Fanfic:The Adventures of IndiLiana Jones: At Worlds End
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It was a normal day in the Hall of Sitters, if any day in which representatives of the Ajahs struggled with each other to further their own goals could be called normal. And Aric Cosamaru, First Seeker of the Indigo Ajah, was waiting anxiously for one of his Sitters to show up before the proceedings actually began.
To be specific he was waiting for Liana en'Damier, as Lembirt and Brother Somtaaw, the other Sitters were already here. What is keeping her?! He had learned of the scheduled Sitting of the Hall two days ago, and he had immediately sent a signal to the ter'angreal he had given Liana for just such a purpose. She should have returned by now.
But she had not, even though according to his ter'angreal, the brooch was still in her possession. At least it had been last night. Perhaps he should...No! The Hall was about to be called to order. He didn't know what to do, today's subject was important to the Indigo, otherwise he wouldn't have sent for Liana to return.
Suddenly he realized he was rubbing his hands together. A nervous habit that he thought he had lost a long long time ago. He quickly set his hands by his sides and forced himself to calm. His outer self anyway. His thoughts were in a turmoil. Where is she?!?! She should have at least sent something saying why she couldn't make it.
But she did not arrive. The Amyrlin did, and the discussions began, but Liana did not appear. And that was definitely NOT good. He started rubbing his hands together again, and his nervousness grew, until he couldn't take it anymore.
As soon as there was a lull in the debating, he stood and spoke quickly. "I apologize to the Hall, but I must depart early. Something urgent has come up." And with that he hurriedly left the Indigo's platform and headed for the exit, let custom be damned.
It didn't take an expert in Daes dae'mar to see that something was seriously wrong with the First Seeker.
By tradition, Sitters were ranked first according to age and how long they had sat in the Hall. This rank afforded the right to speak first, or the obligation to wait. Even as an Ajah Head, a young member of the Hall such as Brother Aric was expected to take his turn. Thus the sudden interruption of the rather young First Seeker drew attention. Most notably, that of one of the elder Sitters. Saphire Sedai, had already observed the conspicuous absence of her daughter on an occasion that warranted her appearance.
Now, there was a time and a place for ducking out of Hall of Sitters meetings. This she understood and condoned. Her favorite leaves of absence were to places like the Borderlands, and other areas where death ranged from probable to certain. She took great liberties with the freedom that her Talents, victories in war, and mothering one of the strongest Aes Sedai the Tower, had afforded her and made regular disappearances.
One of those liberties was leaving now, on the heels of the First Seeker.
The expression on the Green Sitter's face could hardly be imagined. She touched the former blacksmith on the shoulder, with no reservations concerning the political implications of such a gesture, and bore into him with burning emerald eyes.
"Where. Is. She?"
Aric hurried away from the Hall towards the stairwells that led down the Tower, to the Ajah Halls. He had to get back to his office and check the ter'angreal to see where Liana was. The possibility that the light indicating her brooch would be flashing red struck fear into his heart.
He was so distraught that he did not hear the footsteps of the Aes Sedai behind him. Only the tap on his shoulder alerted him to her presence at all. He turned to find...
"Where. Is. She?" Ok, so she wasn't actually shouting the words, but the fact that her eyes were like hot green pokers sticking into his soul added to the effect.
"Where is she?" He repeated dumbly. Get a hold of yourself you Idiot!!! Suddenly inner reserves of calm opened up, and he managed to give some semblance of tranquility. "I do not know Sis..." Given her state of mind it would be best to err on the side of caution. "Saphire Sedai. I was just going to my office to check up on her progress with the ter'angreal that allows me to keep track of her on her long journeys. You are most welcome to join me."
His facade cracked under Saphire's fiery gaze, and he quickly turned and lead the way to his office before it shattered completely. Despite what you might think Aric had become quite adept at schooling his features, but facing foreign dignitaries or frightened Soldiers was very different from facing the very angry daughter of your Liege Lady, who at the same time happened to be the mother of one of your best friends. And even harder when that best friend was lost.
Not a moment too soon they arrived at his offices, and he strode over to a side table. He quickly picked up a small figurine of the Grey Tower proper, and set it down on his desk. He quickly seized the Power and sent a thread of Spirit into the top, and the air above twisted and swirled. What materialized was a map of North-Western Saldaea, including the peninsula of Worlds End. "Blood and Bloody Ashes." He stumbled backwards until he found a chair, and slumped into it. The light that was Liana's brooch was flashing red.
There were rumors about this particular Sister of the Green Ajah. Rumors such as, "Aes Sedai do not let it rain, not unless they wish it too. When storm-clouds gather around the Tower, step lightly. When lightning strikes, find cover. Fast." Rumors held more than a kernel of truth.
If her gaze had burned before, it roared like a blacksmith's forge now.
WHAM
That was her fists against the edge of his desk. Saphire was ninety years old, and considered herself going soft with old age. Had she been fifty years younger, the room would have been quickly spiraling into utter chaos.
She leaned forward. Tightly she restrained herself from giving into impulse. Instead she spoke slowly, clearly, deliberately.
"What does it mean." she meant the map and the dot, "What have you done with my daughter!"
WHAM
The loud noise dragged Aric out of his sullen misery. What he saw wished he couldn't see at all. He had heard things about Saphire when she was angry, none of them pleasant. He was suddenly glad he didn't keep many fragile pieces of porcelain or the like, otherwise his office might be exploding into shards around him.
"What does it mean? What have you done with my daughter!"
At that Aric almost burst into hysterical laughter, but then thought better of it. Best not to tempt fate. "What did I do? All I did was send her on a mission to locate a rumored ter'angreal. That blinking light happens to mean that the ter'angreal I use to keep track of her has been seperated from her person. She consented to the ter'angreal by the way." He added hurriedly, he didn't want Saphire to think he was stalking her daughter on top of losing her.
"I signaled for her to come back, but she never did. Something must have happened so she couldn't Travel back, but only recently did she lose the device." Suddenly he realized Saphire probably wasn't in the mood for lengthy explanations. "Bottom line, she's lost. That blinking light is where she was probably only hours ago. I intend to go looking for her, and you are of course welcome to come with me. Believe me I want to find her as much as you do." He was surprised that the oath had let that past his lips, but then realized that not only was Liana his friend, but if he didn't find her he likely wouldn't return to the Grey Tower in one piece. Therefore he had to find her.
It is said that it's 'better to spit in a wolf's eye than to anger an Aes Sedai'. Aric had managed to do the former, and perhaps the only reason she had no more than growled at him, was that he had gripped her by the ears and was not letting go.
Saphire eased up. She straightened.
I hate Traveling.
And then she folded her arms over her chest.
I bloody hate flaming Traveling.
She turned, and stalked to the far corner of the room. Her braid, now lightly threading with silver hairs, swayed like a cat's irritated tail.
I suppose it is the only way. The truth of the matter was, Saphire had a deep ingrained fear of gateways. The very idea of a hole in the Pattern violated her senses. She had always been a creature of the here and the now, and here and now was where she lived. Not in the abstractions of folding space and/or time.
And yet, they say that a wise mother knows her child. And if Saphire knew her child, she knew Liana would get herself into a world of trouble as soon as no one was looking. She had a remarkable talent for it. Saphire would even claim that Liana had been a child prot??g?? at it, and Caith would back her up on that.
She turned.
"Light help you and bloody-be-damned the consequences; you flaming bet your fortune you can't get loose of me. I'll pull her bacon out of the coals and then flay it myself!"
At that, Saphire en'Damier spun on her heels and marched out the door. "Meet here." she said, and was gone. For now.
As Saphire straightened from his desk and seemed to calm down, at least relative to how angry she had been, Aric felt he had narrowly avoided...Something. He didn't know what, but that something most likely would have been bad. He resisted the urge to look at his desk top to see if her fists had left smoking impressions.
A thought must have crossed her mind, something she didn't like, for she turned and stalked to the corner of his office like a very angry feline. He watched nervously as she brooded on whatever it was, and flinched openly when she turned around.
"Light help you and bloody-be-damned the consequences; you flaming bet your fortune you can't get loose of me. I'll pull her bacon out of the coals and then flay it myself!"
He spoke, "I wasn't really expecting to leave you behind in my search." He had tried to make that come out as confident, but he was afraid it had emerged more as a squeak. Angry Saphire had that affect on him.
He twitched again when Saphire whirled around and marched out the door, with a stern "Meet here!" as her parting words.
For several long moments he stood there, wondering if Liana would thank him for trying to rescue her, or curse his hide for bringing her mother along. Finally he shook himself into alertness, and moved into action.
He went to his desk and brought out a thick piece of parchment, as well as his ter'angreal pen, and began writing.
To Amora en'Damier The Amyrlin Seat,
I regret to inform you Mother that I must leave the Tower, though I guess for no more than a week or two. As you know, Liana en'Damier failed to show up for the most recent sitting of the Hall. When I returned to my office I examined the ter'angreal I use to keep track of her on her long journeys, only to find that it reported she was lost, somewhere near Worlds End. I am going to find and retrieve her, and Saphire en'Damier is going with me as well. I regret both the suddenness and the secrecy, but I thought it would be best if the general Tower population did not know that a Sitter for the Indigo had vanished mysteriously.
Sincerely,
Aric Cosamaru
First Seeker
Warder-Channeler Representative
He almost wrote Your Loyal Vassal, then thought against it. There were all too many prying eyes in the Grey Tower. He folded and sealed the note, then ran out into the hallways of the Indigo Ajah. Finding the nearest Initiate he handed the note to them, ordering them to take it to the office of the Keeper of the Chronicles as soon as possible. He then took off for his personal rooms.
Once there he loaded all the necessary items for a long journey into his saddlebags. Sets of clothing, water skins, everything. Even though both he and Saphire were skilled Channelers, you could never be too careful.
Once packed he grabbed his cloak and headed back towards his office, walking casually. Yes he had saddlebags and looked ready for a long journey, but would anyone think twice about it, or wonder if someone's life depended on it? Hopefully not.
He arrived back at his office before Saphire. Thank the Light. He didn't want her thinking he wasn't punctual on top of everything else.
From the Channeling Yard, a barren clay-packed landscape, they stepped into an almost equally sparse ground. The grassland was spotted with thickets of black-spotted beech and trees she hardly recognized. It was not snowing. The only time it didn't snow this far north was in summer. But it was chill, cold enough to make her want to gather her cloak in her hands. Snow-topped mountains in the east and north and south reached for the sky and were cut off only by clouds. To the west was a cliff and from there the ocean spread as far as the eye could see.
"Bloody audacious, impetuous girl." Saphire muttered under her breath. It was ironic how she cursed her. Her own mother had had held the same criticisms of her at that age.
"Blood and ashes, I hate flaming Traveling."
She heeled Shadow's Bane to catch up with Firredal. His ashendari was ready and he was alert. Saphire was also prepared. She held her partisan stiffly in her grip and she was searching the visible area with her eyes. In truth, she was sensing if saidar was being channeled anywhere in her proximity. Saidar meant trouble, either Liana channeling in defense, or others channeling against her. That would certainly lead them to Liana. And if not that, then war-hounds that trotted at Shadow's Bane's heels. Argento was her tracker, Scarto was her sentry dog - should they need to make camp.
Saphire looked over her shoulder to see the First Seeker riding through last. Although she could not see the flows of saidin she did see the gateway spiral shut behind him.
"This is where she lost it?" the Aes Sedai asked. Her tone was nettled, but it was not directed at him, only the question.
Aric sat on Mahdi, holding the Gateway open for his fellow searchers. He had taken them to an isolated corner of the Channeling Yards before tearing a hole in the Pattern to keep their activities away from prying eyes. Although if anyone had seen them, they would not have been able to keep quiet about the First Sitter of the Green Ajah, the First Seeker, AND the Master of Training, all riding off somewhere.
But despite the fact that the whole Tower would know before dinner that they had left, no one would know exactly where they had gone to. Only one woman in the Tower would be able to track them, and he had left a note. Saphire didn't know about that though, and he had to make sure she didn't.
Once both his Traveling companions had ridden through, he nudged her with his knees, and she strode forward into the chilly Summer weather of Saldaea. He looked back one more time to make sure no one was back there, then let the hole dissipate into nothingness. Fortunately there were very few people in the Tower who could read residues, and with luck none of them would examine the remnants of his Gateway.
"Bloody audacious, impetuous girl...Blood and ashes, I hate flaming Traveling."
With his Saidin enhanced hearing Aric heard Saphires muttered words, even through the breeze. He gave her a curious look, she seemed torn between cursing at her daughter and what he could only suppose was a fear of Traveling. No, she didn't seem to fear it, but she certainly didn't seem to like it either. Odd that, considering how useful it was.
He gave it no further thought, and he nudged Mahdi in the ribs, so she cantered forward till he was level with Firredal and Saphire. A gust of wind blew in from the endless ocean, causing his cloak to flare out behind him. He took the opportunity to unstrap his bow from his back and lay it in front of him on the saddle, and his quiver lay sticking out of his saddlebags. He would need only moments to draw and fire at any approaching threat. Of course any threat might not be something he could shoot at, so he remained alert for any feelings of Saidin being channeled, as he was sure Saphire must have been doing for saidar.
"This is where she lost it?" The woman beside him asked. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the figurine of the Tower that he had used earlier. With a thread of Spirit, the air in front of him twisted, and a map appeared. Whereas before it had been a depiction of all the land between the Tower and Worlds End, now that they had gotten closer the image had zoomed in. Fortunately they had arrived not too far from the blinking read dot that was where Liana had been separated from the brooch. After a quick glance at his surroundings, Aric pointed off to the North-East. "She lost it up that way. It isn't far." And with that he led them off into the woods.
It took about a half hour to get to their destination. The whole time Aric was nervously watching the dot that was them approach the blinking red dot that marked the spot of whatever disaster had befallen Liana. Finally the two dots merged, and he let go of the Power.
"We are here, whatever happened occurred just ahead."
Saphire flexed her fingers around the width of her partisan. At the same time, she opened herself to the source. She was one of the strongest channelers in the Tower. And while she knew that someday Liana would be stronger than her, if she lived that long, only the Captain-General could match her for realized power. Saphire could level a battlefield in fire such that nothing would grow again for a hundred years. She was prepared to do so now, for her daughter.
"We are here, whatever happened occurred just ahead."
It was some small comfort that Scarto was at ease. The slightest noise or scent and he would have been barking. Perhaps they would be graced with a little luck that day.
"Sene sovya caba'donde ain dovienya." Saphire said. She only spoke in the Old Tongue when heading into battle. And on they rode through the thicket. Warders always rode first into danger, and Saphire fell in line after Firredal. In turn, she gave Aric a look that meant she wanted him to guard the rear. Only fools did not anticipate an attack from behind.
They passed through the trees, ducking under branches or brushing them aside. Argento had his nose to the ground, wagging his tail in a way that meant the object of the search had been near. Saphire's attention flickered all around until they reached a clearing. And then . .
. . the Aes Sedai gasped.
"Burn my bones to ash, what under the flaming Light is going on here?!" She looked about, frowning. "There isn't supposed to be a bloody-be-damned stedding here!"
It was true, she could no longer touch saidar. Even though she had been holding it, it had snapped from her grasp the moment they crossed into the clearing.
Goosebumps prickled Aric's arms as he readied his bow. Some might have thought it natural considering the cold weather, but he knew better. He had the most powerful female channeler in the Tower right next to him, and her daughter was in danger. He would have embraced the Power under those circumstances, and as it happened, he did.
Or he seized it rather. Unfortunately, even after more than a decade in the Tower, he had never gotten around to breaking his block about using the Power as a weapon. Rather odd considering he was the First Seeker, but it was true. But even if he had been able to shoot fireballs or call lightning, Saphire would have been able to do it a million times better. So as it happened he merely used it to sharpen his senses. One could never be too careful.
At Saphire's meaningful stare he knocked an arrow and held ready to fire. Unfortunately the trees and their low hanging branches meant he wouldn't be as able to spot any potential enemies, but by the Light if he did spot them...they would get an arrow right between the eyes.
So great was his concentration that he barely heard the Aes Sedai ahead of him gasp, nor did he feel the goosebumps vanish from his arms. He did however hear her cursing. "Burn my bones to ash, what under the flaming Light is going on here?! There isn't supposed to be a bloody-be-damned stedding here!" He only understood what was happening right as she began to utter the word Stedding, but by then it was too late.
Saidin vanished, as if it was never there. Color and sound drained out of the world, leaving it dead by comparison. Out of fear he whirled Mahdi around, nearly causing her to rear up and throw him off, trying to determine where the omnipresent light of the True Source had gone. But it was gone completely, he knew that he merely had to nudge Mahdi into moving backwards a few paces for the wonderful light to return, but it was still quite...unsettling.
With great effort he calmed himself. He had never been completely without the source before. The inquisitive and curious mind of the Indigo quickly took over, and he began mentally reviewing what he knew of Stedding.
"This is indeed a Stedding, but it has not been charted by any human explorers. The Indigo keeps track of such things, but needless to say we do not actively seek the Stedding, so our charts are incomplete. If we continue further we may find Ogier, they will no doubt be friendly, perhaps they saw Liana..."
His voice faded away and his face paled, almost as if the Power was everywhere except in a little bubble around him. Why had he not thought of it.
"This might not be a Stedding..." He whispered, but before Saphire or Firredal could say anything he continued. "I sent Liana to investigate a rumored ter'angreal...this could be the effects of said device. Perhaps it is similar in function to the ter'angreal that shields the city of Far Madding from the Source. But if that is so...Oh dear." His voice trailed off yet again, and he gulped nervously before speaking once more. "Who knows how far away we are from the device. Most likely a ways away, otherwise Liana would have returned with ease by now. And without the aid of the Power, who knows what could have befallen her!"
He kicked Mahdi with his heels, and she leaped into motion, further into...whatever they were in. "Let us pray it is not so!" He shouted back at his companions, "A Stedding would be the least of our worries."
This is why the Green Ajah trains to be competant without the One Power. Never flaming know when one will be shielded, or taken by surprise, or worse . .
"We have my dogs . . " Saphire replied dryly, but the First Seeker had already charged off around and through the thicket and beyond into the clearing. "I flaming told you to guard the rear . . !"
But something made her hesitate. Maybe it was a feeling she sensed from Firredal. Maybe it was her own instincts. Whatever the reason, the usually rash Aes Sedai hung back, listening.
And then it came.
A high-pitched whistle, followed quickly by a blazing glare. It was a sphere of fire hurled directly for them. Saphire had only enough time to lean Shadow's Bane to the side, before . .
WHUMPH
It was as if the ball of fire fizzled out of existence. It must have hit the boundary of this stedding . . or circumference around the artifact . . or whatever it was supposed to be called.
"Flaming trolloc horned . . " the explatives streamed on from there, as Saphire turned about and charged back the way they had come, towards whatever, or whoever, had shot at them. If they were being followed, she had no intention of leading them to her daughter.
Firredal turned his horse and followed, slapping his ashandarei into the lance holder on his saddle and fumbling for the crossbow instead. Whatever was out there, he wanted to kill it from as far away as possible... preferably before his Aes Sedai charged headlong into a fireball. There was no way to get ahead of her; she had been closer to the source of the attack, and she'd begun her charge before he had.
Someone must have sensed our arrival, he realized. They were in the middle of nowhere; the odds that they had been spotted while riding were slim.
He angled his horse away from Saphire's. If there was only one attacker, he might draw the attack. If there were more... well, at least they weren't a single easy target.
Fear for Liana's safety had vacated him of his senses, but luckily Saphire's shout returned them to him. Flushing red from embarrassment he turned Mahdi around and emerged once again into the small clearing. Light! I need to work on that, no matter that I'm only with Brothers and Sisters of the Tower.
The loud whining noise broke him out of his ashamed reverie. Then the glaring light almost blinded him from seeing...a fireball hurtling right at them. Instinctively he tried to embrace Saidin. Bloody...whatever this place is!!! Of course an attack just HAD to come from behind, where he had supposed to have been guarding. Today was not a good day for his dignity.
He charged Mahdi back towards Saphire, knowing the fireball would disappear as soon as it hit the boundary. Both she and her Warder had already wheeled around and were headed back out of the field. No doubt whoever attacked them would feel her wrath fairly soon. The attackers were certainly weaker in Saidar than Saphire...But no, he had though that since he didn't feel anything that it had to have been Saidar. But the only female Channelers in Saldaea were Aes Sedai, and they were bound by the oaths. That meant they were being attacked by...
"Be careful Sister!!" He shouted at the Aes Sedai galloping ahead of him, "They are Black Tower Asha'man!!" Why can't those bloody men from that horrible excuse for a Tower keep to themselves?!!!!
He galloped just out of the boundary and brought Mahdi to a halt. Firredal was just behind him, and Saphire was off ahead running headlong into the what appeared to be a large group of Asha'man. Saidin had returned, and he seized it. But the euphoria of it's return faded as soon as he realized exactly how much Saidin was being channeled.
A fire ball appeared over head, and he lashed out at it with the Power. He may not have been able to use the Power as a weapon, but he still knew how to counter a few of the more basic Battleweaves. His flows cut into those making up the fire, and it fizzled well above the ground.
His enhanced eyesight picked out Saphire galloping through the trees. "Saphire! Come back!!" But she either didn't hear him or she didn't listen. Fear for her coursed through him, she did not know what she was heading into. The prickling on his arms meant she had already embraced Saidar, but even she could not fight multiple Asha'man who knew dozens upon dozens of ways to kill with the Power.
A fireball shot by the galloping woman's head, and Aric desperately tried to find it's location. He spotted an Asha'man among the trees, and he was forming another fireball. His heart stopped, then something snapped inside him. He had already sent his Liege Lady's Granddaughter to what could have been her death, and now his Liege Lady's daughter was in great peril. He could not let anything happen.
"NO!!!!" The primal roar burst from his throat, and almost without realizing it he raised his bow, pulled back, and a line of fire shot between the trees, briefly connecting his weapon to the offending Asha'man's chest. The poor fellow burst into a screaming lump of fire, and his horse reared, throwing the burning remnants of the man onto the ground.
He spotted another pair of men far off in the trees, both forming horrible looking weaves he did not recognize. Again without knowing what he was doing, flows of Earth, Fire, and Water lashed out. No doubt the men would have heard a quiet hissing from the sap of the surrounding tree's boiling, before they exploded into clouds of splinters. Pincushions replaced the killers, and Aric's murderous rage continued.
There, off on a hill past the thicket two more Asha'man stood. Earth flowed out of him, and the hilltop exploded in a roar, sending the poor chaps' bodies flying into the air.
Only the fact that he could not see the few remaining Asha'man kept him from killing them. He could feel them, but he couldn't find them. The absence of a target made the rage subside just enough for a small shred of rational though to return. What have I done? You killed those who were threatening your friends. And he had done so before, in the Siege. But never had he hurt anything with the Power, not in over a decade. He had a block against doing so. Had had a block apparently. How could you have killed something with the Power?!
He lost Saidin in his inner turmoil, and struggled to keep his seat on Mahdi, but failed. He was unconscious long before he slipped from his horse's back onto the ground.
This was personal.
Like a leopardess cornered 'round her young when hunters crossed them, she ramped in all the pride of her power, bristling with strength, her piercing glare frowned down their eyes.
Her worst fears were realized. And whenever threat came upon her daughter, Saphire would unleash hellish unmitigated rage and smite whoever stood in the way into dust and ash upon the ground. They struck at her and Firredal, but she and he struck back.
In the distance she heard a primeval howl and she answered it with her own furious war cry. Then it came. Another sphere of fire hurled past her face. But as she turned to spear the enemy, the black-clad figure crumpled like parchment in fire, and was thrown astray by his own steed. The next man beside him fell to Firredal's bolt.
She turned, and Battle Aes Sedai and the Master of Training closed in upon those who had stalked them. Like the leopardess darting through the trees, trusting in her strength and that of her Warder, her eyes flashing fire, grinding her teeth, she clawed the second, the third, and the fourth with arcs of light . . .
Through the trees she heard explosions, like the birch of her father's country when the sap grew too cold in winter to be contained. Something farther still sent shock-waves so strong it rattled her partisan in her hand. The battle was not over, yet what had shaken the earth and snapped the trees ceased.
'It is better to embrace the sun than to anger an Aes Sedai.' was what they said. So on they fought like a swirl of living fire. Saphire and Firredal closed in on the two remaining. Shivers took hold of the Asha'man when they saw the them, and they could no longer stand their ground there, but fled, frightened.
Saphire reared Shadow's Bane back, and paused, still holding saidar. She watched and listened for all other signs. Her wrath was spent, and finally, the calm returned. She glanced then at Firredal to gauge whether he agreed that the job was done. Or whether he thought they should run down the men fleeing for their lives and question them.
At this point, I think given that Aric is out, the next bit of the posting order should go: Firredal, Saph, and then Aric again.
Firredal raised his crossbow and loosed a bolt at the fleeing horsemen. His aim was off: it was the horse, not the rider, which twisted and fell. The second man drew rein, turning back towards his companion. He hesitated when Firredal and Saphire rode towards them, but dismounted and moved to stand over his companion.
The Asha'man had started to bend down, but straightened almost immediately; they were approaching him too fast. He glanced from Saphire to Firredal as they reigned up, and then asked: "Warder?"
Firredal nodded silently.
The Asha'man glanced at Saphire, then drew the slim, curved sword from his hip. "If I'm to die," he told Firredal, "I'd rather it be by the sword. Besides, I've always wanted to try one of you."
Firredal nodded again and swung down from his saddle. It was a mark of how far he had come from the half-spoiled young noble who had first arrived at the Grey Tower that he was willing to kill these enemies... and there were times when he despised himself for allowing those changes. Don't be a fool, said a voice in his head - the one he thought of as his worse-but-wiser self. We don't know that these were the only ones; if they escape, they might return with reinforcements. We don't know whether they have anything to do with the stedding effect; if it's something they control, we could be riding into a trap. We have to know.
They stood for a moment facing each other, Asha'man and Gaidin, blades held back beside their right shoulders. The Asha'man was taller, but aside from that they could have been mirror images. They studied each other, assessing, not moving... yet.
Then they closed, and the near-twin blades flashed down, touched briefly, and completed their arcs. The asha'man sank to his knees, then fell onto his side. In the shadow of the trees, the enormous rent in the front of his black jacket was almost hidden by the outpouring of blood and offal from his chest.
Firredal flicked the blood from his blade, slid a cloth along its length, and returned it to its sheath. Then he knelt and took the blade from the dead man's hand. He cleaned and sheathed that as well, then turned to strap it to his saddle, ignoring the second Asha'man who lay with one leg trapped - and probably broken - beneath his fallen horse. Saphire could take care of him; she probably had him shielded already. They still had questions, and they needed answers. Not all of those answers would come from the Black Tower Asha'man, either.
"Should I check on Aric?" asked Firredal.
A shame, she would have enjoyed the skirmish if it had not been so dire. Usually she rather preferred battles with but a slim chance of success, but this one was fought too close to her heart.
Firredal's question roused from her an answer, "I would rather not separate."
From atop Shadow's Bane, she was staring at the single remaining enemy, whose leg was certainly broken beneath his struggling steed. If he had not been in so much pain, she probably wouldn't have been able to shield him so easily. "It requires all my strength to hold a shield against a man, and I must not tie it." although, she had a moderate Talent for stretching shields. So long as she didn't do anything stupid, like try to weave anything else, it would bend no matter how much he reached to shatter it.
It also meant that until they were done with this Asha'man, her hands were tied where the One Power was concerned. Not that it would matter once they passed into the stedding . . . thing.
Saphire had sensed Firredal's mixed feelings about taking these two strays down. There was no sport in killing a coward, let alone forcing answers from one. Dirty and unpleasant business, that, torture.
One of the Asha'man had rushed her and drew close enough to taste steel rather than saidar. Unlike Firredal, she didn't move to clean her blade, yet. It was still slick red with the blood of another man. She circled around so that Shadow's Bane drew near the fallen Asha'man, and stopped there. She pointed the bloody blade of her partisan down at the tip of his nose. The blood that dripped down his face was still warm.
"Speak quickly, and I'll grant you a quick death."
"What..." Gabrik swallowed and tried again. "What do you want to know?"
The Aes Sedai always spoke truth, but it was not always the truth you thought you heard. He could see no trickery here, though. She means to kill me, one way or another.
The Warder had put his blade away and taken out a crossbow. It was an odd design, with the top covered, but Gabrik had seen firsthand that it worked. No help there. The others were dead, as far as he knew; no help there, either.
"Where is my daughter?" demanded the Aes Sedai.
Gabrik blinked, then blinked again. He knew he had to answer, but the question made no sense. It could only be answered with other questions, and the Aes Sedai would not want to hear those. The twin distractions of being shielded and having a broken leg were not helping, either.
The leg, at least, was starting to go numb.
The spear point, a finger's length from his face, dipped lower... but the Warder spoke first. "He doesn't know."
Eyes still on their surroundings, the man asked: "Who are you?"
"Gabrik." That, at least, he could answer. "Gabrik Tullin Asha'man, of the Black Tower."
"...and why are you here, Asha'man?" This time it was the Aes Sedai who spoke.
"The... rumors. The effect. Whatever it is. We were sent to find it, to study it, to bring back whatever was causing it. The M'Hael..." He swallowed. "He gave the orders."
"Why attack us?" The woman's voice was like ice; the point of her weapon never wavered. Gabrik was increasingly certain that he wouldn't want to face her, even without the One Power... maybe even if she was unarmed.
"Lyrin felt your Gate. We found your trail, followed. The Gate was Saidin, but not one of ours. A group like yours... could only be from one place. You're after the same thing we are, so Tem... he decided to stop you." Gabrik swallowed again, coughed. "He gave the order. He was on the hill."
"...And you haven't seen anyone else?" This time it was the Warder asking, an uncomfortable distraction. His eyes had been on the speartip, his attention on the Aes Sedai.
"Nobody." He coughed again. "...Who wasn't a farmer. Please don't kill me."
A long moment stretched as Saphire weighed their options, balancing them like the tip of her partisan over this poor coward's face.
She really wanted to kill him.
But honor swayed her. Like a pendulum oscillating, it swung back from reaping death with almost equal force to mercy.
"Swear your surrender," she said, staring down at him from the long bladed shaft, "and that you will obey our commands without hesitation."
She waited for his answer. And when she was satisfied, she nodded curtly and withdrew her partisan. To her Warder she said, "Help him out from under, then strap him to that stray horse." She pointed to the one left behind by the now severed Asha'man. He certainly couldn't walk in this condition, and she certainly didn't trust him not to run at the first chance, oath or no. Further, she wanted Firredal mobile at least as long as she was encumbered by holding the shield. "Let the Flame and Fang decide what to do with him when we return home."
To Gabrik she spoke as she wiped the blood from her blade, "This is the only mercy you will receive from me. Try to run, try to fool us, or otherwise undermine us, and you are dead. As certain as peaches are poison." She paused just a little for that to sink in. "My first command to you is to not run away, and the second is to not slow us any more than necessary."
Moments later they were trotting the short path back to the clearing. There her dogs were standing guard. They weren't attack dogs, and were trained to stay out of direct conflict. However, they were young. Scarto wagged his tail as she and Firredal approached, and Argento was . . well . .
. . he was licking Aric's face.
Brother Aric, it seemed, had fallen from his steed and lay against the ground with one foot still in the stirrup. Saphire couldn't help but chuckle as she ordered her dogs to heel. Both came trotting up beside Shadow's Bane, and she stopped just above Aric, who was now waking.
"When did you become dangerous?" she laughed. "I did not think you were so competent!" Only he could have taken out nearly half of the Asha'man without her sensing the flows. "Careful about that chivalry," her smile widened, much like a leopardess would when contemplating whether to eat him, "I might decide to bond you." she angled her head away, back in the direction they had originally been heading. "Come along now, nap time is over." she offered the blunt side of her partisan to help him to stand.
A horde of children raced down the street, laughing and tackling one another. Aric floated behind them, completely mystified. What in the Light? Suddenly he was one of the children, running through the streets of his old village, frolicking with his friends.
Quite suddenly the scene changed to a stream somewhere, and all the children were launching themselves into it and splashing each other. Aric himself was laughing quite maniacally as he used his superior strength to hurl his friends farther into the water. He received a rather large dose of water in his face and...
Aric's shot open to reveal a very large, very ugly thing hovering above him. A large pink thing emerged from an opening, and snaked down to plaster a large amount of something sticky all over his face and hair. Realization of where he was and what must be happening hit him. He flapped his arms over his head a few times, but the dog had already disappeared, presumably back to Saphire.
He tried to sit up, and tremendous pain shot through his head, resulting in him falling back to the ground with a thump. He was trying to figure out why his head hurt so bad when a large shadow loomed over him, and the pain vanished.
The shadow came from Saphire on horseback, looming over him like some vengeful angel, and she seemed to be laughing evilly. No doubt she was going to punish him for taking away all her opponents in battle. He lay there for several moments, paralyzed by fear and trying to shrink into the ground, before realizing that she was only chuckling.
"When did you become dangerous? I did not think you were so competent!" He now remembered everything, and he blushed furiously. Yes he had managed to take out five of their attackers with the Power, which previously he would have been unable to do, but someone like Saphire saying he was 'competent' was a great compliment.
He realized she was speaking again, and listened closely, then wished he hadn't. His face reddened even further. "Careful about that chivalry, I might decide to bond you." Saphire's smile, while not menacing...he would not wish that smile on anyone.
From the ground Aric gave a small sigh, only Saphire would be able to rip away every layer of composure he had managed to obtain over the past few years. He was lying on the ground, one leg still caught in his horse's stirrup, and his face and hair was covered in dog slobber. As he took the end of the proffered partisan to haul himself up he doubted that she would ever take him seriously again.
He managed to extricate his foot from the stirrup and stand up. He promptly had to lean against Mahdi's saddle to keep his headache from laying him flat again. His horse looked around at him, wondering what exactly he was doing, and nudge him with her nose. Unprepared, Aric staggered, his foot got caught in the stirrup again, and he went flying sideways towards a tree.
Unable to do anything for a short while Aric merely stood there cradling his head in his hands. Why me? He could almost hear his last shred of dignity laughing merrily as it flew to wherever his last shred of composure had already gone.
Unable to do anything complicated, Aric shambled back over to his horse and mounted rather ungracefully. "Please," He said dryly "Lead the way. I'll just sit back here and guard the back. No need to pay any more attention to me..." His voice trailed off at the end as he heeled Mahdi into following his companions. Back into the Stedding...thing.
Firredal glanced back as they moved. He was wary about asking this in front of their prisoner, but offhand he couldn't see that the information could do any damage. "Liana's marker," he said, looking at Aric. "What would happen if she carried it into an area like this? Is it possible that she still has it with her?"
"Good thing you're with us, Brother. Another Aes Sedai might take advantage of you, all tuckered out from smiting people; or throw wind in a bucket and let it fly." Like the Aes Sedai she was, Saphire spoke with many meanings. The latter of which implied that she, at least, was not a gossip. The former that she was not one to blackmail. Inbetween . . well . . under the First Oath, her comment about bonding must have been least partially true.
As much as she teased him, it was with a new tinge of endearment. But then, she only teased when she was in a good mood and enjoyed her company.
"Next, we'll work on your stamina." She had a lesson plan already forming to make Aric a formidable opponent. "We can't have you fainting next time." At least, such diversions passed the time.
It was a short time later, after Saphire had given a small handkerchief her daughter had left in her keeping to Argento, when Firredal spoke soberly. "Liana's marker," he said, looking looking past her to the rear where Aric rode. "What would happen if she carried it into an area like this? Is it possible that she still has it with her?"
Saphire also turned to look back over her shoulder briefly, her brow raised in question. She returned to watching Argento for signs that Liana had changed direction. His nose was still to the ground, tracking her.
"Thank you Saphire." Aric's head hurt too much to figure out all the meanings behind her words, but it never hurt to say thank you. But despite the headache brought on by over-channeling, he did notice her tone of voice. There was a tinge of fondness which had not been there before. No doubt it was because he was that much closer to a Green Asha'man now that he no longer had the Block. And Saphire's next words seemed to confirm it.
"Next, we'll work on your stamina. We can't have you fainting next time." He didn't even bother trying to hide the flush that her words brought to his cheeks. One more blush wouldn't make a dent in her impression of him. And the very fact she said such a thing seemed to imply that she was indeed beginning to grow fond of him. "Perhaps," He said with humor in his voice, "You could teach me some of those Battleweaves of yours once we increase my stamina." Despite the urgency of what they were doing Aric chuckled. Everyone deserved a diversion.
But Firredal's question brought back the enormity of the situation facing them. "In truth Brother, I have no idea what would happen if Liana brought the marker into this area. As I said earlier, the Indigo does not actively seek or study the Stedding. I may have to rectify that..." His voice trailed off before picking up again. "However, the fact that my ter'angreal reported her missing right at the boundary of this area suggests that it merely interfered with the marker, and she does still have it. Why she did not return and seek help when she discovered that she could not Channel here I don't know. Perhaps" He cut himself off before he could say anything about en'Damier personality traits that might insult Saphire.
He shrugged before continuing. "But just because she has likely not been captured doesn't mean that there aren't other dangers farther in. For all we know this could merely be the affect of a ter'angreal, meant to protect another ter'angreal. But there is no real reason to believe such. The only way to know is to get to the center, and find Liana."
Firredal nodded. "Thank you, Asha'man." It occurred to him that his question hadn't been offered with the proper courtesy; he attributed it to the duel he had just completed. The Asha'man had been good. Not good enough, but good.
"I did not mean to suggest that we shouldn't look for her," he continued, glancing at their prisoner. The man was bound, his leg splinted, and he lay sideways across one of the spare horses. "Clearly this is a dangerous area."
"Besides," Saphire added, "you remember the last time she set out for World's End. "There is also the Seanchan Siege, and the Siege of the Citadel, for that matter." Aric knew how Liana almost died in the Seanchan Siege, but only Firredal would remember how Liana had managed to get out of the safety of the Keep and into a room with a Light-forsakan trolloc, at the tender age of four. Not only that, but she had thrown stones at it! "She's better at sniffing down trouble than a bloodhound, and twice as good at getting between it and safety."
Saphire wasn't looking at either one of them, rather, her eyes were focused on her tracker, but she was speaking to them. "I will have a few choice words with her about 'dancing with the Dark One' without a Warder to accompany her." Her tone changed cadence. If one couldn't have perceived that all of her earlier cursing was a sign of motherly love, then her next statement was blatant, "Light send that she is still capable of hearing them . . "
That was when Argento became more agitated. Saphire straightened, "He's found something." The dog's tail was wagging, and he made a turn onto a narrower path. "This way," and she moved to dismount. The branches hanging over the narrower trail hung too low to ride through. Who knew how long the path would be wide enough for their steeds, but for now, they could bring them with them.
Aric rode quietly behind Saphire and Firredal, trying to keep an eye out for potential danger while at the same time cradling his head, which still hurt from all the Channeling he had done. Needless to say the two activities did not work well with each other. Pity Saphire did not have a Talent for Healing. But come to think of it it wouldn't be of use in this place. Whatever it was.
He resisted the urge to groan at Saphire's mention of the LAST time Liana had set out for World's End. She had gotten to the Warder Yards, been assaulted by the Black Ajah, and had Compulsion used on her before she had been rescued by Caden. He couldn't help but feel a small twinge of guilt. It wasn't his fault, but he still had this nagging voice that said he could have acted sooner. He had been tracking her on the ter'angreal after all, the one that now could not track her. That thing was turning out to be bad luck.
Aric was in the middle of pondering Saphire's displays of motherly love when his thoughts were interrupted. He's found something. Aric's head snapped up. Finally! A clue as to Liana's location. His excitement flickered at the revelation that they would have to walk, his head STILL wasn't feeling well, but perhaps a brisk walk would help. So he dutifully got off Mahdi behind Saphire and her Warder, and followed them under the low hanging branches.
For an hour they tramped through the woods, and Aric saw nothing of interest. In fact the only way he could tell they were making progress through the dense woods were the two mountains he could see up ahead. So uninteresting was it that he almost bumped into a solid rock wall.
Wait...what? He looked around to find that the forest had stopped abruptly, and that they were facing a sheer cliff face. The only opening he could see was a twisting crevice that lead further in between the two mountains he had seen earlier. It was much to narrow for their horses. "I guess we leave our noble steeds behind. At least we'll have Argento and Scarto." And so they went on into the winding crevice. Many twists and turns passed, until Aric lost all sense of direction. All he could see was the sky up above them. But Argento lead them on farther in.
It took them a long while to navigate all the way through. Aric sighed in relief as it opened up. He wasn't claustrophobic, but being crammed in between two rock walls wasn't very comfortable. Unfortunately the new pathway wasn't that much wider, but it did indicate that there might be something farther in.
A low grinding noise penetrated Aric's senses, followed by a loud boom. He whirled around, expecting to find some large, hideous monster. But he found absolutely nothing. Not even the crevice through which they had entered. He stood there in shock for a second before rushing forward. Apparently their passing had triggered some vast trap, causing a huge slab of rock to move in front of the entryway.
Desperately he probed at the surface with his hands, but he only found the seem where the massive stone fit perfectly into the wall. He turned back to his companions with a grim look, "Unless there is another way out of here, we are trapped."
Firredal cursed, then raised his crossbow to scan cliff tops above them. The closing of the way back could not have been an accident; the fit was too close to perfect. He wondered what Gabrik (still back with the horses) made of the noise.
"...To the good," he muttered, "they don't want to kill us. They could have done that by dropping stones on us while we were still in the crevasse. To the bad, someone's taken an interest in us, or else the stone would have been closed behind Liana."
Gabrik looked up as a heavy thump filled the air. Whatever it was, he could feel it through the ground as well. Right, time to go.
The Grey Tower trio had left him at the entrance to the pass, demonstrating again that they were honorable if perhaps a little too trusting. Gabrik had nothing against honor - it had just saved his life, after all - but there was a time and place for everything. He had been prepared to wait, keeping an eye on the horses, as he'd been told to do. It was, as the Warder had pointed out, his best chance for survival. Even with his leg splinted, he couldn't mount one of the horses without help.
Trying to walk had seemed equally foolish... until the ground started shaking. Now, though, he dragged himself over to the Gaidin's horse, cursing the entire time, and half expecting the beast to kick him to death. Reaching up, he tapped the bottom cup of the saddle's lanceholder, knocking the shaft of the ashandarei loose. With it touching the ground, he was able to pull himself up to a standing position, and lean against the horse while he worked the weapon loose. Then he raided the saddle bags.
The others had left him food and water... not much, but enough for a couple of days. Gabrik took what he could carry, and then started back down the trail. His progress was slow and painful; it would be a long walk back to civilization, even using the polearm as a crutch. He hoped the splint would hold; if it didn't, he was finished.
"Bloody-be-damned . . !" that string of expletives was initiated with her throwing a hand-sized stone at the slab of rock that blocked their path back. It shattered into dust and pebbles against the impregnable surface. Meanwhile, Scarto was scratching at the pebbly ground under the slab to no avail, and Argento was pulling in the other direction, forward towards the trail. " . . bloody girl, bloody Asha'man, bloody stedding, bloody rock . . bloody everything!"
It ended with a final frustrated huff of air.
"Well then," she said, brushing off her hands, "if we can't go back, we must go forward." and that was the end of that. She could have easily done something about that shadow-taken rock, she could have woven a tracker on Gabby (or whatever his name was), if she could touch saidar but there was no use weeping over broken eggs. "Better an 'interest' than us than an interest in her bloody-bacon-on-the-coals." she muttered.
Some time later Argento picked up speed, and then stopped at a clearing, sniffing the ground.
"The ground has been disturbed here." Saphire said, and knelt. She waved her hand over the ground where Argento was wagging his tale. "It's warm. She camped here, and this was the fire. She knows how to bury the coals, but the ground still warm over them." She looked up at the two of them. "There is a good chance we're not too late."
As Saphire raged Aric merely stood there looking at the rock slab glumly. But it wasn't as if he could have stopped it. It had closed swiftly, and even if he had managed to get between it and the rock wall, he would have been crushed. For a moment he stood there trying to decide when this day had started to go wrong, and why it had gone wrong. He was no White, but there was only one possible conclusion. The Pattern had gone insane. He clung to that reasoning, for the chance that the Pattern had gone crazy was all that kept him from going crazy as well. A loud huff interrupted his thoughts.
Apparently in her rage, Saphire had found some grain of calm as well, for she was no longer spewing curses like a sailor. As she spoke, Aric realized that it wasn't good to lose one's senses. The Pattern hadn't gone insane, just some bad things had all happened at the same time. And so he turned to follow Saphire and her dogs farther into the crevice.
At the news of the campfire, Aric was flooded with relief. If the ground was still warm, it meant she had left this point not long ago. And that she was still alive! He met Saphire's gaze, and he didn't need to say aloud that they should still hurry.
It took them almost another hour to reach something interesting. After the small clearing in which Liana had camped, the walls hadn't opened up so far again, and several times they had squeezed together so tight as to make it difficult for even one person to get through.
But they finally came upon something interesting, although it wasn't pleasant. Th path through the chasm turned into a tunnel. A totally featureless, totally dark tunnel.
He stepped into it as far as the light penetrated. "Well...this is interesting." This is interesting...this is interesting. He sighed. An echo couldn't be good. But something caught his eye. Off in the distance. He walked forward into the darkness and let his eyes adjust.
"There's a light off in the distance. It's really far away though." He glanced back at his companions, "Well, we don't really have a choice." So he set off into the darkness, waving his bow in front of him to make sure he didn't run into anything.
The speck of light in the distance grew larger, but something was odd about it. It seemed to dim to be sunlight, and it almost seemed to flicker. No, it couldn't be...
They emerged into a vast chamber, filled with dozens of torches. What is going on here?!! Some kind of bandit's lair? He was so entrance by the vast chamber, that he didn't realize who else was standing in the chamber.
With thoughtless nonchalance, Saphire flicked a poisonous cave spider from Aric's shoulder. It really wouldn't do for it to bite and send him into frothing convulsions. Not only would they be unable to help him, and that would ultimately hinder their efforts to maintain a brisk pace, but she had a feeling that Mother and Father (and Liana for that matter) would never forgive her if she let Aric get himself killed by a measly cave spider.
"Watch for spiders." she said simply, and moved on into the light after him.
They came into an illumined chamber. Dust motes and cobwebs had recently been kicked up and cast the flickering lights into solid pools dotting the inner chamber. But through the haze, the Aes Sedai could see many bodies (fresh bodies) strewn about the floor. There must have been at least five . . or six of them? They all were cast in various contortions in pools of their own blood, probably from stab wounds. Saphire was wondering first why she hadn't smelled the iron in the air, when Argento bound forward towards the center of the chamber.
Something moved, and Saphire's grip tightened on the shaft of her partisan. She sensed Firredal react too. But the tall figure moved, revealing a new source of narrow light in the center. And that form, that shape, was it . . ?
Saphire's eyes widened, whether in shock or outrage it could not be said.
"What?" the other figure turned, surprised not only by the intrusion, but at being interrupted. There was no malice there, she did not even feel threatened.
It was Liana.
"Sheep swallop and bloody buttered onions!" Saphire cursed, and turned to Aric, "Blood and ashes! You flaming drag us all the way out here and get me riled up like a Bee-headed lunatic to save her blasted bacon from the coals, and she's flaming fine?!"
Firredal started laughing, even while he was turning back to make sure the way out was clear. It wasn't funny, exactly - too many people were dead, and they were still trapped by that massive stone block - but Firredal had never been entirely able to control his laughter. It was one of the things that had made him such a disappointment to his Cairhienin family.
"What?"
The single word brought Aric out of his trance. His eyes snapped from looking around the cavern to the figure in the very center. A very familiar figure...
"Liana?" He asked incredulously. "Is that you?...But...I thought...shouldn't you be..." His voice faded as his mind tried to grasp what was happening. They had come all the way out here, fought there way through a dozen Asha'man, been trapped by some huge boulder, and all the time they (or at least he) had been worried that they were going to find Liana injured or dead. And now here she was, surrounded by dead bodies, without a scratch on her.
"Sheep swallop and bloody buttered onions! Blood and ashes! You flaming drag us all the way out here and get me riled up like a Bee-headed lunatic to save her blasted bacon from the coals, and she's flaming fine?!"
Aric winced at the tone of Saphire's voice. He had dragged her all the way out here, for no apparent reason. "But I thought she was in danger!" He said in a meek voice unfit for an Asha'man. "The ter'angreal didn't know where she was!" He pointed at Liana, then realizing he still had his bow in hand, and that an arrow was knocked, he quickly lowered it again. "Liana wasn't supposed to be fine. We were supposed to rescue her. I mean...not that she needs rescuing...I mean I thought she did...Oh blood and bloody ashes!"
He slung his bow over his shoulder and strode purposefully over Liana, who appeared to be in much better condition than anyone in her so called rescue party. "We..." He glanced back at Saphire, who was most likely still fuming. "I mean I, thought you were in danger." He explained in the most dignified voice he could muster. "The tracking ter'angreal reported that you had lost possession of the broach, and since you didn't return, I naturally assumed the worst. I mean, not that you aren't capable of taking care of yourself. Obviously you are." He glanced back at all the dead bodies. "I mean that...Oh never mind!" He practically shouted.
Then he heard Firredal laughing, and quite suddenly he could barely restrain himself. "I'm just glad you're ok." He leaned forward and gave Liana a hug, mostly because he was indeed glad to see she was ok, and partly because he needed to make sure this wasn't all some horrid dream and that she was actually there.
"Now," he said as he leaned back, again in as dignified a voice as he could muster. Which wasn't saying much. "Shall we find a way to get out of here?"
"Mother!" It was indeed Liana's voice, Liana's embarrassed voice, "Your language!"
Saphire rolled her eyes. It wasn't like Liana was unused to her swearing.
And then Liana's tone became more polite as Aric addressed her, "Light illumine you, uncle Firredal, Aric - I thought you sent me to retrieve this . . ?" she sounded confused, and moved to the side to gesture. There was an object Saphire couldn't make out on the pedestal. " . . is something amiss?"
And then Aric explained their appearance. Liana embraced him back, but laughed it off through a light chuckle. "I am fortunate in friends and family then." she mused warmly.
Finally he addressed the problem they faced: getting out of this flaming pit of dhoom.
"O, 'tis simple, really."
Liana picked up the object and after manipulating it a moment, Saphire felt a sudden rush. It was saidar returned to her grasp! She breathed deeply, drinking it in, taking it as her own.
"'Tis related to the ter'angreal at Far Madding, meethinks . ."
"Yes, yes, very good." Saphire said with a wave of her hand. "Well, bloody time to be going. No flaming doubt our stray dog has knawed off his ankle and is running loose. I'm not returning from this Light-forsakan errand without something to show for this bloody wild duck-chase." Perhaps her mother could use him for . . something. She didn't really care what for, she could use his hide to bait fish with all Saphire cared.
Firredal chuckled, but managed to keep the sound soft. Saphire's relief was still tinged with irritation, and it would be a quieter ride back if he let the relief really settle in. With Liana safe, there was little left to do except retrieve the horses and their prisoner, and with the One Power once again available, that should be fairly simple.
Gabrik straightened. Is that...? It was like a tickle at the back of his head, then a sudden awareness: he could feel Saidin. There was no way he could have come far enough to escape the effect; the Grey Tower group must have shut it off somehow. And about time, too.
He wasn't sure how far he had come, but it was nowhere near far enough. If the others returned, they would find him easily enough. At least, they would have...
He touched the source, luxuriating in the internal battle, filling himself with the frozen flame of the One Power. Then he channeled, heedless of his surroundings. He knew them well enough, after an hour of cursing his way through them...
The gate swung open, shearing through the underbrush and murdering a half dozen trees. The grounds of the Black Tower were visible on the far side, and Gabrik almost wept for joy. He stumbled through, still using the staff-spear as a crutch.
One question only remained to him as two of his fellows began to move towards him: should he let the gate close, or send other through behind him? He could hold it a while longer, long enough to explain, but... They let me live.
He let the gate pivot closed behind him, and lowered his head in exhaustion and pain. The M'Hael would not be pleased, but that (at least) he could survive.
