The Wheel Weaves... [IC]

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The man nods to berin, stunned by the gesture and mutters his thanks.

[Starbin]

Luran eventually blinked and turned away, as he realized he was making the woman uncomfortable. Looking around the rest of the village, he wondered how long ago the Seanchan were here. Alone in his thoughts, he waited quietly with the others while Leilanna and Berin took care of their business.

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OOC - Not sure where to go with this, but wanted you to know I'm still here

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The old man who had spoken to Leilanna saw you all gathered together unsure of what to do, and strode over. HE seemed to come to a decision and relaxed considerably, it wasn't till then that you realised the evident tension in both the air and the populace.

"You've come at a bad time. I see you're with warriors, but that won't help you my dear: my sons, both of them were taken by the Seanchan, and old Garrett's grandsons. All the young men that weren't away on chores, and they chained up Jory's wife and took her away screaming and all. Dark times all right, and I'd advise you be moving."

[Starbin]

Luran glowered at the tale the old man told. These invaders seemed to be taking whatever they wanted, and killing what they couldn't steal.

Clearing his throat, he reached out to pat the old man on the shoulder. "Thanks for the warning, sir, but we have business in Falme. I, too, have lost family, and I think it's too these same people. If you describe your lost kin, we'll keep an eye out for them."

[Holice]

Nodding in agreement with Luran, Berin adds in, "And perhaps you could tell us which way they took them, and if you heard anything about their purpose?"

Looking at his party, "We need to find help on this. Who knows how many villages and farms these foreigners have raided."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

Took 'em west, back towards Toman Head. And no one's gonna stop 'em, you'll see." He seems irritable that you disagreed with him, but anxiety also marks his face.

[Starbin]

Luran shook his head. The old man had already given up on his kin. It was sad to see, but given the skill of the Seanchan and the power their women possessed, it wasn't difficult to see why.

Nodding to the old man, he smiled. "Well, we can only try ... and sense we aren't from here, even if we fail you shouldn't get any backlash. Win-win for you."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The man shakes his head, saddened that you didn't heed his advice.

Lukas:

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Suddenly you get a strange feeling hovering over your left shoulder, the power of Saidin, buzzing and burning, ice and fire. As you turn you see a weave of Air extending back into a house across the way.

The man turns and leaves.

[Kittenwolf]

As the man turns to leave, Leilanna speaks up, having until now been content to listen. "We do thank you kindly for your advice Sir, and we do not take your warnings lightly. Unfortunately the pattern draws us towards Toman Head, for various reasons, and that is one thing we cannot fight. I just trust to the Light that it will be merciful and see us out safely. Should we find your missing kin, we will do our best to return them to you.
Leilanna's voice is quite low with a touch of sadness.

[Tylerb7]

Now glad that he hadn't drawn attention to himself by speaking, Lukas starts to move toward the channeling. He abandons caution, overcome by the prospect of finally finding another like himself.

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Lukas does not seize saidin, and leaves under the pretext of gathering more information about the Seanchan.

If I make visual contact, I will attempt to gauge his relative power level (as PotD):

Weavesight: (1d20+6)[14]

[al'Lan Mandrag]

You approach a house where a woman stands at the window watching you, but you can see that the weave extends from a partially shuttered opening that seems to be a small second floor.

[Tylerb7]

Lukas makes to knock on the door, confident that none but a madman would attack him unprovoked in the middle of broad daylight.

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If the woman answers the door, Lukas will make some small inquiries about the Seanchan; but in truth he'll just be talking so as to have enough time to assess the situation.

If relevant:
Sense Motive to determine 'oddness' and trustworthiness: (1d20+10)[13]

[Starbin]

As the old man wanders away, the group gathers to discuss their next move. But as they start to talk, Lukas suddenly departs, muttering something about checking on the Seanchan.

Frowning, Luran watched him walk away towards one of the houses, then shook his head and turned back to the others. "So we are agreed to continue towards Falme and help as we can? Should we send word back warning of these invaders? And what of the women?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The woman from the window answers the door, and frowning gives you a succinct version of the tale told by the old man.

Luran;

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The house is the same one that you visited last night in your dream.

[Tylerb7]

Thanking the woman for her time, Lukas makes as if to walk away from the house. As he turns around, he seizes saidin and weaves a funnel of air and spirit through the opening into the second floor.

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Eavesdrop through the opening. (Spot check DC 20 for me to notice any sounds besides those from the weave.)

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The woman closes the door firmly, but not aggressively, watching intently as she does so.

You hear a yelp through your weave, easily perceptible as though the issuer was right on top of the place where you're listening. You hear some hurried steps and banging through the house before the door flies open and a young boy faces you. It is clear that he is holding the Source: he pulsates with it's power, but you can tell he is not holding as much of the source as you can at full strength.

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If you're interested in the mechanics of Channellers sensing each other's strength look on the 'thirteenth depository'.

[Starbin]

After speaking, Luran paused for a moment, then did a double-take at the house Lukas approached. Staring for a long moment, he would have turned back to the group but the door flew open and a young boy leapt out to face Lukas.

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Assuming this is the same boy Luran say during his Dream-capades ...

Luran sat watching, dumbfounded for a moment. He watched as the two faced off, wondering what in the Light was going on ...

[Tylerb7]

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This is another thing that's kind of vague in my mind, but isn't it something like:
- Women, once trained, can determine ability to channel and the full strength of any other woman regardless of whether or not she's holding the source.

- Men can only determine ability to channel based on resonance (?) with saidin (like what Taim shows Rand with the flame), and strength can only be compared if both men actively hold as much of the source as possible.

The rules given in PotD are definitely applicable to women (sensing relative power and ability to channel with a 'weavesight' check, which means highly trained channelers will always succeed), but if my memory is right about how men sense ability, are we just going with the books?

Startled by the frantic movements in the house, Lukas draws as much of saidin as he can--almost losing himself in the struggle--, preparing for the worst. When nothing but a mere boy leaves the house, Lukas feels at once relieved and disappointed. A small hope had been slowly growing in the back of his mind that perhaps he had found for himself someone of experience, one who might help him to stave off the madness. Instead he was faced with an excitable young boy.

Lukas releases his grip slightly on the source until he held only just a finger more than the boy, not wanting to seem intimidating. In a somewhat tense voice, Lukas asks, "What's your name?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

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Tyler, yep that's right, so we're going with books: you can sense that he has is holding the power, but not as much as you can, or are currently holding. It's feasible he could be as strong as Rand or Ishmael, but you can't tell.

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Also, when I said young boy I meant, he's a boy and young: he's about 16-17 and yes is the same one that Luran saw yesterday.

He stares at you, confusion evident on his face: "You're one as well?" H asks quietly, nearly whispering.

[Tylerb7]

Nodding, Lukas steps closer and weaves a ward against eavesdropping (Circle of Silence, CL 1). "We can speak freely now; no one outside three paces can hear us."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The youth stands amazed, staring at the intricate weaves that surround you.

"Who-who are you?" He asks, excitement plain upon his face.

[Tylerb7]

"My name is Lukas Maraven. I come from Tar Valon. Be warned: I travel with an Accepted of the Tower, so you had best be on your guard.

"Now, tell me about yourself. Does anyone know?"

[al'Lan Mandrag]

"You brought Aes Sedai here? Why? Do you work for them?" his panic is visible, but for some reason he doesn't run away, but stays there, hovering, uncertain if he should fight or flee.

[Tylerb7]

"Calm down. I joined the Tower Guard before I knew what I was. I would never betray one of my own—not unless they were too far gone."

[Holice]

Looking towards Lukas, Berin can only wonder what they are talking about. In fact, the lack of sound from them at all is a little disconcerting, but Berin shakes it off as they are whispering.

Watching the boy, he sees a myriad of emotion across his face, and feels both concern and confusion. Why is Lukas taking such an interest in this boy, when we've heard all we need to know from the Old man?

Looking at his other party members, he slightly jests, "Anyone here able to read lips? Or have any clue what they could be talking about?"

[Starbin]

Luran shook himself from staring and looked back at Berin, a slight frown on his face. "I, uh, don't know why Lukas would want to talk to that boy ... but if you have questions, why not ask him when he comes back over?"

Luran wasn't sure if Lukas' discussion with the boy had anything to do with his dream from the night before, but if they started distrusting each other now ...

[al'Lan Mandrag]

The boy gradually relaxes, but still seems slightly on edge.

"Oh, ok. Then are you here for me? I know it's wrong, what I do, and I can feel the darkness, but I can't stop myself." His eyes show a wordless plea.

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You can try and make a spot check to read lips (since there is no Wanderer with it as a class skill) but the DC is high.

[Tylerb7]

"How long since it happened? If the madness hasn't progressed, I may be able to teach you enough to survive---to defend yourself, and to control the power."

[al'Lan Mandrag]

"Madness..." His despair is evident as you confirm his worst fears. "A few months, 5 I guess. I'm not mad, honest!"

His mother comes over, seeing him standing in the doorway, but he manages to shoo her away.

[Tylerb7]

"Not yet maybe, but you will be. We all will." Lukas turns his head toward his companions, then slowly back. "Light. You're liable to get yourself killed without someone to guide you---even women wilders rarely survive. I'll be leaving here soon with my companions. You could come with us, they don't mind the company. We could say you're just a farmboy eager to see the world.

"Or you could stay here. A danger to everyone you know and love. A fox in the hen house."