The Burned Threads (A WoT Game)

[A'den]

The guard withdraws after a moment where he finds himself looking for a protest but an Aes Sedai is an Aes Sedai. He leaves without comment.

[Ilena]

Looking back to Agar, Kira feels a little annoyed at his constant badgering of questions. Doesnt he realize that what happened to her breaks the law that all aes sedai should abide by at all times, that its very important she accepts guidance by those who are knowledgable in the power?

"If you must know, we were just passing through and happened to stop at this inn. The wheel weaves as the wheel wills, and it seems we are needed here. As you can very well tell with what happened to your friend. And for who we follow, I would have thought it would have been obvious to one of your talents ... but incase your not sure we follow Egwene sedai." Kira says.

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar smiled at the Aes Sedai.

"Marie Sedai, I have dealt with enough Aes Sedai to always suspect a deeper game. Following the trail of deceits an Aes Sedai is more difficult then tracing the Pattern itself."

Agar shrugged, and yawned loudly.

"So tell me, why should Ainor trust you any more then she did your former Comrade? It looks to me like she is being made to play Snakes and Foxes. No matter what happens, one of you is going to get her."

[Ilena]

Kira smiles slightly, "Because its her choice, I wont lay something forbidden for longer then most can remember upon her to force her to my will. Do you know anything about the power? How it works? Can you make use of it, see the weaves laid upon her perhaps? Because if you can be my guest. I understand your concerned for her safety, thats an admirable quality in a friend. But this is aes sedai business, and something very dangerous. She needs someone who can help her."

Foolish men, always sticking their noises into places they dont belong. Kira finds herself thinking.

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar smiled at her, waiting for her to finish before he spoke.

"Hmmm. Nope. I'm sane, I fear, and thusly have no intention of ever touching the Power. I've got enough on my plate to deal with, without adding that in."

Agar wasn't about to back down. Just because the Aes Sedai was using withheld information instead of the Power, it didn't mean she was giving Ainor the choice to join or not.

"But I know enough to always check to see what lies under a gift from an Aes Sedai. But you are right, it isn't my choice. It is hers. I'd advise she get more information before she make it, is all."

[Shyftir]

"Well then." Rhaad was no fool. He was aware that these opportunities were rare. He lacked social skills, always had. He was no more than average when it came to attractiveness, but some women appreciated his warrior's physique more than the shape of his face or skill with words.

He glanced down the hall both ways then slipped into his room a broad smile on his plain face.

[Ella]

"Tell me what compulsion actually does, and how serious the risks of trying to remove it before you even attempt anything."

Ainor looks over to Agar and reaches out to take his hand within hers and squeezes it a little. The news that she was under a weave without knowing it scared her, particularly because she had always assumed that despite the lack of power or ability to use channeling at will her abilities would protect her from others trying to harm her with their powers.

"Agar, I happen to be quite scared at the moment, could you please make sure you stay close."

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar looked over at Ainor, and nodded, not pulling his hand away. He was tempted to. Ainor was caught up in something. She needed someone to rely on. Agar had made a life by not being that person. Every time he had managed to end up being so, it had never ended well. It wasn't his natural role. And there was his prior commitment.

On the other hand... am I really comfortable being the kind of man that abandons someone in this situation.

In the end, he just squeezed her hand back, and smiled. He approved fully of her question.

"Alright."

He could have made a joke, but he felt that it wasn't really the time for it.

[Calenestel]

Compulsion. The reason Kira had reacted as she had seemed perfectly clear now. Even he was shocked by the revelation and while he saw that forbidden weave as much as a crime as any sane, Lightfearing person would the Aes Sedai was even more affronted by it. For them it seemed aking to heresy. After the initial surprise Tomas settled again, though and found that calm equilibrium that he knew lent Kira strength. "A Warder is to be the rock in the stream - for his Aes Sedai to walk on or to cling to."

His arms crossed over his chest the young man instead studies the pair, the gleeman and the so-called apprentice with a bit of sympathy, maybe even pity. They're really in for a ride now... Compulsion... The Light preserve them. The Reds are bad enough as it is but if that particular Red isn't a Darkfriend, then she's at least not far from being one. They're lucky to have found an Aes Sedai of their own.
Mostly he seems calm though, confident in Kira's abilities. Knowing that if she can't help Ainor directly, then she certainly knows someone who can. Thanks to Nynaeve Sedai the arts of Healing had increased almost exponentially among the True Aes Sedai.

[Ilena]

Shaking her head slightly, Kira says, "Compulsion can make you do anything and believe anything, even if it seems wrong to you. Its an evil thing, and a very good reason why it's outlawed. Whoever did this to you needs to be found and put to trial. The risk to you .... it could kill you if things go wrong, its a powerful weave that was put upon you and may even be beyond my abilities to remove. We may even have to go to tar valon to remove it. But it SHOULD be removed, if at least just to learn who has a deep interest in you."

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar looked at the Aes Sedai, nodding. He knew more then he was telling, even now. He hadn't known the function of Compulsion, but he did have a few sketchy ideas about those forbidden weaves.

"But at the moment, what does this Compulsion do? Anything at all? As well, what would happen if we were to... do away with the Aes Sedai that cast it on her?"

Agar looked at Marie curiously. He had been taught many of the tricks of the Aes Sedai. One was what she was doing right now. Appear to give a choice, but simply eradicate every single alternative but the one you desired.

Either alternative isn't very attractice however.

[Ilena]

"At the moment? Nothing ... but as you weave more and more it can become easier to repeat, and it's possible there may be something laid within it to trigger later, I don't know. Noone has studied compulsion and I only know what I've read in the books." Kira says, trying to remember vague references in long unused books.

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar nodded. So the Aes Sedai wanted to do a procedure that could risk killing Ainor for the sake of removing something that was entirely benign.

Bad deal.

"My advice would be to not comply with this, Ainor. Marie Sedai isn't saying a lot. Like the fact that Tar Valon is currently a War Zone, with her confederates laying siege to the city. I don't know much about this compulsion, but I seriously doubt the consequences of it are worse then death. Marie Sedai appears far more concerned with getting the identity of the Aes Sedai who cast it upon you then your safety."

Agar looked over at the Warder. He was keeping his promise, but the Warder had little enough way of knowing that.

Aes Sedai politics. I thought I was done with them when I slipped out of Tar Valon. Not even the coming of the Dragon seems to slow them.

[Calenestel]

"You're bending the truth quite a bit yourself, master Agar... Or maybe you've not grasped how great a problem this could be."
He had remained silent for a while now, and his low voice seems all the more sharp for it. His tone is deathly serious and his face grim. There is a hint of sympathy still, the gleeman obviously cares for Ainor and he recognizes and respects that, but from Tomas point of view his paranoia could kill.

"What if she has been given an order to kill? No matter where you're headed theres bound to be high profile targets. And if she then succeeds or not is irrelevant. She will hardly survive something like that. Or what if she's been given less risky orders that's still in the service of the Dark? You can bet your soul on that that other Aes Sedai is a Darkfriend if she would use something like Compulsion."

He quickly looks to Kira and gives her a warning frown. "I know you don't like that idea, but it would be the logical explanation. And not only to this... You know that, Kira." At that he looks back at the gleeman again. His face even grimmer than before.
"Would you be willing to bet your own life on that this is anything less than sinister and deadly? The kind of person who would use a weave like that is NOT a nice woman, make no mistake about it."

At that he looks to Ainor directly instead and the sympathy in him is a bit more apparent. "Would you yourself like to take the chance?"

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar looked straight at the Warder, shaking his head. The man was guessing again. A lot of Warder's had that problem. They thought themselves the best. So anyone who disagreed with them was being a fool.

"There is that risk, but it seems pointless. If whoever did it wanted Ainor dead, there are easier ways to go about doing it. And if they wanted someone else dead, there are people you can pay to do it."

Agar's smile never faded, meeting the grim faced warder with nothing but that smirk that said there was a joke here he was missing.

"I don't buy it. There is a deeper game being played. And if you were truly worried about the Black Ajah..."

Agar's smirk turned vicious at those words. He knew the name just as well as everyone else did. He just wasn't afraid to use them.

"...you wouldn't be talking to us about it. I can spin stories that place Ainor in as much danger by going with you as you suggest shes in by staying. At the end of the day, the only risks we know are certain are the ones of going into a War Zone, and trying the procedure. Flee from the Darkhound you hear, not the Forsaken you fear."

[Ella]

Ainor slumps backwards against a wall the shock and horror clear on her face. She takes a deep breath and uses her training growing up within the nobility to at least outwardly regain her composure and starts to evaluate what is going on based on her knowledge of the great game and plotting. She holds up her hand to silence the three of them before she speaks.

So there is a risk, a risk that I could be made to do anything.

I would rule out assasination by the way James while they might find me a useful because I am unexpected I lack any formal weapons training and I admit I am a weak channeler but I am far too blocked for that to be an option either.

I am not politically useful either while Ghealdan is in political turmoil I am far enough away from the throne that they could not have that as an ambition either. That is from the perspective of whoever used compulsion on me.

I intend to continue travelling as a gleeman's apprentice, I will give Agar a sealed letter tomorrow to have sent to my father should anything go wrong whether it be I am compelled to destroy myself somehow or if it become necessary to incapacitate me to prevent me from following orders.

From your perspective this is probably the best course of action as well, if I continue what I have been doing without change I become the best bait to lure whoever the mysterious compeller is out into the open, but I would recommend not making yourselves too known or you might scare them away.

I have my my decision if you will still have me Agar.


Ainor held back a small sob more from self pity than any real worry, and held herself tall and proud as possible to make the best dramatic moment of her defiance that she could.

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar looked over at Ainor, and nodded approvingly. He hadn't quite thought that this was how it would end up when he took Ainor on as an Apprentice. But she'd made the right choice.

"I don't know what kind of man you think I am, but even I would have trouble sleeping if I abandoned you to deal with this by yourself."

Of course, she needs to know what travelling with me means, exactly. But not in front of the Aes Sedai.

Agar turned on the Aes Sedai and Warder, smiling widely.

"You have your answer. Thanks for the warning, but no thanks on the treatment that might kill her. Now, could I ask you to step out? I have some things to talk about with my apprentice, and your presence isn't required."

[Calenestel]

When Ainor speaks up for herself. And against his suggestion of assassination he opens his mouth to protest, or clarify, that he had meant it as an extreme example, that with the kind of people using Compulsion you had no way of knowing what crime you were going to be forced to do and that a failed assassination attempt could serve many purposes in an of itself: a diversion, keeping an enemy paranoid and scared, to anger the target to attack the "obvious" power behind the attempt, and so on...
But Ainor just continues on never giving him the chance and he quickly shuts his mouth again with a dry smile.

When she then tells them, all of them, what she intends to do he smiles with not a small sense of respect at her and gives her an acknowledging nod. It was a good choice, really. And it showed both determination and courage. And those were virtues much appreciated by the Gaidin. Her small sob of fright he didn't make much out of. Courage is doing what have to be done despite fear, not the absence of fear itself.

"The name is Tomas, Ainor. Tomas Aysefia." He gives the gleeman a quick glance, both sympathetic and annoyed, the man is still being bloody stubborn about telling them that Ainor doesn't want any "treatment", despite the fact that she hasn't said a word about it. He could respect the man's loyalty, but stupidity is another thing entirely. Therefore he looks again to Ainor and says:
"About your... friends... decision about you not wanting any treatment I say only: After all is said and done and whatever our respective business is concluded, if the compulsion hasn't become irrelevant do at least honestly consider taking the help offered to you.
The Yellow Ajah is the finest healers in the world. And even if Kira Sedai may not be able to help you then they surely will.

"And remember that it's your choice." With a slight smile he finishes: "And be of good courage."

With that Tomas looks to his Aes Sedai, waiting for her word to leave.

[Ella]

Ainor squeezes Agar's hand one last time before letting go and watches Kira Sedai leave with her warder Tomas and grimaced before getting up and closing the door to her room.

She stretches and shakes her body contorting a little as if she was trying to get a knot out of a muscle.

"So Agar, what do you really make of this, I mean could I really be under compulsion when she is the first Aes Sedai I have encountered in a long time, and if I am is it something worth worrying about?"

She sits on her bed and looks at the gleeman.

"I am not too worried about it either way, I just would value your opinion, and then you said you have something to talk to me about? Is it my singing, I know I am not that good but I am willing to practise hard until I am competant."

[Ilena]

Seeing shes not going to get anything more in the way of agreement from Ainor, expecially with Agar here, Kira turns to leave, "Think about what i said, if you want to talk you know where to find me."

Once outside and not having the tavern burn down around her, she checks the common room of the inn. Seeing no dedicated but trusting her warder she lets go of the power. She says quietly,"I heard that steam wagon is going to Illian, I would like to see if you can get us transport on it if you havn't done so already, I definately need to finish my bath after this."

Going back upstairs after calling for bath water to be brought in. She waits for them to fill it and slides into the nice warm water to think. "Dam men, being so flaming stuborn. She should get help, and yellows back at the camp can help her. He obviously doesn't trust aes sedai, probably heard too many stories portraying aes sedai in a bad light. But who would have done that to Ainor ... could it have been the black ajah? Or worse ... the forsaken?" She shutters at just the thought of those ... things lose in the world. "One way or another that woman will need to be watched."

Climbing out of bed and making sure that transport is secured Kira climbs into bed.

[Calenestel]

Draping his sturdy, brown cloak over his shoulders as soon as they leave Ainor's room he follows Kira down to the commonroom. Her irritation mirrors his own and for the moment he doesn't bother to hide it either. Instead he simply listens to her instructens, grunts his accord and waits for her to mount the stairs again. After that he buys himself a pint of the inn's ale while scanning the commonroom.
He quickly spots Sven by the hearth and recognizes him by the description some of the guards had given him earlier. Soon he strolls over to the oddly dressed man, ale in hand, and takes a seat next to the him...

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar sighed, and stretched. It was time to fess up to some things, he supposed.

"These is definitely the possibility, at least. Aes Sedai can't lie. The Stories about them are true in that regard. They can mislead, and overstate their case, but they can't say anything outright false."

Agar shook his head, trying to shed the scattered thoughts that dredged up. Having a mother who could never lie to you was... unsettling.

"And you know more about the Power then I do. Should you be worried? Yes. Should you be so frightened that the Aes Sedai can stampede into doing whatever they wish? No. You made the right judgment. As for what I wanted to talk about..."

Agar got a twinkle in hie eye, and smiled at her.

"...it has nothing to do with that. You have talent enough to make it, if you try. No, I need to talk with about myself. Would you mind listening to a story? It isn't as interesting as the ones I tell below, but I can assure you it is true."

[A'den]

Sven looks up at the man taking a seat at his table, quick eyes soak in all of Tomas' features with only a lingering glance at the man's sword. He grins a bit to himself and adjusts the goggles for a moment strapped across his forehead.

"I thought I might be talking to you after everyone else has passed through tonight, you're seeking passage to Illian then?"

[Ella]

Ainor looks at Agar and nods.

"I would be honoured to hear your story, please continue Agar."

[Tackyhillbillu]

Agar laughed at that, shaking his head.

"There's no honor in it. Most of what I will tell you used to be tavern talk in Tar Valon. I'm almost famous there. A living scandal."

Agar smiled fondly. He liked thinking about himself like that. Seemed fitting, in a way.

"My mother was one of them. An Aes Sedai, that is. A Grey, as well, for what it is worth. My father was her Warder. I could tell you all about what that was like, but at the end of the day, that hardly matters. Son of an Aes Sedai, daughter of a Noble house, everyone has their challenges. But trust what I say about Aes Sedai. My mother taught me most of their tricks, and I picked up more from watching her."

Agar smiled. His mother would not have approved of what he did there, certainly. But he had a feeling that she would have approved of his method of doing it.

"That would hardly matter, except for what I'm out doing. I'm not really just wandering without a purpose. My Mother's in trouble. I don't know what she was doing, but something has gone wrong. Aes Sedai can be convinced to talk, if you go about it the right way. Yellows especially, in my experience. She was heading to Illian when she left Tar Valon. I intend to track her down, and pull her irons out of the fire. If she and my father are dead, that's that, I move on. If not, I still move on."

Agar shrugged, shaking his head. He didn't like talking like this. He was much more comfortable telling other peoples stories then his own. Probably cause his own was just a tad bit boring.

"In the end, the upshot is, you are still involved with Aes Sedai, even if you stick with me. And I might leave you behind for a little while. I'm not going to put both of us in danger for the sake of my mother. If I was smart, I wouldn't put myself in danger for her."

Agar tapped the side of his head with his Quarterstaff, and smiled.

"That's it. At the end of the day, I'd like to believe my differences with the Aes Sedai are legitimate, and that requires being a little more forthright with you, now that you have thrown your lot in with me."

[Calenestel]

The man nodded. He was relaxing a bit now, finally, but still he had that aura of readiness and supreme confidence that revealed him as a Warder for those who knew what to look for. Carually he sipped his ale, eyeing the commonroom continuously but somehow focusing on the sooty man especially.

"I do. For me and for one more, plus horses. But there is things we need to discuss first..." he says. Kira had already revealed herself, and not only in front of Agar and Ainor, so the bet should probably be on too many knowing about her before they left town tomorrow. But he didn't want to tell anyone more than had been said already without consulting with her about it. But the questions he had about the Asha'man skirted awfully close to certain secrets no matter how he phrased his questions. Hence a slight hesitation.

Finally he continues: "I saw the Asha'man earlier. You fly the Dragon's banner... Would it be safe to assume that he, possibly other like him travels in your wagon train?"

[A'den]

Sven stares blankly at the man.

"I'm a merchant and a patriot, Sir, I fly the Dragon's banner because I carry his goods. Also it scares off bandits which can become a problem further south now that most of the Aiel no longer police the lands. As for my other passengers it would be bad business for me to speak of such things. People pay me to travel with them, I can only tell you what I observed myself and what others would display freely. I did see a man with a black coat today and he did book passage on my train. Though, I charge two silver pieces per day of travel per passenger. I can't take horses though my space for cargo is all full."

[Calenestel]

The sandy haired man meets the mans gaze stare for stare, not backing an inch. He does, however, avoid being too provoking. Calmly he raises his hand, palm outwards.

"Good master... First of all I must say that I DO recognize a Dedicated when I see one."
Trying to sound both reasonable and polite he pauses, just briefly before continuing.

"Secondly, I know as well as you do that that banner attracts almost as many enemies as it scares of. And that some of them are far worse than simple ruffians in the wild. It isn't unreasonable to assume that you owe allegiance to the Lord Dragon. If I was wrong about that, then so be it.

Third, we are possible paying customers. However, I still need to know if the Asha'man is in your employ. My own employer would like to travel without trouble and an Asha'man is always a possible source of troubles of many kinds. If you are not in command, then I'm going to have to approach him directly.

The horses are a problem, though. They will quite probably be needed when we reach Illian. What would it take to change the conditions about them?"

Spoiler

Show

Diplomacy check then (c'mon, c'mon, c'mon...) (1d20+1)[10]

[A'den]

The man mutters something about Aes Sedai being more trouble than their worth now days.

"As far as I know, no. I could put your horses in a cart hitched to the back, but then'd I'd have to wake some farmer up dicker with him for the price of his cart and then spend another part of the night playing the wagonwright to jury rig it to the train. I'll do all this on account of your being what who you are but I also know who you represent so the price is ten crowns Gold."

Spoiler

Show

10 Gold Crowns = 100 GP

[Calenestel]

He could barely make out what the man said first, but he did partially, and he would've understood by the man's tone alone. At first hot temper flares in the green eyes and there's a slight, almost unperceptible twitch in his right hand. But it would amount to exactly nothing to make an enemy out of Sven, which he probably knows all too well. Tomas quickly envisions the Flame, feeding his anger over the man's disrespect into it. In a quick mental excercise he continues to feed his frustration and all other emotions into it until he feels like he's floating in an emotionless void. The excercise takes only a couple of seconds, time that any man could have spent hesitating over the steep price. Perfectly calm he then drains a good third of the ale and nods his accord.

"Done then. And I won't keep you further, good master." The words could have been cutting said in anger, either hot or cold, but he is simply stating facts, for the moment devoid of emotions. Calmly the Warder reaches inside his coat, produces a pouch and starts counting up gold and silver coins equivalent to the sum asked for. It amounts to a good-sized stack at the end and there's more silver than gold in it. Without another word, the Warder stands, drains the mug, gives the man a simple nod and walks of.

Back upstairs he waits by the door to Kira's room until she lets him in, confident that she will sense him waiting right outside, curles up in his cloak, right by the door and dozes of quickly enough.