Two Rivers-Winternight

[Dallas Mathews]

OOC: NOTE: First two paragraphs are blatantly copied from the first novel, Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan, with minor edits. You just can’t compete with the beginning of a Wheel of Time novel. They’re classic.

IC:

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Born below the ever cloud-capped peaks that gave the mountains their name, the wind blew east, out across the Sand Hills, once the shore of a great ocean, before the Breaking of the World. Down it flailed into the Two Rivers, into the tangled forest called the Westwood, rustling dry branches in its passing. For all that spring should have come a good month since, the wind carried an icy chill as if it would rather bear snow.

The man shivered as the cold pierced his leather jacket, making him wish he could put his feet up by a warm fire. Numb fingers gripped the long, Two Rivers bow he had made himself, an arrow already nocked to the string. He crept through the reluctantly diminishing snow, ignoring the branches scratching his face. His eyes were peeled wide, so that he would spot any possible game before it spotted him. Not that he really expected to find any. Wildlife was scarce, these days. Wolves wouldn’t be attacking farmer’s herds, otherwise. Still, he had to try, since food was as scarce for humans as it was for those wolves.

A rustling ahead that wasn’t caused by the wind alerted him to the possibility of prey. He raised his bow, half drawing it so that he would be ready if he saw something. Unfortunately, what burst out from behind the trees wasn’t a deer, like he had hoped, but a large, shaggy furred bear. It roared, charging at him, and he fought not to panic. He drew the arrow back to his ear, and loosed, catching the charging beast in the shoulder. It roared again, and he fought to both nock another arrow, and back away. Luck seemed to be against him, and he stumbled on a tree root hidden by the snow, and fell on his back, losing his bow.

The bear charged forward, pouncing on the first prey it had had in weeks. The man felt the claws tear into him, and screamed. He tried to push the bear away, but his arms wouldn’t respond. Jaws closed over his head, and the last thing he heard was a voice whispering I have won again, Lews Therin.

---

Djir al’Hared worked the reins of the cart, edging the two horses that pulled it to the right of the dirt track that was known as Quarry Road. The wooden wheels groaned as they were forced out of deep ruts, and for a moment Djir feared that the spokes might shatter from the strain, but the tough wood held as he maneuvered the cart around the tree that lay across the road, blocking their way. The horses snorted at the effort of wrenching the heavy, laden cart out of the ruts, but the powerful beasts managed without any other complaint. His father, beside him, nodded in satisfaction.

Djrr glanced back as they passed the fallen tree, and saw the other cart that followed them follow similar tracks. The other cart wasn’t so large, and the single horse that pulled it was somewhat scrawny, but that cart wasn’t weighted down with what little produce they had to sell, as well as some furniture that they didn’t need but had to sell. It had been a hard winter, and looked like it was to get harder before the end.

His two brothers sat at the front of the other cart, and his sisters and mother sat in the back. A few saw him looking and waved, which he returned. He hoped they were warm enough. There was a heavy wind picking up, and he felt it even through his jacket and cloak. He envied his sisters, and wished he had one of the blankets they had brought with them.

“Keep your eyes on where you’re going, boy!” His father exclaimed from his right, and Djir snapped his head around. He yanked the reins, and the horses lumbered back to the left, away from the ditch they had been unknowingly lumbering toward. His cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“Sorry.” He muttered, generating some excuses in his head, but opting for silence instead. His father appeared contented with that. He eyed the tree worriedly.

“It’s odd that the road’s not clear, this close to town. If it wasn’t getting so late, or if... if it wasn’t so cold, I’d stop and haul it off to the side. Ah well, we can always clear it out on our way back.” Djir pretended not to notice his father’s brief pause, just as his father pretended he hadn’t paused at all. Djir was sure that, another year, his father would have stopped to clear the road if it was midnight and cold enough to freeze a wolf. But, this year, there was a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. Everyone felt it, Djir was sure, but no one talked of it. It was as if everyone was suddenly restless, uneasy about some implacable threat.

“I’m sure that no one’s had much reason to be out this far, besides us. Any travelers, if there were any, would come from the north, out of Taren Ferry. And maybe people had the same reasons as us not to stay out here any longer than necessary.” Djir said.

“Hmph. Could be.” His father grunted, and the brief conversation died out again. Djir made no effort to revive it. Neither of them was in the mood for any more of that discussion.

On impulse, Djir turned his head around again, to look at the other cart. It was still there, but everyone had their heads down against the wind. He smiled at his sisters, huddling around mother, who was apparently telling them a story to distract them. He wished he was back there with them, warming up under one of those thick blankets. He shrugged to himself. There would be more than enough warming up once Winternight started.

The back of Djir’s neck tickled, as if someone was watching him. He frowned, and looked past his sibling’s cart, down the road they had already traveled. Near the edge of his vision, Djir could make out a black horse, with a rider wearing a cloak that made the horse seem pale in comparison. Even though Djir was too far away to make out a face, he felt their eyes meet, and a sudden, irrational fear struck him. He could feel the hatred in that gaze, hatred for all living things. He looked away hastily, and when he looked back, the horse and man were gone, as if they had never been there at all.

---

Castir al’Durin trudged along the south road into town, bearing with him a meager pair of rabbits. His last hunt had been far from successful, through no fault of his own. He had snagged all the game he had seen, however, such game was in precious rare supply these days. He barely had enough for himself, let alone to sell after he was done.

Still, though, at least he had enough to eat, which was more than could be said for some, this winter. It had been rough, all around. Castir had had to face wolves for the first time in his memory. They usually steered clear of humans, but this winter hunger forced them to be more bold. He had had to fight back on more than one occasion.

Memory of wolves made him grip the bow he held in his left hand tighter than he ought to. This was also the first time he could remember that he had kept his bow strung and in his hand this close to Emond’s Field. Lack of food wasn’t the only reason that this winter had been a bad one. The feeling was impossible to place, but Castir thought it felt a bit like anticipation, the calm before the storm. If this was the calm, then you could count him out of the storm.

Suddenly, a loud bang rang through the air, causing him to jump. A cacophony of cracking wood drew his attention, and he saw a tall evergreen that had grown on the side of that road for as long as he could remember begin to fall towards him. He tried to jump back, but he tripped, and there was no way he would make it out from beneath it in time. Just as it was about to fall on him, another tree from the opposite side of the road, that Castir hadn’t noticed, crashed into the first tree, their tops meeting in the air above Castir. They shuddered, balancing on each other, equal weight canceling out the downward motion of both.

Needles showered Castir, and he stood, stepping hastily out from beneath the trees, he turned back to examine the improbable balancing act of the two trees. They were nearly the same height, and their tips met over the centre of the road. They were balanced perfectly, creating a triangular arch over the road. Castir shook his head as he brushed needles off his clothes. Now he had seen everything.

Beyond the peculiar tree-arch, Castir caught sight of a man on horseback down the road. He was wearing a black cloak, he was simply sitting, staring down the road towards Castir. He thought that the man could have been examining the tree-arch, but somehow, he knew that it was he that was being examined. He shivered, and not half because a gust of wind blasted him. It was then that he realized that there was one more thing odd about the man. His cloak hung perfectly still, as if the wind could not, or would not touch it. He blinked, and the figure was gone, as if it had been a figment of his imagination.

[Eiji]

"Somethin' wrong?" Djir's father asked. Djir returned his gaze to the road in front of them, shaking his head.

"No, just thought I saw something." He replied, still uncertain whether he'd actually seen the rider or not. Djir didn't want to turn around again or else his father would ask, and what was he supposed to say? 'I saw a man on a horse but they disappeared'? That was silly, and he didn't want to worry everyone else.

[Zennshi Dormu]

Castir's first thought was to ignore the strange man in favor of the improbable coincidence that had surely saved his life, but for some reason the impending collapse of the tree seemed less important than the figure on horseback. He couldn't ignore him for a moment, and then he was gone.

Castir rubbed his eyes and then picked some dead twigs out of his hair. He looked up at the trees in wordless confusion, often glancing back towards where the trees once stood to see if there were any lumberjacks nearby, but he could see none. It seemed almost as though the trees had leapt towards eachother of their own accord.

[Dallas Mathews]

The first sign of Emond's Field that Djir was aware of was the spires of woodsmoke rising above the trees. He heard the quiet bustle of the village, children running and laughing, people cooking, and making preparations for Winternight. Then, they rounded a bend, and Emond's Field emerged from behind a stand of trees. It was a small village, but to Djir and the others of the Two Rivers, it was as big a one as they'd ever see.

Quarry Road led directly through the village, opening to the Village Green, which sat at the center of the village. Djir led the wagon into the village, and almost immediately they were greeted by some of the villagers. Djir was familiar with most of them, having come into town often with his father to help sell crops, and he said a friendly word or two to those he knew. A few stopped to talk to his father.

Djir looked back again, and saw that his sisters had all run off to find their friends, and his two brothers had tied their wagon up by a friend's house and had disappeared. He groaned, realizing he had been left alone to help his father unload the wagon.

His father smiled, understanding the groan. "Don't worry. We don't need to unload right now. You can go on and find your friends. Here, take this." He pushed a few coins into Djir's hand. It wasn't much, but money was tight. "Go on, now." He took the reins from Djir, and hurried him out of the wagon.

Djir dropped to the ground as his father pulled away, looking around for his friends. He spotted many people he knew, and gave them a friendly wave, but he didn't see any of the faces he was looking for.

"Hey, Djir!" came a voice from behind him. He turned, and saw Hegh al'Tither and Durnec Alberan waving to him. He grinned, and waved back. Durnec was a tall, strong looking miller that Djir was only passingly familiar with. His long, dark brown hair hung down almost to his eyes, and his left arm was in a sling.

[Eiji]

"Hey!" Djir waved back, walking over to the two. He pointed at Durnec's arm and asked what happened, even though he already had a good idea. Broken arms and fingers were relatively common among millers. Right now he was mainly trying to make small talk.

OOC: I'll address Hegh after Durnec.

[Onstarr]

((OOC: Racism ;-; ))

[Dallas Mathews]

"Heh, funny story. I was helping Master Thane fix some thatching on the roof of the mill when I saw a fellow off in the distance. He had on a black cloak and he was riding a horse, and I swear he was looking right at me. I got a little spooked and ended up falling off the roof. I broke my arm when I landed." Durnec grinned sheepishly, and shrugged his good arm, but his face became a little pale when he mentioned the cloaked horseman.

"Hey, hold up!" A shout interrupted the conversation, and the group turned to see one of their friends, Castir al'Durin, rushing towards them, unstrung bow in a case on his back, and carrying a sack over his shoulder.

[Eiji]

Djir felt a chill run through him at the mention of the black-clad horseman. From Durnec's description, it sounded like the same one he'd seen. Could there be more than one, and why were they here? His thoughts were interrupted by Castir.

"What did you get?" He asked, interested in the contents of the bag.

OOC: SORRY SMITH.

[Zennshi Dormu]

He shook his head, "Two rabbits. At least they're not tiny. It's strange; after today I've never felt so unlucky and so lucky at the same time."

[Eiji]

"Better than nothing, at least." Djir commented. He addressed Durnec again.

"I, uh, might have seen the same guy. Black horse and a black cloak, right? He seemed to be following us to town just now, but disappeared. I thought it was just me...guess not."

[Zennshi Dormu]

"I saw him too, actually..." Castir admitted quietly. He shrugged, "Don't know why anyone would be visiting here at a time like this."

[Dallas Mathews]

Durnec blinked, mouth dropping open in surprise. He had been convinced that he had been imagining things, or that he had just glimpsed some farmer wearing a dark cloak in the wrong light.

"You both saw him too? That's... odd. I asked some people, but none of them had seen any strangers around recently. What with the weather, there hasn't even been any peddlers down from Tarren Ferry yet, which is itself odd. What would Bel Tine be without peddlers?" Durnec said, sliding past his brief mention of the weather. Most people avoided talking about it, these days. "But what kind of traveler wouldn't show himself in the only village for miles? Perhaps we should tell the Council, and get them to organize a Watch to patrol the country. If we have strangers hiding out in the woods, we should know about it."

[Eiji]

"Good idea, if the Council believes us." Djir agreed. He was unsure about the patrol idea though; it probably needed to be done, but what if the horsemen, or horseman, was dangerous? No wife wanted to lose their husband so close to Bel Tine.

[Zennshi Dormu]

"On a lighter note, I think some lumberjacks are messing with me." Castir said, remembering the incident just before he had seen the man, "Two trees almost landed right on top of me - at once. Someone ought to let them know that they're supposed to shout when they're about to finish cutting down a tree."

[Dallas Mathews]

"Ha! If you think you've had bad luck with trees, you should go talk to Hari Coplin." Durnec said, giving a sharp, barking laugh, as much at Coplin as because of him. The Coplin name had somewhat of a black mark around Emond's Field. The Coplins were known for causing a stir whenever they had the chance. "Daise Congar chased him up a tree to get her cat down, which she probably chased up there in the first place. That, or it saw her frown." Durnec chuckled again. Daise Congar's temper was as well known as the Coplin's reputation. "As I hear it, he got all the way to the top, and then the cat decided his face looked a better perch than the branch it was on. He fell all the way down, and to add insult to injury, Susa al'Seen dropped a basket full of cutlery out a second floor window, every piece of it razor sharp knife, right on top of him. Not a scratch on Hari, though, not even a bruise." Durnec's grin faded, and his tone turned somewhat grim at that last, although it was not entirely unheard of for someone to fall out of a tree without injury. But Durnec had seen the way the knives had fallen with his own eyes. All point down, stuck in the dirt, in a perfect circle around Hari. He didn't mention this, though.

"All the same, though, I think we shouldn't dismiss this stranger. We've all seen him, and he can't be up to any good if he's lurking around without showing his face. It's best we find out what he's up to now, before he works up some mischief. But we can't just go to the Village Council with just our word. We should talk to some other people, see if anyone else has seen anything. If more people have, then that's more chance the Village Council will believe us."

[Eiji]

Djir nodded in agreement. "We can start with the Inn, first. Maybe someone staying there can tell us if they saw anyone suspicious on the roads," he suggested.

[Dallas Mathews]

At mention of the inn, Durnec's face lit up. Thoughts of the stranger were driven from his mind. "That reminds me! Visitors came in from Watch Hill last night! You'd never believe who!" Durnec exclaimed.

"Who was it?" Djir asked.

"An Aes Sedai! And she had two Warders with her! Two of them! At least, they had to be! They weren't wearing any of those cloaks like in the stories, but what else could they be?" Durnec gave the inn a nervous look, half expecting to find one of the Warders standing outside watching him. There was only the ordinary bustle of people preparing for Winternight.

[Eiji]

"Why didn't you tell us sooner, I want to see!" Djir said, immediately walking toward the Inn. If travelers were rare here, an Aes Sedai was even more so.

"But..." Djir paused. "Should we ask her? If anyone saw anything, it would be her to see it, right?"

[Dallas Mathews]

Durnec snorted. "I'm not fool enough to bother an Aes Sedai. If you somehow survive her and her Warders, the Women's Council will have your hide for pestering her. Best leave Aes Sedai business to Aes Sedai. You won't catch me anywhere near them, if the Light has anything to say about it." His thoughts flickered back to the stranger he had seen, and for a moment a lick of fear returned. He wondered if it might not be a good idea to ask the Aes Sedai, just to be sure. But there was no reason for that. Why would an Aes Sedai even bother to talk to a few country louts, let alone take their claims of a mysterious stranger serious long enough to investigate them? Aes Sedai had their own agendas, and they couldn't be bothered with some lowly thief. No, best give Aes Sedai a wide berth.

[Eiji]

"Right...best not to mess with her unless we have to." Djir agreed. He walked into the Inn shortly afterward, the others not far behind.

OOC: I'll let Josh describe the inside of the inn and let Krim post first.