A Most Excellent Adventure (Attn: Bella/Natlya)

[Locke]

They were just two more faces in the crowd. Terric knew his cadin’sor and spears stood out amongst these Wetlanders. Nobody, however, would peg him or his companion as pair of newly raised Gaidin. Despite her myriad of weapons, Natlya Cade looked more like a pretty farmwife than a Gaidin with her cloak packed away. They made their way through Hama Valon’s busy streets in silence. They had been training partners for ages, but this trip was the first time they had done anything socially. They took to the road together almost as an accident. While they stretched after a rather intense workout, Terric mentioned plans to get out of the Tower for a while. She had similar plans to travel for a bit. The offer to combine trips started as a formality, but somewhere along the line the two excursions became one.

Here they were, two people who barely knew each other on a personal level, planning an extended vacation together. Glancing up at his mounted companion, Terric thought about his situation. He really didn’t know much about her. He was a thief taker, he hated not knowing about people. She was a fellow Gaidin, so he did trust her. He liked her well enough as a training partner. Even if she still tried to work herself half to death. He did his best to be a buffer, it was all he could do without overstepping his boundaries. She had an edge about her. He’d heard rumors of a lover who’d died during the Seanchan attacks. That might have been the cause, but Terric never pressed for information. Again, boundaries. That aside, he was determined to enjoy this trip. He needed a vacation, and from what he expected, she needed one as well.


They passed through the city gates with little hassle. The guards cared more about who entered the city than who left. Without their cloaks, they were just another pair of travelers. It felt good to be anonymous. While he did look forward to his new role as a Gaidin, he just needed to be out of the Tower. The place was too small, and rumors traveled even quicker than they did back in the Holds. Too much had happened from heartbreaks to deaths. Too much politicking as well. It all just made him itch. He was becoming claustrophobic. The mountain air outside the city was a refreshing change as he left the city gates for the first time under his own volition since ariving.

[Bella]

As they left the city, Nat did have a moment to wonder what she was doing. Her thoughts echoed his without either knowing it, since neither was talking.

She had come to enjoy Terric as a training partner, which was something of a small miracle after their first slightly inglorious meeting where she was killing herself in her mourning and he was trying to convince her otherwise. The Wetlander versus Aiel parlay had stumbled a few times with simple turns of phrases, but had evolved into a good training relationship.

Nat still worked hard, because it felt good to work hard, but she wasn't killing herself the way she once had. At least, the emotions that swelled within her when she worked were markedly different. Now, she was earning her title. Gaidin. When she followed Morgan to this place, she hadn't really ever believed that she'd reach it. Not really.

However, this was not training... Their offhanded comments had led to this agreement, and here they were. She supposed they would learn more about each other now, beyond how well they managed their weapons.

"It looks like a good day for traveling," she commented. Any craving for small talk or needs to fill silence had been trained out of her by the Yards, but the words just popped from her lips as she looked around; she took in her surroundings, like a good Gaidin should. It wasn't too hot, but it wasn't cold. The air was clear and the sun was out. Everything just...felt different, she mused.

[Locke]

Terric

“If you aren’t dead it’s a good day, I guess if you were dead you wouldn’t know otherwise,” Terric said, surveying the horizon. “At least it isn’t raining,” he said cheerfully.

As they turned onto the main road, he broke into a trot. They east traveled in a comfortable silence as the sun climbed to midday. Though he would rather have avoided it, road out of the Mountains of Mist took them directly to Baerlon. It had been years, but he didn’t think he was quite welcome in the city. It was an issue they would have to face when it arose.

When the sun began to fall, they camped near a creek. They had plenty of water, but he had lived in the Threefold Land too long to pass up a water source. Natlya Cade saw to her horse while Terric went about setting up their small tent. After a meal of bread, cheese, and salted beef, they spent the rest of the evening sparing before finally turning in.

Terric laid awake, staring at the low tent ceiling. The heady feeling of a good workout, kept exhaustion at bay. Thoughts of Baerlon and the corrupt city lord continued to force their way into his thoughts. This was supposed to be a relaxing journey, he wanted to avoid any trouble. It had all been a misunderstanding caused by ignorance. It shouldn’t be a problem this time. Forcing the worries from his mind, Terric practiced breathing exercises listening to the world around him. He could hear insects and nocturnal birds in the trees. The occasional rustle as wind gusted through the leaves. The gentle burbling of the creek and the soft snores of his traveling companion. The sounds faded together into a relaxing tapestry until Terric finally fell asleep.

[Bella]

Dawn came, and the two young Gaidin rose early by well-ingrained habit of the Grey Tower's Warder Yards.

Natlya had slept about as well as one might expect while out on the road, and sharing a tent with someone she had realized she didn't really know all that well. She wasn't worried of course. He was a Gaidin of the Tower, and so was she. No, she was not concerned for her safety, but there was a thread of...not quite awkwardness in her, but a relative of the feeling.

The sparring had been useful, however, for its familiarity. The yards trained one to channel any feelings into a good spar, and she took that lesson deep within. Still, it had been what it had been.

Come morning, they woke. Their good morning wishes were cordial though brief, neither inclined to needless chatter. He set about taking down the tent, while she prepared a simple repast for their morning meal. She didn't bother lighting the fire, as neither the food nor their sense of warmth needed it. Even early, the weather was decent enough.

Once they had eaten, they were back on the road and headed for Baerlon. It was not a town she had been to often, but a time or two while she and Morgan were still running their games. It had been long ago, however, and she did not worry for any sort of trouble. Those cons had been on travelers, passers-through.

They moved onward in their companionable silence, each to their own thoughts. Shortly into their morning, however, she spotted silhouettes on the road ahead and she tensed. Her arm twitched, wanting to shift back to her sword, but this was a well-traveled road. "Ahead," she said simply, feeling like a warder even without a ward.

As the others drew near, however, it soon became obvious they were...less likely to be threats. Evil cloaked itself in many ways, however, and decoys were always possible, but on the surface, it seemed cause to rest a touch easier to see two weathered, older faces coming towards them. Not elderly, per se, but definitely older. Surely old enough to be their parents, and maybe a little past that.

The two pairs stopped in the road as they drew near. The elder couple smiled in a friendly way. "Hello there, young folks. A fine morning to be traveling, ain't ya' think?" the woman said. The couple were riding on the seat of a small wagon pulled by an ornery looking mule, and they sat so close she was sure they were husband and wife.

"It is, good madam," Natlya said with a smile and her charm of days-past. "The road is in good repair."

"Glad to hear it," the man said with a jovial laugh. "Ol' Wiley here won't takin' too kindly to a bad road. He's told us that well enough time or two, I tell you."

The wife nudged her husband with a knowing smile in Nat's direction. "I remember when we were new-married and only had one horse between us; poor as we were then, we were lucky to have that!" She smiled fondly at her husband. "He always let me ride and never took his turn neither."

"I hope then you have as good and happy a life as we've 'ad together!" the man said warmly, smiling at them both in turn.

It took a moment, but then Nat realized the assumption being made. Her eyes widened slightly and she took a breath, about to correct the woman, wondering if Terric was about to do the same, but she then forestalled them both when she saw the...nostalgia in their eyes, thinking they were looking at youthful versions of themselves.

They were but strangers, so why break their illusion? Nat laughed and put warmth to it. "Thank you, sir. I hope that you find all your travels to be smooth and your days easy. Sky looks clear, so fair weather to you as well." She bowed her head to them in respect and then nudged her horse to the side of the road.

"And to you as well!" the wife said with a wave as they urged the mule along. He moved, but only under vocal protest, and the cart trundled on past with Nat watching it go with a bemused expression.

[Locke]

Terric

Terric kept an eye on the treeline as his companion chatted with the elderly couple. A group of highwaymen could use a couple of apparently harmless old travelers as distraction before striking. Therefore it took him a moment to realize what the woman of the couple had said. She thought Natlya Cade was his wife? His eyebrow twitched and he prepared to correct her correct them. His companion didn’t seem to care to correct them so he kept his own counsel. There was no shame, he concluded. Her assumption actually reminded him of his own greatmother.

When the couple was out of earshot, Terric let out a chortle. “She reminds me of my great-mother. She always asks why I’m not married yet. If we visited her roof, she would be stuffing you with stewed hare and zemai bread and asking if you’d given me a bridal wreath yet, before even asking your name. It’s all rather embarrassing,” he said wistfully. Neither had talked much about their lives before coming to the Tower, so he continued. “I guess great-mothers can be the same on either side of the Dragon Wall. They just want to see their families happy, which tends to mean married and fruitful. If I told my great-mother we weren’t married, she would ask why I’m not married, because my mother deserves to be a great-mother as well. Well my sister has children, they should be happy.” Though he complained, his tone remained fond. He thought he probably should take some time to visit Tessa and her children one of these days. The oldest should be deciding if they want to join a society by now. He should start a family of his own one day. Not any time soon, but someday.

[Bella]

While talking to the elderly couple on the road had made her smile, a different emotion crept in while she listened to Terric speak. She realized she knew little of his family, and it had never occurred to her to even ask... Familial lines were not something that she kept very close to the forefront of her mind, for obvious reasons--except, she further realized, they were only obvious to her.

"I am sure they all are much the same," she managed after a moment. The feeling that was slipping through her mind was...a sort of wistfulness, perhaps. It was complex, at least. "Or so I've heard stories."

She paused her speech, although her hazel eyes never paused in their roaming. They watched the road ahead and to all sides, occasionally glancing back over her shoulder. She listened close, to Terric and to the woods. A warder had to be alert at all times, yes? And so she was, making sure to not forget those lessons in her excitement to be out and about.

"I wouldn't know," she explained after that moment. "I was raised in an orphanage. There was a woman who worked the place, she was a grandmother, and acted warmly. I imagine she was probably like that with her own children and grandchildren."

[Locke]

Terric

Terric’s stomach fell as his companion spoke. “I did not mean to offend,” Terric said. Looking up at her, he added, “I have toh.” Wetlanders did not take care of their own. He had grown used to cities, but they were still too big. In the Threefold Land, an orphaned child would not have been put in a… What had she called it? An orphanage. She would have been taken in by a family member. Barring that, the Wise Ones would have found a family for her.

His eyes scanned the countryside for threats, but his thoughts continued to drift back to Natlya Cade. How had her childhood been? How had she fared? He knew that the harsh Threefold Land would have been torture without a loving family and the people of his hold and society. Instead, it was home. He reached up and gave her leg an awkward pat, about as close as he could come to giving her a hug. “You are part of the Yards now, it is a family of sorts.” He didn’t wait for a response, instead trotting a head a little eyes sweeping the surrounding countryside.

The closer they drew to Baerlon, the more cultivated the wilderness became. Evening was rapidly approaching and he could see farmers hurrying to finish the last bits of work before sunset. Finally, with the sun setting over the mountains to their backs, came to a stop before Baerlon’s gates.

[Bella]

His response surprised her. Natlya hadn't for a moment thought he meant to offend or upset her, and she wasn't either of those things. A touch wistful, perhaps, wondering what it would have been like to have a family to raise her...but since she had never had it to lose, it wasn't something she really worried much about it. Her life was her life, and she had made it.

Of course, he moved on ahead so she didn't have much chance to say anything. With a faint laugh, she shook her head and shrugged to herself, then returned her attention to the landscape and keeping her senses open for any trouble.

None was to be found as they drew near to Baerlon, and the nature around them shifted until they were upon the town. She gave herself a few moments to admire the colors in the sky from the setting sun before she looked at the town gates, which remained open at this time of the day though she imagined they would not be so for long.

"It's getting dark and we're already here," she said to her travel companion. "Shall we stay here for the night?"

[Locke]

Terric

The last time Terric had come to Baerlon, he had been tied across a horse. He had left chained in a cage. He wasn’t particularly thrilled about returning to the town. The next settlement of any size would be White Bridge. They should stop and resupply, whether he liked the town or not.

“As, good a plan as any,” Terric said without much enthusiasm, “We can see to your horse while we're at it.”


Terric didn’t quite know what he had expected, but passing through the city gates had been quite simple. Maybe these guards just didn’t know what an Aiel looked like, he doubted rumors of the Aiel prisoner had faded in such a small town. Well, Baerlon was small by Wetlander standards. Wood and brick buildings with tile roofs lines packed earth streets. Most stalls and shops were already closing for the day and lamps were being lit.

Without much difficulty, they found the one of the town’s only inns. It was a four stories affair called the Stag and Lion. Music, laughter, and the smell of food called to them.

Once inside, they parted ways. While Natlya Cade saw to Misty, her horse, Terric set about acquiring a room from the portly innkeeper and hauling their bags upstairs.

When the innkeeper asked if Master Terric wished a bath drawn, he demurred, asking instead for a bucket of water and rag. It was the least wasteful thing he could become clean, lacking a sweat tent.


Dressed in a fresh cadin’sor, Terric made his way back downstairs. The food smelled wonderful and his stomach was trying to gnaw its way free. He staked his claim at one of the few unoccupied tables and flagged down a serving girl to order. Eschewing a chair, and disregarding the odd looks, he crouched on the floor next to the table. It was an an awkward position, but he was tall enough to see over the table and when two bowls of beef stew and a pitcher of beer came, he dug in with gusto. He was eyeing the second bowl when Natlya Cade arrived downstairs. Grudgingly, he pushed the bowl towards her and prepared to order another.

[Bella]

Since she still maintained pride over being able to "read" people, Natlya didn't fail to notice her companion's lack of enthusiasm when she spoke of staying in the city. What she didn't do was try to ascribe motive to it. She was sure there was much in her past that she was unaware of, and so she wasn't going to try to guess. She just hoped it was nothing so unpleasant that he was miserable while they stayed.

Once they were at the inn, she saw to her horse in the stables while he went on to arrange matters. Misty was untacked and set up in an available stall with fresh water and hay.

Nat went inside then and spoke to the innkeeper to find out her room. When she got to it, she saw Terric's belongings settled there as well and realized he had only purchased them one room. Since they were sharing a tent, it was perhaps a logical step although it surprised her a bit for a moment. Once that past, she set her things away and cleaned herself up from the traveling.

After that, and she was in clean clothes, she went downstairs and easily found her Aiel traveling companion as he sat beside the table rather than at it. She flashed him an amused smile as she came around and took her seat, as well as the bowl of stew. They had travel rations for the journey, so she would appreciate the fresher food when it was before her. She took to it and a glass of beer.

As she did, not feeling the need for unnecessary conversation, she heard the music filtering through the air and looked to the corner to see a gleeman setting up. She smiled again--the sort of carefree, life-to-be-enjoyed expression that she had lost in the long interim after Morgan had died and only just recently reclaimed.

"It looks like we're in for a night of good entertainment," she said casually, but pleased. Hazel eyes returned to Terric and she took another long pull at the beer. "What say you to a bit of brandy when this is done? Never did develop a good taste for ale."