The Wheel Weaves... [IC]

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Dreamwalk:

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The youth continues to look puzzled, especially by your forthright questioning, but responds quickly: "I was fighting the invaders. And then I was here: and you were in my house."

[Starbin]

Dreamwalk

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Luran frowned, looking around for the invaders. "You say they were here? And you were just fighting them?"

Luran thought for a moment, then glanced back at the young man. "Where exactly is 'here'?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Dreamwalk:

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As you pose these questions, he boy seems to look more confused. His armour dissolves around him, replaced by a hazy representation of peasant clothes.
He pauses for a time, looking down, before seemingly coming to a resolution, and glancing up simply says: "My dream" and promptly vanishes.

[Starbin]

Dreamwalk

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Luran froze as the boy disappeared, the words still echoing in his head.

"My dream."

Stepping from the building, Luran looked around the village, with a new appreciation for what might be happening to him. Dreams? How did I get into his dream? Where is this place, beside some boys imagination? Why was he dreaming of these invaders?

If he could find himself in one dream, who was to say he couldn't find another? And if the boy had seen invaders, perhaps it was closer to where Lizbet was ...

Focusing, he thought of Lizbet, standing in the village, looking around the village for something that might draw him forward ...

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Dreamwalk:

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A patch of ground in front of you seems to shimmer, and then, suddenly, a hazy image of your sister appears, just as you imagined her.

Yet it seems like this image is impossible to sustain, and as soon as you see her the image dissolves.

OOC to Starbin

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If you want to use Need, and Dreamjumping etc, you'll need to get the next feat (I rolled it all into Improved Dreamwalking, as listed in first OOC post).

OOC to all

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No one has answered Leilanna's question and I don't want to start suggesting courses of action via Anyanna. So Lukas or Berin really ought to step up now, since this little tangent will be coming to a close soon enough.

[Tylerb7]

"So we take the young soldier with us then, question him. What do we do with this 'Sul'Dam'? And.. how do we research this a'dam, on each other or on the 'Damane'?

OOC:

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Just to clarify:

- The sul'dam is currently leashed?
- The soldier is restrained mundanely?
- And two shields are being held against the damane, with mine being the effective one (if only because it was first)?

"I think we'd do best to put the leash back on the channeler. It's sickening to use such a thing, but look at her---even with the collar off, she's still their slave. Only the Tower can truly break her chains, and we can't give an unstable, hostile channeler any slack.

"As for the leash-holder, we could bring her to the proper authorities, but that could raise questions; and she may have more information.

"I think perhaps we should release the boy, forcing him to travel eastward without his mount. He's by far the least threatening of the group, and we aren't exactly equipped to transport prisoners."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

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Sul'dam was leashed and yes, soldier restrained mundanely, but the damane was never clarified (since you just went to bed, and none of you can tie a weave off) but I assumed Anyanna would watch over her, and whoever was on guard would make sure she didn't do anything (or watch her in case). As it is, she slept soundly and made no effort to escape or help the others. She is not currently shielded.

[Tylerb7]

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I've never been too clear on this---and this is something I just now thought of (my original response was going to be, 'wow, that was dumb of me')---but can't weaves of Spirit be held while asleep? Is that even addressed by the rules? Not that I would expect my character to know, anyway.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

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That is true, some Spirit weaves definitely can: in fact I think you're right that Spirit is the only one that can be held. Examples being Dream Shielding and Dream ter'angreal that require channelling. Ok, so she can still be shielded if either or both channellers choose to maintain their weaves whilst asleep. Good catch!

[Starbin]

Dreamwalk

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Luran reached out to the image, but his hand fell as the image wavered and disappeared. It was different than the boy ... it seemed like a copy, a simple memory. She was even wearing the same dress he remembered her wearing.

Shaking his head, he tried to look through the other houses, quickly, but since time had little meaning, he wasn't sure what 'quick' even meant. It was all so confusing at times ...

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Dreamwalk:

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As you question this 'reality' more and more you feel youself losing your grip on it, and for a second have a double image: both looking from your eyes at the village, and what looks at first to be a giant brown thundercloud. As your mind questions this new development, the image resolves itself into the ceiling of your tent, and as this resolution hits you you find yourself jerking awake in your tent, the village nowhere in sight.

[Starbin]

Blinking, Luran looked around for his companions. Confused by the apparent dream, he resolved to keep it to himself for now.

Rising up, he joined the others outside, rubbing his eyes. He caught the last bit of conversation, frowning slightly as they still seemed to be discussing what to do with the prisoners.

[Holice]

Returning to the camp, Berin led the horses that had wandered over the hill.

"Looks like we have plenty of mounts for whatever we decide, and at the very least, we may be able to sell 1 or 2 of these off in the next town."

Looking at his companions, "So what did you decide to do with the channeler and the other woman? As for the soldier, I'm in favor of giving him a day's rations and sending him off on foot."

Hopefully that would give us more than enough time to make ground and avoid any retaliation or tracking.

[Starbin]

Luran had no input into what to do with the women, except to keep them from using their abilities. He nodded heavily, thought, to Berin's recommendation concerning the soldier.

"No weapons, no armor, and a day's food. That's more fair than what they would have offered us." Glaring at the soldier, he turned back to the others. "If we are concerned that others will soon follow, we should break camp soon. You ladies may also want to limit using your powers, since that seems to be how they targeted us."

Barring any major disagreements, Luran will turn to stripping the prisoner of any dangerous items, and setting up a small bag with a day's worth of food.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The boy seems relieved to be leaving your group even given the circumstances, and readily obeys your instructions to get him prepared. Lukas's stern gaze sends him eastwards, whilst Luran finishes gathering the armour and weapons from their foes.

[Kittenwolf]

Leilanna was a little worried about leaving the boy off on his own, but given the circumstances it was their best choice.
Thoughts turning to the channelers, her face darkened slightly. "So it seems that we leash the poor girl again, try and understand how this device works and stop an outburst from damaging everything around us. And this.. trainer... comes with us, hopefully to be handed over to proper authorities"

Doing her best to look stern, Leilanna stalked over to the Sul'Dam "Here is how it's going to be. You're going to come with us. You are going to tell us what we want to know about your homeland, your culture, and your plans. You won't cause us any trouble, or try and contact your people without our permission. You will forget about being a Sul'Dam and pretend do be nothing but a simple traveller like the rest of us, unless we tell you otherwise. Should you fail at one of these, the collar goes back on you, understood?"

Barely pausing for the woman's reaction or affirmation, Leilanna continued on "What is your name, and before you became a sul'dam, what was your occupation? Surely you must have knowledge of some kind of trade. Also, take off that dress, we will find you a spare that fits but that is too distinctive."

[Holice]

Berin finishes clearing the camp, making sure to leave as little trace of their stay as possible.

Seeing the soldier off was one problem gone, but these two woman may yet still prove troublesome. Overhearing Leilanna talk, Berin nodded to himself in approvement at how she was handling the situation. He continued to load the horses up until the part where she told the Sul'dam to disrobe and change.

He quickly spoke up and said, "I'm going to grab a few more herbs and berries for the trip," and quickly scampered into the thicket.

Four or five minutes should be plenty of time for the privacy she deserves, prisoner or not, he thought as he grabbed at the various plants that he knew would go well in a stew.

[Starbin]

Luran raised an eyebrow at the order to disrobe, and turned to follow Berin. "Perhaps two sets of eyes will be better than one ..."

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Will attempt to find some herbs and such for healing wounds and the like. Would that be Search? If so: (1d20+6)[20]

[al'Lan Mandrag]

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If any of you have a healing kit it is restored, if not you have found enough supplies for 3 salves (one off +2 bonus to Heal check).

The woman glares, affronted by your attitude but acquiesces after hearing your threat. She responds haltingly, obviously loathe to accept your dominance: "My name is Mala. I have always been Sul'dam, since I was chosen." Again she seems outraged by your demand to change her clothes, but realises she has no choice and begrudgingly changes, throwing her distinctive dress to the ground and replacing it with one of Anyanna's smart green dresses, and covers herself in a spare cloak.

The damane, Suffi, seems scared by you, but doesn't make any effort to resist as Anyanna places the collar around her neck, and then fastens the bracelet around her own wrist. Anyanna obviously finds this distasteful, but gets on with it practically.

You now have 12 horses (their 7 and your own 5) and though it is a challenge, Anyanna and Suffi manage to mount despite the impediment of the a'dam.

[Holice]

Returning from the underbrush to find the woman ready and mounted, Berin checks his mount one last time, ensuring everything is secure.

Looking towards Lukas and Luran, he asks, "You guys have a problem leading two additional horses a piece? We won't make the best time, but it will be easier and safer than tying them all off together."

Hopping up on his horse, he places his bow out in front of himself, with an arrow already knocked.

Just in case, he thinks as he produces a subtle grin.

[Kittenwolf]

Leilanna nodded to herself as the girl changed "Certainly less distinctive, hopefully it will pass cursory inspection."
"Mala, should anyone ask your last name is Miller. You were born on a farm somewhere around the borders of Tear and Illian, you're not sure who technically owns that stretch of land but it's near the Plains of Maredo.
You left home because you couldn't stand farming or milling, and have been travelling with us for a few days since we were heading in the same direction, and it's safer in numbers."

Leilanna will repeat herself as often as needed for Mala to remember it. Hopefully that should explain her accent and dodge and standard questions.
Taking note of the look on her face, she reined her horse nearby to Anyanna, speaking low "If wearing that gets.. distasteful.. for you, let me know and I can take over"

Looking up and seeing the others return, Leilanna looks confused, then blushes slightly, apparently not having even considered the idea of modesty when telling the woman to disrobe "I thought a quick duck behind a bush would have sufficed. I guess this probably made her feel slightly better".
Upon realising her potential mistake, she gave the men a nod of gratitude.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Both women nod at your instructions, and declare themselves ready to depart.

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The group sets out, travelling in the same direction that Luran travelled in last night. You cover the ground well, having a number of well trained and fed horses, and your prisoners are surprisingly compliant.

Without any incident you make it a small settlement that is exactly the same as the one Luran saw last night, but there are a number of people milling around, hanging out clothes and performing day to day tasks.

[Starbin]

As they travelled, Luran would glance around periodically, looking somewhat uncomfortable at the familiarity of the terrain. However, when they arrived at the settlement, he positively blanched, looking at a place that he knew he had never actually been to ... except, apparently, in his dreams.

"We should ... uh ... be careful. Who knows if the Sen-san ... the invaders have made it this far."

He kept his eyes open for the young man he saw last night, still uncertain what this all meant.

[Holice]

Thankful that they made it to a town of sorts unscathed, Berin looks around assuming his companions would have the same feeling of relief on their face. Yet when he looks towards Luran, he somehow seems uneasy about the situation.

He is definitely a curious person, and I must remember to ask him about this sister of his he seems to be searching for. Perhaps I can help ease his burden or at least give comfort that he may not be alone in his search.

Looking back to the rest of the group, he dismounts his horse, and secures his bow over his shoulder.

"You are right that we need to be on our guard, but let's not give these people any ideas that we may be anything more than travelers passing through."

But then his gaze falls upon the leashed woman and he wonders just how easy it will be to convince people that we are anything but trouble.

"I am going to see if I can gather any useful information from anyone, and possibly see about selling a horse or two, although I do not know just how much coin this settlement may hold."

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While Berin is inquiring if there are any people in town looking to buy a horse or two, he will try to discover any information of pertinence or an unusual nature.

Gather Info (1d20)[6]
Spot (1d20+2)[17]

[al'Lan Mandrag]

As your group approaches the villagers glance up and at least half dssappear within doors. Luran doesn't see the boy from his dreams.

Berin takes the lead, and notices that those who remain outside are generally men, but either young boys or old men, the women can be seen dissapearing in doors, but you cannot see anyone else.

[Starbin]

Glancing around, Luran frowned at the odd feeling. He looked to the house he remembered the boy being from, watching it closely as Berin looked for a buyer for the horses.

[Kittenwolf]

"These people are evidently afraid of strangers... not surprising if the invaders have come this way..."

Laying the reins against her horse's neck and spreading her hands wide to show she isn't armed, Leilanna knees her horse slowly in the direction of one of the men, preferably one that seems confident, if not in charge.
"We are simply travellers good sir, we mean no harm."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Berin manages to engage a few men in conversation, who seem interested in the animals, yet wary of you. One responds wearily: "I'll be frank with you: I'd like to take them. In great need o' some nags. But I haven't got the marks you'd want for such horses, not if those Seanchan come again." The other men grumble at this, circulating a hiss of discontent.

Luran watches the house avidly, and a woman in the window, beautiful despite the burdens of age and poverty stares back at you, disquietened y your attention.

Leilanna finds perhaps the most elderly of the men folk, and her calming words seem to assuage his fear, though it was obvious that he had been trying to conceal it. "I hope you are then, but this ain't no place for travellers. I'd keep goin' on if I was you."

[Holice]

Thanking the man, Berin grabs his horse, removes a few personal affects and hands the reins over to the poor fellow. "Hopefully this guy can help you, and some others round these parts for the time being."

Besides, I was looking to get accustomed to one of these recently acquired war horses, he thinks to himself.

Heading back to the group, where all be Leilanna is standing, he talks in a quiet voice.

"Looks like I got some quality info for the price of a horse. Apparently the Seanchan have made it through this village, hopefully they won't pass through the same place twice, perhaps thinking to avoid any royal guard that might be summoned, but we probably shouldn't take the chance."

Walking over to one of the other stallions, one caught his eye, as he was all brown with a strange white marking on his hindquarter that very nearly resembled an arrow. Petting the horse on its head, he whispers, "I think I will call you True Flight," and proceeds to load his belongings on the horse.