Cabin Fever (Attn: Kyn, Lor, Cora & Ed)

[U4ea]

Edana paced outside the doors to the small room where Loraine and the girl they were after had been holed up all morning. Kynwric had left her in charge, which had shocked her to the core, but that had been hours ago. Where was he? There hadn't been a sound from that room since he'd departed with a stiff, "Watch that door and don't interrupt them." 

 

"Watch that door," Edana sneered, trying to force herself to stillness. She was antsy. They'd been in Bandar Eban for almost a month and nothing had happened. Every morning, Loraine and that little git went behind this door and every afternoon, they came out. The girl's father was still hedging, though Light only knew why Loraine was tolerating it. Shouldn't she just grab the girl and leave? Diplomacy had no place where someone without training was concerned. From what she'd learned, a girl with a talent for Aes Sedai witchery who was left to her own devices killed herself. She usually took other people with her when she did, too. It wasn't like he'd be doing anyone here a favor by keeping her from the Tower. 

 

And she hadn't managed a night off from this accursed DUTY since they'd stepped foot off the boat. She stretched every morning and managed to get a few forms in before the banging on the door started and servants went scurrying for clothes and breakfast. 

 

Servants. They were driving her insane one creepy little bow at a time. Kynwric laughed at her, but she'd never had anyone wash her small clothes but her, not since she was old enough to reach the wash pot! Next, they'd be bringing her dresses to stuff herself into! She growled in irritation, her ears tuned to the door behind her as she stopped to glare down the corridor in front of her. Not so much as a mouse made a noise, but she was almost hoping for something to swing her sword at. She was about to take it out on that chair if she didn't get a break soon...

 

~Edana

[U4ea]

Loraine rubbed her temples, the ache that had been growing there getting a little bit worse as the girl in front of her chewed her lip and hemmed. "It's a very simple thing," Loraine said smoothly, keeping her voice devoid of any emotion save comforting support. "Just close your eyes and imagine the rose..." 

 

She closed her eyes and Loraine continued. "Now, imagine the petals folded up in a tight bud. Slowly let the petals..." 

 

A blast of Air flew past her and she sighed, shaking her head. The girl opened her eyes, bright pleasure dancing in them. "I did it, Loraine Sedai! Did you see?"

 

"Yes, Tessian," she said softly, patting the girl on the hand. "You did, at that. Let's stop there for the day. I need to talk to your father..."

 

The girl didn't really hear her, just danced to the door and flung the door open. "I did it, Edana!" the girl giggled, earning her a scowl from the Tower Guard at the door. 

 

"That's great," Edana replied, her tone flat, not the the giddy girl noticed. "If you'll wait, but a moment, Highness, I will be most honored to escort you safely to your rooms again." 

 

Loraine bit off a laugh and walked out the doorway, herself.  "Kynwric left you in charge?" she asked, her lips twitching slightly. Edana didn't respond with more than a curt nod and Loraine looped her arm through her charge's. Edana was good, but she'd need to be on guard here, too. She'd done no less with Kynwric on duty, after all. She couldn't take any chances with this one. It appeared as if everyone in the region wanted this girl for themselves! 

 

"Tell me, Highness, what did you feel as that flower opened?" she kept the girl chattering until she'd been delivered to her suite and the waiting guards and maids who were eager for their duties to resume. Loraine waved off plans for the following day from the girl with vague responses. Again, not that Tessian noticed. She was far too wrapped up in her success to notice much of anything. 

 

"She clearly has no idea how much danger she's in," Edana muttered, shortening her strides to match Lor's, her eyes roving the hallways. 

 

"Clearly," Loraine smiled. "I don't suppose he told you where he was going, did he?" she asked quietly, weaves sneaking down the hallways around them searching for anything that shouldn't be there.  Edana didn't answer her and Loraine took that as a no. The woman looked as wound up as a spring. "You should go out tomorrow," Loraine offered. "Take your mind off of all this. I know you didn't ask to be here and this can't be very easy for you, this idleness." 

 

Edana shot her a quick look and shook her head. "My duty is to you, Aes Sedai," she said quietly. Her voice didn't give away how she felt about that. It was just a fact. And one Loraine couldn't argue with. 

 

"You're of little use if you're jumping at every creak in the floor, Guardsman," she pointed out. "Even I need a break sometimes. I'm taking one tomorrow. A month of dancing between Tessian and her father is too much for me. I'm too old for this, I think." 

 

Edana laughed at that, the sound clipped short when she caught it. "Age is relative to the person who is aging, I think. You don't look a day over thirty, making me look more like a cousin to you than someone young enough to be your..." 

 

Loraine smiled and nodded, not being the least offended by the direction Edana's tongue was headed. "...daughter? Do not trouble yourself with that, Edana. I still run like a thirty year old, too." She grinned and stopped at her door. She knew Kynwric was inside and urged Edana to find something to bide her time once she'd convinced the woman that she was safe and Kyn was close. She still didn't move away very quickly. 

 

"That poor woman is going to hurt something if she doesn't get out of here soon," Loraine murmured, rubbing her neck as she approached Kynwric standing by the window. "Where did you escape to, love? You seemed rather determined and a bit put out when you left earlier..." 

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn felt Loraine coming closer, he knew he'd have to explain what he'd been up to. He just hoped she wouldn't have to be to explicit in explaining, she couldn't tell what she didn't know. Those oaths were damned inconvenient sometimes. "We've been here a month, you're no closer to bringing that slug to let loose of that girl than you were when you got here. I was making some arrangements so we can leave like we should have the weeks ago. The girl can channel, she belongs in the Tower, period; and it is time to quit playing with that puffed up popinjay and take her there. Politics be damned." Kyn waited for her reaction, but he knew it was time for them to be gone, there were too many factions here, and none of them wanted the Tower involved and certainly not with the Tessian.

[U4ea]

Loraine settled into a chair, flattening imaginary wrinkles as she debated their options. "Diplomacy is a requirement with a noble as high as this one."

 

She sighed, leaning back in the chair. He was keeping something from her, but there had to be a reason for it. They'd been together long enough that she knew better than to question him too closely if he was making such an effort to keep it from her. She trusted him. She just prayed everyone else fell in line with what he was cooking up.

 

"It would be difficult for the Tower if we just kidnapped her and took her to the Tower." She shook her head and propped her elbow on the arm off the chair, then propped her head on her hand. "I was really hoping she wouldn't be as strong as she is. She'll never rival me in strength, but she'll have enough to gain the shawl. The Creator knows it would be best if she couldn't channel, at all. She's the only child Haral has. The alliance he made with her betrothal would've settled his holdings for generations. I understand his hesitance." Throw in that the Tower would use her position here as long as they had a claim on her...."There's nothing good about this situation."

 

She waved her hand, wanting to talking about something other than these nobles and their politics. "When are you going to give Edana a day off? The woman is wound up tighter than a spring and she's going to blow. I'm concerned..."

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

"Regardless of all that, for the next for days we can leave on two hours notice. The arrangements are made and paid for. I don't think we should dally longer than that, the rumors I've picked up on are troubling and I think there will be some sort of trouble if we remain too long."

 

At t he mention if how tightly Edana was strung, Kyn gave shrug and then shook his head. "A day off? It's been hardly a month, and then only a few hours each day. She should be fine, duty is not something to be followed merely until you've had enough of it or need a break. It is all the time, no matter what." Kyn turned his back to Loraine and gathered in his temper. When he turned back to her he'd set his jaw. "If you tell me to give her a day of I will, but I think she needs to be pushed further, she needs to be ready to do what it takes to keep a Sister safe regardless of her own needs and desires."

[U4ea]

Loraine appreciated his foresight. "I'll of some pressure on Haral. Kidnapping is a last resort, are we agreed?" She arched her eyebrow at him. "And we do it when I say. If I have four days for diplomacy, I'm taking it."

""Even you get a break, love. And I think the idleness is what's bothering her more than anything. She, like every other Guard I've ever met, needs some level of action. A month is a long time, even for me." She didn't have to tell him about the bone-deep fatigue that chased her. She was wrong up even tighter than Edana, though most of her stress was caused by an eleven year old girl whose father couldn't face the facts about how her life was about to change. Kinetic was right, though. The girl was heading for the Tower, whether he liked it or not.

 

"I'll leave Edana to you. My plate is full, already, and I think I'll choke if I try to add one more thing to it." She eased to her feet and crossed the room to his side. "She's not shirking her duties and didn't say a word about being a break. I've been a mother too long, I know the signs. Just as I see the same signs in you. Whether you like it or not, neither of you if made for idle politics." She smiled, laying her hand on his cheek and washing the fatigue from him. "I think I'll lie down for a bit. I have an odd feeling that we're all going to need to be ready to fight or way back to the Tower, and I'm not going to be the dead weight of that trip." 

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

"Maybe four days, dear. Don't count on that being a hard and fast rule, but I'll give you all the time I can for diplomacy."

 

Kyn looked askance at her using the One Power to wash away his fatigue and simply grunted his a  acknowledgement of her heading to bed. He then say for a while thinking about what he was going to do about Edana needing a break. He needed to make sure she got in the next day or so, because he didn't think they'd actually get all for days Lor was hoping for.

 

Finally he got up from the chair and headed out into the palace, for the place was nothing but, to find Edana and give her some time off. It just meant he had to babysit the brat, because he couldn't trust her own guards not to be a part of one faction our another.

[U4ea]

Edana crouched in the shadows, a space she'd found her first night guarding this door. The guards at the door were idiots, accepting that their prize was safe behind the doors and never checking. She'd made it past them every night over the past month. Before she left, she'd have a chat with whoever was in charge of these poor excuses for guards. This particular little spot was the perfect size for her lean frame, though it didn't give her a lot of room for her head. The discomfort kept her from having to fight sleepiness and boredom, at least.

 

She'd returned to her little cubby hole after seeing Loraine back to her room. Tessian had spoken of little else but that breath of Air she'd managed to create and Ed found herself shaking her head as the girl demonstrated it for her maids and servants. Even they found reasons to be away, after a while, an Ed envied them. Listening to that girl for the last month had become her version of torture.

 

She eyed the door as she heard voices and sighed, recognizing one of them. Light, what was he doing here? She withdrew from her space and got last the guards again, slinking back into the corridor just around the corner from the door. She approached the guards and Kynwric, dipping her head respectfully. "I am here, Master Kynwric. Did you have need of me?" The guards looked suspicious to see the pair of them outside Tessian's room. Great.

 

~Edana

[_Kynwric_]

"Yes and no. Loraine Sedai says you're to have a night off. So you will. I think these gentlemen can see to the Lady Tessian's safety for tonight." He turned to look at the guards, "can't you?"

 

He gestured for Edana to follow him, "I'll check up on them tonight. Go blow off some stream, I fear the next few days are going to be a test for everyone... Oh, and get your gear in a state where you can leave quickly... It may become necessary."

[U4ea]

Edana stared blankly at him for a moment. A night off? She nearly scoffed at Kynwric's asking the guards if they could see to Tessian. They stammered a reply that Kynwric didn't stick around to hear and motioned for her to follow him. She turned and did so, her boots clicking a steady pace behind his. 

 

"Go blow off some steam,  I fear the next few days are going to be a test for everyone... Oh, and get your gear in a state where you can leave quickly... It may become necessary." he said as they entered the guest wing of the palace. 

 

"You feel it, too, then," she said, almost relieved. Something wasn't right around here and it made her very ill at ease to walk the halls. "I appreciate the night off, but I am leary of leaving the palace for more than a few hours. I'll get some dinner in town, but I'll be back just after dark. Blowing off steam isn't going to help us, Master Kynwric," she murmured, her lips twitching. "It'll just get us in trouble and useless before this thing blows up in our face." 

 

She nodded at her door, though he continued on. "I'll find you when I return," she promised and disappeared in the room. 

 

A few moments later, she was walking down the street outside the palace, searching for a tavern that didn't look like a fight was about to break out. She wasn't sure she could sit through someone else fighting without getting a few swings in, herself. That would be bad. Fun, but bad. She hummed, sliding into a place where the aromas were sweet, but the foot traffic was slow. She dropped onto a stool at the bar and ordered whatever the cook was making that smelled so good and a pint of ale, doing her best to ignore everyone around her and draw as little attention to herself as possible. It wasn't always easy for her to do, with her tall stature, long red hair and gleaming sword on her hip. Normally, she didn't mind attention, but today.... 

 

"...will have to be tonight..." she overheard a man at a table behind her say. She hunched forward in an attempt to ignore him. It didn't work. "Narusha thinks that witch is going to try something. With three swords surrounding her, he doesn't want to take any chances."

 

Please, let this be about some really mean business lady with three hired thugs,  Edana begged silently. The word "witch" and "three swords" so close together made her think otherwise. Oh, Fate, how I loathe thee,  she thought as the man's conspirator answered.

 

"Little princess will be in our walls by sunrise," he laughed, not bothering to keep his voice low. "Do you think Narusha can keep his hands off of her until she's old enough to bed properly?" 

 

That made Ed's stomach clench and she eyed the bartender, who was looking at her oddly. She tried to smile, but that was as far as it got. He nodded and the next five minutes blurred. She heard a whistle by her ear and leaned out of the way, a sword slicing into the bar next to her shoulder. Irritated, she spun, smashing her fist in her attacker's face and spinning on the others who came at her. She was outnumbered, and she knew it. She wasn't stupid, she just had to get out of here and warn the others. Someone ran out the door and Ed cursed, keeping her sword in it's scabbard as she fought her way to the door with her fists. She was brought up short by a man standing by the door, easing his blade out of it's sheath. Ed caught the flash of light on the blade and swallowed hard. Heron Marked Blade, she breathed in her head. And he was blocking her exit with men swinging at her back. "Talk about a rock and a hard place," she muttered, pulling her sword free and charging the Blademaster. 

 

Sword forms blurred and she fended them off, reminding herself that she wasn't out to kill anyone, just to get out the door before they killed her! He was so much better than she was, it was daunting. He'd give Kynwric a run for his money and that frightened her more than anything else. She managed to get the man turned with his back to the crowd and not the door and didn't waste a second dashing out of it. He gave chase, but she was faster. She wished she knew these streets better, but she'd spent the last month in the Palace guarding a child, and that didn't leave a lot of time for learning towns she had little interest in. She ran for all she was worth, ducking around corners and resheathing her blade to keep it from glinting as she dove for shadows. 

 

She made her way back to the palace, not halting her speed until she was banging on Kynwric and Loraine's door. She noticed the pain, then, a few cuts that had gone deeper than she'd thought. Loraine opened the door and gasped, immediately pulling her inside and yelling for Kynwric. When he appeared, she held up her hand. "No comments, please. I tried to stay out of trouble. This time, it seemed to have found me. We need to get Tessian out of this palace if you have any hope of getting her to the Tower." She filled them in the best she could, fighting for every breath. Loraine looked at her, her eyes a little sad. "I know you wanted to do this with some peace, but I don't think anyone has any intention of doing that. We have to move her tonight. I guess that means kidnapping her before her betrothed does..." 

 

~Edana

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric looked to Loraine and waited for a response, he had not hours ago promised to give her more time for diplomacy and that the decision to move would be hers. When she did give the nods he relaxed a little bit, turning to Edana he said, "Go secure the girl, bring her to the small stable at the north of the palace, we'll meet you there. Do it as quietly as possible, but do not waste time." As he spoke he examined the wounds, none were terribly concerning. The looked like sword slashes though, and that was concerning. He didn't have the time to ask though. As soon as he'd given Edana directions he turned to gather the things they'd need for the trip. Once again they'd be leaving behind a fortune's worth of clothes and goods, but it was had to happen. Still, the thought of the wasted money made him sigh. At least we'll get reimbursed by the Tower for this stuff, he thought. The last thing he did before sending a boy down with their baggage down to the stable was belt on his own sword belt and hand Loraine hers. "No fighting unless you must, at least one conspirator is good enough to score multiple times on Edana." With that he tossed ope n the door and made his way out into the hall.

[U4ea]

Loraine couldn't believe her eyes when she'd opened the door and saw Edana and the shock kept her mute as the woman relayed what had happened since she'd left. She belted her sword on without a word, only nodding in resignation before gathering what she couldn't leave behind and following Kynwric into the hallway. She grabbed her cloak as she slipped into the hallway and slipped the deep green wool around her shoulders, lifting the hood to hide as much of her face as she could. Perhaps it was habit, but she refused to be the thing that gave them away, especially since she wasn't going to be any good to them at all until they needed something loud and painful to aid their escape. 

 

~Loraine

 

*******************

Edana walked carefully through the corridor outside of Tessian's quarters, doing her best not to make a sound. She didn't bother with the shadows, there was no time for it. Silence would be her cloak. She approached Tessian's door and the hairs on the back of her neck stood out. The guards were gone and there wasn't a sound in the corridor. She took a deep breath and eased through the shadows to her former hiding place, surveying the scene before her with no small amount of shock.

 

She hadn't been quick enough. She crept from the shadows, passing chairs that had been toppled over and broken china littering the floor. One of Tessian's maids was lying on the floor a few feet away, her eyes glassy as they stared sightlessly at the ceiling. A few other bodies were strewn through the room, but there was no sign of the child, anywhere. Edana cursed and turned towards the door, pausing at the sight of a guard in the doorway, staring at her with wide eyes. He opened his mouth and Edana shook her head. "Do you honestly think I had anything to do with this? Someone has kidnapped Tessian and you're going to blame the person who is still here?" 

 

He shouted something and Edana rolled her eyes and attacked, popping him in the temple with the butt of her blade. "Idiot," she muttered, stepping over him to get out of the room before the guards he'd yelled for arrived. 

 

She dodged guards running through the hallways all the way to the stable Kynwric had mentioned, slipping through the door and slinking into the shadows. She made her way to the Warder and Aes Sedai waiting for her. "Whoever got out of the tavern before me roused the others. They got to her before I did." She muttered. "Haral will be screaming for blood and, based on the reaction of the one guard who seemed close enough to do anything about it, it'll be us he's aiming for. Any idea where they could've taken her?" 

 

~Edana

[_Kynwric_]

At the sight of Edana's appearance without the girl Kyn quickly moved to one of the large balconies in the palace, he pushed out through the curtains and peered down onto one of the courtyards, seeing nothing he turned his head a bit and listened trying to pick out sounds in the night. Finally he heard what he thought were hoof clops on the cobblestones. He dashed back through the curtain and motioned for the two women to follow him. "They're on horseback and headed towards the main docks, we'll catch up to them on the river. Our boatman should be put in at the palace wharf now. The faster we move, the faster we get the girl back the faster we deliver her to the Tower," and with a deliberate look back over his shoulder at Loraine, "the faster we get home."

[U4ea]

Loraine cursed, climbing onto her horse's back. "I put a track on her when we arrived. As long as she hasn't taken off the necklace I gave her, it should be easy enough to track her. At least, as long as we can catch her before they get on that boat."

 

She held Kyn's horse as she waited for him to return. She hadn't missed his reference to home and, honestly, she's rather be there, too, at the moment!

 

~Loraine

*************

 

Edana nodded at Kynwric, making quick work of saddling and climbing onto her horse. They left the stable, racing towards the dock. A few of her cuts were screaming, but she ignored them. Getting that girl back has gone beyond getting her to the Tower for her. Haral's reputation alone spurred get on. He wouldn't keep his hands to himself and Tessian was only a child.

 

They arrived at the dock amid chaos, but we're quickly ushered on board. Kynwric spoke to what she summed was the Captain and the man nodded grimly, turning to bark orders to his crew as Edana helped store the horses below. She heard shouting above decks and rushed toward it, seeing the larger ship sailing off ahead of them.

 

"Step one, catch the ship," she whispered.

 

~Edana

[_Kynwric_]

The ship was ready, readier than Kyn had hoped to be honest, and they were off into the current quickly. They were under way and he didn't see anything moving from the main docks yet, and just as soon sa he thought it he saw the larger vessel push out into the channel. He cursed and turned to look at the Captain, "That's our quarry Captain... can you pass her? I'll pay double if you can get us ahead of her before Badan Moor and silver mark for every member of the crew to boot." He made sure to say that loud enough the crew could hear, he had no doubt they'd be in front or Harral's boat before the appointed place.

 

He turned back to Edana and Loraine, "Nothing to do now but wait... it's a two day trip up river to Badan Moor."

[U4ea]

Loraine settled onto a barrel. "I can get us there faster," she whispered. She closed her eyes and twisted weaves together, one breathing into the sails overhead, the other into the water under the ship. "I don't want to drain myself, so I'm not going to push us too quickly. But we don't have two days to reach them, Kynwric. If that man..." She swallowed hard and shook her head. Opening her eyes and pinning reach of them with a look. "We'll catch them tomorrow. I'll push for an hour and sleep for two, that should be enough to keep me rested. I suggest you do the same."

 

She smiled at Kynwric for a moment. "Come get me in an hour?"

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn nodded, "Alrright an hour, but I doubt that man will accost the girl until they are properly wed. Doing that would bring her father down on him with a fury, closely followed by the Tower. But an hour it is... I just want to be ahead of them when they arrive, love... no more. So we're not fighting our way onto shore..."

 

He turned and found a post under the raised aft deck to rest for a while, leaving Edana to keep watch while Loraine worked her magic on the wind and water.

[U4ea]

Edana nodded and took the hint from Kynwric. She'd watch the ship, the water, the other ship. He'd watch Loraine. "Think I'd rather keep watch on a pair of trollocs and their cook pot," she muttered, creating a path to walk the length of the deck.

 

The speed Loraine was pushing, they'd reach their destination tomorrow. Edana made a few rounds and found a lantern that she could see most of the deck from and checked her wounds. There was a rough cut on her forearm that probably needed stitching. Since she didn't have time for that, she settled for wrapping it tightly with a strip of cloth. The others were just annoying with the salty spray getting in them.

 

The rest of the night moved with a kind of rhythm. Sailors settled into their cots and hammocks, Kynwric got Loraine to rest after an hour and she returned two hours later, just like clock work. Edana kept watch, even watching the sailors as they shifted their own watch. She was really hoping they'd best that so by a few hours so she could rest before swinging swords with that BladeMaster again...

 

~Edana

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric settled into the shady spot where he could see both Edana and Loraine, he made himself comfortable, made himself appear like he was asleep and then watched as Loraine did what she said she would do, he could feel the ship speed up, ride easier in he river, travelling this way was much better than without her doing her work, just from a comfort standpoint, let alone that they were moving faster than they had any right to.

 

He measured the hour carefully, and wasn't going to let her work for a moment longer than he'd agreed to.

[U4ea]

Loraine breathed in an out, keeping her weaves tight to push the ship along. She shut out everything else, knowing Kynwric would take care of anything else. He was very serious about his Warderly duties, after all. She smiled a bit at that, then turned her attention back to her weaves.

 

The night passed quickly and so did the day, with Kynwric touching her shoulder to tell her it was time to rest. She dutifully nodded, slowly unraveling her weaves, and following him below decks for a few hours. A few times there was food involved, most of the time, it was just a quiet urging to lie down and rest, which she took, gratefully. The amount of weaving she was doing was taxing and she appreciated the break.

 

She was, however, on deck when the port came into view just before sunset. She released her weaves slowly, letting the natural wind guide them into the port and waiting patiently while the Captain did his business and Edana retrieved their mounts. She smiled at Kynwric, a little weary and ready for a rest. "What is the plan, Master Kynwric?" she asked quietly, watching the movement of people around them and staying out of the way near the railing.

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

The plan? He'd really not planned more than getting them off the river first, he figured at that point they'd just grab the girl and go. So, he said so, "Get the girl, get away." He looked back up the river and could see the mast of Harral's ship coming into view. "Whatever we do we've got about an hour to make it happen before that ship makes the wharf." He glanced around at what surrounded him, it was a riverside town like any other, just like many others it had a Manor house located on the top of a bluff overlooking the river and the town sprawled out around it. Fortunately there were no walls, so that made an escape easier. "Let's find someplace that will have a good view of the approach to the Manor and wait to spring our trap.

[U4ea]

Loraine nodded, following his gaze to the shop appearing in the distance. She hoped for more than an hour's rest, but that was just not going to happen. She scanned the area around the manor house and nodded to the East. "That's our best direction. Let's stay on the East and get to higher ground. The road winds towards that side of the house, anyway."

 

Edana appeared, then, leading their horses. Lor nodded in her direction, then closed her eyes and started to weave, disguising the ship the were standing on as much as she could. Anyone looking too closely might remember the crew, if they paid attention to those things. She was hoping they'd be paying more attention to getting the girl off the ship without incident and not looking at a ship that wasn't a threat to that mission.

 

With a sigh, she opened her eyes, drawing her cloak tightly around her shoulders and burying her head in her cowl. They needed to blend in. Her face wasn't going to make that possible...

 

~Loraine

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn took the direct route up the road, examining every shop front for a good place to ambush the group that was now following them up the river. He eventually found what he was looking for, an Inn in a bend of the road. It was called the The Bluff's Inn, and it had tables that sat behind large open windows that overlooked the street and gave an excellent view of the road rising from the wharf. More importantly it had a stable yard behind it that had two different exits, making escape once they had the girl all the more likely and confuse pursuit. He motioned for Edana to take the horses around to the stable yard and trusted she knew not to do more than get them ready. Then thought better of that and added a few words, "Keep them saddled, and see if you can find a fourth for purchase. I'd rather not be riding double, it'd slow us too much." Then he ducked in through the Inn's door.

 

Wit a glower at a pair of men about to sit at the table he wanted, they quickly moved to another table and Kyn took a seat where he could see down the road and waited for Lor to join him, then it was a matter of watching the road. He was counting on Narusha to want to make a show of bringing his 'bride' to home. It fit with the man's personality, of needing to show off his power and wealth, and Tessian was just another piece of his power. He glanced at Edana when she slid into the empty seat at their table, but said nothing. He didn't even notice the barmaid approach.

[U4ea]

Edana slid into an empty seat at the table, uneasy but fighting not to show it. Kynwric had his eyes pinned on the road, Loraine was hiding in her cowl, so she turned her chair to keep her eyes on the room around them. She took in the people filling tables everywhere, including the ones Kyn had scared away from this table, who kept shooting looks at them. She didn't discount them as problems, but the barmaid approached their table with her lips in a practiced smile.

 

"Welcome to the Bluff's End! You look weary from your travels, would you like a mug of warm mead or a glass of warmed brandy to help you relax?" She smiled at Kynwric, who didn't pay her any attention.

 

"That sounds perfect," Edana responded, keeping her time matching the expectations the girl seemed to have. Bone-weary travelers, nothing more! "Is it always do crisp along the coast?"

 

The girl seemed to relax a bit with Ed's easy tone and hurried off to put in an order of drinks and some light breads and cheeses with a more real smile on her lips. Ed watched the the place get a little more busy between her disappearance and return with her tray. She bustled away to take more orders and Ed pulled a bottle from her pack, putting the mead in a bit at a time as she kept her eye on the room. She had no intention of being anything but sober with what they were about to do, but she wasn't letting it go to waste, either!

 

~Edana

[U4ea]

Loraine leaned on Kynwric, closing her eyes. "I don't know how much help I'm going to be, here," she murmured. "I know they're right behind us. What is the plan? I can do some work as long as I don't have to move. Barrier, distraction...?"

 

~Loraine