Ripple One: To the Claw Stone
written by Norén al’Thanell (NPC), Croi al’Cor’vron and Leisha Lukonia

A storm was coming.

It blew up the dust and made the flags along the battlements billow furiously. The dark horizon of rain-clouds sweeping forward with the hard winds made Norén al'Thanell grit his teeth. His deep-set grey eyes had a silvery glance as he looked towards the two Warders approaching him. Both had the wolf-like grace they all carried. Such a grace he would never hope to carry, for his right shoulder had been deformed by the blow of a mace three years ago. He could fight alright, yet his skill would never develop further than the weakened shoulder allowed him. Hunched his right shoulder was, though his back was straight as he waited for the two warriors to reach him.

Two of the men in his company stood nearby, and both raised their heads to acknowledge what orders awaited. They were all edgy this day, for they had seen the Warder Halls burn, and then reshape again, even the smoke gone from the sky. Something had happened, for many of them had been ordered to carry duties they usually didn't. Thepon's elite squad was ordered off to the Grey Tower itself under the command of two other Warders. Many were in the Halls to protect some sort of meeting in the Executive Council.

Even captain al'Thanell stood on edge now, his shortly cropped grey hair stirring in the wind. He bowed when the two came into earshot over the winds. "Greetings, Gaidin and Gaidar. Do you carry order for my company?"

Looking over the familiar man as he approached, Croi nodded in acknowledgment to the greeting. "We do, Noren, for you and your company. However, lets not discuss them here, what is to be said is for choice ears, and none other." Shifting his cloak in an attempt to stop its whipping around, Croi motioned for Noren to take stride with them.

"Leave your men here, for now, their time will come soon enough." His eyes searching in as many directions at once as possible, Croi quickened his stride, making his way towards the Tower wall, where he knew with the winds no prying ears would make legible the words to be said. "As you know, secrecy is of the utmost importance, with as many ears alligned to the Shadow within the Tower as there are. We need your brains, Noren, and your experience with the area around the Claw Stone. You know the area as well as I do, if not somewhat more in depth. Assemble a war party, but no more than the Tower can bear to be seperated from. We need to be completely sure where every man and woman stands, so if there is any question in somebodies loyalty, they remain, under watch. Betrayal will not be acceptable; I will slaughter any turncoat with my own blade. We ride in 15 minutes, be ready for heavy combat; I will brief you further enroute. Slip out of the Tower as quietly as you can, Noren, you and your men. We will meet you outside with the rest of the entourage. Make haste, Noren; and if you have any maps of the ruins, in mind or on paper, bring them."

Lei walked with Croi as shadows do, just behind and quite silent. She listened to everything and saw even more. She kept a Gaidar's watchful eye on their surroundings. She listened to what Croi said to Noren, but as she already knew it, it was redundant. So, she followed and listened and waited until they made their way forward again together to speak again, before this began in the larger dance it was headed towards.

Norén had been in the Tower Guard for thirty years of his five and forty, and never had an order affected him as it did now.

He looked to the ground, running a hand over his short grey hair. Completely trustworthy? war party? within fifteen minutes. It will take a miracle! Then his soldier's determination kicked in, ridding all doubt. There was no time for thought. It was either to do it, or be idle. Nothing in between. Norén decided that honour went before despair, like always in his life.

Bringing his fist to his heart in a determined salute, the middle-aged captain lifted his gaze. "At once, Gaidin! It will be as you say." His deep voice resonated with military assurance, the vowels seeped with resolve. With that, he turned and ran for the Tower barracks, his mind running through all the orders that he needed to deal out, and who he would bring. He had been in the Tower long enough to know who to trust with information?.

Watching Norén run for a breif moment, Croi turned towards Leisha, stepping in close so as not to speak loudy to be heard over the wind. "We should go ready ourselves, as well. I've some spare armnaments in my quarters, if you want. Chainmail and a gorget, for sure. I havent gone through the crate in awhile, so I'm not sure what all is in there. I just hope I can locate Souren quickly... another one of my men. One of the best scouts I know, he will be very handy. Spends alot of time in the Band of Brothers, lately, so I'm hoping to find him there." Glancing after Norén once more, Croi lightly touched the small of Lei's back. "We best be going, Mashiara."

Lei looked up and nodded, "I agree. I will not need you extra armaments, but thank you. We should just be to our business quickly, for the hour already grows late beneath us." She said seriously, then smiled faintly for a brief instant, "Let's be to it then, mi'cue." She then cocked her head and they began walking.

Smiling, Croi ran his hand lightly across her lower back as they turned. "We should make for the stables first, then ride directly to the Tavern as fast as Mi'Bekkar and Daishar'dore can muster. Hopefully Souren is there, we cant afford to waste time searching for him. Notrym should hopefully already be there by the time we get there." Quickening his pace, Croi moved into a medium jog, his long, bound hair whipping along with his fancloak.

Lei kept up with Croi easily as their speed increased. There was no time to spare, and even less than that to waste. They reached the stables as quickly as they could and were upon their saddled and tacked horses, speeding towards the Tavern, which their steeds reached soon. They dismounted and entered the Inn with haste...

Entering through the back door from the stables, Croi searched the commonroom of the Band of Brothers with his eyes quickly, before moving quickly towards a Domani man, dressed in Andoran bush-wear. Pulling a chair out for Leisha, Croi quickly sunk into one of his own, locking eyes with the man.

"Time to work, Souren. How fast can you be saddled and gone?" Croi asked quickly, glancing down at the man's hardly touched ale. Bird-watching, I see. Suppressing his smirk, Croi looked back up at the man.

"As fast as you need, I suppose. Depends on what work I'm doing, as for what to gather." Sliding his warm ale aside, Souren leaned back against his chair, a set of tassles hanging from a belt-pouch standing out against his garb. "Picks and shovels? Or is it raven work today?"

Shaking his head slightly, Croi scowled. "No picks and shovels, today. Best get your wings, though. You will be flanked, at least a league. Every else you need to know will be found here," Croi murmured, sliding a folded piece of paper across the table. "Make haste."

Sliding from his seat, Croi adjusted the cloak on his shoulders, looking around once more before tossing a small pouch onto the table with a clink. "Theres more where that came from, as always." Turning to Leisha, Croi smiled. "Shall we grab a flask for the trail?"

Lei's laugh was soft as she shook her head, "I never drink on the road, especially when I'm working." She replied in her low tones, "We should just set back to work and move to the next point on the list." She added, still smiling lightly. Amazing, in the middle of all this, she smiled. She'd surely changed of late...

Nodding slowly, Croi returned the smile to his young love. "Alcohol fogs the mind, anyways. I had been thinking for the road back, but we could be riding back to find the Tower in the middle of a battle, for all we know. Best get going, in that case. It is almost time to meet Norén and however many fists he is bringing."


Slipping back into his saddle, Croi clicked his tongue; Daishar'dore dancing briefly before rearing slightly and breaking into a gallop towards the meeting place.

Chapter Four: The Shadow Unleashed
~Ripple One: To the Claw Stone
~Ripple Two: Chance
~Ripple Three: Continued Hearing
~Ripple Four: Fate
~Ripple Five: Death in my Wake
~Ripple Six: True Purposes
~Ripple Seven: The Wait and the Pain
~Ripple Eight: Darkness
~The Final Ripple

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