Tia Sedai
Tia inclined her head slightly as she considered what Lysira was proposing, then signed You make a good point. I suspect if we pay. . .restitution, too, it would go a long way in appeasing them. A man lost his barn, after all, and that is no small thing. Whether she was responsible or not, it could work in our favor.
The Green Sister turned her attention to her meal, and did her best not to rush through, but nor did she take as much time as she might otherwise. Once she’d eaten as much as she could, she pushed her plate out of the way. Lysira seemed to finish at about the same time, and the server came forward to remove their plates. Tia took the opportunity to settle their bill and looked to her friend, Let’s see if we can retrieve our wayward Accepted, shall we?”
The two women exited the inn and made their way to the town ‘jail.’ On entering, a man looked up from a desk opposite the door, “Afternoon, ladies. How can I be of service?”
He seemed well spoken, and friendly, which Tia hoped might be a good sign. She offered him a warm smile, “Good afternoon. . .I am Tia Sedai from the Grey Tower, and this is Lysira Gaidin.” It was hard to miss how wide the man’s eyes became on hearing he’d had an Aes Sedai in his presence. It was something Tia knew she could use to her advantage at times, but wasn’t a card she often played.
“How. . how can I help, Aes Sedai?” the man who seemed so confident a moment before stammered.
Part of Tia hated that he seemed almost fearful, but she pushed the emotion aside for the moment, “We heard you have a young, red headed woman in your custody. Is this correct?”
He looked over his shoulder to a door that led to the back, “It. . .it is, yes. She and her thief partner set it ablaze.”
Tia arched a brow and looked to Lys for a moment, “I don’t doubt you found them together, but I would be surprised if the thief was actually her partner. The young woman is an Accepted at the Tower, and we’ve been trying to find her.”
The man looked almost crestfallen, “Oh. . .uhm, but the owner of the barn made it clear he sought justice. It will cost him a fortune to rebuild the barn.”
Casting another glance at Lys, Tia reached into a leather pouch at her hip and pulled out a bag that was about the size of her fist, “We can compensate the man for his barn if you would be willing to release her into our custody. We will take her back to the Tower, which is where she belongs, and we will also make sure she is adequately. . .punished.” The Green sister tried not to frown, but it was the part of her job as Mistress of Novices she liked the least, especially when it came to punishing those young women she saw had great promise.
“I would need to check with Valin. . .the owner of the barn,” the man claimed.
The door behind Tia opened and another man stepped in, “Need to check with me about what, Gav?” He stepped alongside Tia and cast her a glance before looking to the jailer.
“Uh...these women are from the Grey Tower, and they say the red-head is one of theirs. They want to take her back to their Tower. . .”
“What? She burned my barn with that thief!”
Tia turned to face the man, and offered her best charming smile, “I know damage was done to your barn, and for that and the part of our Accepted played in that, you have our apologies. I can’t undo what has been done, but I can offer compensation in return for her to be released into our custody. She will not go unpunished, I assure you, though she will serve her sentence in service to the Tower rather than here.”
“What sort of compensation?”
Holding up the not-small bag of coin, Tia replied, “Monetary.”
“What kind of coin, Aes Sedai. It could all be copper, in which case, it is of no use to me,” the man named Valin replied.
Tia opened the pouch and poured out a mix of gold and silver coins on the desk, “Will that suffice?”
The wide eyes were followed by a rapid nod, “Y. . yes, Aes Sedai.” He looked up, “What are you waitin for, Gav. . .go get her out of that danged cell!”
