(19.13) Expanding Horizons (Il'ran, any)

[kendrall]

"Probably as long as it takes for the ice in the deeper waters between the island and the mainland to start breaking up, Il'ran," M'riel said wryly, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He was clad in his gray heavy cloak, and the hood was pulled up over his head. The man was used to cold weather like this, and had dressed appropriately. R'en practically jumped at the Weyrleader's sudden arrival, his face suggesting he'd just been caught with his hand in the canister of sweets. "Boss, when did..." the field medic started to ask, but M'riel pointed over to the basketlift. "It's a little easier to ride that thing up the side of the rock wall than to mount up on dragonback, you two." He then shifted his attention back to Il'ran. "If the ice on the coast is as thick as you say it is, it'll probably won't be until late spring before it all melts. But it could easily support several groups of heavily armed men, marching in a wide formation to spread their combined weight to keep the ice from breaking under their boots. Once the deeper waters start to open up, it won't take much for an experienced Seacrafter to plot a course through the ice floes to reach us."

M'riel knew firsthand that even in the harshest of winter-like conditions, deeper waters weren't as likely to freeze entirely and therefore any ice that formed often was the first to break apart once warmer weather arrived. He also knew that it was technically possible for a decent-sized army, heavily armored, to march across an ice sheet provided they spread their ranks far apart to evenly distribute their combined weight. If both conditions were met, it would spell trouble for the Weyr itself should they be found out.

The Weyrleader pointed downrange. "Remember to tilt your weapon up slightly to compensate for the distance, Il'ran. Set your sight accordingly, take in a deep breath, then let it out slowly as you squeeze the firing handle."

[Katlyn]

Il'ran nearly dropped the crossbow he'd been holding at M'riel's voice, completely caught off-guard by their Weyrleader's arrival. It wasn't often than someone caught him off-guard, as if he didn't notice the arrival of someone, then his bronze would, but he could feel Salmalinth's near smug satisfaction at his rider's startlement, almost as though the bronze had been wanting to surprise his rider for a change. He didn't get the chance to ask when M'riel had arrived, as R'en beat him to the attempt, though they got their answer quickly enough. The bronzerider nodded at M'riel's assesstment of the ice melting. "That's quite true. I haven't been down to the coast though, so I haven't the slightest clue how thick it's frozen up. Maybe just the slightest warming will melt it all back down again," he said, a bit more quietly than before. He wasn't quite so willing to state his opinion now as he had no idea how long M'riel had been there, or what all he'd heard of their conversation up to that point.

He'd been about to ask why M'riel was up there in the chill when the Weyrleader, but he was already speaking again, telling Il'ran what he needed to do to shoot the crossbow he was holding. Il'ran knew the basics concepts of what needed to be done, though he didn't say as much. He'd gone up there to practice and try to get better after all, so he wasn't about to turn away help. The bronzerider nodded when M'riel finished, though he didn't move yet, not certain if M'riel would have anything else to say before hand.

[kendrall]

M'riel gave Il'ran a knowing glance when the younger man nearly dropped his crossbow. He didn't have to say just how much it had cost to have that particular weapon repaired from the last time someone had mishandled it. Shaking his head, the Weyrleader listened as the other Bronze Rider made his opinion known. "I may not be the best at forecasting weather patterns, Il'ran," M'riel said after hearing what his subordinate quietly said. "But I've been around the seas long enough to know that in a bad winter like this one, the waters closest to shorelines are usually the first to freeze, allowing the ice to build rather quickly. It'll take more than just a 'slight warming', as you put it, to melt that much ice." He had already cleared Il'ran's line of fire, waiting for the younger Bronze Rider to ready his shot.

[Katlyn]

"That is true, but sea water requires colder temperatures to freeze over fresh water," he pointed out, having inwardly grimaced at the glance M'riel had sent his way. He certainly didn't want to do something that could one day place him on the older bronze rider's bad side. With R'en having fallen silent on the matter, Il'ran took the fact that M'riel had moved out of his line of sight as a silent go ahead.

Keeping in mind the various pieces of advice his fellow riders had given him, the younger bronzerider raised the crowwbow up into a firing position. Taking a moment to use the sight, he pulled the trigger to release the arrow he had placed earlier and watched. It was a bit of a relief that he hadn't missed the target, though he had been hoping it would have been more centered. Instead, thevarrow had embedded itself at the top of the target. Any higher, and it would have missed.

[kendrall]

M'riel simply shrugged when Il'ran made his observation of how sea water requiring colder temperatures to freeze when compared to fresh water. The younger Bronze Rider had a legitimate point, but the Weyrleader wasn't going to continue on this line of conversation. Instead, he watched as the crossbow bolt sailed high, embedding itself at the top of the target instead of the center. M'riel shook his head as he stepped up next to Il'ran. "Well, you've succeeded in either keeping your foe's head down, or you scored a lucky head shot and punctured his skull. I'll settle for the latter," he deadpanned, prompting R'en to double over in laughter. The Weyrleader gave his trademark half-grin, then started to make his way back towards the waiting basketlift.

R'en couldn't contain the tears from forming in his eyes from laughing so hard. "Hey wherrybrain," M'riel called over to the field medic, his tone suggesting a mocking reprimand. "I thought you were supposed to be practicing your shooting and helping out your teammate?" The Green Rider quickly recovered, standing upright as he wiped the moisture from his eyes with a thumb. "Practicing my shooting and helping out my teammate. On it, boss!" R'en affirmed, setting his own crossbow nose-to-ground before placing his foot into the stirrup so he could pull the string back.

M'riel simply shook his head as he entered the basketlift and began to lower himself. Soon, he was out of sight.

[Katlyn]

Il'ran waited quietly until M'riel disappeared back below the cliff line, before giving a sigh and glaring at R'en. "Knock it off, wouldya?" he grumbled softly at R'en's laughter. Oh, it wasn't R'en's laughter that bothered him. Actually, he was having to fight to keep from smiling himself. In truth, he was irritated at himself for having made such a blunder in front of the Weyrleader, who didn't seem to find the situation nearly as amusing as either his younger bronzeriding counterpart or the greenrider. Il'ran, himself, was happy just to have hit the target at all. But that little bit of success obviously wasn't quite enough for M'riel, though, and the last thing Il'ran wanted to do was get on the older rider's bad side.

[Mik]

Kendrall:

R'en simply shrugged as he hefted his crossbow, notching a bolt into the groove and taking careful aim at the target. Keeping both eyes open, the field medic took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his left eye just prior to squeezing the trigger. There was a mild recoil, but he had fired enough weapons to have balanced his weight beforehand. The bolt zipped through the air and embedded just above and to the right of the target's center.

The field medic gave a helpless shrug, but it was merely meant to downplay his recent shot.