Looking for Trouble (attn: Bella)

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Haeden might not have found out much, but Liaran appreciated that he'd made the effort. As they walked, she turned her head to smile at him. "As far as I know...nobody really knows Nykkolaia, so it's not surprising that you didn't learn much. I hadn't heard that she's bonded." Her smile disappeared as she thought about that, and she looked away from Haeden before commenting, "If nobody knows where her Warder is...he might be with her." Liaran didn't think that was especially likely, since none of her reports had suggested that, but it was something they would have to keep in mind.

For the rest of the walk, she was quiet, lost in her thoughts about the situation, until they reached the street where the victim had lived. She paid closer attention once they did, searching the houses they passed until she found the one she was looking for. It wasn't hard to find. In a row of simple, small homes, the only house with broken shutters and missing roof tiles stood out. Liaran paused for a minute to study it, but there was no sign of what had taken place there, nor had she expected there to be.

She walked past it to the next house and knocked on the door, her status as an Aes Sedai ensuring that she and Haeden would be welcomed. The dark haired woman who opened the door stared at the two of them with large eyes that almost matched her hair. Liaran smiled, hoping to put the woman at ease, then introduced herself and Haeden, explaining what they were doing before making her request.

"Would you mind if we asked you some questions?"

The woman blinked, then shrugged, opening the door to her home. "I can try," she said, sounding doubtful as she led them into a small sitting room. It might have been small, the furniture worn, but everything was neat and clean, suggesting that the woman took great pride in her home. Liaran took a place on the sofa, the woman in a large stuffed chair.

The woman, who had introduced herself as Eirene Parel, almost immediately said, "I don't know much help I'll be. Master Hawes...well, he just didn't like people much. I rarely even saw him leave the house."

That seemed strange to Liaran, and she wondered how Nykkolaia had ever managed to meet the man. An answer to that unvoiced question came quickly as Mistress Parel explained, "I do know his son, though. Orin's friends with my boys, and comes over to play more evenings than not." She shook her head. "He's a good boy, Orin, no matter what his father says."

Liaran blinked, trying to quickly comprehend the flow of information. Though she'd known Master Hawes had a son, Liaran had expected him to be an older man with an adult son, not a child. Perhaps Nykkolaia knew the son, and not the father? That seemed more likely, but nothing was certain.

"He has a child?" Liaran asked, wanting to be sure she was understanding correctly. Mistress Parel nodded. "Yes, as I just said, though Orin's here enough that he may as well be ours." The woman's dark eyes flashed, and she lowered her voice. "The truth is, I never minded having him over here, and there were some evenings when I hesitated to send him home."

It sounded to Liaran as if the dead man had hardly been an innocent victim, yet another piece to the puzzle in front of her and Haeden.

"Why is that?" she asked calmly.

Mistress Parel frowned, and when she spoke, Liaran could hear the restrained anger in the words. "Not long before Master Hawes was killed, I noticed that Orin seemed to be injured often, even more so than other boys his age. It seemed as if he showed up with a new bruise every single day. He always had an excuse, but some evenings, if I went outside, I could hear Master Hawes just screaming at him, and I had to wonder what was going on inside that house. He was never a great parent after his wife died, but it seemed to be getting worse."

Liaran had her own suspicions about what had been happening inside that house, and they made it rather difficult for her to feel much sympathy for the murdered man.

"Do you know where Orin is now?" she asked.

"He's with his father's sister, in the next village over. When he wasn't over here, it was usually because he was spending time with her. Not to speak ill of the dead, but....I think that Orin is better off there." Liaran nodded her head in agreement.

[Bella]

Haeden was simply a shadow in this conversation, allowing his Aes Sedai to take the lead and gain information from the woman sitting across from them. From the way Miss Parel's eyes shifted towards him, he suspected that he intimidated her a little...and that wasn't always the best tactic for gaining information.

He did not miss Liaran's surprise about the news of the child, and that actually caught on something in his own mind. Some piece of information that took some digging to bring up.

The women made their polite farewells, and the members of the Grey Tower departed. They were both lost in thought as they walked away, moving a polite distance from the house before he felt his Aes Sedai's curious gaze upon him. Though none would recognize his thoughtfulness from the outside, she knew.

"Was there not something about children in the town you visited with Andraste Sedai?" he asked in response to the question she did not have to ask out loud. "That the murder victim had been suspected in kidnapping some young children?" He tried to recall details from the papers she had given him to read.

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Haeden might have been quiet during the conversation, but Liaran could tell that he was also thinking about what was being said, and focused on some aspect of it. Once they left, she gave him time to keep working on it, and for herself to sort out her own jumble of thoughts. Eventually, as her mind settled, and they moved further from the house they'd just visited, Liaran turned her head towards her Warder, a question in her eyes and her curiosity flowing through the bond between them. She did not have to bother with words for Haeden to know what she was asking.

She listened carefully to what he said. That trip with Andraste Sedai had been long enough ago that she hadn't thought about it much in relation to events here, but once Haeden mentioned it, Liaran realized he had a point. "You're right," she told him. "Nykkolaia had been investigating the kidnappings, and she found where most of the victims were being held, but not the person responsible. When the murder took place a short time later, most people assumed that the victim must have been the kidnapper." Liaran paused for a moment to let Haeden consider what she'd said before continuing.

They kept walking, and she explained quietly, "I was never as sure about that, and I don't think that Andraste was either. There were, I think, five or so children taken, so whoever was taking them knew what they were doing. But in the dead man's house, there were things such as children's toys left out in plain sight that shouldn't have been there, and I can't imagine someone who could hold that many children captive would also be so careless."

The Aes Sedai shrugged as she kept moving. "I don't know if any of that matters now, really. I think what we need to know in order to make sense of all this is the reason Nykkolaia was here at all. It's not hard to imagine that she would have wanted to protect that little boy, but I can't figure out how she knew to come here...unless maybe she has Eyes and Ears here."

Thinking out loud, Liaran said, "I suppose that's possible. I think I might call on the mayor of this town next, to ask if he knows what she was doing here. I don't think Aes Sedai come here very often, so I'd think someone would be curious about her. I could also try to find Orin's aunt once we leave here and see what she knows, but I don't want to disturb the child. He's been through enough."

[Bella]

"No, no need to disturb the boy," Haeden said with a hint of fervor to his voice. After all, he had sympathy for young boys with trauma upon them. While he had not been abused in any way, he had lost both his mother and father when he was very young. And nearly lost his sister with them... He knew something of trauma.

He was quiet and thoughtful as they walked toward the mayor. "Does it necessarily have to be that she came here for the boy, if she did something to protect him?" he mused aloud. "What if she were here for something else and then learned of it? She might have wanted to protect him then."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

"Maybe," Liaran said. "I hadn't considered that." She smiled at her Warder, appreciating his input, and then they continued their walk.

Many of the homes in Jornhill seemed to be located on the same street, and Liaran and Haeden did not have far to go before they reached the one where the mayor lived. The home was larger than the one they'd just left, but not enough to be out of place within the village. When she knocked on the door, they were greeted by a tall, white haired man with a wide smile, who ushered them both inside almost as soon as they'd finished introducing themselves.

The room he showed them to was very similar to the one they'd visited earlier. It was larger, of course, the furniture barely used, but other than that, the differences between this room and the one in Mistress Parel's home were hardly noticeable. Liaran sat down in one of the stuffed chairs, and her eyes followed the mayor as he took a place in another nearby.

"It's an honor to have you in my home, Aes Sedai," the mayor said. "I'm Mayor Sorar, and I'd be happy to offer you any assistance I can." He looked towards her then, and Liaran laid her hands in her lap, hiding them under the long sleeves of her dress.

"I understand you had another Aes Sedai visit recently," she began. "Did she meet with you while she was here?" It was only a guess, but Liaran was hoping that Nykkolaia had. She had not been hiding who she was, and it was generally considered polite for an Aes Sedai to inform the mayor of a town when she had business there.

Mayor Sorar shrugged. "I'm afraid I spoke to her only once, and not for long," he said apologetically. He went on to explain that while she had paid him a visit, Nykkolaia had not seemed interested in talking to him, and had refused his offer to help her with whatever work had brought her to Jornhill.

"Do you know what she was doing here?" Liaran asked, though she now suspected the mayor knew nothing more of Nykkolaia's purpose her than she did.

The mayor shook his head. "She...was quite secretive. I never could get her to tell me anything about her business here, though I would have liked to have known. I only know that she had not intended to stay for more than a night, and had to change her plans to stay here instead of traveling further. I wouldn't even know that much if the innkeeper hadn't mentioned it."

Liaran nodded, and while her expression did not change, she was feeling a little disappointed. Nothing he'd said so far had given her any idea of what Nykkolaia was doing here, or where she might have gone.

"You said she was traveling?" the Aes Sedai asked, sitting up straighter in her chair. "Did she ever speak of where she was going?" From the conversation so far, Liaran was sure Nykkolaia had not. It seemed as if she was as much of a mystery here as she had been in the Grey Tower.

"Not exactly," the mayor said, " but I did hear her say once that she was going to be working at a newly established orphanage in a larger town. " He went on to speak of how Nykkolaia spent most of her time with the children of the village, and how good she was with them, information that fit the few facts Liaran already knew of the woman.

While he spoke, Liaran thought about what he'd just said. That she might be working in an orphanage was the closest thing she had to an idea of where Nykkolaia might have gone, and with this information, she thought it might be best to start visiting those nearby. She raised her head and looked towards Haeden, wondering what he thought.

[Bella]

Children... There was most assuredly a recurring pattern here, the more they learned about the reclusive Aes Sedai.

Haeden's mind began to review what he knew of this town and the surrounding areas--the villages, towns, and cities, and any of those that would be considered a "larger town" than this one. It didn't make sense to go back to the Tower and send out inquiries as to which locations had a new orphanage, so they'd have to make a good guess.

It only took a moment to realize his Aes Sedai was looking expectantly at him. He broke from his reverie and met her gaze, then he turned to the mayor with a deferential nod and smile. "Your Honor," he began, "if I may ask... Was Nykkolaia Sedai traveling alone?" The knowledge yet seeming absence of her warder plagued the Gaidin's subconscious.

The mayor thought for a moment and then slowly shook his head. "As far as I knew, she wasn't with anyone else. It was just her. If there had been, they hid themselves well."

That did nothing to ease his mental plague, but he simply nodded once. "Thank you, sir."

There wasn't much else that Haeden felt needed asking, since the mayor didn't seem to know too much more than they did. They bid their farewells, and the Blue and her Gaidin left his house and returned to the street. Once they were some steps away, Haeden commented thoughtfully, "I wonder if he died."

Again, the expectant look. He met her gaze and explained, "Nykkolaia's warder. As I said before, I learned that she was bonded, but she was here alone and none have seen him in a long time. I wonder if he died, and if that...did something to her mind, which is why this grave mystery surrounding her."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran had not given much thought to the whereabouts of Nykkolaia's Warder, but when she looked up at Haeden, considering what he'd just said, she realized that he could easily be correct. If Nykkolaia's Warder had died, that would explain why he was not with her, and possibly even be part of her motivation for acting as she had. The idea wasn't one Liaran wanted to dwell on for long. Without consciously deciding to move, the Aes Sedai drifted closer to Haeden. She reached for his hand, brushing against his fingers, then realized what she was doing and returned her hand to her side. Regardless of what she might have preferred, Liaran did not think they should appear to be anything other than an Aes Sedai and her Warder, here in this small town far from their home.

She shook her head. "For her sake, I would hope not," Liaran said. "But I'm afraid you might be right." Liaran sighed, reluctant to think on that any further. "I've been wondering all day what Nykkolaia's reasons might be...if she is the one behind the murders that seem to be connected to her." Liaran was far from being sure that was true, but after what they'd learned that day, had to admit that it was likely even if she had no actual proof. Frowning, she continued, "I might not have known her well, but Nykkolaia always seemed nice enough, not the sort of person one might think capable of this. But, if she lost her Warder, or even if she didn't, but experienced something else as difficult as I've heard that is...that might explain it, especially if, like you said, something happened in her mind." Liaran's eyes remained on Haeden, looking into his green ones, and she could not stop herself from thinking of how she hoped she would never lose him.

[Bella]

He sensed her sudden unease, and he understood it without any confusion or hesitation. He knew they were maintaining the image of being only Aes Sedai and Gaidin. He agreed, and he respected her choice, so he did nothing that would go against that...and yet his heart insisted that he reassure her.

Haeden offered a small smile and bowed his head slightly towards her. "I am with you, my Aes Sedai," he said simply, but the emotions he felt that would wash over their bond and let her know of his reassurance as much as he was able.

That moment lingered, but then it ended. They turned and began walking again. Haeden wanted to reach out and take her hand, still, but he restrained himself. "Was there anyone else specifically you wished to talk to here in town? Or perhaps take a meal at our inn and see if the locals there have anything to say."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

The smile Liaran gave Haeden in return was thin, but it was sincere, and the emotions she could feel through their bond were a comfort to her. As she turned from him to continue moving, Liaran considered what to do next. She had plenty of options and her head felt stuffed full of them. For this reason, the Aes Sedai was quiet for much of the walk, saying nothing as she thought. This only lasted until Haeden broke the silence, asking if there was anyone else she needed to see.

She looked at him and shrugged. "I don't think so, unless you've thought of something I haven't," Liaran told him. "I honestly don't think there's much more we can learn here, since Nykkolaia's been gone for days now." Glancing around the street they were on, Liaran lowered her voice. "If we really want to understand what happened here, and elsewhere....we have to find her." This last comment was said with more than a little urgency. Not only did they have to find her to make any sense out of what they'd learned, but Liaran feared that if her suspicions were correct, the string of murders they'd been following would continue to grow.

She kept thinking about the situation, and the two of them kept walking, until they were only a short distance from their inn. Then, Liaran looked towards Haeden again. "I think we should stop here for a while, like you suggested," she told him. She wasn't sure she felt like eating anything, but Liaran did want to find somewhere to rest and sort out her thoughts. "After that, at some time, I'm going to have to get the map out and try to work out where Nykkolaia might have gone." It was the only way she could think of to attempt to find her, but Liaran was already dreading the task.

[Bella]

He nodded, as much to himself as to her. "After we left the mayor's, I began thinking of what I know of this region. I may be able to help offer insight while we review the map and perhaps come up with the most likely places that she has gone." He could feel her dread, but he felt that he would be able to help make it a less onerous task.

By this point, they reached the inn where they had made arrangements for themselves and entered. Haeden's eyes were everywhere and on everything all at once, making sure things were safe for his Aes Sedai.

They were told by a passing serving girl to seat themselves, so Haeden chose the most strategic table available where he could still keep an eye on things. They settled and soon a girl came by to take their orders.