Rhiannon - Dragonrider

Chapter Twenty Six - The Cerebrally Buttressed Broadsword Parry

The next morning, I had company as I jogged round the quad. Carodoc was taking his whole 'second' thing really seriously and, even this early, he wouldn't let me out of the dorm on my own. At first, he was pretty dubious about the jogging idea but, now his muscles were warming up, he was starting to see where I was coming from.

Of course he was surprised when I headed towards the stairs to the gatehouse roof.

"What's up there?" he asked.

"Nothing much. There's just a flat roof with a lovely view where I do my stretches."

"Do you want me to come up with you?"

"I don't mind," I answered, "but I might be a bit... well... absent."

Carodoc nodded but he didn't bother saying anything as he followed me up.

As I started my stretching routines, I reached out with my mind to find Psion. As usual, he was down in his cave near the shoreline. He wasn't exactly asleep... just dozing.

"Good morning, Young Mistress!" he said with a funny sort of mental stretch when he noticed I was there. "I was expecting you. How are you feeling? Have you fully recovered from your exploits of yesterday?"

"Psion," I said urgently. "Something's come up."

The little dragon was instantly alert and listened carefully as I told him what had happened the night before.

"What on earth does he think he's playing at?" he asked when I was done.

"I'm sorry?" I responded.

"I do apologise," he replied. "I was contemplating Kiernonda's motivation. No nonda in their right mind is going to call out a tyro in a personal honour duel. They have everything to lose and next to nothing to gain."

"I think Quaro-Deryn's behind it."

"Do you now," he said thoughtfully. "He is the second child of the House of Quaro, is he not?"

I gave a quick mental nod.

He thought about this for a few more moments but then his attention snapped to the more pressing issue. "Our first priority must, of course, be to ensure that you win this duel," he said. "To do so, I need to understand Kiernonda's character and combat characteristics as fully as possible."

"I've got Carodoc here with me," I told him. "He's head tyro and he's going to be acting as my second... and he can probably tell you about that sort of stuff much better than me. Is there anything you need to ask him?"

"Have you told him about me?" Psion asked.

"I've told him I'm going to be getting help from somebody and that's basically it..." I said... "Oh yes, and that I'm going to need to meet up with somebody in the afternoons."

He thought about this for a moment before responding. "There is some degree of risk in exposing our relationship, however you clearly had to tell him something. That was probably the minimum you could get away with. Never forget, however, in all your dealings with your fellow tyros that, with one word from their master, they will slit your throat. They may do so with the utmost regret but they, nonetheless, would be obliged to do so."

"I know," I said with a nod, "but I still think you need to talk to him."

"I agree. It is worth the additional risk to better understand your opponent's capabilities. May I borrow your mouth and ears?"

"Of course you can," I answered. "What do I need to do?"

"You have no need to 'do' anything," Psion answered. "In such a tight cerebral meld as this, I could simply reach out and take over any part of you. You could do the same to me. To do so without permission, is, however, considered the height of bad manners!"