The Wheel Weaves... [IC]

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Berin:

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1 arrow is found and returned, but the men have nothing on them except armour, shields (steel, heavy) and longswords or scimitars of slightly exotic make.

The woman in red once more snarls at you and your flippant tone seems to have little effect.
"Marath'damane! You are tainted, atha'an shadar!

The woman in grey continues to cower and hide, making no effort to test either shield.

[Starbin]

Raising an eye at the manacles, Luran shrugged away the odd possession for now. Using them, he restrained the disarmed man, nodding to Anyanna to release him.

"Who are you and why did you attack us? Where are you from?". His voice cracked somewhat in desperation, ruining much of his attempt to be gruff.

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I suppose an Intimidate check? (1d20+2)[7]

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The man mainly ignores you, seeming far more intimidated by the girl behind you, still quietly sobbing.

[Kittenwolf]

Leilanna frowned at the woman's outburst "Marath'damane... I have absolutely no idea what that is.. Marath.. darn, should have paid more attention to Dad's Old Tongue lessons. 'Atha'an shadar'... atha'an.. well, the sea folk are athan'an miere, isn't that 'sea people' or something? Shadar.. wait.. isn't that shadow, or night or something? Hang on... did she just call me a 'shadow folk'??

Leilanna's eyes widened and she leaned towards the strange woman, barely restraining herself from slapping her, her voice low and angry. "What did you just call me?"

[Holice]

Still perplexed by the recent events, and seeing how neither the soldier or woman in red wants to cooperate, gives Berin a sense of uneasiness he has never felt before.

"I don't know how the rest of you feel, but there could be more like this out there, heading this way, so if we can't get anywhere with these folks, perhaps we should tie them up and leave them out here?"

Looking towards the sobbing woman, "Or perhaps you can try to interrogate this one," as he gestures towards the leeched one. "Maybe she would be more accommodating if we could offer her a release of this other woman and possibly that collar?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

"Servants of Lighteater! You and with his twisted men!" At this she galnces around, her eyes rolling and after the height of this anger, collapses, obviously unable to take any more.
When the other woman hears that you might release her, she too glances up and retreats, trying to cower with the woman who holds who leash.

[Kittenwolf]

Leilanna's face turns cloudy at the woman's words, and she whips her hand out and slaps the woman across the face "I am no Darkfriend you worthless bitch! You attack me and my friends without warning and have the gall to say that I do not follow the Light?"

She quickly rounds on the leashed girl, her anger growing "And YOU! How dare you attack us like this? I don't care what leash you wear, you were the one who burned my friends with the Power, attacking with no warning. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't do the same to you right now!"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

"She is damane. She works for the Empress, may she live forever, as you will." The woman has little self control left, and you can tell she is near to breaking. The woman in grey seems to have lost her mind and doesn't do anything recognisable as human behaviour.

[Kittenwolf]

Deliberately mishearing the strange woman's words, Leilanna smiled "I will live forever? Why thankyou"
Turning to her companions, Leilanna frowned slightly "Anyanna.. can you try Delving the girl with the collar? Looking at how she's acting I think something is seriously wrong with her but you're a lot better at that weave than I am."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Anyanna steps forward and after a pause creates a weave in the air before her of all five powers, which she then lets settle upon the girl. Another pause then, in a slightly confused voice, Anyanna responds: "I can sense pain. A great deal, but there is little physically wrong with her. I can detect some partial burns, but not enough damage to cause this kind of pain."

[Kittenwolf]

Leilanna frowns "Could something have broken in her when Anyanna broke the shield? Some sort of backlash that affected her mind? Or maybe has she.. been abused by this other girl, and it's affected her control?

Leilanna kneels next to the leashed woman and tries to speak soothingly to her "It's ok, we're not going to hurt you. Lets get you out of this thing..."
Leilanna will then try to find a way to undo the catch on the collar.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The cowering woman tries to stop you, but her efforts are weakened by physical and mental exhaustion. The woman in red is outraged, but Lukas and Berin easily restrain her.

Leilanna moves her hands around the seemingly whole piece of metal until her fingers to detect a small catch, and flicking it, the collar snaps open into two halves, hinged together.

The freed woman seems no happier for her release and turns towards the other woman, kneeling and grovelling. The woman in red struggles again, but can't do anything.

[Kittenwolf]

Leilanna turns the collar over in her hands, almost as surprised by the workmanship as the women's reactions. Holding up the collar, clasp open towards her, Leilanna speaks to the woman in red. "This is wonderfully made, in a more private place I'd be tempted to try it on, but I wouldn't want someone like you holding my leash."

Going down on one knee to be closer to her eye level, Leilanna speaks to the other girl, but it's plain that her rather wild and flushed appearance isn't helping calm the girl down. "It's ok, we can take you away from her, it's plain that you've been abused. Or if you'd prefer we can put the collar on her and give you the leash, change your roles around, let her do as you say? You might enjoy it."

Motioning for the others to keep her restrained, Leilanna attempts to find a similar catch on the red woman's bracelet to take it off as well.

"Did she tell you to attack us? Did she tell you to use the One Power to burn my friends?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The grey clad woman ignores you attempts at kindness, and your offer to leash the other woman only results in a muttered response, almost like a mantra: "I am Damane, and must be leashed."

You manage to find a catch on the other woman's bracelet and remove it, you now hold the whole chain. The other woman seems unmoved by your threat to leash her.

[Kittenwolf]

Leilanna shakes her head in sorrow. This poor girl has truly been broken, and the woman in red deserves to be punished for it. And she was starting to wonder if the poor girl had entered into this willingly.

"Lets start this again. Where are you from and what are your names?"

[Starbin]

Luran was frustrated that the soldier was ignoring him, but found himself distracted by the theatrics that Leilanna was going through with the evil Aes Sedai-like women. Frowning at the look of fear on the man's face, he dragged the helpless man over to Leilanna as she talked of burning people and dropped him to her side.

Leaning down, he whispered in a low tone into the man's ear, "If you don't start talking, I'll ask that she start with you ..."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Whimpering in fear at the threat of Leilanna, even as Luran's own presence scared him little, he blurted out, "I-I-am Rauden, from Kolar Valley. Please let us go, I promise not to alert anyone until your away. please."

The girl, when addressed by Leilanna in such a commanding fashion responds: "Suffi is this one's name. Suffi is Damane, property of the Empress of Seanchan, may she live forever." This all seems to come out in a rush and afterwards the woman seems shocked and shamed by her outburst.

The woman in red remains determinedly mute.

[Kittenwolf]

Leilaana blinks in confusion. "I've traveled most places in this Realm, and heard tales of many others, but I'm sorry, who in the Light are the "Seanchan" and by what twisted blasphemy do they condole Slavery??"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

"Marath Damane are not people! You are fit only to be leashed!" The woman in red exclaims, obviously making the term an insult directed at Leilanna.

The soldier, though, obviously not caught in such anger and still obviously afraid of you, responnds in the same, drawling accent: "It is across the Aryth Ocean, a great continent. Damane, and da'covale, they-they are property, of the Blood and of the Empress may she live forever." You can see now that this man is really very young, barely over eighteen and deeply, deeply scared.

[Starbin]

All the talk was strange ... different lands, an Empress, the Blood, slaves ... Luran didn't understand it all, but was certain that they had stumbled onto something much larger than they thought. If his dreams were correct, this wasn't random banditry, or border conflicts ... this was an invasion.

"So is he saying they ... they chain their Aes Sedai? Why in the Light would they do that? And why would the Aes Sedai allow it?" The unasked question remained in his head, almost a shout ...

And where is my sister?!

[Holice]

With a rather flat look on Berin's face, you can't tell if he is in deep thought or completely lost.

But thoughts rush through his head, Aes Sedai like people, from across the sea? Slaves to an Empress? How is any of this possible? How is this not more well known? Perhaps I am simply that uneducated of customs outside these lands.


Speaking up to the group, while still holding firmly to the angry woman, "I am still at a loss for why we were attacked. And does anyone think these people had anything to do with the creatures from town?"

[Tylerb7]

"I am still at a loss for why we were attacked. And does anyone think these people had anything to do with the creatures from town?"

"It could be that they sensed our ladies channeling and decided we'd be easy prey." He indicates the superior woman. "Perhaps we should leash her and see how she enjoys it."

[Kittenwolf]

"Across the Aryth Ocean? Is that even possible?

Ignoring the women, Leilanna walked around to in front of the young soldier "Thankyou, it is so nice when someone is actually polite enough to answer. Now, I am going to ask you some questions, and I would like you to answer truthfully, understand?"

While quite confused about all the disjointed information being thrown their way, Leilanna does her best to compose herself and appear in control of the situation.

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Composure Check: (1d20+9)[20]

"Now then, first of all, why did you attack us? Secondly, are you honestly saying that all women who can Channel in your land are.. chained.. like this poor girl? And thirdly, if you are from across the Aryth Ocean, why have you come here?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The man doesn't seem conforted by your calm demeanour or words, but continues to answer your questions promptly. "The sul'dam came-came to leash the marath'damamne, they came to leash you." At this his eyes flick around the group, also settling on Anyanna. They must be leashed, all marath'damane become property of the empress."

[Holice]

So these so called channelers are responsible for the attacks on us. Guess Old Man Barton was right when he said Aes Sedas are nothing but trouble. Perhaps I am in a little over my head.

Yelling over to the soldier, "What do you know of flying beasts? Are they part of your empress's repertoire of devices meant to capture the channelers of this land?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The raken? They are ridden beasts. He replies, not particularly certain how to respond. P-Please let me go, I've helped you, p-p-please, don't hurt me."

[Starbin]

Luran shook his head in frustration. "Of course they're all part of the same group ... look at their clothes, their armor! Ask him if they've already taken prisoners. Ask him if they took a young girl, skin and eyes like mine, but with fair hair. Her name is Lizbet. Ask him!"

Voice filled with increasing anger and desperation, Luran leapt forward, pulling his hand axe out and grabbing the soldier by the hair. With the axe held high, he practically shouted in the man's face, "WHERE IS MY SISTER!"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The soldier, unused to such treatment, visibly baulks, but stammers out a response: "I do-don't know."

The others seem perplexed by your tirade, none seeming to have any personal knowledge of her.

[Kittenwolf]

Leilanna stepped back as Luran began to shout, he certainly had the right to vent, and she didn't want to be between him and the soldier.
"So.. these people are allegedly from across the Aryth Ocean, ride flying monsters like horses, their Empress 'owns' people as property, and they somehow control anyone who can channel. She looked down at the leash in her hands Could it be something to do with this? Is it just symbolic, or something else...

Stepping around towards the woman in red, Leilanna snapped the bracelet around her wrist, and moved to put the collar around the other woman's neck.

[Starbin]

Growling in frustration, Luran pushed the man back and stalked back a few steps, breathing deeply. Get a grip, lad ... you're about to lose it ... the patient hunter nets the stag, the hasty one has empty bags ...

Once he has calmed down, he turns back to the others, his jaw clenching periodically as he let Leilanna continue asking questions.