The Grey Tower

Ubriel held the strap to Peach's halter as she tugged at the waist band on her breeches. I really shouldn't eat so much at breakfast. She watched the four intrepid warriors who had volunteered for this trip enter the stable yard, each leading their own mounts. She had provided a packed bundle with essentials and she spoke to them now as they assembled. "I am glad to see all of you. Thank you for volunteering for this duty. As you may be aware, the Blight has seen increased activity in the last months and the border nations have called us, among others, for help. Our patrols and outposts do a passing fair job most of the time of coming to aid and giving the border towns warning. Recently, however, the patrols have been slow and have missed signs of movement when they should have been aware."

Ubriel paused here and thought back to her own recent trip into Kandor. Light, that raid should never have made it that close to Chachin without raising a hue and cry the length of the border. "Our mission over the course of the next week is to visit four patrol outposts and ride along-side a patrol for part of that journey. We will be inspecting the outposts as well as adding another patrol to the rotation." She gestured to the stack of packs between her and the others. "I have provided a few things that we will likely need. Everyone please take a pack and secure it with your things. Inside you will find a tinder box, hard tack rations, two extra canteens of fresh water, a vial each of willow bark tea, healall and an itch relief salve. There is also a cream that repels bitemes." She shared a grin with them and nodded at the Dedicated walking into the stable yard.

"If there are no questions, let's mount up and get out." Ubriel waited to be sure there were no questions and that everyone else was mounted before pulling herself into Peach's saddle. Nodding at the Dedicated when everyone was ready to go, she watched him make the Gateway to the Citadel from the Traveling Square at the corner of the stable yard. She removed the medallion from her neck and hung it from her saddle before leading everyone through. Light but it is good to be out.

OOC: Welcome to the Border patrol. Post as you will and have fun! IC the mission is scheduled to take 10 days. I have allotted this month to play out the RP.

It has that look in its eye...

Uncomfortably, Mehrin looked into the face of the chestnut horse that he led out of the stable by the reins. He found the horse looking back, its gaze conveying all the contempt that a four-legged, flea-bitten, mangy, evil bastard of a creature could convey towards another being. Why did it have to be horses?

We could ask to walk...

And hold up the rest of the group?

... Well, we wouldn't have to keep falling off this damn creature all the time, now would we?

Every once in a while, the Deathwatch raised a valid point.

Stepping gingerly to avoid the deliberate attempts by the long-faced bastard to grind his foot against the ground- it had to be deliberate, they were coming too close- Mehrin followed the small group out into the stable yard, where Mistress Bryne was already waiting on her horse. Pony, I think.

When did you become an expert?

Mehrin took a quick look at the other three people who had chosen to accompany Mistress Bryne on this little trip to the most dangerous place in the entire bloody world, as far as Mehrin knew. His first impression was one of age. He had been at Hama Valon for a time, now but he always felt old when he saw the fresh faces of the various students, both in the Tower and in the Yard. His hand strayed to the flamberge hanging over his shoulder, reassuring himself that it was there. We may be old, but I guarantee that we still have a few tricks for these children.

Mistress Bryne wasted no time with pleasantries. Instead, she immediately began to explain what was happening and what their purpose was in going to the Blight. Mehrin was not amused. He had never been to the Blight; his entire life had been spent fighting wars in the south, be they against Tairens, Illianers, trainees at Tar Valon, or Aiel. As a Warder, he had known much about the Shadowspawn, most of which he had forgotten, and he had apparently had some sort of sense where Shadowspawn were concerned, but he had never felt it. I wonder if we still have that. Might come in handy, considering where you're taking us.

This was your idea, remember? You pointed out the registration sheet, you told me that it would be good practice for when it came time.

You still didn't have to sign.

Mistress Bryne indicated a collection of travel sacks on the ground and described their contents. Mehrin patted his own; he had forgotten every single thing that she had placed in the sacks. He had remembered things, though. He had a needle and silk for stitching wounds, rope, pitch and cloth for making a hasty torch, and, most importantly, a box of pepper, a box of salt, and a box of tea. There were certain things that one never left on a campaign without.

"If there are no questions, let's mount up and get out."

Giving the horse a sideways look, Mehrin asked, "Umm... if we run out of food, can we eat the horses? Starting with this o- ow! Damn creature!" The horse was standing on his foot, a smug expression on its face. "Bastard," he muttered.

Lysira Walker The need to get out of the Tower was like an itch that had been brewing between her shoulder blades. It was a need to feel something useful, and with Jerid not minding her absence for this week and a half, she was going to take advantage. Besides, it would give Jerid and Cade more time to get to know one another and make up for the past twenty years. And maybe Lysira would get a chance to warm her bow string.

She stood gathered now with the others, the diminutive Gaidar holding onto the reins of her black mare. The horse whickered softly and rubbed Lysira with her head. If the woman hadn't had the reflexes of a warder, she might well have been knocked over. Laughing silently, she turned and scratched the horse's forehead where a single white dot lived.

It was good to see some other familiar faces in Riahana Gaidar, and the Ji'dar that Lys had met on several occasions now, Ani, who knew the signs Lysira used and could translate for her. That will be useful, Lys thought.

There were packs to be added to what they had already brought, as Lysira--long time a Gaidar, even if her appearance did not show it--knew better than to not bring her own things. It was good to be prepared, and she was apparently better prepared for this than the other man, who she did not know. The woman's dark brows rose over her glistening, pure black eyes at his comment.

'Horses can tell more than you think,' Lysira sighed. Ani hopped right in to translate and speak the words aloud for her. 'You may want to be nicer to your steed, or else you might spend more time on your backside that its back. A faint trace of humor could be seen at the small curling corners of her mouth.

Valadin Manelle

OCC: Hope it wasn't an issue. I utilized an NPC Dedicated since I didn't know if you were referring to Val to weave the Gateway. Val's never been to the Blight so I thought it might weird to just have him Travelling there. Now at least he knows where the Citadel is so it shouldn't happen again as he grows more familiar with the area.

The Gaidar Captain had been around long enough to make sure she had enough rations and gear for her own sake. She added the extra pack provided by the Mistress of Training to the rest of her gear. Her mount, Lex, gave a low, rumbling nicker as she anticipated their ride. Ria, always careful, took time to check her gear, and double checked to make sure everything sat such that it wouldn't hamper her mount. She also checked the girth as she listened to the comment from the other Gaidin.

Ria couldn't help the smirk with Lys's reply, "She is right. . .horses tend to be more adept than some give them credit for." She then watched as the gateway was open, though Riahana did not mount and ride through. Instead, she led Lex through on foot and waited until they crossed the gateway before mounting.

The change in the environment from the stables at the yards to the Citadel was noticeable, and the Gaidar Captain pulled the hood up of her fancloak once she was settled on Lex's back. Taking a deep breath as she scanned the area around them, she wondered what the mission ahead might bring the group. Having familiar faces in the crowd was never a bad thing, and she looked to Lysira and gave a small smile.

Peach wondered why the old man with the large sword was deliberately placing his feet under his horse's hooves. It had to be deliberate. They were just too close to be accidental. The chestnut gelding seemed to be handling it well, though. Peach thought that if any human tried to turn her hoof like that she would probably be forced to resort to biting. She turned her attention back to her girl as she mounted and asked to go through the Gateway. Peach approved of Gateways. They made the journey from one place to the next so much less dull. One could get on with the business of being where you were going without all the plodding boringly through the countryside. She tossed her head friskily as they started forward but only her head. She didn't want to risk unseating her girl. She was delicate right now and Peach meant to make sure to protect her.

Ubriel ran her hands through a small lock of Peach's mane as she tossed her head. She is so subdued. I hope she feels alright. She didn't look back to be sure that everyone else had fallen in. This mission was not only a patrol but it was an exercise in martial behavior. Follow the leader. Do as you are told. Stay calm and don't break ranks. Those were the top three things that would keep you alive when you followed a commander that knew what they were about. Ubriel hoped she was as competent as she believed herself to be. She was glad to have Ria along. The woman was skilled and experienced and having her as a second set of eyes and a second line of thought was a welcome resource. This would be a very good chance to test the skills of Mehrin and Lysira. She had watched them both in the Yard but their skill when tested for their lives would be good to know; particularly if she intended to send either of them in the command of a patrol of their own. The other two members of the expedition were relative unknowns but she expected that the rest of them could handle keeping them alive if it came to that.

As the Gateway closed behind them, Ubriel led the party up to the gates of the Citadel on the southern side of the walls. As they approached she said in a carrying voice, "Everyone stay mounted. We are riding through. If you have never been here before, this is the Citadel. It is the northern-most outpost of the Grey Tower before the Blight. The outposts we will be visiting are actually in the Blight, and some of them are run by other entities in the alliance between us and the Border Nations. Put your hoods down as you are coming through here and make sure your face can be seen." Ubriel had been leading them forward as she spoke and they were now entering the gate. The gray stone walls of the citadel and the supporting buildings that made of a tiny town inside the battlements glistened in the morning light. Their breath made misty clouds that were carried away almost before they could form by a gusting and crisp breeze. Ubriel gave an informal salute to the guard standing above the gate, on the wall. He raised his hand in welcome and turned his eyes back to the area outside the walls.

A man in a grey and black coat and breeches fell in at Ubriel's stirrup as they rode at a walk through the Citadel courtyard toward the Northern wall gate. "Mistress Bryne."

Ubriel nodded, "Doilan. How does it look?"

"The Shienaran patrol arrived yesterday from the second outpost and reported the Gap was quiet. They went on at sunrise to the third outpost. The last we heard from the Niamh Passes, they were quiet too. Strange, the movement of the Traveling People seems to be increasing into the northern part of the Waste but who can tell with that lot. The raids in Kandor and Western Arafel seem to be the center of activity right now."

Ubriel nodded and said, "Then we are going to keep to our itinerary. Thank you, Captain. Peace favor you."

"And you!" With that he broke away from the group, shouting up to the Northern Gate guards, "Open the gate for a party to leave!"

The order was relayed and by the tall, heavy gates swung wide to permit them to leave. Ubriel was always impressed with the heavy feeling of the massive, oaken gates, banded in iron and reinforced on the inside. They were designed to withstand battering by a fist of Trollocs and she thought they might do the job. She slipped her medallion back on over her head to hang against her skin inside her tunic and turned the group west as they entered the edge of the blighted forest of the north. Following a patrol road, the goings were smooth and the evidence of the Blight was not yet on every plant they passed. The air began to thicken as they went on and carried with it an acrid and unpleasant undertone. Ubriel knew the unsettling smell would become more obvious as they went and unconsciously patted Peach's neck. Eyes constantly scanning the surrounding area, she asked the group in general, "How many of you have been to the Blight before?"

This portion of the trip was likely to be the quietest and most relaxed so she intended to have them interact enough to be comfortable with each other before they needed to depend on each other. Quiet didn't mean safe, though. She eased the axe on the underside of the shield on her arm and hung the reins on the cantle of her saddle to free up her hands. Feeling the reins go slack, Peach adjusted her attention to the way Ubriel guided her with her legs and body. For her to drop the reins meant that she thought there could be danger. Peach lifted her head and became intentionally attentive. She would keep her girl safe.

OOC: Things aren't going to stay quiet long. Watch the details and subscribe to the thread if you can. Here we go!

Lysira Walker Gaidar It had been a long time since the diminutive Gaidar had been to the Blight Border, and the Citadel, but she could remember it with frightening ease...

Ubriel Gaidar was guiding this expedition and Lysira was happy to let her do so, leaving this Gaidar to focus on their surroundings more, and feel the way this place crawled beneath the skin. She was sure that the others were feeling something similar, in their own ways, because it was almost impossible not to feel it. The place reeked of the trouble it faced on a daily business, and the shadow that drove it...

Motioning to the Mistress of Training when asked who had been to the Blight before, she made small, shifting movements of her body to feel her gear and weapons where they rested around her. Ready to be used at a moment's notice, or an even shorter span of time, if need be. She was aware of where everyone rode, including the Ji'dar who rode close alongside her...close enough but not too close. The girl had taken to her lessons well.

Everything was quiet and still around them now, but Lysira wondered how long that would last. It could last all ten days, or it might not last another ten seconds.

The Blight Border was unpredictable that way.

Ubriel listened to the chatter of the small group. For a bunch of Gaidin and Gaidar trained warriors, it was about as close to idle chatter as you were going to get. More creaking of saddles than flapping of jaws, more crunching of hooves than wheezing of laughter; it was a serious group taking their task seriously and she approved. Still, they needed to relax while they could and she wanted to know more about each of them before she had to trust them at her back in combat.

"Alright you jabber birds... I am going to scout out into the brush. Ria, please lead everyone on and I will join you shortly. If I get eaten by a pack of Worms, I expect to be swiftly avenged." Meeting the mostly unamused gaze of the Gaidar Captain briefly and with all of the severity of mock seriousness that she could muster, Ubriel heeled Peach who sprang forward and off the path through the closest opening in the brush.

She wandered briefly to and fro through the blighted flora looking for any sign of activity with which she should be concerned. She traveled ahead of her group and crossed the path they would travel several times before declaring the path clear and turning Peach to head back. She was, as it turned out, wrong. A thunderous crashing in the underbrush to her left and slightly behind her as she was turned back to rejoin her party brought Peach's head up and had her whirling to face the disturbance. The rest of the party was just barely in sight down the rutted road and Ubriel hoped they were paying attention as she freed her axe from her shield. The massive things that came spilling out of the brush were, at first, too preoccupied with fighting each other to be concerned with her. There were two of them fighting each other and then a third came crashing out behind them, roaring and prancing; blight bears. The two fighting were males and the third, smaller, a female; Ubriel got the impression of nothing so much as a woman of ill-repute egging on a fight over herself.

Ubriel urged Peach to back away and Peach had needed little urging but did not get very far before the two rutting blight bears stopped their tussling and turned to look directly at her. For a moment that stretched on for days, Ubriel was faced with two of the ugliest creatures she had ever seen. On top of their unnaturally twisted appearance, they were both bleeding from the rents in their flesh suffered during their duel. Both were breathing heavily and turning slowly to face her. They seemed to be considering simply leaving her to back away from them unmolested until the female, still with whole flesh and frothing somewhat at the mouth, jumped on the backs of the two males, roaring and rending their fur. The male on the left rolled with a roar and swatted the female down. She bit at his claw as it hit her but missed. He rolled completely over and back to his feet and turned, angry and irritable to face Ubriel and Peach. The other male had simply roared and leapt forward when the female had attacked.

Peach whickered a battle-cry and reared up on her back feet, meeting the charge of the first beast with her kicking hooves. She bit at the neck of the creature as she swatted it out of the air before its leap could reach her. The impact of the beast against Peach's hooves sent a tremor through Ubriel and she squeezed Peach's sides with her legs, lifting herself slightly in the stirrups to counter the motion. As the second beast charged, she turned her hand and swung her axe in a broad circle to bring the blade up against the side of the beast's head. It pulled back and roared. The gouging wound she had inflicted did not seem to have deterred the thing, only made it more angry. Ubriel could not spare a look back down the road at her party but hoped fervently that someone was paying attention and intended to come to her aid.

"Idle chatter" was even more difficult for Lysira than for most Gaidin or Gaidar, depending on who surrounding her could understand her language of hand signals in the first place. She knew that Riahana could, and Ani, but she didn't know if the Dedicated or other Gaidin could and besides...no one was much chatter. Ubriel had ridden off to scout, and Ria was now in the lead. Lys followed.

Her almost preternatural hearing, however, seemed to catch something before the others did. Like the tiny animal she had once been called, her head jerked in its direction with her black gaze unblinking.

'Trouble!' she signed in such a sharp gesture that Ani caught it without trouble and announced it to the others. Lysira waited just enough time to make sure they were notified, then she heeled her horse forward.

Clinging to the horse's ribs with just her legs, she was already pulling three arrows from the quiver on her saddle. She held them in one hand while bringing her bow up, standing in the stirrups to avoid shooting her horses's moving head. Her senses never fully focused on the trouble ahead or even the Mistress of Training, because who knew what else lurked around them, but it mostly zeroed in.

The blight-bears made for interesting targets, but her keens eyes moved to the one closest to Ubriel. She nocked her arrow, sighted, pulled, and released. Decades of training made it a seamless motion and it flew ahead, landing in the bear's neck. She knew her arrow at this range would not pierce the skull, and she didn't want to risk Ubriel's steed shifting too much and getting hit herself, but she certainly caught the bear's attention and had another arrow at the ready...

“What is broken remains so, it is the way of things.” Valadin Manelle