“I’m surprised more didn’t have trouble,” T’mar said, his lips pursed tautly. Lorana and Kindan exchanged a troubled look.

“You think this might have something to do with the cure?” Fiona asked.

“It certainly seems the case,” Kindan said reluctantly. Beside him, Lorana nodded, her face bearing a glum expression.

“You two!” Fiona snorted. “It’s as well you’ve agreed to be separated or you’d take responsibility for all of Pern’s woes!”

“She’s right,” T’mar said, raising a hand to forestall Kindan’s protests. “Oh, it could well be an unwanted effect from the cure, but it could also be a desired effect or even a result of merely having the cure.”

“How so?” Lorana asked.

“I could see that Wind Blossom might have decided that the shells would need extra protection,” T’mar said, hefting the thicker shell. “I imagine this would be proof against most Thread.”

Something in his words caused Fiona’s eyes to light with interest but they dimmed again as he continued, “Of course, it’s also possible that Talenth had eaten enough shell material to make thicker shells or that, as a result of her recovering from the sickness, she had extra shell material.”

“If that were the case, queens who weren’t sick would make normal eggs,” Kindan said.

“And as Talenth is the first queen to clutch, we won’t know one way or another for the next sevenday,” T’mar said. He glanced at the other three, brows narrowing as he added, “It is certain that the clutches will hatch next week, isn’t it?”

“The Records all agree,” Fiona said. “The time from mating to clutching is variable, but the time from clutching to Hatching is always five weeks.”

“I imagine if the sands were colder it might be longer,” Kindan said.

“Or shorter if hotter,” Fiona agreed with a shrug.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Lorana said, cocking her head at Kindan and intoning:

“Count three months and more,
And five heated weeks,

A day of glory and
In a month, who seeks?”

“That is what the Teaching Ballads say,” Kindan agreed.

T’mar frowned, saying, “I’m not sure I understand them, even now.”

Kindan gave him an expectant look, so the Weyrleader continued, “Well, it seems that the three months and more is the time from mating to clutching, correct?”

“That’s how I learned it,” Kindan said.

“And so the five heated weeks would be the time the eggs are on the Hatching Grounds,” T’mar said.

“All the Records I’ve read agree on that,” Fiona told him, clearly wondering what he was getting at.

“And, ‘A day of glory’ refers to Impression, doesn’t it?” T’mar asked, keeping his attention on Kindan. The harper nodded. “So then, what’s the last part mean: ‘And in a month, who seeks?’”