Randland

Rahien

"I assume you will be ready soon?"

With almost too controlled a tone, Rahien replied "Of course." He was aware of his strong emotions of annoyance, but could care less. If there weren't so many other Aes Sedai around, he'd speak what he thought, but with so many of the women around, he kept his thoughts to himself, that only serving to increase his unease. He had an itching to spar, but knew if he distracted himself, Everinn could very well end up leaving him behind.

With stiff shoulders, the warder turned and headed off to take up his sword and any bloody thing else he'd need for this Light forsaken trek.

Maiuri Sedai

Maiuri strode into the stables, ready to get on with this thing they'd been charged with. The stable boy appeared startled, and a fraction unsettled by her appearance. "Boy, bring me my horse, and prepare a pack horse as well." She thought for a moment, "No. You'd best prepare three." Her voice was smooth, but curt in a sort of no-nonsense way.

"Y-yes, Aes Sedai!" The boy scurried off to do as she wished, though she paid him no mind.

Looking out at the grounds in front of her, she wondered minutely of what would come to pass.

The first rays of sunlight were just beginning to strike the tops of the stables, in the grounds of the White Tower, when three women exited the Tower. All three were garbed for riding and yet looked as different from each other as three women could possibly be. One with cold green eyes and honey blonde tresses, another with auburn locks and cool eyes the colour of teal, and the third dark of eye and hair. Yet all shared one thing in common, the ageless faces that marked them as women who channelled. In moments each was mounted with two of them having a grim faced man shadowing them on a mount of their own. Behind them pack horses laden with supplies for the road waited patiently, their ropes held by the two Warders. At a nod from the auburn haired Aes Sedai they prepared to leave.

"The Amyrlin Seat approaches." A guard wearing Tower livery called.

The Amyrlin Seat wearing the seven striped stole of office approached the three women, she met each ones gaze with a firm one of her own.

"Go with the Light Daughters, Light send you are successful." With those words she stepped back and nodded her permission for their party to leave. The three women glanced briefly at one another before urging their mounts into motion and the small group left the White Tower in a clatter of hooves upon the cobbles.

The journey took them across the River Eldar, all the time the mountains of mist loomed above them, and slowly further from the tower and deeper into Amadicia. Their days were spent travelling, moving at a fast but maintainable pace and their nights spent camped in clearings or staying at inns along the way. The women spoke civilly enough to each other, deciding on the route and discussing what they would find when they reached their destination yet their was an undercurrent of tension between them borne of differing ideals and Ajah's. The two Warders wisely remained silent about this though both of course sensed their Aes Sedai's tension, they busied themselves making camp when needed or guarding the road ahead or behind. Mahira spent much of the journey watching her new Warder getting the measure of the man she had chosen to be her sword. Doubtless he watched her too but she was proud that he would have seen a woman accustomed to travelling who handled the journey well. The other sisters did likewise both having had to travel in the past.

Finally they reached Amador, capital of Amadicia, and the tension they had all been feeling increased ten fold. Here a woman who could channel was never welcome and any caught were always dealt harshly with. They would need to be careful here in order to remain hidden from the true rulers of Amadicia, the Whitecloaks. It was a task made harder by the women's smooth ageless faces that marked them as Aes Sedai. As they passed through the city's gates, all three women wore thick cloaks with the hoods pulled up and allowed the Warders to lead the way. Fortunately they knew of a place, an inn, where they could stay whilst in the city and be safe. Everinn Sedai had informed them that an Eyes and Ears, a spy, for the Blue Ajah owned an inn in the city and that was their destination.

Soon they reached the inn the sign above the doors announcing it as the White Stag, and in no time at all their horses were being led away to be settled for the night. They were led into the common room by a young stable lad who immediately called for the owner of the inn. A short time later a woman bustled up, an older woman with greying hair tied in a bun and plump rosy cheeks, she regarded the women for a moment before snapping out orders to a nearby serving maid. In short order they were whisked away from the busy common room and seated in a private sitting room, without doubt the finest rooms in the inn, and being served tea and a cold luncheon.

The woman waited until she was alone with them before curtsying. "I am Reane My Ladies and it is my honour to serve. The Tower sent word you would be coming though the bird only arrived here a short time ago. I am instructed to assist you where necessary."

Everinn herself found the travelling a messy drag. To know what was waiting in Amadicia; the Whitecloaks, and above that, a False Dragon. A man who could perhaps channel... Whether he did or not, he would be dangerous above all. Perhaps he was a thief in the shadows; or even a lord, hailing from atop a throne. Who was she to guess? And yet, even the Light send that this is easy enough. I would hate for a... catastrophe to happen.

She was more than grateful to see the end, and to find herself and her mount before the White Stag. Everinn was shaking, and she hoped that Rahien would not notice. If he did, she herself ignored whatever afterthought he would have, dismounting and passing the reins to a stable-boy.

Her eyes flickered at him, and as she felt he was staring for too long, brushed over the cobblestone and into the inn. Her travelling cloak dragged itself as she passed, and Everinn entered the inn unsteadily. A single word wrong, and they could find themselves surrounded by Whitecloaks before the night had passed.

Staying silent, as an old friend appeared, she looked around herself. The inn had changed in the long time since she had been in Amadicia; no surprise, as time had changed more than just the painting on the wall.

Maybe this won't take as long as I had thought. Everinn let herself be led away easily as she continued to watch the walls. It seemed so nice, now; the old inn had been a bit dimmer.

"I am Reane, my ladies, and it is my honor to serve. The Tower sent word you would be coming, though the bird only arrived here a short time ago. I am instructed to assist you where necessary."

Everinn let the tea warm her hand, nodding her head graciously. "Reane, how the times have changed us all... I fear we do have great need of you yet." She was taking the liberty of assuming she had the right to speak, though she could care less about how the other Sisters would treat her. "We are coming on the word of a False Dragon, here in Amadicia. Have you heard word of this...matter, yet?" Her eyes glimmered softly. She was very interested to see where the spider was hiding, and what sort of web he was spinning.



As he led his few horses out of the stables, several of them skittered, trying to avoid his reach; it seemed to Tuomas, that he was not the only one wanting to avoid this travel. To him, he knew nothing good would come out of it - if they reached the Tower again, he could only hope it would be alive.

Tuomas had to coax several of the horses out of the stable doors. Once out, they gained their footing, and easily passed towards the three Aes Sedai who were awaiting their mounts. He watched Mahira mount, carefully checking the saddle one more time. It would do no good to have a horse bolt, dismounting her, and he had best relax.

He himself had the horse that he had brought to the White Tower. A grey stallion, and a fully-trained war horse that he had for a long time, named Siswai. The horse had carried him through the streets, but now, it hardly carried him anywhere. He would ride until the Pit of Doom, but there was other places to be.

The journey had his mind running. Always running. He was always worried that they would be found by Whitecloaks, that their camp would be broken by bandits, or some miraculous event that would have them running. Tuom was always on guard, but happy for an excuse to break away from the Aes Sedai. Even as they approached the White Stag, he felt that the tension would never break.

Tuom dismounted slowly, giving Siswai's reigns over reluctantly to the stable boy. He gently ran his hands through the mane, before turning and following the Aes Sedai into the inn. It seemed all too soon that they were whisked away - he debated whether to follow or not, but a fleeting glare from Everinn Sedai kept him at bay. She seemed as if she would shoot daggers at him, within any given point.

"Rahien, should you wish to follow, you have every leave. I believe I may watch from the common room." He left his Warder brother the choice, turning away from him.



The light of his inn was so much better. Well... It was not his inn, precisely, it had only been so for just a few moments now. He was sitting calmly, one leg kicked over the other as he cleaned underneath his fingernails with a knife. The blade was covered in blood, barely beginning to dry, and he found himself wiping it over his cloak.

No matter; he quite enjoyed the feel of it. A thick liquid, sticky and warm, a vital essence of the human body... The way it easily bled out of a man made it all the better. How he loved to watch the blood pour out of someone, slitting their throat and watching them squeal as their throat bled red.

"Turn it will! The Wheel is not hope, and the Wheel does not care, the Wheel simply is!" He did love singing. Once in a while, the song would strike him, and he would dance around the room with his voice washing over the walls. "But, so long as it turns-"

Someone was knocking at his door. The night had barely begun to sink through the sky; everyone knew this was the better time to bother him, though, when the shadows danced and he could hide as he pleased. "Enter." He continued to pick at his nails, frowning. Was this friend... or foe?

"My friend." The man who entered was no one he had seen before, but his thumb was sticking between his index and middle fingers, hand straight at his side. Now he's caught my interest. "Forgive the hour, though as I'm told, this is the best time to bother you." He grinned, pulling back his hood to reveal bright blond hair.

No doubt this was someone who would change his look when anyone turned their back. "You have my interest... Though how did you find me?" He started to stare at the knife closely, finding that the blood was already dry. A pity, he did not think he had wiped all of it off.

"Stories pass, rumors grow, and eventually you'll know precisely who you're looking for." His grin seemed to grow wider. He would not give his name. "I've been watching, and here's something you might want to know - three Aes Sedai, dropped just at the White Stag. Two Warders with them. Though, we both know why they're here."

The knife was stabbed into the table, shaking for just a few moments. "Perfect. Maybe there's even a Black." He stood up, though did not remove his own hood. It was nice and warming, too comfortable to remove.

"Very well." The man bowed. "Fare you well, Dakkone... May the Great Lord watch over you." He pulled his hood back up, and disappeared through the door. Dakkone watched him leave, and spat on the floor. His story had only just begun.

Rahien

Rahien stroked the dark mane of his most reliable companion, Aldazar, before mounting and heading out with the Aes Sedai and his fellow Warder, Tuomas. He wasn't pleased with this journey at all. They were heading into one of the most dangerous situations Everinn could get involved with. The rare carefreeness he was able to grasp at the training grounds back at the tower had completely disappeared from his being, and he now was the outwardly calm, confident and relaxed, inwardly tightly wound and alert, man he always was in these situations. The constant tension was wearing, and it didn't seem that it would soon let up. He almost sighed as they stopped at the White Stag, a place he was slightly familiar with, but not with content. It would be more of a depressed or frustrated sigh, but it never left his lips to be heard.

Rain watched with a careful eye as Everinn dismounted, not a single silk of hair or flow of cloth out of place. He was probably the only one to notice the slight, almost nonexistent shake to her petite frame and her step that was a smidge less graceful than normal. That, he didn't like. Not one bit. To the common eye, they wouldn't notice a bit, but to him, who has seen and watched her everyday for years as her Warder, it was obvious that she was unsettled. As the wheels turned in his mind, he wasn't sure if he wanted to say something to assure, comfort, discourage, or annoy her. Giving up, he settled for a simple sigh, saying more to himself than to her, "We shouldn't have come." Of course, she ignored his comment, passing her reigns to the stable boy.

Everinn cut her eyes at him for a moment before turning away and striding into the inn. Rain followed suit, dismounting Aldazar as one of the stable boy reached for the reigns. He patted the horse's side. "You understand, don't you, Aldazar?" The horse grunted, stomping a foot, and Rain took that as a yes. He had a reliable companion indeed.

Following the women inside the inn along with his fellow Warder, Rain scanned the room casually, not noticing anything out of the ordinary as his eyes travelled across it and then back to the Aes Sedai. Soon, a woman came, seeming to cause Everinn to relax a bit and walked off with the Aes Sedai. He noticed Everinn give his companion, Tuomas, one of her finest glares, but didn't pay it mind as another of the Aes Sedai, Maiuri he believed, looked back at them with cold eyes before briskly turning away. A deep frown adorned his features as Everinn and the others left them here, and he heard the familiar voice of Tuomas say, "Rahien, should you wish to follow, you have ever leave. I believe I may watch from the common room."

He turned to the man as Tuomas turned away. "And if I follow they'll gang up on me for invading on 'women's business'," though he said that, he moved to a spot in the common room where he was as close as he could be to the room the women disappeared into and still have full view of the commons area, much more alert now that Everinn was out of sight.

Maiuri

Maiuri found the travelling both as a hassle and as refreshing. Not so much so a hassle because of the journey itself, but because of her companions. Always with her were Sisters whose Ajahs were none too happy with her own, and both had their own warders. Light! She was just thankful that the green had only one. On top of that, being in a place where she was surrounded by those insolent White Cloaks didn't help the situation much at all. They were the worst type of man, and all fools at that, though a dangerous lot that she wished to avoid.

Dismounting in front of the White Stag was a bit of a relief. It was strange enough to the common eye to see three ladies and two "guards" as they seemed to appear to be trotting through the streets. She supposed it to be even a bit stranger because not two of them were of the same race. She blessed the cloak she was wearing, the concealing cloth an unusual comfort, but a comfort none the less. She glanced over her companions as she handed her horse over to the stable boy, then silently followed the Blue into the inn. Glancing around, she noted it was better than most she'd been in, but not the best, not that she would complain.

A woman came soon, leading them away and introducing herself as Reane. A nice name, and easy on the tongue. Before a word could be spoken from Maiuri, the Blue felt comfortable enough to ask directly what should have been handled with care.

"Reane, how the times have changed us all... I fear we do have great need of you yet. We are coming on the word of a False Dragon, here in Amadicia. Have you heard word of this...matter, yet?"

A cold fire found itself in Maiuri's eyes. Even if this woman before them is the Blue's informant, she should have asked that particular question in a more indirect way. Though the Red Sister usually appreciated bluntness, in this situation, she believed it was inappropriate. Did this girl not have a wit about her? Brushing off her thoughts (what's done is done, after all), she decided to add to Everinn's question, "Or has word come of any other strange happenings?" in an offhanded tone and manner. Not sounding impolite, but merely cool and slightly impatient.

"Or has a word come of any other strange happenings?"

Everinn thought that the Red was giving her a cold-eyed stare, but blatantly watched Reane as the fellow Sister spoke. This was her informant, and she dare think that she had done wrong? Surely Reane would have known their reason for coming! What difference would it make if she simmered her words? Had the inn-keeper not known, then she would have soon enough, and there would be no need for any easy words!

Quietly, Everinn took a deep breath to steady herself. She picked up the conversation before Reane could speak. "As a trusted informant of the Blue, I believe it was you who sent us word of Amadicia's state, and word to the Amyrlin... Please, tell us what ails this city."

"Not very long ago, it was, that the False Dragon proclaimed himself." She bowed her head momentarily. "I have heard from the street that he is in close keep with Darkfriends. Burn me if it isn't true, if you don't mind me saying that." Reane paused a moment.

"Have you heard anything of where we might find him?" They had to start somewhere, right? Everinn suddenly felt as if she should be back at the Tower. She was not the one to pick up the party, wherever they were going.

"Some say he hides in the streets at night, but one of mine tells me he's seen in an inn, close to the center of town. Also close to the Whitecloaks, so you best be careful if you go in."

Everinn paused for a moment. There were plenty of inns, surely it would take some time for them to look... Though, if they got moving soon enough, it would be a chance. She looked to the floor, unsure of what to say next.



(OOC: That was kind of post-blocked, I guess, and everything's a bit messy but for what it's worth it's a post ;w;)

Mahira

Mahira, though used to travelling, was just as relieved as everyone else to arrive at the inn. She realised sourly that she was out of practice with extended travelling and that at some point she would need to remedy that but for now she was simply happy to be out of the saddle. After glancing quickly at where the horses were to be stabled she was satisfied that her mount would be well cared for and she followed the others inside. As to be expected they were met by the inn owner a woman who was clearly Everinn's Eyes and Ears utilised from the Blue Ajah. The Ajah might be meddlesome especially in world affairs but they did have a very good spy network, one which Mahira would have dearly liked to have access to.

Reanne led Mahira and her fellow sisters towards a private sitting room, Everinn making it very clear that the Warders were not to follow. Whilst she agreed that this was Aes Sedai business she did not like the glare she directed at Tuomas. He was, after all, her Warder and would, she was sure, be an asset in their task. But she held her tongue biting back the sharp comment before it could be voiced. Not one to normally do so it was difficult but she did not want to add any more fuel to the fire that was the tension between the sisters. Whilst perhaps inevitable given their different Ajah's it was by no means pleasant and a hindrance to their task, really what had the Amyrlin been thinking putting the three of them together in this?

Sighing quietly she glanced briefly at Tuomas and nodded to indicate she would prefer him to stay in the common room, she hoped he might pick up something from the locals whilst waiting for the sisters. She then followed their host and seated herself in the sitting room smoothing the creases from her riding garb as she did so. She listened to the conversation saying nothing preferring to hear what the others had to say. But when Everinn fell silent clearly unsure how to proceed Mahira had to fight not to shake her head. Really, the Blue should have more idea of how to proceed than this!

"Since we do not have confirmation of the man or where he might be I believe it would be too dangerous for us to go searching the city. Perhaps Tuomas and Rahien could investigate this inn that you speak of? They can move about much more safely than we can. Then, if they confirm the False Dragon is here and where he haunts, we can then act accordingly."