WOT Adv 290 - Sabira Taken the Party Follows

"Ugh?!" Fiznak mumbled as he rolled out of his cot. He thudded to the floor in a heap of muscle, sinew and linens. He heard voices and a commotion outside his door and rubbed his eyes as he frantically grabbed his sword and burst into the hallway with his naught but his loincloth and a sword. "Maer, what news?"

--

Vaid held his breath as Maeslyn's gaze passed over his hiding place. What was he thinking, weaving this close to her? He would have to be more careful. 

Waiting until no one was watching, he stood up and approached the others. "Is everyone alright?" He followed Maer a few paces behind, waiting to see the cause of his alarm.

Maeslyn was relieved to see Fiznak unhurt, as he rushed past her down the hallway to catch up with Maer. One eyebrow rose in response to his state of undress, but she said nothing and moved to close the window.

"We are unharmed, thank the light!" she responded to Vaid's query. "Hearing the inkeep's story, I feared for the worst and so warded the room against entry. I think we were fortunate I did." Her eyes touched Eliesanna's briefly. "Come." She motioned her head to follow. The two women, with naught but cloaks wrapped hastily around shifts moved down the hallway to join Maer and Fiznak.

Vaid's eyes lingered on Eliesanna for a moment, grateful no harm had come to her and followed after them. 

Maer, in answer to Fiznak's question, merely slammed into the door again. It heaved and some splintering was heard. Maer grunted at his friend. "Trouble, my brother. I heard something. I suspect the worst."

With one more heave, Maer slammed bodily into the door, and it burst open, revealing a small and modestly furnished bedroom. The window stood open, one shutter hanging ajar, broken glass forming a jagged pattern. Two beds were in the room. On one Terise lay motionless. The other bed, presumably her daughter Sabira's, was empty and bedclothes were strewn over the floor to the window. Other than that, and the shattered chips of glass  catching the moonlight across the floor, nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Light..." Eliesanna breathed behind them and came to a stop while Vaid entered the room, and paused for a moment, stunned. 

"Sabira..." Fiznak breathed.

"Look here, blood." Maer said to Vaid as Fiznak started conversing with Maesyn, ensuring her safety and then darted off to his room.

Vaid also bent and noticed the sticky red substance on the panes of shattered glass that littered the sill and floor near the window. Then, overcoming his inertia slipped out the door and ran down the stairs. "I'll go see if I can see anything in the street!"

But whose blood? Vaid wondered as he took the stairs three at a time.

Out on the darkened street, Vaid paused for a moment and could her his heart hammering in his chest from his sprint down the stairs. Lights came on in other rooms. He looked and saw movement down one street. Peering closer, he saw that it was a peice of clothing still on a line, fluttering in the wind. The same wind gusted about him, blowing his cloak about, and the moonlight cast eerie shadows on the walls about him. A dog, or perhaps a wolf, howled in the distance.

He pushed on out into the street and looking up, saw Maer, climbing out the window. "Just a moment ago! There around the corner!" Maer pointed at a street corner perhaps 10 dozen paces away.

Light, but those Aeil could see. Vaid blinked in the darkness, toward where Maer had gestured, catching his breath for a moment. Then, he ran around the corner and peering about could see nothing except the pale moonlight. Frantically they looked about. No movement. And nothing could be heard above the wind. Vaid spotted a blackish smear against a building wall and touched it. Wet blood.

Maer jogged up behind him, having finished his climb down the side of the building.

"This way!" Vaid said to Maer. Maer grinned and nodded, his spear in his hand. "We will track them and dance the spears!"

Vaid peered about on the ground, noticing a drip of blood here and there every few paces. Burn them. Burn them all! a voice seemed to yammer in his head.

Vaid's heart pounded. Adrenaline mixed with desire as he reached out towards the source, without touching, just to make sure it was there. They would catch them. He would catch them. They would pay. 

Vaid nodded at Maer, and followed along with him quickly. 


--

"Hurry woman!" Fiznak growled to Maeslyn as she yanked on the laces of his armor. He had just a moment before finished yanking on his britches and donning a tunic. Now they women were helping him to suit up. The seconds were passing with interminable slowness to the boarderlander. Already it had been more than a minute and who knew what trouble Vaid and Maer were getting into.

"You watch your tongue!" she scolded him. "We're not man and wife yet!" she whispered fiercely and yanked on a lace so tightly it caused him to wince. "Eliesanna, are you done with the laces on the other side?"

"Nearly, Maeslyn Sedai."

"Please girl. I am not Aes Sedai yet, just Maeslyn if you please." She sighed.

"There, I got it!" Eliesanna said standing up, and surveying her work triumphantly her hands on hips. "No, this one is too lose," she muttered, shaking her head.

Fiznak growned again. Some were too tight and others were on the loose side, but it would serve. Well enough anyway. It'd have to.

"Enough. It will do!" He commanded. "Let's go!"

Eliesanna had changed into some britches and a loose fitting blouse and had her rapier belted about her. Maeslyn had pulled on a quick woolen dress, her feet still in her slippers.

"Very well," she nodded serenely but with a tightness in her voice. "Lead on."

"Blood and ashes! Everyone running off without any word...light blinded foolishness..." Fiznak mumbled to himself as he plummeted down the stairs three at a time. Fiznak rushed out into the street with the two women in tow. Running to the window he looked up and about. No Maer. He glanced down the street No Vaid. Quickly glancing about, he could see nor hear nothing that might lead to where the had gone. "Light!" he muttered, spinning in a circle. "Where could they be?"

He felt horrible about the way in which he had spoken to the women. 

"Please, help me look which way they went..."

As they looked for clue, while next to maeslyn, he spoke softly, "I am sorry my heart, for the way in which I spoke to you in the room. I showed much disrespect." Fiznak bowed deeply. "And though we may not be husband and wife yet..." He tenderly kissed her and squeezed her gently.

Maeslyn resisted at first, murmuring excuses that it was no the time or the place, but then she surrendered herself for just an instant to his embrace and kiss for one blissful moment that seemed to last only a heartbeat to Fiznak. She pushed him away one hand splayed against his chest. "Light! You move too fast, borderlander," she said somewhat breathlessly. "But apology accepted nonetheless." She gave a small smile and then squeezed his hand. "Come we must keep looking."

Eliesanna was searching down by the street corner and called out to them softly, holding a small lantern aloft. "Over here! I see some fresh blood."

Fiznak nodded and examined it. Fresh blood, red in the lantern light. He noticed some other drops leading away from the base of the building near the window. "Ah! This way." he motioned down a side street.

"Well done," Maeslyn said to Eliesanna. "Lead on! And as quickly as you can."

---

Vaid and Maer pushed through to the outskirts of down, ever inland. The blood trail they ended at what once must have been a walled garden. The wall was crumbling in some areas, covered with salt deposits and lichen blown up from the sea. Peering over a crumbling section of the wall, Vaid and Maer could see it was overgrown with vines, brambles, and trees and littered with cracked stonework, toppled graceful-looking statues and dry fountains. Hearing voices they peered more deeply and could see black-cloaked figures, easily more than half a dozen talking quietly inside the ruined garden. At their feet they saw three large grain sacks. 

Vaid became calm. Then, with great anticipation, he reached out and seized the Source. Weaving strands of air and spirit, he focused on their conversation and sent a tendril of the weave to the group of figures. Motioning for Maer to be quiet, he listened. 

The weave of air and spirit drifted nearer the figures.

"... all here then?" One of them asked in a whisper, a male voice.

Murmurs of assent were heard from the group, all were male. One of them was cursing in low tones.  Peering through the break in the wall.

"You got a problem, Hal?" The first voice asked severely.

Another curse and a grunt. Then, "I gots me cut on the light-blinded window gettin' that beauty out of the inn. Can't hardly use me arm."

Some rustling and Vaid could see the man stoop.

"You were told to get the other! This one isn't near so fine." He was displeased. "She will not be happy," he said sadly.

"We tried," Hal replied, his voice breaking from fear or something else... was it regret? "But something stopped us. Couldn't go in. I tried again and again. But it was like me was battering up against a wall that wasn't there."

There was a long moment of silence then the first replied. "I don't much like the sound of that..." another pause. "An neither will She!" he straightened and sighed. "Our Lady will be most displeased to not have that one as one of her playthings."

The way he said 'Lady' was said with such worshipful reverence or awe that Vaid was nearly sickened.

The men all groaned at the thought.

The first then motioned to four of the men. "You four, check the streets, if it's clear we must be off!"

Vaid and Maer could see that two of the men coming towards them.
 

Vaid released his weave, and the soft sounds immediately around him snapped into focus. They were taking these girls... where? They needed to be stopped, but how? 

There was a way, he knew, there was always a way. There was nothing wrong with stopping bad men from doing bad things, was there? They deserved their fate. 

He felt the Source still rippling through him, it's filth begging to be redirected towards other filth. He felt the pressure rising against the back of his skull... He felt the heat of it. He saw the strands of fire around him, almost beginning to weave themselves. 

He turned to Maer, "Can you can get them away from the sacks? Quick!"

Maer shrugged. "I'll do my best. Do we dance the spears?" The grin on his face worried Vaid.

 

"Yes Maer, we dance the spears, but only if we can get them away from those sacks." Vaid eyed the sacks worriedly, feeling felt the energy building around him. 

"Draw as many as you can into the street, and try to keep a little in front of them... And Maer, " Vaid paused and looked into Maer's eyes, trying to see if he could fathom such a foreign man. "Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

Maer was silent for a heartbeat and then nodded with solemnity.

"Light help us. Go!"

Maer nodded, and ran off around the corner, bow in hand. Climbing atop the short wall, he knocked his arrow, and called out, "Those who serve in sightblinder's shadow come and dance the spears! Water the ground with your blood!"

"What in the name of the light?" One of the men looked up and pointed, shouting a warning.

"Kill him!" their apparent leader shouted softly! "You three stay and guard the packages! The Lady of the Shadows will not accept failure!" He then dove after the others who followed Maer in a rush as he leaped off the wall into the street and began running toward Vaid.

Vaid felt the pressure build behind his eyes. Felt the heat and the light nearly consuming him.