A Time To "Go" {Atten Minisamus}

[TaiDashan]

D'Ashan happily walked the streets of Tar Valon, free for the first day since their trip North. Geared in light leather leather, and with both scimitars at his back, he felt extremely cheerful. The day was cold but bright, the air clear. He whistled to himself tunelessly as he wandered down the streets, looking for an inviting Inn. Settling on an interesting one called The Duck's Waddle, he pushed through the door. Waving at a nearby barmaid he made his way to an empty bench and pulled his black walnut pipe from his pouch.

 

It was rare that he smoked, and not because of the low quality of the leaf of late. It was merely something he enjoyed occasionally. Today he was feeling especially good and had decided to bring his pipe and some Domani leaf he had gotten from a merchant. At least the man had said it was Domani leaf. Either way it was smooth and had a hint of sweetness that he found appealing.

 

When the barmaid came by he ordered a bottle of apple brandy and a small glass, another occasional pleasure. Besides, he felt free with what coin he had earned. He was the type to save out of habit, so these times of spending went easy on his purse.

 

Once lit, he pulled softly on the pipe, sighing in contentment. His eyes roamed around the common room and a small grin touched his lips. Things were going well, he just could not see how they possibly could get any better...

[minisamus]

With Thera she had got on, or at least on the returning trip she was more unreserved and communicative with the Mistress of Trainees. Indeed it was impossible to be on any other terms with Thera, who was reputed to be of great physical strength although Saline had not ever watched her spar. Simply put Thera could lodge anywhere, and bore the extremes of cold and hunger with ease as she had thunder and mud. There was, she imagined, both depth and dignity laying concealed under that competence. Thera knew of no end of resources by which to protect their party, which she had done despite the uproar of trollocs that set upon them near Fal Dara.

 

Saline had been rather less successful in her own journey, which proved futile as they had not found the woman Saline sought. However, she tried to be as good-natured as possible under Thera's council. No failure distressed Thera, and it seemed to Saline as though no unfavorable circumstances could crush her. In the city, she was met by luxurious carriages, men and women on horseback but could not confront the Tower yet. Not when she had nothing to show for her trip.

 

She glimpsed from a distance smartly dressed women on the verandahs and balconies, the young girls playing in the gardens. A few steps from the last market stand stood a tavern, a big tavern which had always stirred in her a sense of loneliness whenever she walked by. The Duck's Waddle . . . Rory and her had randomly chosen it since it was not surrounded by crowds of toughs and potential brawlers although the guards were very good about discouraging fights. Through the merry laughter of the bright faces of townspeople it was where Rory and Saline would often go dancing together.

 

The den was pleasant-smelling, although most of it wafted from the pipe from the lad perched in the opposite corner. Almost sedated Saline approached him. She had met the young trainee before, although it took her a while to recognise him. A happy, candid youth she recalled was a student under Thera, a wielder of twin scimitars.

 

"My word, somebody looks content," said Saline with a smile, "I forgot to thank you and Perivar for helping me earlier. Mind if I sit next to you?"

[TaiDashan]

"My word, somebody looks content," D'Ashan glanced around at the comment, his eyes easily finding the Aes Sedai. Hastily he removed his boots from the nearby chair, trying hard not to blush. "Mind if I sit next to you?"

 

"No, not at all Aes Sedai." He said grinning. He had liked the woman, she was blunt in her honesty and did not believe in coddling someone. If the truth hurt, that was for a reason and you had better see to changing it. Her brown eyes smiled with her as she sat, but at times during their journey he had caught them sad. Commonly, truth be told. Oh she had the same Aes Sedai serenity, but eyes gave away much should you care to look.

 

Just then the barmaid came back and brought the brandy. He motioned toward the bottle and was pleasantly surprised when Saline nodded. He asked the woman for another glass, which she happened to have brought seeing her here, and thanked her with a silver penny. Filling his small cup nearly to the brim with the deep amber liquid, he tossed it back and handed Saline the bottle. It was a pleasant surprise to see the woman share a drink. Far too often Aes Sedai were seen as severe, and not able to let their hair down. His thoughts wandered to another Aes Sedai and another bottle of Brandy and he choked on the harsh liquid as it went down. Spluttering and blushing he waved away her concern. He was obviously embarrassed but hoped she would simply count it as being so over the brandy.

 

"Went down the wrong way." He finally managed apologetically. It was a poor excuse but he was not about to tell her about Shaneevae. It simply wasn't proper. "So tell me Saline Sedai, what brings you here today? 'In all the Taverns in all the world,' he quoted briefly before smiling. He had heard that somewhere but could not quite recall. She may not have heard the quote, but he grinned at her anyway. Today, was getting better...

[minisamus]

Ghosts. What are they? Shreds and fragments of the other worlds, or the beginning of them?

 

Before the laughter and the cheer dissolved in her memory, the taste of apples on her lips brought reminescence of Rory Baker in this very tavern when it emptied after dark. The sunlight was bright in the room; the smoke rose in clouds; she took a chair and sat down at the bar beside the trainee, who said something very smart, quoting from one of her favorite scenes.

 

Laughing Saline put in ". . . I walk into this one?" Then her countenant whilst pleasant to look upon took on a semblance of seriousness: as though her conscience smote her she suddenly wondered if she should be drinking and replying to conversations, were those activities she ought to be doing in Rory's absence? But Rory wouldn't want her to suffer, Rory sure was a better person, a sweeter friend than she deserved. "This is a nice change of scenery. I like company" Saline answered thoughtfully, apparently not noticing the rudeness of the tavern's decor, or the boy D'Ashan's embarrassment as his face was flushing.

 

Sometimes she was so lonely she'd hasten into the city, to mingle with the crowd, to enter cookshops and taverns, to walk in busy thoroughfares. There she felt easier, relaxed. Saline was weary of solitude. And she had so much respect she could scream. Her life used to be so fun! But everybody who saw her face knew her to be Aes Sedai, the perfect manipulators, to ask assistance of yet not friended . . .

 

"This brandy's not bad," Saline went on, meditatively "as initiates we used to brew our own in the Blues' kitchens; I tell you I had some fairly weak attempts at apricot brandy of which I am immensely fond. But I go on. I wonder, D'Ashan besides the pretty blades you carry on your back and generally enjoying life through leaves and drinks, what do you do for fun? Kiss girls?" grinned Saline suggestively. It was the brandy getting to her, really. So what if she was a Red? What of her eyes for Rory Sedai only? She could still tease blushing young boys without mercy.

 

Edit: In your next post Saline will say nothing about whether or no she knows how to play stones but lift up a board of stones for us to play with. Smilingly!  ;D

[TaiDashan]

". . . I walk into this one?" She chuckled for a moment and then suddenly grew somewhat somber. She seemed to mull it over in her mind and disregard it as her words crept thoughtfully from her lips. "This is a nice change of scenery. I like company. "

 

She went on to reveal certain things about apricot brandy and he had to chuckle. She then turned her eyes on him and asked, "I wonder, D'Ashan besides the pretty blades you carry on your back and generally enjoying life through leaves and drinks, what do you do for fun? Kiss girls?" She grinned suggestively and D'Ashan had to swallow hard not to choke and splutter again. Half the bottle was gone by now and truth be told it had gone to his head a bit.

 

Saline was a Red, but not all Reds hated men, just some of them. What was it with Aes Sedai and talk of kissing? he wondered briefly. A handsome grin cracked his face and his eyes sparkled with mirth. He leaned in conspiratorially. "Well Saline Sedai," He began his voice low and playfull. "I do enjoy a kiss and a cuddle once in a while. Why do you ask?" He leaned back and chuckled before she could answer, winking at her. Light but he was being bold! "Seriously though, I enjoy all sorts of things. These, he motioned to the hilts on his back, have more recently become a passion of mine. Other things I have enjoyed a little longer..."

 

He flashed her a quick grin before waving down the barmaid again, this time asking her for some stew. Maybe it was the brandy, maybe it was just that time of day, but he was hungry. He did not know if Saline wanted any so he settled for letting the barmaid ask.

 

OOC: Sorry it took a bit. Work got busy and i'm learning a programing language at night so...

[minisamus]

When the barmaid came around with D'Ashan's stew Saline, after a moment's thought, ordered a tall glass of iced tea and a specialty dish. Perhaps it was the effect of the hard rations for travel, but she actually was not put off her feed at the dish their barmaid came back with (on any other day she was a home-cooking snob).

 

Poking through the potatoes and fish a la grease with her fork she asked, "what sort of thing?"

 

"Pardon?"

 

"Moving this back a bit. What sort of things you've enjoyed longer?"

 

When stones got mentioned as a hobby she had a mouthful of ice tea but quickly swallowed the draught and flagged down the barmaid she earmarked as theirs, requesting another glass of ice tea and a game board. One was quickly found and set up between D'Ashan and herself. "Black or white?" Came Saline's next question, smiling bemusedly as she pushed the frosted glass over to the trainee. He was going to need some wakening.

[TaiDashan]

"...What sort of things you've enjoyed longer?"

 

D'Ashan cursed himself for a fool for the inuendo. Saline did not seem to notice, or if she did she did not let on.

 

"Oh lots of things," He said to cover. At the off-hand mention of stones, Saline waved down the barmaid and asked for a board before D'Ashan even knew what was happening.

 

"Black or white?" She pushed her glass of tea at him and he took it, taking a gulp before realizing what he was doing. Light she was Aes Sedai! Some say they invented games like this. He needed every advantage that he could.

 

"Black if you please." He said, doing his best to hide his nervousness. This was a challenge and he was not one to back down.

[minisamus]

D'Ashan sounded uneasy about being roped into a game of Stones with her but was too intimidated to say no. As her opponent sipped his fresh brew Saline nodded, silently patting the board flat in front of her. It had three hundred sixty one squares in it contained by nineteen on every side. Thick strokes delineated the squares, and any intersection the lines crossed was a point on the board at which a stone could be placed every turn.

 

She'd always liked control of territory, and it was basically a game of occupying spaces strategically, for after one set down a stone it could be captured but not moved again. Not dumbly occupy, rather useful as a series of stones would have to create lines for defence and offense simulataneously, ultimately molding where the other is forced to go while strengthening your own walls. Rory had taught her a few tricks about the opponent taking risks you could lead them on, such as the snake, although the cluster of four that could not be occupied they called the eyes had been a particular move Saline preferred. Some players liked to triumph over others and waste spaces they could have been taking by capturing stones, but Saline always liked to lead stones into her circles and back them onto themselves until they'd have no choice but to turn themselves in.

 

But the first move belonged to D'Ashan's. Saying nothing she handed the trainee the small satchel of black stones and resumed studying the board intently.

[TaiDashan]

D'Ashan had played Stones a few times in taverns with drunk men as a young man, and more recently with people in the yards. He had learned a few tricks but was not sure how long he would last against an Aes Sedai. Taking the proffered bag, he loosed the drawstrings. pulling a smooth dark stone from the bag, he placed it in his righthand corner.

 

The opening moves of a game were always the deciding factor, with fewer and fewer choices as the game progressed for the unwary player. D'Ashan imagined it as a scale like the one that merchants used to weigh coin. As the game progressed, more and more the scales would tip. Until eventually there was no honor in continuing. Luckily the brandy had loosened his tongue as well as inhibitions and he decided to talk as he pulled his pipe from his pouch once more.

 

"Tell me more about yourself Saline Sedai. I was not able to learn much from our trip." He said, tamping more leaf into the bowl of his pipe. The thing was carved with leaves and vines, birds and small animals. Lighting one of his sticks from a nearby lamp he pulled until the smooth smoke rose from the bowl and puffed from between his lips. A slow grin settled as he watched Saline place her next stone.

 

Taking a pipe from the passing barmaid Saline helped herself to D'Ashan's leaves and began packing. "Good move. My first time playing, I placed the stone in the center. Got creamed that way. Although I've seen skilled players go for the middle and fortefy their defences that way, but it takes much more finesse to dominate when your lines aren't in the best areas. As for something about myself. Not sure how much your mentor, I assume Thera Gaidar's your mentor? "

 

D'Ashan snorted at that. Thera, his personal mentor? She had her hands full with her child and her duties as Mistress of Trainees and he said as much.

 

"Anyway not sure how much she told you, but you seem to be sharp so I gather you know we were scouring the north for somebody very important?" She covered the lid and lit up. Releasing the Source she gave her opponent a wry smile "I know you're probably thinking whoa, who could that be? Is it some super powerful heiress that's gone missing? Or a kidnapped member of some elite royalty? Could it be a legendary Aes Sedai the Tower needs to consult with? Weeeeell," she sank back, sighing a thin line of smoke. "I'm searching for my old roommate. I've been searching for a while now. She's very important to me, I realise. But she's somewhere out there, and here I am simply lost without her." She adjusted the pipe between her lips, taking in the accompanying irritation in her eyes gladly as she mumbled to the board "anyway the person I seek . . . Rory, as is her name, is the daughter of an innkeeper so I learnt stones from her. Although her playing is sublime even without practice, and mine, subpar I fear." But the apologetic tone she adopted contrasted with the bold step she now took. So far, the opening had been a black mark placed at the lower quadrant. It did not take long for Saline to slide a white stone two up from the right. "Oh and I also train with a scimitar, ever since I was an Accepted with Lyssa Gaidar and sometimes Corwin, the Mother embrace his soul to rest. He committed suicide," grinning at the boy "So how did you find the last mission?"

 

He considered the question a moment before speaking. It had been his first real responsibility. On top of that it had been his first bout with Shadowspawn. "I will be honest Saline Sedai, and perhaps it is because of the brandy." He grinned at the joke but his face grew more somber as he continued. "I had never been so afraid. I learned on that mission what courage is. To be terrified for your very life, and to do your duty anyway. I almost had to ignore the mortal terror." He nodded then. "It was most definitely a teaching oppurtunity. But enough of htat." He gestured to the board once more as he studied his next move.

 

An hour or two later, he hadn’t kept track of time passing, saw D’Ashan frowning at the interplay of pieces set before them. Despite a decent beginning where he managed to capture a few of his opponent’s stones in the end their game had gone badly, very badly for him. “I’m confused Saline Sedai." He said slowly, scanning the board with furrowed brow. "What happened back there? Whatever it was, it happened so quickly.”

 

Wiping the board clean once more Saline placed two black stones together near the bottom of the board and two white stones directly under those. She then put another two white stones, one at each side of the black pair, and topped that with one more white stone above the upper left black piece. “Imagine a situation toward the end, here! where you were not paying attention and I have two of your stones almost surrounded,” explained Saline “there is one more space left for my next move if I choose to take your stones, which is to close these” pointing at the black ones “on the right, like thus. To save your stones, which you did last game, which I’d strongly advise you not to attempt again as you can see it is hopeless unless you get very lucky and the other gives up the pursuit . . . but let me demonstrate. Follow my lead and try to save your stones“

 

“Alright.” He said nodding, it sounded like it made sense. Putting it into practice would only help the lesson. He promptly placed a stone in the spot where her stone would have been for the coup de grace, but she placed one to his side. Concentrating hard, D’Ashan knew he’d have to protect his piece once more. But she kept hemming him in, this time from the other end, so that however his pieces tried to escape . . . they were only saved for that one turn, and fell in check again with one finishing move to spare. In order to salvage his pieces, he needed to occupy the spaces where she would be going . . . He had no other choice, no control if he wanted to save the pieces. When they reached the top edge of the game board though, rather than losing two pieces he had lost a bunch to Saline, she had at least a dozen pieces now at her disposal. Saline did not even have to waste a move capturing the pieces. She had his stones in her court anytime she wanted to collect her winnings, and had she done so the game would end instantly. There was no hurry anymore; the game was hers, the result for D’Ashan was unrecoverable unless Saline played idiotically every turn thereafter.

 

“Hmmm, i see” he said, looking up at her.

 

“Sometimes you have to leave your pieces alone rather than fight. It saves more pieces in the end. Remember I am leading you into the trap, whilst it’s better to form your own ground, and place. Do not be tricked into dancing in whichever tavern your opponent wants your appearance. Sometimes, you have to surrender in order to gain control. ”

 

“Oh.” Instead maybe: He nodded, she was right and it truly was like a battle. He was beginning to like the game more and more.

 

She hesitated before speaking again “all is not lost sometimes. There is also another way to foil the Snake maneuver. Watch carefully.“ Clearing the board once more she set up something similar as before, only she omitted one white stone. “In this case, where you are another way out, and your opponent is foolish enough to harass you into a snake without noticing the other gap, just go along and then, see where she only has one piece along the diagonals? As she leads you along you will be able to double back and catch her with her pants down, and the entire trap comes undone, like thus.”

 

He chuckled with a glint in his eye, "Catch her with her pants down eh?"

 

“Mm. How are you feeling about our game? Learnt anything?”

 

“That there is a lot more to this game than meets the eye.” He exclaimed, still dazed. The board had been almost all filled, except he could not move anywhere else without being massacred by the white clusters which were everywhere, seemingly im-penetrated, invincible even.

 

“An important thing would be to create a cluster of four into this diamond shape, and connect the cluster to yet another . . . so long as you have two spaces left in your territory that cannot be taken by the other player it is still your space, do you see? These structures are sometimes called houses or diamonds depending on which part of the world you reside in, I call them eyes." He nodded, one of the men in the Yards had shown him that. He had called them eyes as well but he let her continue to instruct. She might teach him more than what he had learned previsously. "Incredibly helpful they are, since they take up the least moves yet are effective so long as the enemy cannot surrender you on all sides you can take up territories she or he’s not, and can no longer get at. It becomes super useful.” Saline said, clearing the board once more.

 

“And the most important thing is, I still have plenty of time before I have to go to a very, very boring meeting to report my failures to boss-lady . . . So, want another go? I call black.” offered Saline.

 

“Absolutely!”  He said, eager for another turn now that he learned more about the game, as Saline swiftly divided their pieces.

 

“Ahah but you are forgetting, you’re the loser! Hey, I’ll require more brandy for my teachings. Pay up, loser-loser.”

 

"Tis true," He consented with a chuckle, waving the barmaid over. Brandy was a small payment for her company and lessons. "However, i don't envy you your meeting. I will be here content with my pipe and brandy." He said playfully sticking his tongue out. He would have nearly choked on his pipe had he paid attention to what he was doing...sticking his tongue out at an Aes Sedai indeed!

 

Saline glared “hang on . . . did I ask for an opinion? It’s your turn, soupy brains!”

 

He laughed and returned to studying the board once more. This time he would not lose. Well, not as badly anyway.

 

D’Ashan & Saline

[Elgee]

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