could be seen by the widening of her eyes, but other than that she gave no reaction to the news and continued to stitch quickly as she said, "Wait. Didn't the threatening note say something about the Weyr holding some of their caravan members, which is supposedly why they took our weyrlings? Pass the small scissors, please, Locia... thanks. But anyway, yeah, what was that note all about?"

G'mead: "I asked T'ger to find out about that, and also to see what was being done about contacting R'dolan."

Ralenaya looked up in surprise: "Can't a dragon just get through to Weyrleader R'dolan via his Tisinath? What're they up to?"

G'mead: "Birtath's tried and so has T'ger's bronze but they can't get through... and our fire lizards just get agitated and start scolding us when we ask them to try."

J'torian: "Hold on." Storalinth, can you try again please?

Storalinth: It is the same as before. I cannot find Tisinath. Sorry.

J'torian: That's alright. Go back to sleep. "Storalinth isn't having any luck either."

Ralenaya: "Strange. Locia, the light bandages please. No, that one. Why aren't your dragons worried, if they can't reach Tisinath?"

G'mead, at a loss: "Why does boiling numbweed have to stink?"

J'torian was about to make a witty reply when an aging woman rushed in, breathless from running. She looked wildly about until she spotted J'torian, and then gave a relieved gasp: "J'torian love, I know you're busy, but there's a rather ridiculous crisis in the Lower Caverns. Apparently G'brar mentioned that he hadn't had one of your lemon bubbly pies in a long while, and he said this in front of a big group of weyrbrats and weyrlings who are now screaming for your bubbly pies. Even the thirteen year-olds are fussing! They wouldn't be so unmanageable were it not for the fact that the rockfall has upset their nerves. And Harlegen isn't here to exercise his authority in the Caverns, so could you *please* be a darling and make some bubblies? Now?"

J'torian, sitting with his body twisted in his chair in order to face the woman, laughed and said: "No problem, honorable mother. I must stop by my weyr first, but I'll be right there, and if you can get out the ingredients I need so that it's all set out when I get there I'll be much obliged. You know what stuff I'll need, don't you, old mother?" The woman nodded eagerly and J'torian said: "Good. And if you can please get some fellis juice, surreptitiously, that would also probably be a good idea. I mean, if the kids are that upset to make that big a fuss over bubbly pies, it might not be a bad idea to slip some fellis in." The woman grinned and rushed out.

G'mead shook his head lovingly/mockingly: "Yeesh, you and your formalities with all the old people." When J'torian stuck out his tongue, the blond man remarked, "Later, sweetie," and winked.

J'torian blushed, and giving up, he turned to Ralenaya, who was now removing pieces of rock from a fire lizard's delicate wing. The fire lizard's owner was the weyrling J'torian had helped earlier, and he was now sitting at the table watching concernedly.

J'torian: "Rallie, I need to make bubblies of all things, do you want me to send help over? Or G'mead can stay."

Ralenaya: "No, it's all under control here, and young Locia's doing marvelous on her own. Speaking of which, hand me one of those swabs, Locia. Take G'mead with you, J'torian. We're fine."

J'torian and G'mead got up from the table and ran out, shouting, "Thanks, Rallie." Ralenaya kept her attention on her work but managed an absent-minded shout back: "It was nothing."

G'mead turned to his lover as they headed to J'torian's weyr. "Why do you need to stop by your weyr? To check on Storalinth?"

J'torian rolled his eyes: "Storalinth is sunbathing, as usual. I need to get the secret ingredient for the bubblies; it's in my weyr."

G'mead grinned in surprise: "What secret ingredient?"

J'torian looked about to see if they were in earshot of anyone: "Benden white, in an inconspicuous, unlabeled bottle."

G'mead laughed: "Serious? You're not gonna give that to the kids, are you?"

J'torian smiled: "Oh yes, I keep forgetting, you're The Prissy Little Holdbred Boy. Anyway, I only put in a dash or so of the white: it's just enough to modify and enhance the taste but not enough so that you can taste the wine itself."

G'mead shook his head: "You're amazing."

J'torian grinned and decided to make a bad joke: "No, I'm J'torian, but you can refer to me as Amazing if my real name's too hard to remember."

G'mead groaned at the joke and J'torian laughed quite evilly as they entered J'torian's weyr.

Back at the rock collapse, a tall, short-haired brunette girl walked in carrying a sizable package and went up to Ralenaya. "I heard! I figured you would need more supplies."

Ralenaya actually looked up from her work this time. "Oh, Leto, thank you so much, I needed that lots. I really owe you: I was afraid I'd have to get Slip and Shod to bespeak Veggie and Threadhead or something, and J'torian's busy and you know how unreliable these fire lizards can be sometimes."

Slip and Shod woke up from their nap on the table and cheeped a few scathing remarks at their mistress before curling back into little brown balls.

Ralenaya grinned as she rinsed her hands in a bowl of water: "Unreliable and unruly."

Apprentice Healer Leto went to a waiting flitter: "Rallie, this wound's shallow but it's gonna need lots of redwort to clean it out."

Ralenaya: "Shells; I'm almost out." Her tone turned hopeful: "You didn't happen to bring any?"

Leto: "No: you're always good about redwort..."

Ralenaya: "I know, I know... shells! If I'm this absent-minded now just imagine what I'll be like when I'm an old aunt fit for nothing but peeling yellow-veins... It's like I have Threads eating at my brain. Ah well. It looks as though I'll have to get Slip and Shod to bring J'torian back after all. I don't want you or Locia to get the redwort as I need your help here." Ralenaya woke Slip and Shod - there was much screeching and gnashing of fire lizard teeth - and sternly told them to tell Veggie and Threadhead to tell J'torian what she needed. Slip and Shod flew to the ceiling, squawking out a final Parthian shot at Ralenaya before winking out of sight.

Leto, puzzled, cleaned out the flitter's wound with the last of the redwort: "Why didn't you ask J'torian to stay? He would have if you asked him."

Ralenaya: "I know that, but he's too kind for his own good and he's been helping me too much of late. And anyhoo, Siniara stole him from me: apparently there's a whole batch of kids in the Caverns crying for his bubbly pies. Locia, have you seen the mortar and pestle?"

Leto, with a smile cracking her face in surprise: "Bubblies?"

Ralenaya, grinning, searched for her tiny mortar and pestle as she replied: "You heard me. G'brar made the mistake of mentioning J'torian's bubblies in the earshot of those nervous, upset, and therefore VERY hungry weyrkids."

Leto clucked her tongue in pity. "Your poor friend. Well, they ARE good bubblies. If J'torian wasn't a rider he'd give Harlegen stiff competition."

Ralenaya looked up from the herbs she was pounding: "What're you talking about? J'torian may be a good friend of mine but I know his talents: he's good at roasting wherries and baking lemon bubblies, and at coming up with new ways to cook old stuff he's unparalleled, but he doesn't know the first thing about Weyrstewarding or Weyr management. He's not even temperamentally suited to it, even if he loves helping people when it comes to things for which he probably couldn't even help himself."

Leto nodded in tacit acceptance of and agreement with Ralenaya's statement and went on with cleaning out the wound. "So that's why you let J'torian go."

Ralenaya: "Well, it wasn't just that. I wanted to give G'mead and J'torian some time to themselves, even if it's only the short time it takes to walk from here to the Lower Caverns. I mean, they're under so much stress."

Leto: "How do you mean?"

Ralenaya: "Well, it's common knowledge that Sh'ligor, their wingleader, doesn't like guys like them."

Leto: "How do you know?"

Ralenaya: "Well, it's only a given that someone who has such narrow-minded, holder-type views about women riding dragons would be also be phobic about same-sex pairings. Locia, some of the spring water, please. It's pretty much well-known that the only reason J'torian and G'mead are both in Sh'ligor's wing was because he has this theory that lovers who are in the same wing together will work harder to protect each other. Sh'ligor only did it because he wants what benefits his wing, not cause he respected their wish to be together." Ralenaya sighed. "He's a good wingleader, but..." and when she finished crushing the herbs into a fine powder she added a few drops of water to create a paste. "And the theory's working too. Sh'ligor works his wingriders hard, and J'torian and G'mead are always obliging because they'll do anything to ensure each other's safety. They're worn to the bone, and according to J'torian, their sex life is beginning to suffer. They're young and randier than greens about to fly but even teenagers can run out of vim if they're getting frazzled from all the work."

Leto took the paste from Ralenaya and began applying it to the flitter's wound. "Well, have you told J'torian that they're letting themselves be overworked?"

Ralenaya spoke in a near wail: "I have, but will those two lovestruck shipfish listen?"

J'torian and G'mead withdrew the lemon bubbly pies from the ovens at the Lower Caverns, causing the citrus smell to fly around the room and bombard each nose present. G'mead chuckled at the oohing-and-ahhing while J'torian flushed.

The kids rushed to the pies and began to take them off the tray, still burning hot.

G'mead, worried: "What about the fellis juice to slip into it, to calm them down?"

J'torian: "It's baked in; baking it mutes the flavor and the strength anyway."

G'mead chuckled: "Sneaky little flitter." He grabbed and savagely tickled J'torian, who yelped in excited surprise; Veggie and Threadhead misinterpreted the yelp and flew at G'mead, scolding and pecking. In response, G'mead's own Goldrider squawked at Veggie and Threadhead, who then subsided.

J'torian, still flushed, chest heaving, and excited from the tickle: "It's a good thing yours is a bronze while mine are green."

G'mead drank in the site of J'torian huffing and puffing sexily: "Especially good when your greens decide to rise, no?"

J'torian grimaced: "Speaking of which, I don't think I'll be able to share your weyr tonight. I'm worn out already, what with the training Sh'ligor's been putting us through, and the day's happenings, and after helping Ralenaya and then coming here to bake..."

J'torian noticed the disappointment G'mead was trying to hide and he stopped talking, putting a hand to his mouth in comprehension: "Oh, I'm sorry, love. This is the third day I've been 'too tired,' isn't it?"

G'mead smiled bravely: "It's alright. I guess I'll just have to dream about you..."

J'torian began to fret: "No, it's not alright. Shards, I want to share your weyr too, but I'm already sapped dry and I want to nap and the sun has only just passed the high point in the sky..."

G'mead brightened: "I've got a great idea. You rest in my weyr for the rest of the day. I feel completely rested so I'll run your errands for you and bring you food. By night *you'll* be rested enough for what I have in mind, won't you?" J'torian, whose eyes had brightened at G'mead's suggestion, eagerly nodded without blushing. "If you want news about the rock collapse and R'dolan's whereabouts I can bring it to you or relay it through our dragons. Siniara and Ione won't need your help tonight: anyhoo you've already helped enough."

J'torian beamed and was about to agree to the idea when Slip and Shod appeared and started chittering to Veggie, Threadhead, and Goldrider. J'torian's happy look was quickly replaced by one of fatigue and resolute patience: "Ralenaya needs the redwort; I knew she'd forget something. Oh well." J'torian motioned for G'mead to come with him.

G'mead: "Wait! You rest: I can get the redwort from Rallie's weyr."

J'torian: "Rallie needs our help as well and not just the redwort; she was too kind to say so earlier. Besides, if we help out, we'll be done sooner and I'll still have plenty of time to rest."

G'mead pouted: "Oh, alright; let's get going."

G'mead was about to start off when J'torian stopped him, planted a kiss on his mouth, winked, and said, "You excite me when you're sulking." J'torian picked up a lemon bubbly, folded it slightly, and popped the whole thing into G'mead's mouth, effectively plugging it.

J'torian kissed his lover on a cheek that was distended from the bubbly occupying his mouth: "My, you sure can fit big things in your mouth!"

With that the grinning J'torian flounced out of the Caverns, with an uncharacteristically blushing G'mead following in his wake, munching quietly on the exceptionally good bubbly. The fellis was undetectable.

segment 3, written 9 April 1997

Ralenaya rinsed her hands out in the redwort: "I think we're almost done, you all. We should start clean-up and put..." She was interrupted by a boy who came up to her, holding out his arm. The stitches were already coming undone.

The girl sighed, inwardly cursing herself for doing a shoddy job and the boy for doing something active enough to muss the stitches, and she said, "It's gonna be a wherry day, isn't it? Never mind about clean-up you guys. G'mead, as long as you're there, can you run the silver needle through the candle flame to sterilize it? This one's gonna need redoing."

G'mead retorted with a: "Right away, strange lady."

J'torian, with Veggie and Threadhead on each shoulder, looked up from the infusion he was preparing in the small pot at the makeshift hearth to see what the problem was - Veggie and Threadhead made a cute sight as they leaned down from the young man's shoulders to inspect the bubbling liquid as J'torian turned his head in Ralenaya's direction.

J'torian noted the stitches, and smiled in sympathy: "But better a wherry day than a Fall day, eh Rallie?"

Rallie hmphed to herself as she said: "Got that right. I hate the way you riders complain about Threadscore. You guys complain even as we dump a bucket of numbweed on each wound."

J'torian: "So? Be glad you've never got one."

Ralenaya adopted a mock-prissy look: "What do you mean? I just 'got one' last night."

J'torian threw his head back and laughed mainly out of surprise, nearly causing Veggie and Threadhead to fall into the infusion pot. G'mead, Leto, Locia, and Ralenaya were attempting to be more restrained but couldn't help joining in the laughter when the two greens scolded and pecked at J'torian's ears.

However, Veggie and Threadhead continued to chitter after the laughter has died down and they flew off J'torian shoulders to sit on the table next to Goldrider, Slip, and Shod who also began chittering. The fire lizard conversation lasted about three seconds.

J'torian was about to ask if anyone knew what that was about when Storalinth called him: R'dolan is back!

J'torian and G'mead spoke simultaneously: "Storalinth says that R'dolan is back." "Birtath says that R'dolan is back."

Ralenaya finished carefully removing her bad stitching job. "In that case, R'dolan will either come here to the collapse or call a meeting in the Caverns."

G'mead: "Both, most likely." The green-eyed, hazel-haired man walked to Ralenaya and held out the silver needle. "Your sterilized poker, perverted lady?"

Ralenaya gave G'mead a mock glare before accepting the needle. She began the restitching when she looked up, puzzled: Slip and Shod, her browns, had reminded her of something. "What's happened to Harlegen's two fire lizards? They're obviously not with him, since he was taken with the weyrlings."

J'torian, his chocolate eyes widening: "Shells, I didn't think. I left one alone in front of the storeroom, and if my memory serves me the other one's recently Shelled. Oh, they wouldn't go between, would they?"

G'mead: "Don't borrow trouble; give the lizards some credit, love. We're almost done here at any rate and we'll go to the Lower Caverns soon enough. Get Veggie and Threadhead to check on 'em if you're worried."

J'torian: "Good idea." After some chitters and scolding, Veggie and Threadhead disappeared.