The Citadel is Callin' [attn: Bella and Haeden]

[Roan]

Bastian

The Citadel. The very name of the Tower’s borderland outpost was intimidating, and the stories about it? Some of his fellow Ji’val who came back from their first rotations out to the place seemed to be changed men and women, while some left the Warder Yards all together.

Bastian shifted the small pack on his back, and adjusted how the two axes he had on his hips sat as he headed for the Traveling Yards. Late the previous afternoon, the Mistress of Training called him to his office and told him he’d be joining a Gaidin on a rotation out to the Citadel. He’d heard stories about the Citadel, but hadn’t yet had the pleasure of experiencing it for himself.

As the large Ji’val entered the grounds of the Traveling Yards, Bastian saw a familiar face. Tilting his head slightly as he approached, he cleared his throat, “Haeden Gaidin. . .The Mistress of Training told me to report here to go to the Citadel with a Gaidin. She didn’t say that Gaidin was going to be you.”

Once he’d closed the distance between the two, he cleared his throat, “Mistress Tomosan didn’t elaborate on what I’d be doing out at the Citadel. Do you know?”

[Bella]

It was common for Gaidin to attend to various duties at the Citadel on behalf of the Grey Tower, as well as do so as part of the training of the Ji'val. These duties, however, typically fell to the unbonded Gaidin, a rank of which Haeden was no longer a part of...however he had made commitments to these tours of duty.

Not that that was the main consideration, but it was something he wouldn't cast aside. He had discussed it with Liaran--with his bondmate--and since she was going to remain in the Tower, and this was a basic patrol, he had determined to keep his commitment. Such things were going to become far less common now.

He wasn't sorry about that, either, though mainly because of the reason.

Haeden was presently waiting at the Traveling Yards for the Ji'val he would be taking to the Citadel. Ria told him who it would be, and he was actually glad for a trainee that he somewhat knew. It was always a little easier that way.

Once the other man had arrived, however, it was clear that he'd not be as privy to that information. Which actually made sense, since he was a trainee. And not related to the Mistress of Training... Haeden smiled slightly and gave a little bow of his head. "Hello, Ji'val. Yes, we will be taken a basic short patrol route out from the Citadel and back. Fairly standard procedure."

[Roan]

Bastian

A basic patrol route. Fairly standard procedure.

Bastian quirked a brow and tilted his head as he looked to the Gaidin, “You are not a superstitious man, are you, Gaidin? I have a terrible feeling this is going to be anything but standard procedure.” He couldn’t help the smirk, but also wasn’t one to push the point.

He noticed the Gaidin nod to the Aes Sedai and a moment later, it seemed as if a window was opened into another world. The Blue sister looked to Bastian, “You can step through, but careful of the edges. They are wicked sharp.”

“I will keep that in mind,” the Ji’val replied. He flashed Haeden a smile and then stepped through the gateway. As he came through on the other side, the man looked around, shocked at the drastic change. “Light. . . that’s quite an experience,” the man said, turning to face Haeden as the Gaidin stepped through.

The large Ji’val tilted his head, “Are we doing this patrol on foot? Or are we grabbing mounts from here?” He knew a little about the Citadel, including the fact it had its own stable, though most of the horses there belonged to those who worked the Citadel or visited. There were a small number of horses that didn’t belong to any one person. It made more sense to him to do a patrol on horseback, but there might be reasons for doing one on foot. He’d see what the Gaidin had to say.

[Bella]

"On horseback," Haeden replied easily as they made their way to the stable. He could have brought his own horse for this, but the ones from this stable knew the route to patrol as well as the people did, so it was particularly ideal to take one of them. They could make it back to the Citadel on their own if they had to.

The two men reached the stable, and Haeden nodded to the Citadel's stable-master. "We'll need two horses for a short patrol," he told the lanky woman.

She smiled and bowed. "Of course, Gaidin," she said. Haeden had been to this place frequently enough to be known. The woman took in Bastian with a long, considering look then seemed to decide something in her mind as she nodded again, turning to head back to the stalls for the horses.

"She knows her stuff," Haeden said, "and will bring out the best-suited horses for us."

[Roan]

Bastian

Bastian quirked a brow as the woman looked him seemingly up and down before she stalked off. Tilting his head slightly, he looked back to Haeden, “She can determine what horse would be appropriate for me with just a look?” What exactly could the woman gain from just looking him over, he wondered. It was clear the stable master knew Haeden, and had worked with him in the past, so it made sense she could pick a horse for him.

What would Bastian end up with? Given his large size, would she overestimate his riding abilities? The Ji’val wasn’t inexperienced by any means, but he wouldn’t consider himself an equestrian by any stretch.

Ten minutes later, the stable master returned, leading a bay she handed to Haeden. One of her assistants followed behind, leading a blue roan. The young man handed the reins of the horse to Bastian. Turning from Haeden to Bastian, the stable master nodded to the blue roan, “That’s Nora. She’s a steady mount who won’t fail you. She loves her carrots and sugar cubes. She is also a friend to Haeden’s mount. . .where the gelding goes, she’ll go.”

Bastian gave a small smile as he moved around and checked the girth of the saddle. The Stable Master watched him closely, and gave him a small nod, as if he passed some sort of test. He looked to Haeden, “She has a critical eye not just about what horse would suit a person, but how that person acts around her horses, eh?”

[Bella]

Haeden chuckled quietly. "She has a critical eye for everything conceivable when it comes to these horses. She treats them better than more people treat their children, and she would tear strips out of the hide of an Aes Sedai if they did something careless and got one of her horses hurt," he said soberly.

"Things happen at the border, and she understands that. She has some extra sense to know when something happened that was true tragedy versus a rider's neglect." The Gaidin shook his head. He couldn't understand how she did it, but he'd seen it enough to at least know the truth of it.

They led the horses out of the stable and mounted up. Haeden waited until Bastian was mounted and settled before leading them out of the Citadel and onto their patrol path.

[Roan]

Bastian

Once Bastian was certain the girth was adequately tight, he checked the length of the stirrups, but the stable master and her hands did a fine job of estimating where his stirrups should sit. Without further delay, he pulled himself up into the saddle, taking care not to land too heavily on the horse’s back. Turning his attention back to Haeden, he gave a simple nod, “I’m ready.”

The Gaidin and Ji’val would be doing a fairly standard patrol, according to Haeden. The Citadel and its environs were all new to the former huntsman, and he was taking it all in. The two men shared in a little bit of small talk in an effort to pass the time, and get to know one another beyond the simple student/teacher dynamic. Bastian wasn’t certain how old Haeden was, but he didn’t seem too much older than himself.

The two men had very different upbringings, though, what with Haeden being a child of the Tower, and Bastian spending most of his life in that cabin in the woods. In that same conversation, the Ji’val learned Haeden was the son of a Blademaster and former Master of Arms, but not just that. . .he seemed to be related to a good number of the Tower residents, including the Mistress of Training.

Bastian couldn’t help the double-take when he learned Haeden was actually Riahana Gaidin’s uncle despite being some decades younger. The age disparity made sense given the man’s mother was Miahala Sedai.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as Haeden held up a hand. Both men stopped, and the Gaidin looked at Bastian, “We’ve got company. . .shadowspawn are up ahead, not far from us. I suggest we leave our mounts here and investigate on foot.”

“How in the bloody Light do you know that?” Bastian asked.

“A conversation for another time, Ji’val. Right now, we’ve got to earn our keep, so to speak,” Haeden answered.

[Bella]

So much for nice, quiet patrol...

The bond had certainly granted him plenty of advantages. Some of the expected and some not, though even those that he knew of before were still very different in actual experience. The sense of Shadowspawn without the usual senses was strange, but he wasn't going to complain about it.

Haeden and Bastian dismounted. The horses were trained to not run at the first sign of danger, but they left them in such a way that they could escape if they had to.

Pulling his sword well in advance of seeing anything, the pair stalked ahead with all the caution that the Grey Tower had trained into them. He silently hoped that there wouldn't be too many ahead, and that they could simply sneak up and identify the place and number then report it back for a proper force.

That was, after all, what patrol was for.

He was too familiar with the tangles in the Pattern and the strange sense of humor of the Wheel, so he wasn't going to rely on luck or hope for anything.

Haeden felt the 'sense' grow larger--much like the bond--as they drew nearer to the Shadowspawn. The path--such as it was--moved around a large curve. He gestured for them to move into the slight tree line that they had been moving alongside. It gave them a little bit of cover, and let them move around the "back" of the Shadowspawn.

In short order, they could finally use their other senses. There was a group of Trollocs, and quite a large group. Haeden brought them to a halt when they were just close enough to get a headcount. There was too many for just the two of them, that was for sure. Haeden made note of the where and the how many, then nodded for Bastian to move before the wind changed.

"We'll report this back to the Citadel," he whispered when they were far enough away, en route back to their horses.

[Roan]

Bastian

Heart pounding, Bastian followed close behind Haeden as they fell back towards the horses. They were only two men on patrol. They weren’t expected to handle such a large group of Shadowspawn on their own, just report their activity or location. He’d never seen Trollocs before, and between their sheer size, even just a few of them seemed more than the pair could handle.

Just the sight of the Trollocs was enough to get the Ji’val’s adrenaline pumping. It wasn’t just that there were a few of the beasts, but at least ten or more by his very quick count. With luck, they could get word to the Citadel, and a bigger party could intercept the Shadowspawn and kill them.

Coming around a bend, both men paused as there were four Trollocs coming right towards them. A scouting party, perhaps? Bastian withdrew both of his axes as one of the Trollocs snorted at them before charging. He was aware of Haeden drawing his sword one moment, and blocking the blade of a Trolloc sword the next. As he blocked with his left sword, he swung his other horizontally, but the beast moved his sword to block.

The Trolloc towered over Bastian, who was not a small man, and it pushed down with his sword in an attempt to overpower the Ji’val. Bastian was having none of it and heaved back with all his might, pushing the Trolloc back and off balance. He didn’t hesitate as he brought his right axe upwards in a diagonal slash, following it with his left, effectively disemboweling the beast.

Bas looked over to see Haeden taking on the other three Trollocs, and holding his own. No reason for the man to have all the fun, right? The Ji’val snarled as he charged into the melee once more.

[Bella]

Bloody, flaming Trollocs always showing up at the bloody, flaming wrong time!

Haeden had his blade in his hand and was a whirlwind of steel within a heartbeat. He flung himself into the Void, letting the Flame consume his emotions. For a flicker, he could sense Liaran's concern over the bond, but he made sure to keep himself in check and not give her anything to cause her concern in their separation.

He had to move faster than even he could see, his sword blocking a giant axe from one side while he had to duck a hammer blow from the other and jumped back to avoid the...something-weapon of the third.

The glimpse just before the battle had begun told him that his trainee charge was facing one Trolloc on his own, assuming that there weren't any others coming. He could but hope. For now, he had to focus on slamming his boot-heel into big unarmored knee of one brute while he cut the axe-hand off of another...