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Played
on 2004/10/24
As written by the hand of Kheldar
24th Day of Danu, 999 NE (continued)
Well, dinner sure took long enough to arrive and when it did, it in
no way appeared edible. Never mind that then. I examined my options for
leaving my confinement. The window was barred, and although my agile
body can slip through some tight spots, there was no way it could fit
between the bars. The bars themselves were sturdy and set solidly into
the thick wall, so that would probably not be the best place to leave
the building.
The door then. Of course, the door of a cell is always merely the
first obstacle to freedom - and while in many a tale the characters cell
is in a dimly lit corridor, far away from any guards, I could hear
footsteps going to and fro right outside my celldoor. Upon examination,
the lock turned out to be of a rather good quality - it would be among
the finer locks I had broken until now.
That meant of course, that it would take a good deal of time and make
quite some noise. All that and success would land me in the path of the
ever-present residents. Since they had locked me up with all of my
stuff, it stood to reason that my present situation would indeed be only
"for the night". And if not, well, then that lock and I would have it
out the following night. In spite of the foul reek, I was determined to get
something akin to a good night's rest.
25th Day of Danu, 999 NE
It had been a long, restless night. I was tired, dirty and cranky,
but still had enough of my wits around to try to appear meek when the
commander asked me if I had learned my lessons. After a rather uncerimonious
exit from the gaol, I swiftly made my way back to the decent side of the city.
Finding a ferrying crew that wouldn't rob me halfway was the biggest obstacle
for this, but I managed and made my way swiftly to Tylin's Blessing.
The Accepted were all up and having their breakfast. The familiar
faces made me feel somewhat more at home. The word of our presence in
Ebou Dar seemed to have seeped through to the nobles, and apparently the
grace period to not interfere in our business had passed. In any case,
there were many petitions and invitations, which were at the moment
hotly discussed.
Something about the discussion annoyed me. I couldn't quite put my
finger on it at the time, but in retrospect the fact that the same
arguments and positions were repeated over and over ("But going there is
a move in the Great Game", "But not going there is also a move in the
Great Game", "Everything is a move in the Great Game" *sigh*) might have
ticked me off. Or it might have been that Tryane was acting all
conscious about which parties were to be visited, and what the
implications would be, and that we were the representation of the
Sisterhood, and that we should try to best reflect their interest.
Of course, after a restless night I lacked the good sense not to involve
myself in this discussion. I really ought to have learned by now, that if
these women desire to ruin their time by having pointless discussions, I
shouldn't interfere but find something to keep me occupied. It had been a while
that I had actually talked to ordinary people without a hidden agenda. But I
digress.
Eleya eyed me coldly and remarked in a voice devoid from emotion,
"So, finished peeing?". All good and well, I know this is some sort of
running joke - and I have also used it as such occaisionally - but the
way she brought it, so devoid of human emotion, was quite offensive. She
probably would have treated horse droppings on her shoes with more
emotion. Worn out as I was, I had no energy for this now and decided to
give a curt reply. Eleya has always seem more involved with appearance
and less with the task at hand, which was one of the things that had
become an incessant annoyance. I could see I was not making friends with
her with my answer. So be it - for the time being.
I disposed of questions of where I had been and what had happened
with ease and managed to turn the subject around quickly to the
invitations. It turned out we - or rather the Accepted, who had been
mistaken by everyone for full-fledged sisters - had received invitations
to parties hosted by many smaller houses. There were also invitations by
the four most powerful houses, Todande, Zopane, Tovrage and
Karistovan.
Tryane was trying to find the right way out of this mess of moves in
the Great Game of Houses (or, as Beh'larah likes to call it somewhat
derogatively: "The Great House of Games"). In retrospect this actually
might be considered a-political behaviour - the best way out of such a
mess in any decent story is not to avoid stepping on toes, but to take
bold action and use this to your own ends. However, at the time it
struck me as something more fitting for a Sister of the Blue Ajah.
Hindsight is always illuminated by the Light. Now I see that the
homey feeling was quickly dissipating. Eleya treated me as she might a
stranger, and Tryane, that sweet girl who every second day of the week occupied
the big comfortable chair by the fire in the library, the one person
with whom I have had discussions on the political manoeuvering during
the latter days of the Age of Legends, that Tryane was nowhere in
sight.
As the discussion moved forward once more, we arrived at the topic of
the party at House Karistovan. The party of our nemesis seemed to
promise some sort of opportunity, but how we could exploit is was not
really clear. I asked for our goals in this venture, which quickly led
to Raab Kirklin and what to do about him. Then Tryane uttered the words,
"We must prevent Raab from killing more Sisters." At my disbelieving
questions she did manage to convey that she had a disliking for
Darkfriends, and apparently no intention of bringing Raab to justice for
fear that dark schemes he played a role in would not be found out.
I completely exploded. Light, thinking about it still angers me! Here
we were discussing what we should do about the murderer of Eadrica Sedai,
a Sister who had had in a short time quite an influence on us, and
Tryane's proposal was to prevent him from murdering more Sisters. What
in the Light was she thinking!? "Well, you might have killed one Sister,
Raab, sir, but please refrain from doing so again. It reflects not well
on me, you know, because I was sent here to do something about this
murder. If you could please put your hand on your hearth and swear on the
Light that you shall not kill another Sister, then everything is well
once more."
Needless to say, things went downhill from there. I tried to explain,
... well actually I demanded that justice be done. Clearly they
misunderstood me: at one point the three Accepted actually seemed to expect
me to make an attempt on Raab's life during the party! I gave up... that
is, seething with anger I threw the door behind me. While standing
outside the door, trying to regain my calm, I heard some of the most idiotic
notions I had ever heard coming from the three Accepted. I went shortly
back inside and asked Beh'larah if she would speak with me later that
evening.
We did, and some things were cleared up. Tryane's complete and utter
lack of emotion concerning bringing Raab to justice was not one of those
things, however. Beh'larah also informed me that they had met some sort
of healer in the Rahad. According to Beh'larah's tale, she had put the
Accepted in their place - something which immediately warned me that
there was more to this healer than one would expect. During the relating
of this story, Beh'larah mentioned that there was not an appointed
leader by the Tower.
But that went flying in the face of the consolidated Tower rules and
regulations and established practices! Beh'larah assured me quickly that
there was always the hierarchy based on personal power, and that Tryane
would appear to be the leader of... Well, in any case of the
Accepted. With this we concluded our talk and I went to bed, pondering
once again the peculiar circumstances of the last couple of weeks.
I found myself entangled in dealings which were not my
own. It had been weeks since I had earned a hot meal by entertaining the
locals. I missed the interaction, and I had a stomach full of small and
big annoyances. Men were not created to be added on to a group of women.
The never ending shopping, the endless discussions over
inconsequentialities, bathing until the end of time, the indecisiveness,
the complete and total lack of competence or, for that matter, any hint
of a direction in which we should concentrate our efforts - it all was
getting, nay, had gotten to me. I decided to make a fresh start in the
new year and pay more attention to what I enjoyed.
27th Day of Danu, 999 NE
The time and day of the parties had arrived. Eleya would visit House
Tovrage, House Karistovan's direct competitor but lacking financial and
political muscle. Tryane would make her acquaintance at House Zopane,
the least among the great houses. Beh'larah's presence would grace House
Todande, a grand old house with a renowned history to which it seems
they would like to add in the coming years. I would accompany Beh'larah.
I can't for the Light of me remember who Tadra was supposed to
escort.
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