Who wants to see some cute little puppies? (Attn Nakor)

[Covai Seriba]

Covai scratched the back of this neck as he let the gateway close behind him. Sneaking out of Tar Valon and the White Tower was getting harder and harder. Having a ball of emotions knawing at the back of his mind didn't make things either. Covai knew his Aes Sedai would have some rather sharp words for him when he got back, but he had other duties to attend to as opposed to sitting on his arse. Wait...his Aes Sedai. Covai shuddered at how familiar the situation had become to him. Still, he had agreed to the bonding, and he'd just have to live with the consequences. He even had a mock bet with Arath which would claim him first. Madness from the taint, or madness from dealing with Aes Sedai everyday.

 

Leaving the travelling grounds, Covai decided he'd walk around the tower grounds for a bit. He had visited the grounds through Tel'Aran'Rhiod whilst at the White Tower, but there had only been a week or two that had past since the battle with Brent. Things seemed to take longer to appear when you expected to see then in Tel'Aran'Rhiod, and the dreamworld was unreliable enough as it was. Still, he was glad to see the tower had gotten back into the usual swing of things.

 

Dodging past some children running in the street, Covai allowed a small grin to grace his lips. There was something about the laughter of children around the Black Tower that brought a nice contrast to the place. When you were prepared...or at least expected to die each day, you quickly learnt to appriciate the small things where you could.

 

The brief reprise was broken by a salute and a serious look from a familiar face. Covai returned the salute and waited.

 

"Well Nakor, what can I do for you?"

[Asfaloth]

OOC: Ironically enough, though its only ironic because you were unaware, there actually will be some cute little puppies in this rp since Burrich's companion just had a litter.  ;D

 

IC: Nakor washed his hands in a bucket of water and walked out the door of the infirmary.  He'd been there helping to clean and minister to some of the various wounds that were bound to happen with such a large population.  Actually he was really there to try to learn some of the Healing weaves that were used.  But he'd been kept busy with minor cuts and scrapes and had once again missed his opportunity to learn.  Oh he'd been shown the most basic Healing weaves as a Soldier, just as they all were, but he longed to learn more.  How effective could they be in battle if a single wound could remove someone from the fight, or even worse an accident kill someone in training?  No, they needed people available to Heal, and he needed to be one of them.  He felt the pain and anguish of every injury he witnessed and he needed a way to help.

  When he left the infirmary he set out on the same mission he had every day for a week.  He was looking for an officer, an Attack Leader or Storm Leader, either would do.  His first day back from exile he'd learned from Tai of the tragedy that had befallen the Ashaman in Shienar and he hadn't been able to let go of it.  Retreating in failure was bad enough.  What was worse was that nobody seemed particularly anxious to remedy the situation.  They needed to reclaim the lands the Shadow had taken.  To do that they needed intel.  Maybe the Council was already planning something, but maybe they weren't.  Tai had been unavailable recently and Nakor had been unable to find time to speak to any of the other Council members.

    Nakor laughed as a group of children ran past him and then saw Covai heading away from the Traveling grounds.  He walked up and saluted, then paused.  Here was one of the men he'd been looking for and now that he'd found him he wasn't sure how to begin.

  "Well Nakor, what can I do for you?"

  Surprised that the Storm Leader even knew his name Nakor replied, blunt and direct as always, "Sir, I may be out of place for saying this, and perhaps you already have something in mind, but we can not allow the travesty of Shienar to remain unanswered.  We must reclaim those lands before they are as lost as Malkier.  But to do that we need information.  I recommend a small force go to scout out the lands the Shadow has claimed and see what kind of numbers we're dealing with, where they're located, and how fortified they are."

[Covai Seriba]

Covai ran his fingers through his hair, trying to hold back the irritation in his voice. "Listen Nakor, I know you've not been back a while, but even you should have heard of what happened in Sheinar, and I mean the details of it. Just why is it you think I've been stuck at the White Tower all this time? The fact is we just don't have the man power to go sniffing around there."

 

Covai paused at his own words and blinked. Sniff? A thought flickered across his mind. Pushing Nakor into a walk, Covai headed towards the council hall, he'd need to check something before he headed off.

 

"Tell me Nakor, ever been to a stedding?"

 

 

OOC: Hope that sets it up for you Nakor. Dashiva, feel free to jump in at this stage if you like. It'll be the first time we've seen each other since you got back, so just be prepared if Covai does a double take :P Arath can jump in as well, otherwise I'll NPC the other SL and we'll get going to the Stedding.

 

[Asfaloth]

  Of course Nakor had heard all the grisly details of Shienar, hardly anything else had been discussed around the Farm since before his return.  Many of the men of the Black Tower seemed to have lost their confidence.  they no longer saw themselves as unbeatable weapons but as victims of a massacre.  In the long run losing their arrogant swagger could be a great boon for the rest of the world, but right now they needed to recover at least some of their confidence or they'd be useless to the Dragon.  They needed a victory, and soon; the best way Nakor knew to ensure that was to gather information.

  This was what he was going to tell the Storm leader, when suddenly Covai's expression changed.  Nakor would bet his ability to channel that a possible solution had occurred to the older man.  he was pushed into a walk and pointed toward the Council Hall.

  Then Covai asked a curious question, "Tell me Nakor, ever been to a Stedding?"

  "I have, Sir.  Nine years ago, when I was but seven years old.  I accompanied my father and brother to Stedding Shangtai to request the help of some Builders for a project the First had entrusted to them.  I never did learn what the project was, I just remember the peaceful tranquility of the Stedding.  Why Sir?  Do you think the Ogier might somehow be able to help us?"

 

OOC: Nakor has never even heard of the Wolfkin so he wouldn't be able to suggest the idea anyway.

[Covai Seriba]

"You've got to be kidding, right?" Covai waved a hand dismissively. "They're about as peaceful as tinkers, and half as likely to be as useful in their steddings. Still Stedding Shangtai isn't where we'll be headed." Pausing at the door, Covai pointed to a spot outside where there were some firewood logs stacked against the wall. "Wait here for me. I should be back in a second."

 

Heading inside, Covai wove his way between some Asha'man and...clerks? Guess business is booming. Covai thought with an amused grin. Missing out on this much paperwork almost made it worth dealing with Aes Sedai on a daily basis. Almost... Covai corrected himself as he stepped into a doorway to let two clerks past.

 

Between the piles of books Covai spied Arath trailing the two clerks. Stepping out of the corrider as the clerks walked past, Covai matched his pace with Arath, offering a grind and mock salute in greeting. "Ditching or helping with the paperwork?"

[Arath Faringal]

Arath did his best to discreetly follow the clerks as they left the Council Hall.  If he could just slip away unseen, maybe he could get back to his own-

 

"Ditching or helping with the paperwork?"  Well then.  Covai wasn't exactly an expected sight.  It hadn't been the first time he'd escaped Tar Valon, but it was the first time he'd come back to Farm.  Arath suspected that he was only avoiding his share of the paperwork.

 

"Escorting it all to your office I'm afraid.  In your absence, we decided that M'Hael really means 'he who does the paperwork' and elected you to the position.  Looks like you're just in time."  The disgusted look on Covai's face was more than enough to make Arath laugh.  It had been at least a week since anyone had seriously called him M'Hael.

 

"So then, what brings you home?  Did the Aes Sedai finally come to their senses and let you go?"

[Covai Seriba]

Covai shook his head. "Hardly. They'll probably try to skin me alive when they realise I'm gone again." Covai pushed the bundle of thoughts in his head to the side, and tried to cover it with an old blanket. "There's a certain degree to which we can mask our thoughts and feelings from each other, but I'm still no expert at it." Covai admitted with disappointment. "The whole judging distance thing is a pain as well. While I'm in Tar Valon its vague enough for me to get away with things. Its these runs home or to Arad Doman that gets me caught." Covai took a swipe at Arath's ankle with his foot for the grin the man had on his face as the last comment. "Hey I'm not saying its not worth it, just I need to find a way not to get caught."

 

"Anyways.." Covai directed their conversation back on track as they stepped outside. "I'm thinking of heading to see the wolfkin to see what they know about Shienar. Its been long enough since the battle, and they'll be more up to date on things then us. Besides, with the goings on with the White Tower, we should bring our allies up to speed. I'm reckon half a dozen of us should be enough to make things formal. Anymore than that and it'll put people of edge. Its hard enough to get the wolves to tolerate us as it is." Covai saw over his shoulder Nakor had left the side of the building and was following them. He didn't really feel like doubling back to get the man. It was his idea, so he'd be coming along, whether he knew it or not.

 

"What do you think Arath?" Covai asked. "Figured I should at least run it by somebody before I drag people off around the place with me."

[Arath Faringal]

Arath nodded thoughtfully at the idea.  The wolfkin were definitely better suited to scouting around Shienar.  If any of them were in the area they would be able to give a far better appraisal of the situation.  Every Asha'man group sent so far had run into trouble.  Between the dreadlords and the fades, channeling in the area was quickly detected.  All they had managed so far were brief forays which ended up with too many casualties to be worth it.  Not nearly good enough to find the main enemy forces and plan another attack.

 

"Sounds good to me," he said with a shrug.  "Any idea's who you're going to take?  I assume the dreamwalkers, since they're the most familiar with the wolves, but anyone else?"

[Asfaloth]

  Nakor waited as instructed, curious as to what idea Covai had come to.  A few minutes later the Storm Leader exited along with one of his peers.  Arath Faringal and Covai exchanged jibes at one another as they walked away from the Council Hall and Nakor followed to see what would come of his suggestion.  He'd begun to think it was already fogotten when Covai mentioned Shienar and a group of allies he called wolfkin.  Who were they?  Could this be why he'd stopped short at the mention of sniffing earlier?

 

  When he spoke the two Storm Leaders seemed surprised, as if they had perhaps forgotten he was even there.  He was used to that though and had long ago learned to make it an advantage.  "Excuse me Sirs.  I don't know who these wolfkin are that you refer to, but if you're looking for volunteers to scout Shienar I would love to be a part of the team that goes."

[Covai Seriba]

"They're a group who can track better than anybody here at the tower. They can use Tel'Aran'Rhiod to boot." Covai explained. A few nights at the White Tower had given him a few new tricks in the world of dreams, but he was still well below the abilities of the Wolfkin. Still, if Telnor or the others recognised him it could be interesting to show off a few tricks.

 

Resigning himself to escort duty, Covai turned to Nakor. "Go get four other Asha'man, or dedicated who can use gateways. We'll be heading to a stedding within the hour."

 

Waving the man off so Arath and he could talk privately, Covai lowered his voice a notch. "I won't be able to stay there for long since I'm still handling things at the White Tower. You feel comfortable leaving somebody else in charge?"

 

OOC: This is where everybody jumps in and we head off. Arath, no need to reply. Just making sure my post didn't just cut off badly :P

[tismeb4u]

As Covai and Arath passed by Linten flowed out of the shadow of the building where he had been standing. He had watched the small group make there way across the yard with curiosity. Anytime he found more then one of the council together in conversation he was curious. He still was not sure what he thought about this new regime. He just knew that so far he had not been called before them in bad light and they seemed either oblivious to his presence in the yard, which he doubted, or they were content to give him rope and see what he did with it. A prospect that tensed his shoulders slightly. Sparing one glance back at the two as they continued on with heads bent together around the corner of another building Linten pondered once more the strength of the man who had defeated Brent. No where near the power of the Dragon himself, but there was too much strength and skill in that man to discount him as a meek kitten or the puppet of any other that he had seen so far. The man truly seemed to be his own person, and for better or worse, he held the sway of the council and the Black Tower.

 

With the previous two now gone from sight there was no further information from him to glean in this place. Turning he headed swiftly after Nakor he set out with purpose. He knew little of the man personally, small tidbits that he had gathered from around the yard and that was about all. But the snippet of the conversation that he had overheard when they had paused near him before splitting up had been enough to tip his curiosity into action. These Wolfkin could be a great asset for the Dragon and the Black Tower. But his greater interest at this moment was the note about there mastery of the dream world. If they were as knowledgeable and talented in Tel'Aran'Rhiod as Covai had indicated, then he needed to meet these Wolfkin. Any opportunity to learn more about that strange world Linten would jump at. He hungered for the knowledge and it appeared his opportunity to sate that appetite might lie with Nakor and his assigned task.

 

Happy that the man had not taken off at a run or fast walk Linten was able to reel Nakor in without the spectacle of having to run after him. As they neared one of the barracks Linten called out to him. “Nakor, a moment if you please.” Linten closed the last few steps of distance between them and settled a relaxed and welcoming smile on his face, even if it did not quite touch his eyes; they rarely did any more. “Rumor has it you are recruiting men to make gateways for a trip to a stedding. As it was an open recruitment without a preselected list, I offer my services in your venture to meet these Wolfkin.” Linten swept his hands open between them. “Is there anything else I can do to assist you on your task?”

 

 

OOC:  I'm in  :D

 

[Covai Seriba]

OOC: Anybody else, or can we get going?

[Asfaloth]

OOC: This is continued here : "Meet and Greet" on the Stedding board.  I left it rather vague as to who is there so it is still open to anyone joining!