08/02/2000

Prison, Cubiyari'Shain

The smells of blood, of waste, of sweat and vomit mingle in a sickening
display. Guards in red and black stand two to a cell, hands on weapons,
despite the fact that the heiar'cue (sinning hearts) are unlikely to
escape, for their only options are a return to Fort Cubiyari'Shain or the
Arena. Neither an attractive prospect. Each cell is about the size of a
closet. What comfort need the heiar'cue? There is room to stand, and room
to sit. The long hallway opens up to a large room filled with chairs,
tables, and a dozen impliments meant for causing pain. A sickening little
dining room. Most of the heiar'cue, no doubt, would prefer to stay in their
cells. Some, the lucky few, are there only for an appointed time. The
interior of each cell contains one other thing. A copy of The Rules, one on
every wall. Even prisoners of war, who have committed no official crime and
may eventually become 'educated' into serving peacefully as one of the
de'sovin find themselves staring at those four little caveats through every
moment of their incarceration.

Strangely, though they must surely happen, nobody ever hears a single
scream from the Dining Room (as it is commonly called in this hellish
building.) Channelers -- the male variety, at least -- would easily see the
weaves of Air meant to muffle sound. Most of the heiar'cue are left
clueless and confused, for they are unable to see what goes on. After all,
those who are merely uneducated or straying slightly from the path -- here
for the relatively small crime of refusing to work, for example, or
refusing to report, need not be terrorized by necessity. Such is the will
of the Asha'Cor (guardian of night).


Denn'ryiel slowly opens her eyes from another fitfull nap. She's used to
seeing the bars when she wakes by now, but that doesn't make her any
happier. She helps herself to her feet with the bars, looking much more
collected than she did the other night. Sometimes a break down can be a
good thing.

"There's bath water and soap in your cells." Verbena murmurs. Her hair is
now twisted up in a bun and the visible parts of her look cleaner, anyway.
"I managed to get that much out of the tatooed man, at any rate." She looks
antsy, mostly.

A certain red head was just laying there on his back for the past hour or
so, wide awake and listening to the sounds of the prison, and mainly trying
to listen for when the guards changed shifts and stuff. Neelkan must not
have been awake when the water and soap was brought in though, because this
is news to his ears and he pushes himself up with a soft protest at stiff
muscles. "'ey..." He looks at the bathing water at the soap. "Well, 'at was
nice of 'im." he adds with a small snort. No, he doesn't like the tatooed
man. Or anyone else in this place either, present company excluded.

Denn'ryiel blinks, and looks at the cleaning instruments in the cramped
cell. So that's what she was kicking while she was asleep, and why her
skirts are all wet. Much of the water would have spilled, leaving pools on
her cell's floor. "I wonder if it's a good thing I'm always asleep when he
comes," she murmurs, as she looks down for a washrag.

"Well," Verbena says with a tired sigh...she hasn't been sleeping again, it
is too bright in here, "Probably. It allows me to win us some concessions.
I apologize though. Part of his plan, whatever it is, seems to involve
letting me out to walk around down here outside of our cell. Exersizing the
pet, I suppose. I tried to get him to take me around the Fort so I could
get the layout for us, but he saw through that."

Moving over to the water and the soap, Neelkan gets a piece of cloth and
just goes about washing his hands for now. They're still scuffed and
scabing around the knuckles from his assualt on the wall. But it's nice to
be able to see the skin again. He looks at Verbena for a long moment while
she talks about this, and then shakes his head. "Well, 'at's a'right. I got
a decent look from the back of the Trolloc." ... Not really, but a little
lie never hurt nobody.

Denn'ryiel dips her head into what remains of the water, bringing it back
out as soon as her hair is wet. "The... woman," Denn seems to have a few
other names for her. "That saw to my capture made sure I kept my head down.
All I saw was the ground beneath my feet."

"And I was knocked out." Verbena glowers down at her hands. "I should have
seen that coming. I should have cut the weaves. But my apology was that I
am allowed reprieves that the two of you are not."

"Feh. Not yer fault, Verbena. 'ere was a fight goin' on all o'er." Neelkan
rubs some water over his face now a little, then adds afterwards, "If ya
want e'eryone t' take blame f'r gettin' in 'ere, 'en I should've blocked
'at Tet-guy's sword 'en he slashed m'." Of course he did try. Which is why
he lost his sword. Tet just had more motion behind his swing because he was
riding when it happened...

Denn'ryiel nods her head once with Neelkan, turning to Verbena. "All of us
had 'should have dones' in that battle, including those that didn't get
captured. I don't fault you at all for taking advantage of whatever they're
willing to give you, Verbena. I don't hold you in any fault." Denn turns
her attention from her hair to the back and front of her neck, washing it
with her hands since there are no handtowels available."

Verbena nods and sighs, seeing the logic of both. She gives a soft laugh.
"The Tatooed Man thinks that Tetrarch only grabbed me because he wants to
start a collection of pretty Aes Sedai to play with." She scrunches her
knees up against her chest and rests her chin on them. "I almost tried to
kick /him/, too."

There's actually some times when Neelkan dislikes men more then women. And
at the talk of 'Tet wanting pretty Aes Sedai to play with' is one of them.
His gaze darkens for a moment and he grumbles angerly under his breath,
pulling up his sleeves to rub at his arms furiously. Grrrrrr. Then he says,
"'at bastard should stick t' the women 'round 'ere, if 'ey weren't all ugly
as ol' goats." Not true, there were good looking women amoung the
Dreadlords, but as far as this young man is concerned, they're ugly as
goats!

Denn'ryiel chuckles a little bit. "If he's trying to make a collection of
'pretties,' I guess that explains why he says I won't be here much longer,"
she says, making a joke at her own expense. Of course, he said none of them
would be here much longer, but they know that. She then pauses, before
whispering, "Thank you... for last night," to Verbena. At least it seemed
like last night.

"Tell your girl she's perfectly pretty, Neelkan." Verbena orders with a
soft grin at his growling. Neelkan is a trustworthy man. "You're welcome,
Denn'ryiel. We've all been propping one another up through this. And will
probably continue to have to." Her tone indicates that she fears it will
get worse, not better. For one thing Tetrarch made a particularly chilling
threat to her after she tried to kick him. Two. And so far he hasn't done
anything to live up to them. Letting her stew, she suspects. She scrunches
up a little more, wondering how he plans to see them through.

At Denn's talk about not being pretty, a moment after the Aes Sedai makes
the small order, Neelkan dips his fingers in the water and then flicks them
towards the 'not-so-young' woman, sending a small spray of water in her
direction, "Yer pretty, Denn. 'n I'd have t' kill 'im if he made ya part of
a collection." Which he would fail miserably in doing and probably get
killed instead, but it's the thought... right? "Ye'h... guess we're bein'
each other's... 'stable ground'." He smirks lightly, shaking his head, as
if that was a personal joke known only to him.

Denn'ryiel flinches at the water being flicked at her face, and blushes a
bit more furiously. She nods at Neelkan's stable ground statement. "I'm
glad I've been able to help, a little bit. I'm not sure if I could go
through this by myself," she admits.

"If we're not here much longer, its because we figure a way out. That eel
couldn't tell the truth if it went up his nether regions with the aide of a
sursa." Verbena's soft voice carries only a little vehemance. "He's trying
to lull us into a false sense of confidence. They all are. Tatoo even said
he'd try to get us in a guarded suite of rooms with beds rather than these
prisons. Quite an about face after all that talk of breaking and such. I
don't trust it, nice as it would be to."

The little mental picture that Verbena provides concerning Tet and his
'nether regions' and a sursa cause Neelkan to laugh softly in his cell. He
can't help it, it's a funny picture. "Guarded rooms? Would be nicer t' stay
in, ye'h. But harder t' break out of." And he has every intention of
getting them out. Carefully, he sits up a little and unties the sash around
his waist, having to pull the end that's been stuck in the fold of the
cloth the last few days. He's careful to keep it at an angle the guards
can't see. There's a bludge about the size of half his fist in the sash,
with the fabric tied off tightly around it. He pushes it aside, careful to
make sure the bracelet stays on, then starts to pull off his tunic. He's
got icky dried blood all over his chest and would like to be rid of it. So
the shirt under it comes off a moment later too.

Denn'ryiel purses her lip, slightly, as if unsure to speak up. Eventually
she does though. "I... I think I believe this Tetrarch. Not the Tattoo
fellow, or any of his other cohorts," she adds quickly enough. "I... don't
really see what he has to gain by lying. He has us where he wants us,
confidence or no."

Verbena wriggles around so she can frown fully at Denn'ryiel. "Its
rhetoric. Whatever he tells you, he still grabbed me off the battlefield.
He still let his wench grab you and his pet trolloc grab Neelkan. I could
see, maybe, if this were just a war, nation to nation, grabbing me. Okay, I
was leading the troops, fine. But you two? If he were that trustworthy he'd
have told them to let you go. Or he'd have let you go himself. Maybe what
he has to gain is a new darkfriend or three. If he can seem warm and fuzzy
enough, and make himself out like the world's nicest guy with all his
apologizing and healing...what do we have to argue against anymore? How can
we hate him? He puts up his blasted Rules to remind us how /good/ he is to
the de'sovin. As if being a branded slave is a favor to be applauded."

All that talk of turning them to the dark makes Neelkan snort loudly and as
he starts to clean the dried blood and dirt off of his shoulder and chest
with his hands. "Blood 'n ashes, I may've done a couple bad 'ings in m'
life, but I'd ne'er b' anyone's lap dog." Not a man's, and certainly never
a woman's. "I'll serve who I wanna, on m' own terms." Scrub, scrub, scrub.
"Bastard may as well just give up if 'at's what he wants." Not that he
doesn't believe that Denn believes... Or is upset at her for it. He's
just... prickly at times. And the thorn bush right now is a certain
Dreadlord named Tetrarch.

Denn'ryiel turns to face Verbena head on. She might not be a Sedai, but
she's not about to be torn down like that. "I never said he was
trustworthy, or honorable. I don't plan on having my life in his hands any
longer than I must. All I said was that I don't think he has uttered a
falsehood since coming here. You know as well as I do, Verbena, if he
wanted Darkfriends, all he'd need are two sets of thirteen." She shudders
violently at that.

Verbena looks absolutely sick at the thought of that. She opens her mouth,
then closes it, then just looks down at her feet. "I just...I don't
understand anything that is going on here. It doesn't make any sense."

And Neelkan doesn't understand what this two sets of thirteen is at all, so
he just looks at their reactions and assumes it's something bad that can
make people Darkfriends. Instead of thinking about that more he just
responds to the Aes Sedai's comment, "Maybe 'ats the point, Se-- Verbena."
Confuse them. Deprive them. Make them doubt everything going on, including
themselves. He doesn't know. He's not 'logical' minded very much. He thinks
and acts on emotions. He finally gets himself clean enough and puts his
shirt back on.

Denn'ryiel turns as she hears Neelkan's voice, and bits her upper lip.
"Maybe... maybe it's because of Neelkan. He can't turn him to his will,
except voluntarily. I... I don't know." She sits back down, weighing the
dark situation.

"Or its just not as much fun for him with the Thirteen." Verbena mutters.
"He seems to enjoy having us down here. Burn me if half the Fort didn't
seem to think we were free entertainment, that first night."

At Denn's words, Neelkan looks a little relaxed. It's nice to know he can't
be turned against his will...but... knowing that Denn and the Sedai he's
with would be able to be turned.. and probably Espi, Wyn and Kaomi too...
That kind of makes him a little grumbly for a few moments again. "Well I
hope 'ey got some entertainment while 'ey could 'cause we're gettin' outta
'ere soon 'n 'ey'll need t' rely on 'ier borin' selves."

Denn'ryiel chuckles a little bit at Neelkan, though with little mirth. "In
truth, I'm surprised we haven't been visited more often. Part of me wants
that... U'saana down here, if only just for the possibility of reaching
through the bars and clubbing her."

Verbena wrinkles her nose. "Or that Inole character," she says, in utter
disgust. "The men, to an extent, I can understand, even forgive, for
joining the Dark. We offer them a dog's deal for options. But the women who
take that route are nothing but scum to be wiped off our slippers."

"'n I would've helped ya. 'cept I don't hit women." A downside sometimes as
far as Neelkan is concerned. Sometimes he wants nothing more then just to
slug them. There's a pause for a moment as he listens to what Verbena has
to say. 'The men'. He remembers how freaked out he was when he found out
that dreams of the future were a 'Talent' and thought for a few moments,
that maybe he was channeling and didn't realize it... Luckily that got
reassured as false to him later on. But he doesn't know what he would have
done if he hadn't been... Bah. No reason to think about it.

Denn'ryiel chuckles. "Let Verbena and I handle them then Neelkan," she
says, feeling more lighthearted than usual, despite having spoken about the
Thirteen only a short while ago. "Only I don't think my right cross is that
good."

"Kicks." Verbena says with a slight grin. She yanks at the back of her
head. "Burn it! I hate being as a normal woman. I hate being helpless! This
thing feels like one big knot! If I could find the knots I could work
through it, but its nothing /but/ knot! Where did he learn to tie a shield
like that? Where?" She seems to be doing /something/...but it doesn't seem
to be accomplishing anything other than making her make quick, nervous,
frustrated gestures.

"'en we get back I'll give ya a few pointers," Neelkan says softly, then
looks at Verbena as she starts to... well... it looks like she's freaking
out again to him. He frowns, then glances over at Denn, giving a silent
question of 'What the...?' All this talk of knots and shields and... tieing
things... just doesn't compute for Neelkan. He may be able to skip out on
some of the weapon training, but he could /really/ use some classes on
things like channeling in general and other such things.

Denn'ryiel winces and goes over to Verbena's bars. "It's alright,
Verbena... I haven't had any luck either. Whatever his plans are, he's
found enough helpers to make certain the shields hold."

Deep breaths. "I'm fine. I'm fine." She holds on to her head. "I'm not sure
how much good being unshieleded will do..." She looks to Neelkan. "A shield
on a channeler, if maintained, cannot be broken. As I don't see any
channelers down here he had to have tied it. You can work through a shield
that is tied off...basically made to stay there without its maker doing
anything to it -- given enough time. However he has put this really really
complicated knot on my shield, at least. I can't find where it starts or
ends."

Ah! Alright. Neelkan seems to have some idea what she's talking about now
and nods his head a little, "Why dontcha just punch through it?" Silly boy,
he doesn't understand things like this, but basically he's picturing a net
he can't see of some kind. Punching through it sounds like a good idea to
him! Well, that or getting a knife. Takes too long to unknot something. And
Neelkan was never one for patience. He's only lasted this long without
trying to escape because of the two women. He won't go without them, and he
doesn't want to risk them getting hurt due to rash judgement calls...

Some mice come running in thru several cracks along the doors. They sniff
the air gently, wiggling whiskers before darting into Neel's cell.

Denn'ryiel sighs and turns to Neelkan. Not that she's mad at him, just that
she wishes it were possible. "If a person being shielded is very strong,
and the person holding the shield very weak, it's... possible, given time.
In my case, however, the strengths are reversed." She raises an eyebrow at
the mice as they enter. Don't the rats usually finish the runts off?

Verbena also blinks at the mice. "Great. Now the rodent infestation
begins," she says in an irritated manner. "At least they aren't rats. Be
careful Neelkan, things like that carry disease."

Consisting of 1 brown, 1 black, and one grey with brown accents, these 3
mice seem normal in most respects except for one thing. Each seems to be
carrying something on their small streamlined bodies. It's neatly tied to
them in such a way that it wouldn't hinder movement or their natural
ability to sneak into small places, but securely that it won't get shaken
off should the little one have to jump or duck to miss getting caught.

The mice are following his scent? Is this a hint that Neelkan needs to
bathe more often? At the sight of the mice he really grabs for his boot to
shoo off the critters (at least he wasn't intending to smoosh them,
right?), then he frowns and leans forward to peer at them. What the...? "I
'ink 'ere's something on 'ese lil' guys." He puts down his boot and watches
them with narrowed eyes, trying to get a better look without getting any
closer to them himself. Not that he has very much room to back up at all in
this cramped cell.

The one bearing paper folded carefully runs over to Neel, squeekingsoftly
for Neel's attention first off. The other remain a bit farther back for
their turn. The one with the note sits up a bit so show the note tied
carefully to it and waits for Neel to make the next move. Not they can talk
or they would probably say 'we are not rodents..really'.

Denn'ryiel definately blinks at the odd behavior of the rodents. Whatever
tiredness was in her features is gone now, since it's obvious something is
happening.

Verbena looks interested but doesn't want to call attention to anything, so
stands up and starts languidly doing her dancer's stretches again. She
knows good and well how distracted the guards get every time she does.

Hrm. Neelkan frowns at the thing for a moment, then reaches down with a
newly washed hand to little critter and tries to work on getting the note
that tied to it off as gently as possible so he can read whatever it is.
And it's a good thing /he's/ distratched by the mouse, because those dancer
stretched tended to gain his attention as well. He /is/ a guy after all...

The small nose of the mouse with the note twitches, evidently being tickled
a bit as Neel removes the tie holding it and slipping out the note. It runs
out to one side and the other two move up to Neel. They seem to wait until
Neel knows what to do next before they sit up one their legs like the first
one did.

The note would read...escape tonight...lockpick on mouse..sedative for
Sister..wait for distraction...

Denn'ryiel blushes, and whishes she had a teacup worth of the grace that
Verbena Sedai has. She catches the purpose though, and at least turns her
head away from Neelkan, and back to the bathwater. She begins to wash her
face since she hasn't done that yet.

Verbena notes that the two guards are getting even more interested, so she
starts humming and leans forward so that the neckline of her shirt is easy
to peer down. No, its not dignified, but it is definately making sure that
they don't at all notice or care about anything that is going on in
Neelkan's cell.

Reading over the note a few times, Neelkan furrows his eyebrows slightly,
then puts the piece of paper into his boot. Then he reaches down and pulls
off the lockpick from one mouse first, and the sedative second, putting
them into his hand and closing the fist. Then he pats the mouse that had
the lock pick lightly on the head with a free finger and wrinkles his nose
at it in thanks. Yes. It's silly, but there are times when this young man
seems like he's a five year old in a teens body. He glances over to look at
Verbena now and... he blinks at her, then quickly looks away.

The one mouse that gets the pat on the head squeeks softly, nose twitching
before it runs over to join it's friends. The three of them sniff at the
air before they go dashing out between the bars again. They avoid a guard's
boot about to come down and sneak out thru the same cracks that they
entered.

Denn'ryiel sees the mice depart but keeps from looking over at Neelkan. She
might not be one for distractions like Verbena, but at least she can keep
from blowing everything. Or at least try to.

Verbena suddenly seems to realize that the two guardsmen are staring at
her. Kittenishly, she leans back and looks at them with /big/ green eyes.
She places her hand right above her breasts, fingers splayed, and shakes
her head back and forth a little with a small smile. "Something the matter,
gentlemen?" Yes, even an Aes Sedai will resort to such things if she is
from the right area of the world. Such as areas that breed the most
seductive women known to man.

Wait for the distraction... That's what the note said, and that's what
Neelkan intends to do, though he has no idea what the distraction is. He
sticks the seditive and lock pick into a little holding pocket on the
outside of his boot, then fishes out the note and puts it on, lacing it up
securely. The other one starts to follow in kind. And he's going to do
everything in his power to /ignore/ Verbena. He will not get distracted by
a seductive woman. He doesn't even like seductive women... much...

Denn'ryiel, fortunately, isn't looking in Neelkan's direction. Maybe she's
the kind of person that would understand, or maybe she would just give him
one of those 'Men' looks that others have perfected. Actually, Denn'ryiel
does glance the other way with a little bit of curiousity, probably trying
to imagine herself performing thusly.

The Aes Sedai watches the two guards as they shift around, clear their
throats, and step a little closer to her cell. She's not sure what Neelkan
just got off the mice but if there was anything that would allow him to
open cell doors, she wants him to be able to do so without any problems
whatsoever. So she stretches, the silk of her dress comforming to every
little curve now, sticking out her hip /just/ so. "I do /so/ love men in
uniform," she says breezily. "Its too bad that you need these bars to keep
you protected from one shielded, helpless woman." Hey, if she can get them
to open her doors so she can keep them even more entertained while things
go down, great! "I could show you a few things." She winks and turns
around, doing another cat like stretch that just so happens to show off
her...assets.

With both his boots on securely now, Neelkan bends down and pulls his sash
over into his left hand, holding onto the wieghted down side and letting
the rest fold up in his fist or dangle down. He moves over to door,
watching as the guards are... obviously distracted, and trying hard to keep
from looking himself for a moment or two. Hate women. Hate women. Hate
women. Remember? He pulls the lockpick out with his free hand and sticks
his hand through the bars and feels out where the lock is again. Hmmm. He
starts to work on it, keeping his eyes on the guards as he does and /only/
the guards.

About five or six birds find their way into the prisons through a hole in
the bars that lead to some outside exit. They swirl around, chirping
merrily. One guard glaces up but seems far more interested in the 'show' of
the Aes Sedai's cell than a bunch of stupid birds, so dismisses them.

Denn'ryiel blushes even further upon Verbena's most recent moves, and turns
her attention back to the water. Men are such idiots sometimes. Thankfully,
one of those times is now. Well, most men, anyways. Neelkan wouldn't be
drooling over his shoelaces, she's sure. Sure enough that she doesn't
/have/ to look over into his cell. Yup. He's probably playing with the toys
the mice brought and not giving Verbena a second glance. No need to check
on him at all, nope.

Verbena twirls around artistically and leans back, once again languidly.
She starts fiddling with her laces, as if just /too/ hot to leave her
neckline so high /any/ longer. She pouts a little bit. "The tatooed man
lets me out. And I don't think he's handsome at all. Now two
big...strapping..." she looks /down/ as she says this, then looks back up
to their faces, "young men like you..."

One of the guards knocks a bird asside with the back of his hands and pulls
out his keys. She's right. She's shielded and helpless. Perhaps she's only
playing, but she won't be for long. He walks over and starts to open the
cell door, his partner chuckling and paying full attention to the woman in
the cage.

The sight of the birds almost causes Neelkan to loose his focus on the
lock, but he's able to hold it. Just a bunch of birds. *Click* A-hah.
Hopefully the sound of the birds and the seductive woman will keep them
from hearing that. He quickly shoves the lockpick back into the small
pocket, pulls the bracelet off the sash and holds it on his hand along with
the non-weighted end, then stands up and pushes out the door quickly,
knowing it will likely squeek to make his presense known, taking a couple
quick steps out and swinging the arm holding the end of the sash as soon as
he's out and aiming at the guard not opening the gate to the Sedai's cell
first. Specifically his head. Need to go for a good wound. Just hope the
birds stay out of the way. He knows the Sedai can pack a good kick, so
he'll handle the one not close to her first.

Thump -- thump -- ug... Not a good combination of sounds for Dimbo number 1
(also known as Guard). He's out and on the ground, the other guard turning
to figure out what just happened....

Denn'ryiel blinks and steps back as the commotion starts. Not trying to
interfere with Verbena and Neelkan, she was caught off-guard by everything
that happened. Without the ability to channel, she'd just be in the way
anyways.

But Verbena chooses that moment to do two things. She grabs the guard by
the face and kisses him soundly...then brings her knee up as hard as she
can into the appropraite spot. She then steps back, a fierce look on her
face as she holds both her hands together into one big, enormous fist and
cracks the guy right across the back of the neck, knocking him out.
"Denn'ryiel, ditch the vest. Neelkan, get her out of there. And then lets
/go/." She shoves her way out of the cell quickly. "When we do, Neelkan,
your first responsibility is getting Denn'ryiel out and that is an order
from your ranking Aes Sedai." Something is happening. She can be Aes Sedai
again.

Rolling his wrist around so that the sash starts to wrap around his fist,
making it's reach shorter, and securing it with his thumb. Neelkan listens
to the talk from the Aes Sedai and nods, moving to get the lockpick out
again and kneeling in front of Denn's cell. This one opens a lot quicker
and he puts the lock pick back into his pocket on his boot again. Just in
case they need to pick more on the way out. He takes the bracelet and holds
it out towards the Sedai and says, "I told ya I'd give it back 'en we got
out." And she doesn't look like she needs a seditive, so he'll give her the
bracelet instead. Unless she starts to freak out. "Come on, Denn."

Denn'ryiel blinks, but sheds her vest without any further instruction. She
looks a bit stunned that all of this is happening so quickly. She follows
Neelkan, trying not to look so surprised. "Lead forth..." she says.


Courtyard, Fort Cubiyari'Shain

Disciplined, quiet archers watch from the walls, both the interior of the
wide square courtyard and the street below. Their black and crimson
uniforms are striking, but they are wise enough to remain beneath notice.
Guards with swords are spread about the 'yard as well...four by the wide
iron gates, and in pairs about the wall, as well as a pair by the wide
double doors leading to the Fort. Anyone attempting to enter or leave
without permission will be stopped and dealt with. A copy of The Rules is
posted prominantly beside the doors. The fort itself is obsidian, square
and long in contrast to the Enemy to the north, whose fortress is
arrogantly high and the white of unforgiveable hubris.

A stable is off to the side. Occasionally men and women walk in and are
handed horses. A de'sovin (sun hand) can be seen mucking or caring for the
horses, his eyes properly cast to the ground. Etiquette breaches that can
be ignored or overlooked in the city cannot be tolerated in the Asha'Cor's
very fortress, after all. A copy of The Rules has made it to the stable
doors, as well. For the most part, the guards have ceased to watch the
de'sovin here -- fooling with them more than is necessary is a quick way to
earn Tetrarch's wrath. there are no benches or places to relax, and there
is little needless chatter. Such things can be done within the safety of
the Fort. Here, there is military precision, and that is all.



Its hard for Nilsha to make her way to the stables when she can barely see
where she's going, what with all the people running about and the birds
making her scared to open her eyes and lift her head. But its a route she
knows well, and so, dodging slowly between those who get in her way, she
approaches the building she had just left, still holding saidar and on the
edge of her fear.

Brennan has no idea what birds are doing attacking here, but he spies an
opportunity. With a a couple furtive glances this way and that, through the
mass of fleeing, crazed people, and maniacal birds, he decides that now is
perhaps his best chance, and suddenly darts towards the gate. This probably
won't help to bolster the tidy bit of lies he had been spouting to save
himself. But one must take chances occasionally, he supposes, in a quickly
fleeting moment of philosophy. Such esoteric explorations are difficult to
maintain among frenzied panic, so Brennan sets his mind and races towards
the gate. One musn't forget about the guards, however, especially when they
are supposed to be guarding you. The one who was so kind enough to bring
him down to get food shouts, "Stop! Stop that man!" and although his cries
are somewhat lost in the commotion, a few other guards have enough presence
to assess the situation and head after the man. His path to the gates is
blocked off, and he has no choice but to head in the other direction, with
a number of soldiers in pursuit. Well that didn't work too well at all. As
a bird flies smack into his face, he coughs up a few feathers, and begins
weaving new lies to save his sorry hide..Meanwhile, however, a few of the
guards have left their posts to chase after him...

Well, insert at least two of the people all this commotion is being made
for. Neelkan edges out of the squat gray building that is the prison and...
freezes. What in the---? Mice, birds now.... This must be the distraction.
Light. No, don't think about it. He pushes his way out, trying to stick
close to the wall and avoid the mess of birds and what not. He's starting
to wish he would have brought his tunic so he could put it over his head.
Or put it over Denn'ryiel's head, who's right behind him. He has a sash
wrapped firmly around his fist, secured with his thumb and dangling a
weighted down end. Looks like end of the sash is tied around a rock or
something. He tries to keep out of being noticed in all the commotion,
pushing Denn along the edge of the building, trying to see through the
group of birds to find an exit he can get through. Iron gates would
probably be the way to go.

There. That's much better. Yeeeeees. My birds are better than yours!
Muahahahahahahahah! Ahem. Of course none of this shows on Jaq'al's face as
he calmly maintains control of the ravens participating in the 'dog fight'
over head, but the strain is more than he would ever let on. After all if
he shows weakness he might as well have them peck -him- to death. It would
probably be less painful than the alternative. For the moment though,
controlling the murder (quite literally) of ravens is about all he can
focus on.

Oh...my. Verbena stops just outside the cell gate, assessing the situation.
Too many people. She looks up, seeing the weaves of saidin. Not good at
all. In a moment their distraction is going to be defunct between that and
the ravens, and none of them are going to have any time. The guards are
already chasing someone...who the heck is that poor sap? She looks back to
Neelkan and Denn'ryiel. And a determined look goes over her features.
Several long strides take her, not towards the gate, but towards Tetrarch.
Its probably not immediately noticable because of all the birds. She gets
close enough and does a spinning kick...it looks like a dance move but it
catches Tetrarch right in the solar plexus. Moments later she's snatched
his sword from his hilt and moves direclty in front of him, holding the
sword hard against his throat. She shouts so everyone can hear her. "I
sense saidin and saidar, so listen up! Everyone /drop the source right now/
or your leader gets it!" She then leans forward and snarls something only
he can really hear, especially over the birds.

For once, Tetrarch is caught /completly/ offguard. The kick doesn't hurt
him too much, deep into the Void that he is. However, it does distract him
long enough for his sword to be taken. He drops the source, but simply
smirks. "Daughter of pigs, I'm not done with you yet." he says with a
chuckle as he steps back a moment, reliving a little of the pressure from
his throat.

Well, since it seems as though some of the plan in working at least, the
birds concentrate on staying alive long enough to buy that little bit of
leeway for certain persons to be able to to what is needed. Mainly getting
'out of dodge' before they are seen or stopped. The birds don't notice
Verbena moving forward, or at least it doesn't seem that way at first. They
do part slightly so none of the peck or scratch her though. As for the
others moving away, it seems the birds are avoiding them also. The rest of
the people though keep getting dished out to like before. Pecks. Scratches.
And definately angry that the ravens have hurt their kin on the outside.

Hey now, that's /my/ Tetrarch!! Raine gets up to start running towards the
Asha'cor and hits a dead wall. She bangs on it. "Let him go, Evil Woman!
What did Tetrarch ever do to you?" Kicking that shield hard, she winces a
little as her toes sting. "Let me out and let Tetrarch go!" She looks truly
upset now. That's her friend and he is no more mean than a teddy bear.

Hearing that command cried out, Nilsha turns about, not quite sure what's
going on until she spots the woman stood with the sword to Tet's throat.
She hesitates a moment, before dropping the source. /She/ doesn't want to
be the one responsible for anything bad happening to him.. and after all,
she wasn't exactly doing anything useful with it. With a growl, she
delivers a sharp blow to a cocky bird that flies right at her, hand
impacting against its body and knocking it flying to one side.

The handful of guards chasing after Brennan manage to corner him in
a..well..corner. The sudden commotion with Tetrarch, though draws a wary
eye from each of them. There's little Brennan can do, though, without
getting a sword through him, other than stare completely bewildered at the
scene before him.

Blood 'n ashes! What is the Aes Sedai /doing!?/ Neelkan growls for a few
moments, wondering if this is what she had planned when she ordered him
take responsability for Denn'ryiel and get her out first and foremost. He
grumbles and growls, though it's lost over the animal sounds, then grabs
onto the former Tower student with his hand and continues to pull her
towards the gates, no matter what her protests. He may not be the type who
usually manhandles women, much less women who are friends, but this is for
her own good. It's nice that the birds aren't pecking at them at least!
Means he can consentrate on watching to see if any guards or anything head
towards them, and not worry about covering his head. He doesn't notice the
kid freaking out, or the girl he met when she was a Novice in the Tower,
now fully intent on heading towards the gates and getting out with Denn,
even if every part of him wants to turn around and go back for the Aes
Sedai. Sigh. Such is life. Maybe he /should/ have used the seditive on her.

Jaq'al almost doesn't hear the command over the commotion and his own
preoccupation with- Hey opens his eyes and shifts his intense, blue gaze
towards Tetrarch and this...'woman' who seems to have the audacity to
think- Why doesn't Tetrarch just fry her? Can it really be that easy to
gain the upper hand with the Asha'cor? Dangerous, dangerous thoughts form
in his mind, and it is a very good thing for him that Tetrarch does not
have, among his many powers, the ability to read it. Slowly he releases the
source, but the seed has been planted in the ravens and then continue to
fill the air with their caws their wingbeats and plucked feathers, not to
mention the bodies of the smaller birds. She just said to release the
source, after all. Too bad there were no other birds inside the bubble that
he could have latched onto. Before he does release it though he plants
another suggestion in their little brains, and half of them break off and
start circling overhead, while the other half deal with the rest of the
starlings. They've lost their fare share, but being 'evil' birds,
controlled by an 'evil' man, they don't seem to care much about it.

Don't think about what we're doing. Don't think about what we're doing.
Verbena presses the sword a little tighter against Tet's throat. Don't
think about how nice and attractive those gates look or how you are still
going to be...she grates at the yelling child. "He's the one who kidnapped
me!" She seems fairly indignant, over all, about being called evil. "And
stuck me in a little...closet of a cell." She glowers, furious. How dare
that kid call /me/ evil? Let him go her big toe. Her big bare toe. She's
still got no shoes on. She might just try to kill him, but for now she
holds tight and doesn't seem to realize that most of the color has drained
from her beautiful features.

Cold dark eyes bore into Verbena's for a long moment. He turns to the
guards over Brennan. "You two, escort the red-head and the woman with him
to the fields. They will be not be harmed by any member of this fort." he
twirls his head, cutting his own neck slightly to face Jaq'al. "Or animals
of this fort, until they return to Tar Valon." he says, and with that he
takes a step back and quickly grabs the blade of his sword, cutting deeply
into his own hand, the bone catching on the blade as he jerks it from
Verbena's hold. He tosses it up, catching it in his other hand. The cut
along his neck slowly stops bleeding, and the blade begins to glow softly
as Tetrarch resiezes the source. Lightening flashes out of the blade,
finding it's way through the birds, jumping from one to the next in
sequence, killing most of them with a single, powerful, blast. He levels
the blade at Verbena's neck and holds up his hand. The blood rushes away,
leaving an unmarked hand. "You have no idea who you are dealing with." he
says softly.

The birds are fighting for their lives now as well as trying to keep
everyone off stable footing. With so few though the people who have gained
the upper hand are soon killing them faster than they can get out of the
way. But at least it has gained most of what was needed. Nothing with so
few as there are now to do about Verbena, unless she has some ace up her
sleeve. For the birds end of things, they are done and the remaining ones
aim for the gate in the hopes of following the pair who are being escorted
out.

Raine grins when Tetrarch gets the sword back. Oh good! "Tetrarch's gonna
win..n! Tetrarch's gonna win..n!" Raine cheers again. Wait.. evil
lady...death...hmm, maybe a 7 yr old should see this. Raine looks to the
woman. "Closets are where Raine stores Raine's clothes. Why Evil Lady want
to talk about closets with Mean birds flying around?" Alright, mark stupid
mean lady now. Yep, good name for her.

Wow..Okay..Charging the dreadlords and stealing their swords is now
officially crossed off his list of escape tactics. At least some of the
guards were ordered away...Brennan glances longingly at the two now
promised free passage out, trying to figure out just how they got so lucky.
He's stuck for now, though, unless Tetrarch has another bout of generosity.

Blood 'n ashes. Neelkan stops and turns to look at Tetrarch at the order,
grinding his teeth a little. He wants to let them escourt Denn out and
march over there and beat on the Dreadlord guy. And he really looks like
he's going to do it too! But luckily, for a change, he doesn't make a
judgement call on his emotions and lets out a long growl and continues to
escourt Denn towards the gates, kicking himself mentally in the back of the
head. Blood 'n ashes. Blood 'n ashes. Blood 'n ashes. He can't just /leave/
her! He /promised/ he'd get both of them out. She's not going to make it by
herself in there!! She barely made it this time. Grrr. Grr. Grrr. The
self-confessed woman hater is beating himself up over leaving a woman he
barely knows? Well, prison time is said to bring people closer
together..... But he keeps heading out of the Fort, with Denn.

Jaq'al rests his hand almost idly on the sword hilt at his hip. It's a
weapon that he rarely needs to use, so he's not really sure why he keeps it
with him. Perhaps because it was the first means to power that he knew
existed. He looks at Tetrarch, and as usual his face is completely
unreadable, but Raine is right, Tetrarch is just a slightly mean teddy
bear. Killing them would be so much easier. Now where is that unnecessarily
slow dipping mechanism? He grasps saidar again and calls off his assassins.
One raven gets disgusted and sticks her beak in the air and says
'nevermore' in her head of course ;) before flying indignantly off to the
Blight.

Verbena 's eyes seem to be affixed in this permanently saucer-like
position. She also cuts herself nicely because she ends up falling
backwards to land on the ground with a plunking sitting position as the
adrenaline drains out of her and the realization of exactly what is going
on hits her. She looks quite dizzy and ill for a second. She puts a hand up
to trace the cut from the edge of her neck to her shoulder. Not deep but
definately a stinging reminder that her stunt--which now she's trying to
figure out how she got the guts to pull, because her guts have all melted
now--has just gotten people Mad. "If you could have gotten...if I didn't
really have you," she says hoarsely, "then..."

Fold the fan, and the blade snaps back into place in the hilt. Tetrarch
reaches down and picks Verbena up by her shirt frunt and tucks her under
his arm. "Because even the great Ahsa'Cor understands mercy." he says with
a chuckle. He turns and heads for the fort. "Jaq'al, see to it that those
two are safly seen to the other Army. And if they lose their life, Jaq'al,
so will you." he promises as he walks by.

Watching Tetrarch leave. Raine just sits down on the gorund still trapped
in her bubble of 'safety'. Hmm.. this is good. Sun nearly down. Her mother
will not be happy at all.

He certainly does toss threats around like rice at a wedding doesn't he?
Jaq'al doesn't blink though. He's used to it. Then he strides towards Denn
and Neel, not approaching any closer than 10 feet from them though,
following at that distance. He just has to make sure they get back safely.
Oh he could probably feed false infomation to Tet for a while... but
eventually he would find out. Some might wonder if he would really care
months from now, but he most definately would.

Now that the Asha'Cor has the situation back in hand, and the birds are
dealt with, Nilsha stands where she is, watching as the former prisoners
are escorted out. Not really caring to stand uselessly all day, she turns
quickly on her heel, beginning to stride across to the fort, pausing as she
passes by Raine. "Raine? Raine alright?" she asks her.

Neelkan doesn't wait for his escourt, in fact ignores them as much as he
can, and just continues to the gate, kicking himself mentally as much as
possible and angsting as the Sedai get's dragged off. It's not bloody fair.
It's not! He was supposed to see them /both/ out safely. Not one of them.
Both. Two. A pair. Pulling Denn along with him, he kicks at the ground with
his feet as he goes. Almost like a kid dragging it's feet because they
don't want to go somewhere. But he does make it through the gates with
Denn, and starts off towards... the Tower. His current home. On an island.
*shudder*

Raine falls backwards as her bubble disappears that she was leaning on. She
frowns and then looks up at Nilsha. "Raine alright." She says and dusts
herself off. "Time for Raine to go home to Mother."