Shoot Me (Riverton)

[Yuu Kanduet]

Thwack! The sound of an arrow sinking into a very solid target sounded loud compared to the relative silence of the practice area. Usually this part of the camp was bustling with eager Holdless wishing to destroy practice dummies and targets while pretending they were the dragons and riders that everyone here hated so much. The dragons were a curse, a plague that enslaved the minds of good men and turned them into dangerous monster loving fiends.

Thwack! Korven's second arrow went a little wide as he snarled at the thought of those foul creatures. Pern would be better off without the things, and Korven would one day die with the knowledge that he had helped to bring down their regime. Things were just going so slow. The last attack had caused the Holdless to suffer massive losses, and the already small group of radicals were in desperate need of numbers. If only there were an easy way to swell their ranks.

Thwack! People loved the dragons, but that was only because they didn't know better. Korven knew that all that people needed was to have their eyes opened, but what caused hatred? Was it anger? Or perhaps despair? Yes, Korven had learned of his true calling as a dragon hater through a sadness that drove him to madness. The best way to make people hate a dragon was to instigate an event where a dragon caused a death or perhaps multiple deaths.

Shf! Korven's arrow fell short of the target and buried itself into the moist grass. It had been raining throughout the day, and Korven was soaked to the bone. That didn't matter though. What mattered was that he had an idea, an idea that could save the holdless by supplying recruits and motive for another attack. Rain or no rain, Korven's mood was soaring with elation.

Clink! Arrows jostled and shifted around his hand as Korven dug through the depleted quiver that rested against his back. Soon he would be out of arrows and have to go and collect those he had used to turn the target into a pincushion. Perhaps he should make some more arrows for a back up quiver. It wouldn't do to march into battle only to run out of ammo half way through. Already he could see it, the glory of combat, the smell of death. In his mind the keens of morning dragons rang out as the most perfect battle song.

[wolflover1458]

From the moment that Riverton had awoken that morning, there had been a light drizzle sprinkling the camp. Rain was something he had grown quite used to in this forest. It was abundant enough in the South. He was almost becoming quite used to spending his time inside. He had considered going out for a while, but then drizzle had gotten heavier and heavier, finally becoming true rain, and he decided it best to simply wait for it. Besides, it left him time to think.

The last attack by the Holdless had gone rather well. They hadn't killed any Queens, but several dragons and their riders had been killed. The Holdless had suffered as well, though, making it too dangerous to attempt anything in the near future. Riverton knew that many of the ones still fighting fit, and especially the younger ones, were raring to get back and kill more dragons. He would have been delighted to do so as well, but it was simply inadvisable in their current condition. Part of being a leader was knowing when it was best to simply bide your time. Attacking without strategy and without enough numbers would simply make it that much easier for the Weyr to destroy them, and if there were no Holdless, there would be no one to tell everyone else just why the dragons needed to be gotten rid of.

He had spent some time thinking to himself on what the best course of action might be. For now, they were simply waiting things out, but he knew that they were soon going to need more followers if they really wanted to try and take on the Weyr like that again. They may have had some success, but they had also been weakened to much to attempt anything of the sort until they managed to regain strength. He had some thoughts on how they might manage it, but he was beginning to think it might be better to call a council and talk about it with others, see what ideas could be made with several people thinking about it rather than just one.

The rain had toned down a little, but it was still running all across his tent, pooling onto the floor around the Holdless camp and turning the dirt to mud. It looked as though the rest of the day would be spent with rain coming down on them. Riverton's mind was on this thought when he had soft, distinct sound come from somewhere. He might have imagined, but probably not, because he heard it again.

Someone was out in the rain. Finding out who certainly peaked his curiosity more than staying inside pondering things he'd already thought over too many times. He stepped out of his tent into the falling rain and wandered towards the noise. It was coming from the empty practice area. At least, it had seemed empty. There was a lone figure there now, though, ignoring the rain.

It was Korven. Riverton watched him let another arrow fly, but this one missed the target and fell to the ground. Riverton stood still for another moment before heading towards the other man. "Korven," he called as he approached. Korven had been a great asset, especially for the recent attack. If there was anyone else likely to have some sort of idea in mind, Riverton was sure that Korven would think of one. He had a passionate hatred of dragons as well, and was not likely to rest until not a single one of the beasts was left standing.

[Yuu Kanduet]

The sound of his name grabbed Korven's attention, and he inclined his head to show that he was listening even as he lowered his bow and began retrieving his arrows. One of the tips had been buried so deep in the target that it snapped off as he attempted to retrieve it, and Korven 'tsk'ed in mild annoyance. As he was gathering the arrows, Korven verbally acknowledged his addresser.

"Afternoon Riverton! What forces you from the comfort of your tent and into this dreary drizzling."

Korven looked up and flashed a smile that was more teeth and danger than genuine happiness. Riverton had always been what Korven called 'off-limits.' There was no flirting, just business between the two of them, and Korven let himself act more feral and manic with the Holdless leader than he did with even his friends. By marking Riverton as off-limits, Korven had also marked him as safe. Korven allowed a wary trust to build between himself and his leader, but he had no idea how the other man felt.

It hardly mattered. Korven's mind was thrumming with ideas and plans that Riverton could use. If Korven had believed in fate, he would have said that it was smiling down on him with the appearance of just the man he needed to see.

"We need to talk, you and I. I believe I have come up with a solution to our problems."

Korven had made his way from the target with his arrows in hand so that he was standing in front of Riverton. Water streamed from his sopping hair and bandanna into his eyes and down his face giving Korven the appearance of weeping.

[wolflover1458]

There might be people who found Korven odd or had to wonder just what he had against dragons, but Riverton understood him well enough. After all, he commanded the Holdless along with Riverton, and it would hardly do for them to not know each other at all. Their relationship had always felt a bit... informal. Not that that was a particularly bad thing, it at least prevented feelings of superiority or inferiority from getting in the way of their conversations. It wasn't that there was ever any disrespect or anything of the sort, simply that they acted different with each other than other Holdless might act around them. They were both empowered, and in a way that almost seemed to partially cancel out some power that one might have over the other.

That was just as well, though. It allowed them to talk rather easily. "I'd rather watch you shoot arrows and be wet than sit inside that tent any longer." It had actually really begun to grow quite boring to simply sit alone, with nothing whatsoever to do.

Korven's suggestion that he had an idea was just what Riverton needed at the moment. "That's good. I was thinking it was getting around time to get some real planning done. What have you got?" They needed any plan they could hope for. It was far too dangerous to outright attack again, but there was plenty they could do which didn't involve that. Anything safe that could still kill or even injure a dragon or its rider would be helpful, as would be finding a way to get more Holdless to join them. If they got their numbers up enough, they might be able to risk another outright attack on one of the Weyrs.

[Yuu Kanduet]

Nodding in quick accent, Korven strode back over to the line of targets and repositioned himself in front of the smaller ones that were father away and harder to hit. A bow was Korven's weapon of choice, and he was by far the best archer in camp. This confidence showed in the way he held himself as his raised his weapon once more. Fingers caressed the arrows before drawing one from his newly replenished quiver, and there was almost something loving about the way Korven handled the string before pulling it back until both he and the bow were taunt and quivering.

Thwack! The familiar sound echoed yet again as Korven found his rhythm and fell into it easily loosing arrow after arrow into the center of the target. Without any sour thoughts to distract him, Korven's accuracy was unhindered.

"Tell me River, what fuels our little band of rebels? Brotherhood, comradery?"

Korven gave a soft snort at the thought that the senseless mass that made up the majority of the Holdless had any sense of love towards their fellow Holdless. Korven himself felt no real affection towards more than a simple handful, and he would betray any of them without thought should they stand in the way of his goals. Korven expected the same went for him in their minds as well.

"No, what keeps us strong is our hate, our desire to bring about the destruction of the dragons and their riders, but what creates that hatred?"

Silence fell, as Korven gave Riverton a moment to mull over the things he had already said. Riverton had surely figured out the direction of the conversation already, so Korven didn't expect his next words to be any sort of surprise.

"Loss creates hatred. So we need to instigate the loss while making sure it was created by a dragon."

Thwack!

"We need to become saboteurs!"

[wolflover1458]

Riverton had found Korven's thoughts a bit confusing at first, although perhaps because he was simply distracted by the constant arrowfire. It was onlly after Korven paused in his speech for a moment that he began to understand just what it was the man was talking about.

Loss could create hatred. He was here himself because the only dragon he'd ever cared about had gone between. The lack of care for her demise had given him the hatred he needed to understand just how horrible the dragons and their riders really were. He didn't know or need to know exactly why everyone else was here, but it was likely the same kind of thing. No one just came out and hated dragons. They were all raised to think of them as the saviors of Pern. To realize they were nothing but trouble, one had to experience it themselves.

It wasn't something that ever would have occurred to him. Riverton never stopped to think of why he was here. He needed to focus on their next plan of action, and didn't have time to look into the past to find something. But that was exactly why having someone else around was useful.

By the time Korven had finished, Riverton found that he understood perfectly. They must cause others to feel that sense of loss by the way of dragons that could turn their love for the beasts into hatred. By doing that, they could assure themselves more people to fight alongside them, and that many less people to support themselves. They could help themselves and hurt the Weyrs at the same time. It was a win-win situation.

"I do think you're right, Korven," Riverton mused. "It's a wonderful idea you've thought up. I don't suppose you don't have a plan for it already?"

[Yuu Kanduet]

Thwack! Korven knew each Hold had someplace for the dragons to land and perch, but too often were these designated spots part of another building and serving another purpose. It would be far to difficult to compromise the total structure of such a building. Sure that left a fine number of platforms in the smaller cotholds, but the 'accidents' would produce far to few casualties to serve their purposes. Worrying his lip between his teeth, Korven thought back to his beloved's death. As tragic as it had been, the event had only garnered one new holdless. They needed something big.

Thwack! As he did with any real problem, Korven began speaking aloud. It helped when he was able to 'hear' his thoughts. It also helped if he bounced ideas of another person. Even though those people were never expected to reply.

Thwack!"Did you know I lost the love of my life when a dragon collapsed a landing platform in ill repair? The riders had never bothered checking the platform or informing anyone of its wear. Since the holders had no knowledge of structures built for dragons, they counted on the riders to tell them of such things, but we are beneath their notice."

Scrrt The sound of a taunt bow string relaxing was loud in Korven's ears. It sounded too much like the sound of groaning wood. He could picture the event perfectly in his mind athough he had not been in attendance to see the platform fall. He could imagine the sound of groaning wood and screaming stone. He could picture the look on the faces of the holders below as they realized their doom was inescapable. They must have screamed in the final moments as the structure collapsed on top of them. Dust and smoke would settle as the other holders flocked to aid the wounded, and there would lie his beautiful Rosalin and he mother broken beyond repair.

Krack!In an angry jerky movement, Korven had brought his bow up and loosed an arrow without any attempt to aim. The arrow flew wide of the target and buried itself deep into the wood of the leg of the target next to it. Korven knew he would not be reusing that arrow.

Thwack!His moment of rage past, Korven slid back into his previous rhythm. There was a tightness of his shoulders that belied his relaxed demeanor.

"We could begin small by sabotaging the smaller cothold landing platforms. This would serve to spark some flame but not much. However it might serve to aid us in small ways. It would get people's attention and force them to begin admitting that dragons are not good. This way, when something huge happens, no one will be able to deny the reality of the charges we hurl at those of the Weyr."

Thwack!

"How could we cause mass genocide through the dragons though? I know dragons do not directly attack people. The only time dragons do Fight is when they Fly thread. Wait! Thread kills people, and everyone connects Thread to dragons."

Thwack!

"What if the dragons never show up to Fly the Thread? But how can we stop them?"

[wolflover1458]

Riverton watched Korven's arrows shot past the two men, each landing solidly in the target's at which Korven aimed. The man really was good with archery. Riverton had never learned much of shooting a bow and arrow himself, preferring daggers and swords, which had been easier for him to master. Korven, however, was at home shooting from far away, where he was relatively safe from an attack against him. He could down any enemy before they had a chance to reach him.

It was a while longer before Korven spoke. Riverton nodded at the man's words. They had all suffered some kind of catastrophe at the claws of dragons; that was why they were gathered here. Few of the Holdless got along with each other, and the only thing that held them together was a deep hatred of dragons, and a desire to rid the planet of the filthy creatures.

Riverton rarely spoke of his own reasons for hating dragons, simply because there were some Holdless who could not comprehend how his love for one dragon and her subsequent death had fueled a life-long hatred against the beasts. They were certainly those who could understand a loss, but some of the younger ones couldn't see that a single dragon out of the ones that existed had really been lovable.

Korven's next arrow veered far off course, telling Riverton that the man's thoughts were far from the arrows he shot. And his accuracy was still impressive. Then he spoke again, and Riverton found himself agreeing again. The Holdless had lost many in their attack, and there were not new dragon-haters coming to supplement them. It was coming to the point where they must teach people themselves just how horrid dragons were, even if it meant sabotage. It might seem like making their hatred a lie, but was it really? After all, the same kind of thing would surely happen eventually; they were simply speeding the process, to help people sooner understand the truth of dragons.

But now even Korven was stumped. They could hardly hope to affect many people through simply sabotaging structures around cotholds. Some people might even be really to forgive that kind of transgression, but if Thread devoured their families... that was hardly something that would be soon forgiven. A more serious offense against people, but then they were people who had chosen to be on the side of dragons, and no one on that side was a friend. They needed a loss to understand the truth.

The trouble was that dragons were huge, and they flew. How could they possibly reach creatures flying far above them? And what could they do to stop them from reaching Thread? His first thought was to stop them from flying. A grounded dragon could not hope to fend off Thread, after all, and they might even be able to severely wound or kill some from the fall of it was far enough, but how?

Riverton's attention had diverted back to Korven's constant arrows, each landing swiftly and with deadly accuracy in their targets. The question still moved around his mind, but an answer almost seemed to be forming. But what was this odd thought?

Then it came to him. It might be a long shot, but it could also prove to be the answer to this dilemma. "Korven," he asked slowly, "how high can you shoot those arrows?"

If a dragon with arrows in its hide or wings could still fly, then they were far more impressive than Riverton had given them credit for.

[Yuu Kanduet]

Korven paused in his shooting to look over at his leader. There was an expression of amusement on his face that looked like one of those gentle smiles one gave before they let someone down gently.

"I am quite sure I couldn't shoot a dragon midflight with an arrow as small as this. If you could rig up a larger version of something like a crossbow, then maybe. Maybe if we managed to make a crossbow contraption with a harpoon. That would do it."

Laughing at the idea of shooting a harpoon from a crossbow, Korven grinned with mirth. At least he was grinning for only a few minutes before his words sunk in. Wait! Could they design a contraption that shot harpoons into the sky? That would truly be a huge advantage in their conflict with the dragons.

"River, do you think we could make a giant crossbow? Could those of us that had our start in crafting these tools modify and make what we need?

There was a spark of hope in Korven's eyes as he gazed pleadingly at Riverton so that the other man would give him the answer he wanted. Korven may not like using the crossbow because he found it a simpleton's weapon, but he would wield the monster of a crossbow contraption that had the power to shoot dragons down midflight.

[wolflover1458]

Riverton hadn't much expected Korven to be able to shoot down something so large as a dragon with so tiny an arrow, although he still felt the disappointment at Korven's assertion that it wasn't possible. Still, if the problem was simply the size of the arrow... then they would likely be able to do something after all. They couldn't risk another attack on the Weyr, certainly, but who was to say they couldn't spend their time making a weapon to bring down dragons mid-flight. Both Weyrs always seemed far to busy to actually make an effort to finding the Holdless. They would simply have to stay in hiding and work on something powerful enough to shoot down a dragon.

"I don't know if we could, Korven," Riverton responded. "I've never been one much for tools, but we can certainly try. We can gather up everyone good with tools and see if they can't work together to build something."

He stopped for a moment to consider it. The implications of this project were large, but it could end up well worth it if they could actually manage such a feat. "I think it may be the best bet for fighting the dragonriders. I just don't know how long it might take, but I do think we couldn't lose anything from trying. So long as you think you could shoot them from the ground with such a contraption."

Shooting something flying far above was quite different from hitting unmoving targets. Riverton had faith in Korven, certainly, but that didn't necessarily say if he would be able to manage it or not. They would simply have to try and hope that they could manage it. And if they did, it might help them in more ways than one. Either way, Riverton had a plan of some sort in mind, and that pleased him greatly. Better than sitting around waiting for something to happen.

[Yuu Kanduet]

Korven grinned and lowered his bow. There was a mischievous grin on his face as he thought of all the chaos and bloodshed this was going to inevitably cause if it worked out as they hoped. There was just something about having a direction, a plan, and having it all come together underneath your watchful gaze made one feel powerful and unstoppable. It was an almost giddy feeling.

Turning, Korven left the lane he had been standing in. His gaze met Riverton's in an almost playful manner as Korven sauntered up to the other man, brushing against him easily.

"If you can make it, i can shoot it. I have never met a bow that I couldn't master easily."

With a lingering pause, Korven ran his gaze up and down his superior slowly.

"Never a met a man that I couldn't do the same with either."

Korven gave one last grin to show that he meant no ill, that it he was just playing, before striding off to his personal area for some clean-up and rest.