Trading Notes

Writers: Francesca, Halyonix, Suzee
Date Posted: 3rd April 2025

Characters: Porenne, Arrilon, B'nell
Description: B'nell makes a quick trip to Harper Hall for some strings and news
Location: Harper Hall
Date: month 2, day 25 of Turn 12

Porenne

Notes:
~*~

The string made a discordant, apologetic twang as it popped.

Letting the other notes fade, B'nell stared at the miscreant string
with a pensive scowl. Was that his last D string? Shells. Maybe the
stores had an extra? No, that wasn't something they normally kept
stocked and he had spoken with the Weyrsinger two nights ago about how
they were out of string.

Which meant that B'nell was going home -- his other home -- to Harper
Hall for a resupply run.

He forgave the errant string, humming softly as he strapped up Vorath
and envisioned the Hall for his dragon. His face broke into a smile as
they reappeared over it. He could hear the notes drifting out of the
windows as he dismounted.

Arrilon would be able to get him some strings, B'nell thought as he
walked up the steps, tugging off his gloves. But he didn't run into
Arrilon first. He almost nearly collided with someone else instead.
"Porenne!" he exclaimed, recognizing the petite blonde.

"B'nell," she grinned back at him. "What brings you to the hall?"

"I broke my last gitar string and we don't have any at the Weyr. Well,
we might but you never know what quality they'd be in and I'm not
going to take a chance so I figured I'd come here and get some and
plus, it's just nice to visit. How are you?"

She grinned at him. "A harper without his strings is a tragedy."

"Even worse is one that's lost his voice!" B'nell said with a return
grin. He looked over her shoulder at some apprentices darting away
on...whatever mischief they were up to. "I see the kids are up to
their usual shenanigans. Hopefully not giving the Hallmasters too much
trouble."

"Don't I know it!" She said, raising a hand to her throat. "I only
have one set of strings though," she couldn't help the chuckle.
"Vestian is rarely bothered by their antics. Though he _is_ a bit
strict with them when they're caught."

"Someone has to be," B'nell replied absently, remembering those few
moments when he had been on the receiving end of being caught. Mostly
thanks to Chorvis, who was always up to something. Poor young Barnell
had gotten dragged into more trouble than he had ever wanted. Coming
back to the present, B'nell asked, "Do you know where Arrilon would be
right around now?"

"Yes," she smiled. "I believe the choir is practicing in the main
rehearsal hall." She'd meant to join them this morning but her husband
was bringing guests for dinner and she'd been preparing for the event.

"Great! Thank you," B'nell said. He gave Porenne a quick hug. "See you
soon!" And he was off down the hall on the remainder of his errand,
following the sounds of the choir in the hopes of also finding
Arrilon.

As choir practice wrapped up, Arrilon took note of what he needed to
work on before the next rehearsal. There was one tricky part he had
not quite mastered, and another place where his breathing wasn't
right. He nodded and smiled to a few of the Journeymen as he packed up
and left. He had a bit of time before his next obligation.

Arrilon was deciding whether to head back to his room or maybe go for
a walk when he saw a familiar face. "B'nell," he said with a smile.
"It's been awhile."

"Good to see you Arrilon!" B'nell replied brightly and honestly. "How
is the latest choice piece going? I thought I heard you there?"

"Hopefully you weren't listening for too long," Arrilon said jokingly.
"There are a few rough parts. It's an interesting piece though. How
are you and Vorath doing?"

B'nell had listened long enough to miss being a part of a multi-voice
chorus like that. _And_ it was a newer piece! He'd heard it one other
time before but in passing. "It's a great piece! You need to teach me
it," he told Arrilon, his mission forgotten. New music did that to
him. He just _had_ to learn it.

"You can take a peek at it, if you want," Arrilon said, patting his
bag. "Although," he lowered his voice, "don't start humming it in
public places. You know how composers can get with their new music."

There were no promises to that at all, which was probably why Arrilon
brought it up with B'nell, who was _terrible_ about not always
drumming a beat on his thighs or humming something under his breath.
The bespectacled brownrider immediately began scanning the notes on
the page. In just a few bars, his head was nodding along with the time
signature, leading to his fingers absently directing out the notes in
the air. After a minute or two, he came out of his little musical
trance and smiled at Arrilon excitedly. "This is great! When...when
does it debut?"

"At the end of next month," Arrilon said. "There will be a few other
new pieces too. This is my favorite though. The harmonies are
satisfying. So, what brings you to the Hall today?"

B'nell was running over his schedule in the hopes of being there for
the reveal. When Arrilon asked him why he was there, he blinked
owlishly for a moment, completely forgetting his own reason. "Oh!
Strings! I broke my last gitar string and we don't have any _quality_
ones at the Weyr. I figured you would have some that I could buy."

"I do have strings," Arrilon said with a nod, glad this was something
he could help with. He started walking towards his quarters. "How many
do you want?"

"I _need_ a D string," the bespectacled brownrider answered as he
followed. "But if you have that and another full set, then I won't
have to bother you again so soon."

"I think I have a full set," Arrilon said. He couldn't remember using
any recently. "I hope your string didn't break while you were
performing?"

"Oh the embarrassment!" B'nell cried dramatically. Then, in a calmer
voice, he said, "No. It was during practice. Chorvis gave me a new
song to try out. Want to hear it?"

"I'd love to. And I'd be curious to hear what's going on with the
harpers at the Weyr. Did Jintore ever make Journeyman? Last I
heard..."

Last updated on the April 22nd 2025

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