The Final Ripple
written by Caden Ives, Kile Durann, Bassal Toram, Nykolai Deoddyn, and Janis Tearsin

When Nyk had ended his report, the group was standing at the base of a tall staircase... in a long dark hall with no other openings than the one they have just passed through. The screams from the fallen beasts behind them did little too ease the tension that seeped through them all. Yet the place was dead silent... a fact that did not help either.

Caden turned his green eyes to the group and raised a finger to his mouth.

Walking slowly towards the staircase, motioned for Bassal to hand him the torch. While they stayed in formation, the Gaidin lit the grey and black mosaic beneath their feet. Wet footsteps of a man could easily be discerned in the dust and gravel. Others had walked here as well, and the tracks varied from cloven hoofs to large boot-prints. Trollocs, he thought, The tracks of the dead we left behind. No other steps could be seen. When they reached the staircase, the Gaidin Captain handed back the torch to Drin'far'ji Toram. Taking two steps at a time, Caden remained as silent as their shadows, which danced upon the ornate walls on either side of them. Ten men could walk the steps abreast, and the end of the stairs was shrouded in darkness.

The Shadow is very close, and whatever creatures that makes me sense it does not move. His grip tightened hard around the hilt of his weapon. Another ambush then. Holding out his left hand to the side, palm towards the rest, he slowed down to take only one step at the time... his eyes trying to pierce the darkness that hid the enemy.

Two loud crashes of stone against stone sounded directly above them, followed by a deafening rumble. And then everything happened at once.

When Caden saw the two giant boulders which rolled down the stairs against them... one a few yards before the other but both closing fast and covering the breath of the staircase... he grabbed the uniform of someone behind him and leapt to the side of the stairs. "Over here!" he ordered above the noise, eyes judging the speed of the threats. The first bolder passed, and he waved his arm "Other side! Now!" He jumped and barely kept his footing on the bare stone when he escaped the second one.

Pushing himself away from the wall, he stepped out to meet the expected attack. And he was right, for down the stairs charged the second Myrdraal, together with the three massive trollocs which had pushed the boulders over the edge. The Fade had dropped the cowl of his slack cloak behind his back, exposing his eyeless head to the torchlight. Caden met that terrible glare as he drew the dagger behind his back with his left hand. Courage is fear, when it has said it's prayers. He mouthed the Saniral family motto as lifted his guard.

With two blades drawn, he met the charge head on... aiming to deal with the second half-man as well.

Kile dove to the side that Caden had indicated with an arm on Janis to make sure the he was safe too. Once the first boulder past though there was still the second. As Kile dodged this one he felt the air from the huge rock pull at the cloak at his back.

"Attack!" The word threw itself from Kile's throat as he saw three trollocs start coming down the stairway with a Myrdraal behind them. Kile stepped back keeping Janis behind him, and let the others move up to engage the enemy.

He couldn't simply stand by though so as the trollocs were still coming down, he drew and threw a dagger that struck the center trolloc in his off shoulder. He raised his sword and howled in pain, but never missed a step.

His mouth dropped open as the two boulders came rushing down the stairway. He managed to get his thoughts together and jumped as fast as he could out of the way to where Caden had instructed them to go and back to the other side the air as the boulders rushed past making himn flinch.

Then the Trollocs started making thier way down he could tell his energy was failing fast as the dull ache of his limbs threatened to shatter his Focus. but still he took a breath and stilled himself gripping the torch in one hand and his Katana in the other as he prepared to meet the next onslaught.

Nyk glanced around, keeping an eye on the path behind them. The Gaidin Captain had told him to hold the rear, so that's what he would do. He didn't want it to be his fault if there was any ambush from behind and they didn't have fair warning. Nyk heard the rumbling in front of the group and whipped his head to the front just in time to dive out of the way of the first boulder, then scramble to the opposite side when the second came rolling down at them.

Nyk ground his teeth and prepared himself for another battle. He had really hoped that they wouldn't have to do this again, but it was a foolish hope, and he hadn't put much faith in it. Steeling himself, he checked his grip on his sword, hoping it would not fail him.

Jan had retrieved his dagger from the mouth of the trolloc and wiped the blade on the thing's twitching soon-to-be carcass, then resheatherd it and followed the rest of the group. It annoyed him a little to have a guard placed on him, even though he knew it was because of whatever it was that he carried in the sacks that Caden truly needed to protect. Still, it rankled him. He had been fighting Shadowspawn for most of his adult life, he had no doubts that he could handle himself in a fight.

His ruminations almost turned him into a grease spot on the stone floor. He barely heard the rumble of the boulders before Kyle's arm hit him in the chest and he glanced up to see the huge rocks bearing down on him. Jan swore a particularly harsh oath and dove to the side, being careful not to let the bags touch the water, and came up in a roll on the far side of the stairs. The Aielman chuckled weakly and shook his head, he really had to start paying better attention to his surroundings, or someone was going to get hurt. And, if his luck held true to form, it would probably be him.

Jan's thoughts were interrupted again by Kile's command. His head jerked up again and he saw the three trollocs start down the stairs, and Captain Ives moving past them to engage something else...

Myrdraal.

Jan almost froze in fear again, but managed to avert his eyes from the creature before he did so. Light, why was it always Myrdraal? Why not something safer, like a Darkhound? Or a Draghkar? Jan could deal with those. The Aielman shook his head and drew Skyfire from it's sheath, blinking as he realized Kile had come between him and the approaching enemy. "Bloody protective nuisance," Jan muttered under his breath as he unshouldered the bags and set them in a dry corner of the stairwell.

"Well, come on then!" Jan shouted to the Trollocs, regretting it almost imeediately as he did so. The scream from the previous encounter had left his throat more thn a little raw. "Let's get this over with, I've got a Darkfriend to kill!"

In order to reach the Fade, Caden would have to get past the three trollocs.

Two of them came directly at him as he leapt up the stairs, and his eyes followed the edges of their axe and scythe-sword. He tried to discern which angle they would attack him from, judging the outline of their bearing and composure, and his guard shifted slightly to adjust after their movements. Then he reached them. He was just going to thrust his sword into the one to the left first, when a dagger whirled past him and embedded itself into the creature's shoulder. Turning the stab into a slash towards the second one instead, Caden caught the falling two-handed axe on the side and glanced the attack off. Quickly stepping up two steps and ducking low under the thrown-out fist of the first one, he ran his dagger into the trolloc's side. Spinning around with his step, he wrenched the shorter blade free from the dirty boiled leather armour it wore... leaving the two wounded trollocs and the hale one to his companions below. He had rounded on the Myrdraal and set his steps mordantly upwards.

The eye-less one carried itself as if it was the king of the ruins, drawing its blade gradually from its black sheath and stepping down to meet him. "You will die as well," Caden said as he circled the creature sideways so that the other would not have the sloping stairs on its side, "just like the one below."

There was silence first. "What irony," it said then, its features straining in something that could be taken for a smile, "to be threatened by a man ignorant of what a fool he has been played for." Caden's eyes neither widened nor narrowed by the simple statement. He stared back impassively as the Fade resumed; "Don't you realise that you are down here for a reason? Tell me, who do you protect Warder? Could it be the Amyrlin Seat?"

At that, the void and the flame flickered and his eyes narrowed incredulously.

"Yes... I know who you are. The Runelord who became human when we lost by the Crystal Lake... when we lost the Fortress. I was there. I saw you back then; when you were as young as your followers. You betrayed us. And for your treason, you will die." Caden listened but refused his mind to dive further into the revelations. Below him, Kile and the others were fighting the trollocs' onslaught. The Myrdraal poised his blade in the torchlight, and the hollow sockets where the eyes should have been were shadowed. "And by Shar'rahien's design, and by the dark prophecy, the Great Lord will earn footing in these Mountains. The Tower will be our stronghold, and we will be able to strike from within the very centre of the nations. Be aware, that we could not have succeeded without you."

"You have yet to prevail," replied Caden as he sheathed his dagger behind his back again, "And I might not always have been human, but I still walk in the Light. You cannot bore me to death." With both hands on the hilt, he stood prepared......

Kile watched as Caden wounded the two trollocs to manuver past them and up to the Halfman. Kile spared a glance up at Caden who looked to be talking to the Fade, an unerving experience to be sure. His thought was cut off by Janis shouting though and that sound spurred him into action. He thought he also heard some mumbling but he ignored that as he surged up to engage the unwounded Trolloc who was weilding a flail. The monstrous beast let out a gutteral war cry as it swung its heavy headed weapon toward Kile's head. Kile's eyes widened as he threw himself to the floor. The head of the mace impacted heavily against the wall of the staircase and chipped off inches of stone from the ancient hall. Kile rolled himself to the left just in time to avoid the powerful swing that was meant to destroy him on the stairs. He picked himself up just in time to step in and use Parting the Silk to just barely slice through the rough leather armor on the shadowspawns belly. The reaction of the huge beast was much more than he had expected however. The trolloc spun and grabbed his uniform with its off hand and smashed him into the wall.

Stars flashed in his eyes, but the Void stayed with him and he managed to get his blade up just in time to slice upwards into the thick wrist of the large arm. It wouldn't have been a crucial attack, but with the motion of the trollocs arm the razor sharp katana sliced through the tendons that control the hand. The shadowspawn dropped its flail and as it threw Kile bodily to the other side of the staircase, he managed to get his sword around for a draw cut on the beasts throat. He flew into the center trolloc that he had wounded not long ago and knocked it over as it was already off balance from Caden's damage. Kile's sword dropped from his hand on the impact.

Jan watched Kile sprint up the stairs towards the Trollocs and shook his head, so much for protecting me, eh Kile?, he thought with a little grin. That same grin disappeaered as Kile quickly got himself into trouble. The Flail-wielding trolloc went down with blood spewing from both it's arm and it's throat, but the other Trolloc was not nearly so grievously wounded, and it still had it's weapon where Kile had lost his.

Jan moved fast, the third trolloc was coming straight down the stairs at him, but he didn't have time to exchange pleasantries. He ducked under the thing's first slash, then slammed his shoulder straight into the thing's armored mid-section and lifted. The shoulder throw sent the thing hurtling over the Aielman to land with a huge crash behind him. Jan didn't take the time to look over his shoulder, he expected the two younger trainees could deal with one dazed trolloc, and Kile needed him roght now.

The Trolloc That Kile had wounded raised it's sword to get one lethal blow in at the Ji'alantin, but Jan got there first. His sword intercepted the Shadowspawn's blade before it even neared Kile's body, and his left hand darted down and hauled Kile bodily to his feet and thrust the man behind him. The trolloc roared and swung it's blade at the Aielman, but despite the beast's impressive speed, Jan was aster. He caught the swing on the flat of his own blade, then stepped in close and proceeded to hammer his fist into the Trolloc's sneering visage. Jan's gauntleted fist was more than a match for the Trolloc's flesh and bone, and By the third blow, Jan heard the crunch of breaking bones.

The Trolloc roared and swiped it's arms, and one caught Jan a glancing blow tot he head. The Aielman reeled backwards, nearly losing his footing and tumbling head-over-heel back down the stairs. but he managed to keep his footing, and when he looked back to the Trolloc, it's blade was coming straight at his nose.

jan ducked quickly and lunged forward, feeling his blaed scrape sideways on the Trolloc's heavy armor. The Aielman pressed in, driving the point farther up and to the right, searching for...

There! Jan found the chink in the Trolloc's armor where Kile's knife had driven in, and he thrust his blade in with all his might. The trolloc's how of pain turned into a gurgle, and it collapsed on the steps with a low moan.

Jan got to his feet and yanked his sword free of the Trolloc, turning backdown the steps to see how the other two trainees were faring against the Trolloc Jan had flipped towards them.

His teeth ground as the Trollocs drew closer but before any became apparent on going for him Kile rushed onwards and he prepared to move forward aslo when he saw Kile being launched into another Trolloc Blood and ashes thankfully the Trolloc that threw him was down in its death throws and he moved foward just in time for a leg of the Trolloc flipped by Jan to impact solidly on his left shoudler.

After the impact he staggered back a bit pain rushing from his shoulder it was stiff but he could move it then he noticed Light I've dropped to torch again gritting hi teeth he saw the Trolloc was rising ,slowly, but it was rising Trolloc now, torch later he moved forward forcing his left arm round to grab his blade and quickly slashed down with The Courtier Taps His Fan, only to have it paried by the large double bladed axe which was promptly swung at him. the Trolloc was moving slow which gave him time to step back away form the swing and lunge forward in a stab but the angle was off and he impacted against chain mail and he quickly had to arc his blade round to the right to catch the next heavy blow from the axe or have his head taken off.

Gritting his teeth harder he lashed out with his left leg with a growl bringing it round to impact with The Trollocs knee hard, the bone didn't give way and he thought he heard his bones crack, but it did give a painful sounding grunt and lowered its gaurd for a second. He quickly arced his blade back to the left and upwards towards the Trollocs throat drawing the blade across it quickly, the Trolloc apeared to try and scream but it just dropped in a heap. He was gasping for breath knwoing that if the Trolloc wasn't hurt from that throw he wouldn't be alive to gasp for it he looked up and saw Janis turning round from the last Trolloc he gave him a slight smile but pain almost turned it into a grimace.

Tranquility. Caden saw through the emotionless womb of the void how the Myrdraal finally made the first draw. The dark blade flashed forward in its hands, and the fang of the serpent strove to end his life in a lounge towards his heart.

And the next instant, it was over.

The Gaidin Captain turned to face the trainees while he sheathed his sabre. And as he let the void and the flame vanish in his mind, the memory of how he had killed the creature... how he had blocked the blow horizontally and rammed his shoulderplate into the enemy, then spun back a full turn in Whirlwind on the Mountain to take of the head... evaporated as well. While the Fade's eyeless head rolled down the stairs and the flailing body trashed behind him, Caden stepped down to the trainees with a sombre look on his face. Had he been the fraction of an instant too slow, he would have been dead instead of the shadowspawn. Moreover, the encounter had not been won by skill as much as with tactic... for he had suspected the creature's intent to take him out fast and then turn towards his companions. Thus he had been well prepared.

"Well fought," he told the five waiting below, "I sense no more shadowspawn. At east not as far as the abilities my bond provides me*. Only Clavil Fon'har should remain now." He rested his hand upon his basket-guarded hilt as he considered his options once more. He could see no choice, no more than when he had considered them before the last encounter. So he took a deep breath and began to tell them what was next.

"Companions. I did not tell you earlier, for there was no time, but Lelianna Damodred Sedai, the Amyrlin Seat, and my Aes Sedai, has been struck unconscious and most likely captured. I sensed this through my bond to her when I fought the first Half-man," he explained in low, ominous voice. He let the fact linger in the air before resuming: "Thus, I stand before a dilemma, as you can see. My Aes Sedai is in grave danger, yet like Nykolai told you, so is the whole Tower if we do not seal the tunnel for the Shadow's forces. I... have had to face a few hard decisions in my time as Gaidin Captain. But none as hard as this one. In the end, we are all mere men. And I... I cannot neglect my duty, my sole obligation which defines my life. I'm a Warder. The Amyrlin Seat needs me... my Aes Sedai needs me.

"Hence, I leave you now to fulfill our mission."

He looked away from the faces of his companions. He did not want to see the disappointment he expected there. A leader should not abandon his men at the culmination of the mission, and he was their leader. His intent stood against every instinct he owned as a leader... against every teaching in warfare, strategy and tactics he had heard regarding leadership. Instead of seeing their faces, he walked over to the two bundles lying by the wall and handed them back to Janis Tearsin. "This is black powder. It is made by grounding charcoal, earth crystals and limestone, and then adding a dust which the Illuminators of the nations produce. When you lit this mixture of powders, you get an explosion which will break even stone. In order to seal the tunnel, you need to place these bundles in some rifts in the ceiling. Let them be quite separated... that way you will gain the greatest effect. In order to do this without killing yourself," he said while opening a pocket at the side of a bundle and pulling out a long oil-sodden rope, "you put the fire to the end of this fuse. After that, you run."

With that Caden took a few steps down the stairs. "Clavil's tracks are easy to follow in this dust. Give my warmest regards to him. If you take him alive, he could be interrogated. If not, I will not hold it against you. Afterwards, make your way back to the Tower and report to me. May the light illumine you all," he said and then added; "And I.. hope you understand my decision."

Kile listened silently as he stepped forward toward the Gaidin Captain. His face was blank despite the pain of being tossed around like a rag doll. He was certain that at least one rib was broken and he had bruises all over, but inside the Void it was all merely a sliver in his finger. Kile saluted the Captain with a fist to the heart. A Warder had to do his job and protect his Aes Sedai, and Kile respected that.

Since none said anything, Caden took Kile's salute as as an understanding. At least one of them understands me, he thought and turned to Kile. "Ji'alantin Kile Durann, you will reassume command of your trainees, along with Janis Tearsin and Nykolai Deoddyn here. I rely on you all to prevent the Shadow from reaching these ruins. Now go after Clavil. Hurry!"

With that, Caden turned and left them behind, settinga grim pace to save his Aes Sedai, and his hidden love.

In order to follow Caden, you need to go to Chapter Five: The Final Ripple.

To follow the Trainees' hunt for Clavil, you should go here, to Ripple Five in the next Chapter.

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

Return to the Ripples Intro