The Grey Tower

There were words spoken and shouted, and it rolled over Nate like water over a small rock. Though this was no small rock, and the intentions of the Dedicated were quite clear as he sought to make the bell-haired man better acquainted with the fat end of his hammer. He moved with determined purpose, the other man getting in his way only serving to be an obstacle, another person to do away with. These people had hurt him, and he was going to hurt them back, make sure they couldn't do anything to anyone else.

The man with the bells was competent and wily, managing to stay out of reach with his better agility. Nate smashed through the box thrown his way, and moved with a lumbering charge to get at the man as he darted around the tent. He was a cat stalking his mouse, a mouse that really ought to just stand still and let himself be squished. Blood dripped from the end of the hammer, at least until it was caught up in the tent and Nate let go of it, almost falling flat on his ass as in his rage-fuelled haze he had tugged with far too much strength and hauled himself backwards with the bell-haired man's timely release of his side of their tug of war. He fell flat on his back for real when the smaller man launched at him and used the momentum to get him down off his feet, and a scuffle not unlike those he had as a child took place then, one where knees and elbows and prods in just the right awkward spot were the order of the day...

Childhood... waves smacking against rocks, sand between toes, the undying noonday sun... Nate lashed out and rolled the other man onto his back, but they moved from that position only seconds later. Dark hair, light brown eyes, never make it as the Winged Guard... couldn't leave Reuben to go it alone...

And just like that there was an arm around his neck, and Bells had him well and truly wrapped up. If they were stood it would look almost like Nate was giving the man a piggy back... Bells!

And it finally came back to him. Bells, Alrim, his good buddy who always had his back. Who just seconds ago he'd wanted nothing more than to smash in the face with his hammer.

"Come on...Brawn...come back mate...come on..."

The thought of letting the man choke him to death was tempting, but even as it occurred to Nate he was going slack, no longer thrashing and trying to get out. Instead he lay there with Alrim hugging at him from behind, a large hand grabbing at Bell's wrist but doing nothing to try and prise him from his current position. "You should just do it you know," he said in his deep voice, low and quiet (for once). "Finish me off before i do something I regret." He sought out the void, taking all of his dismay and shame and piling it in there. If he could immolate himself there and then, maybe he would do just that. If Alrim wouldn't, then he would just do it himself...

there was movement, and Nate looked a little to his right. The remaining couple of bandits who had hidden away until now, had seen their opening and were nocking arrows to bows. If they were going to shoot him then that was fine, but if they hurt Alrim then they were going to have some serious problems. The Dedicated latched onto Saidin, weaving Fire and Water to freeze the arrows to their bows. He never moved from where Bells had him held, but the look he gave the bandits strongly suggested that they leave before he froze other things.

Nate didn’t do much apart from flop over to the ground when Bells pushed him off, lying on his back and blinking at the words, harsher than any he’d heard from Bells before but also completely accurate. He wasn’t one of those gormless Greens who ran around mindlessly and channelled battle weaves until he had his head chopped off. No, Nate was just Nate, and he had more sense than that. No death wish here.

But then if it stopped him from losing his rag again…

He sat up in time for Bells to relax enough to check his injuries out. He couldn’t sit and watch as no doubt some of those were by his hand. Instead Nate looked at where the two bandits had run away from, so the following conversation was delivered without the two men actually properly looking at one another. “Good luck carrying me anywhere,” he muttered, rolling his broad shoulders in a shrug. The image was enough to elicit a wry smile though. And then a wince, as he realised he was still the proud owner of three throwing knives digging into his person.

He took them out one at a time, making a face at the one in his thigh which had been jiggled about, causing more internal damage. The chest and stomach ones were less offensive, but not much less painful for it. “You want to know?” he asked quietly, tossing the bloody metal to the ground and raking a hand through his long hair. “You said you don’t kill friends, but you might find it a heck of a lot easier to kill me if I tell you.”

But there was no doubt that Nate would. He found that now he’d been asked, he couldn’t deny Bells. Bloody man, making his tongue loose. What did it matter though? People knew what he’d done, the Yellows must have had their report. Bells could well hear it from Fiona, who might get it from someone like Gareth. Better to tell him straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak. “I was in the Infirmary for a long time, but it wasn’t because of anything that was done to my body. The Yellow can Heal most anything short of death, but I didn’t really have any bruises or cuts. I mean there were some but most of it was…” Nate made a gesture to his head, circling a finger but not actually looking Bell’s way. He’d taken more than just a couple of cuts, people had clawed at his arms and chest, but it was ever so trivial in the grand scheme of things. “Darkfriends there were experimenting on people, using the Power and their concoctions to do… I don’t really know what they did. But I know what they did to me. The people that were still alive there were mindless monsters looking to maim anyone they came across. It was bloody carnage. And what the Black Ajah did there… well, they made me one of them. There was this liquid, and everything went hazy, hot, like I was sat in the sun in Mayene at the height of summer, but much worse. Then this rage filled me and I just went for it. Bust out my chains, beat up the bad guys. Kind of.”

Nate risked a glance over his shoulder, but then he quickly looked away again. “I tore a guy apart with my bare hands. I was strong, real strong, and I can still feel that now. Oh yeah, and there’s always that other slight issue, Bells, how could I forget? – I bloody ate him as well! – have you ever chowed down on a man’s arm, eh? Torn into his warm heart and gnashed it between your teeth? Because I have Bells, and I was gonna do it to Elia as well. Eat her or fuck her senseless, one or the other. Maybe at the same time, I don’t even know. The search party was just in time to stop that from happening and a good bloody job as well because it was gonna happen, and there was no way I could stop it. I wanted it.”

Nate stood and took up his hammer, going to clean the head on one of the shirts a dead bandit certainly wouldn’t need. “That’s why I’ve been in the Infirmary, and I guess… there’s still some of that monster left? Shouldn’t have grown my hair, it just adds to the effect.” He hunched over and worked studiously on his cleaning, waiting for Bells to leave in disgust, or maybe just clock him around the head and leave him to die.

Light burn Alrim for being so bloody sensible and agreeable! It would have been easier, less shameful, if the man had just made a face and left Nate to it, but instead he was determined to lay the blame elsewhere and make it clear Nate was a top chap. The Mayener rolled his muscled shoulders in a shrug and finished cleaning his hammer, which went back in place on his broad back hopefully not to be used for some time. Anger had been replaced by embarrassment and shame, its surlier cousins, and it showed itself in the hunch of his shoulders and the way he grumbled a little to himself at the idea of being a Darkfriend.

"I'm no Black Ajah scum," he replied with heat, "doesn't matter what happened, I walk in the Light. Burn me to ash, always have and always will. But that doesn't mean I don't hate what happened. But it's good to know what you think." He offered Bells a wan smile, "You can try beating me round the yards and I might let you have a free hit or two but I give as good as I get. And look at it this way, they might keep us separate for a while but when I'm an Asha'man and you're a Warder, they don't get much of a say in the company I keep. The Yellows seem to like me having visitors though, say it's good to not be isolated and all that." Nate gave Alrim a more natural grin as he moved back to his friend, clasping him on the shoulder. He walked with a slight limp but Bells had staunched the bleeding and it would be ok for a while. His chest, he didn't really pay much attention to, it was what it was. "To be honest I'd rather they didn't know what happened here but no chance of that. Maybe if we could leave off my losing my temper that would be fantastic." But again, the Yellows really ought to know.

They didn't look to be getting any more company, so they were safe for the time being. Unless there were people asleep inside or too stupid to know what was going on, it seemed very unlikely there would be anyone else wanting to say hello with the pointy end of their weapon. With this awkward experience set aside Nate turned his naturally adventurous tendencies to the setting before them, looking past the hammer holes in places. "I don't want to head back right now. We've not even had a chance to enjoy this place," the Mayener looked around. "Wanna explore this den before I set the whole thing on fire? You never know, they could have a horde of coin or a rare ter'angreal or something! Or a kidnapped dame who would be very appreciative of a handsome bell-haired rescuer." Nate chortled, never one to be maudlin for too long. "Let's have a look around!"

He could tell that this was going to bother him more later, when they were back at the Tower and he was back in his room or performing some menial punishment or other. But Nate could ignore that awkward wriggling of guilt in his stomach for a while and make the most of the time away from the Tower, even if it wasn't what he had initially planned. Then when they were back in Hama Valon he could get Bells some more bells or something by way of apology.