WOT Adv 7

-- The Wheel Turns --
The next few days pass without incident. You help Oravan around his small plot of land in the mornings and then usually after a brief hunt you return to check in on Maeslyn. Your own wounds have healed nicely and other than some sore muscles they no longer affect you. For the first two days Maeslyn however mainly sleeps except to apply the herbs. Two more days go by and color returns to her face but she can at least hobble feebly about. She spends much of the day in bed fretting. On the third day when you return to the cottage with a slain dear, she's getting more and more restless as the hours drag by.

"Maer! You're back." she's sitting at the kitchen table, snapping beans, her back is stiff and tense.

"I have been hunting," you say proudly, and you let a very large deer fall with an unceremonious yet solid thud onto the table.

Maeslyn's nose wrinkles. "Can't you take that someplace else and clean it? The table is for eating at, not gutting hairy beasts."

You shrug, knowing it's pointless to argue and take the deer a few feet outside and begin prepare it. While you work, Maeslyn snaps beans and talks.

"I'm getting better. I'm able to move about a little more. But we should be making preparations to leave. I would like you to make the necessary arrangements."

"Why leave the shade so soon?" you ask.

"We should have been in Caemlyn by now. Even if we left today and travelled hard we would be hard pressed to get there on time. When the white tower give an order they expect results."

"And what orders does this tower give?"

"I am only to meet up with Nadira Sedai and assist her in a task. By my estimate, I am to meet her by the latest, a week from now in Caemlyn. But I fear that even with extra ordinary good travel speeds we would still be too late. They'll never trust to raise me from Accepted at this rate!" And she angrilly snaps another bean and tosses it into a pot.

"So when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow if we can manage it, the next day at the latest."

"But you're still ill." you reply.

She ignores that. "And I will need a horse with riding gear and since we're going to be outdoors still, a tent with some warm blankets. And, we'll of course need fresh supplies. However, I'm afraid I'm essentially out of funds. And then there's the matter of repaying Oravan and the the widsom... what was her name?"

"She is called Aybiya."

"Yes, Aybiya," she purses her lips. "She has been most generous with her store of herbs. She will of course need repayment. I only have a score of silver marks on me, I'm afraid I'm going to need your assistance; we simply don't have time to scrub floors for money."

"Well, I can provide food on the way." you reply.

"If we have time to hunt." she counters. "We will be travelling hard and fast. Here," she hands you her pouch. "Take what I have left, and buy what you can after talking with Aybiya."

You head off to Aybiya's home and after spending time with her she says the cost for the herbs is about six golden crowns.

"If you don't have that much, you can help the Women's Circle put on a new roof for our meetings. That should only take you a few days."