Pace stands near Fiallain, his clothes of much higher quality than those he traveled in, but he still wears a long black coat over it all, the top button unbuttoned. A bead of sweat rolls down the side of his forehead as he pulls at the sleeves of his coat. Marching into a bees nest here. He watches Fiallain with sideways glances as she stands grimacing outside the palace. The woman is going to grind her teeth down to stubs. He smiles slightly in spite of himself. "I would not dream of laughing Fiallain. I like my skin attached." He looks to the Palace with a more stern expression. "I feel better because I can count on you to watch our backs in there. I will be focused on the displays, especially since there might be other items of interest in there."
At the entrance Pace scowls at the thought of disarming himself, but surrenders his weapons without comment. I am the weapon. The steel is just a reminder. He walks slowly through the palace halls, carefully noting the items on display, and looking for ways to get into the Inner Palace with the One Source that the guards might not think of.
"I feel better because I can count on you to watch our backs in there. I will be focused on the displays, especially since there might be other items of interest in there."
Fiallain darts a somewhat softer glance over at her companion and nods. That is well. Have no fear for your back today, Pace Majal. Nothing will come at you from that direction while I am here.
She gives his shoulder a brief squeeze. Right, let's get this over with.
Alathea looks across the displays of priceless artifacts and catches a glimpse of Fiallain. She is wearing one of Alathea's dresses, the blue wool with the red trim. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't quite fit the taller woman, but even so, it looks good! If I didn't know her, I'd never guess that she is Aiel! Even so, she frowns a bit: as it's tailored for her, the dress ends a few of inches above Fiallain's ankles. It's a shame that I couldn't give her a dress that doesn't flaunt her skin like that. If we're going to be in the city for a while, perhaps I can commission a dress that fits her...
Alathea looks to be sure that Jasper is busy looking at something else, then leans over to whisper to Jak. "Look at Fiallain! Isn't she beautiful in that dress?"
Your groups pass through the gates unmolested and proceed to wander around the Outer Palace, marveling at the various artifacts on display. And they are indeed marvels, skeletons of mysterious beasts not seen by any living eyes, fancy jewelry and baubles that glitter behind glass display cases, large urns that look of Sea Folk design only much larger than any of you have heard them being made. The displays seem unending. And even still, this appears to be only half the collection with displays standing empty during areas of renovation.
At one point during the day Jasmine swoons and collapses to the floor. Servants rush to her side to aid her in rising, fully believing her to have suffered a mild heat attack.
Throughout all of this you don't see any item matching the description of the bracelet. Most of you get the impression that this searching could take days or even weeks with the number of items present, and that's just for the Palace, not including the wharehouse as well.
Jasmine briefly comes to and stands when the attention is given to her. Giving a fluttering sigh, Jasmine murmurs The heat...I must lie down please... she says before pretending to swoon again, this time falling into Jed's arms.
Jed looks up at the servants. "She needs a comfortable place to lie down for a few moments." Jed picks up Jasmine and waits to follow one of the servants, hopefully to a backroom.
Alathea looks over to where Jasmine has swooned, and watches Jed argue with the guardsmen. As the guards near them are looking over to see what sort of disturbance has presented itself, it certainly seems that Jed and Jasmine have drawn an undue amount of attention. She leans over to Jak. "I don't know if you've been looking for one, but you might have just found an opportunity..."
Seeing the servants and guards are unwilling to take Jasmine into the back, Jed glowers at them, hoping they get the idea that he is concerned only with her safety and that he expects them to comply.
Jasper, staring at the sheer size of the bones hanging from the ceiling, glances over at a random commotion. Seeing who it is, Jasper says out loud lazy tart. probably cant handle the heat. Good for nothing wench. he finishes with a sneer.
getting back to the task at hand, jasper looks around. im gonna try something he says to jak and alathea.
in a whisper meant for jak and alatheahmmm...if i remember correctly, legend holds that some of the aes sedai in the time of legends would channel a simple weave at a device and it would react.
With merely a flicker across his face, Jasper embraces Saidan. looking around, jasper is looking for anything that is reacting to his touching the one power.
well, here goes nothing he says as he channels a small weave of spirit.
Ryland snarls at the servants. "The Lady needs to rest! Take us somewhere. Now!"
Intimidate:
Jak pitches his voice low so only Jasper and Alathea can hear, using the disturbance across the room to get a closer look at a few of the nearer objects, "This might be the right time for your particular talents, there Jasper. Please be circumspect." His dark eyes scan the room, looking for a group of items or maybe a room that might carry what they seek.
His eyes come back to his niece and the andoran Asha'man, "If you don't feel anything in here, lets go find another room. This could take forever..." It's at this point that a thought occurs to him, and he finds the youngest-looking guard he can see and walks over to him, telling Alathea to stay with Jasper.
When he gets near the guard, he puts on an apologetic smile , "Sorry to bother you while you're on duty, but could you help me out? I told my little sister," he waves an annoyed hand back at Alathea, "that this palace has some of the most beautiful jewelry around. Bracelets, necklaces, that kind of thing. She thinks I just brought her here to see the crazy animal bones and weapons. Could you tell me if there is some jewelry more along the lines of…" He briefly describes a few styles of jewelry, the middle one being a somewhat accurate description of the piece they're trying to find.
Alathea turns sharply at Jasper's words, eyes wide and face pale. Her voice is a strangled whisper. "What are you doing?! You don't know what will happen! Not taking her eyes away from him, she backs away quickly.
Alathea is horrified at the thought of Jasper "experimenting" with any potential ter'angreal in the palace. Why should I be worried about him? If he gentles himself by fooling around with a ter'angreal, isn't that what I want? But not only does he risk hurting himself or those around him, he could draw unwanted attention. She doesn't know what the Seanchan do with male channelers, but if the damane are any indication, she knows it can't be good. And if Jasper is caught, it wouldn't be too long before the Seanchan would get suspicious of his companions...
jasper snorts. dont see you trying. he pauses, thinking to himself well, i do remember watching some of my fellow recruits burning out from a misuse of the power, like a man grabbing a hot coal with his hand bathed in tar. But, they did push us like a rabid dog to water.besides, yesterday in the room i was holding in enough saidan to burn down the block, and yet no seanchan showed up
jasper pauses, thinking fast and hard. snapping his gaze back onto alathea its not going to be out here, and if it is, it would be under heavy guard. think about it. its small, can fit over your wrist, dark in color, and can be mistaken as jewelry. Why put something like that on display where any experienced theif can get access to it. fishhook on a line, toss, snag, and gently tug in, bam done! Oh no. this item is else where. it is possible that it could be in the back, in the inner palace, but im guessing its in a box, cuz if he pauses, looking around, then snatches an arm out at pulls alathea close, his lips next to her ear if the Lord Dragon wants this thing gone, and not brought back to him, then it must be bad. I bet that it does horrible things to whoever puts it on.
Alathea hisses back at Jasper. "I don't worry about you attracting the Seanchan! I worry about what happens if you...touch...the wrong object the wrong way! And no, I'm not stupid enough to try it myself. Even were these Seanchan not here..."
Alathea agrees with Jasper's prediction that the ter'angreal is not in the palace, or at least not in the public area. "I don't think our item is here, either. But it is the easiest place to investigate; we may as well rule this place out before we go on to look elsewhere. Likewise, it being small and easy to steal does not mean that it is not here." Alathea points at a golden brooch, sparkling with rubies. "There are many other things that would tempt thieves on display here. Let us just finish our search here. If we are lucky, we will be done by tonight, and if we are not, we will plan again tomorrow."
Jak steps aside at one point, catching one of the attendant's attention. The man listens, nodding occasionaly. Hmm, can't say as I remember any specific pieces of jewelry that would meet your criteria but then again there's a lot of stuff here. Although to be honest, I think the selection is rather thin currently. Most of the smaller pieces are being stored off-sight during the renovations, these big ones are just too much of a hassle to move. So possibly if you and your sister would like to return in a few months when its complete, she might enjoy her visit more then.
-----
Clutching Jasmine in his arms, Jed faces down the guardsman before him, Ryland looming behind him. Even without weapons, the two men are an imposing sight. After a moment the guardsman motions them to follow him although he stops short at one of the doors to the inner palace. No visitors are permitted in the inner palace but if you wait here I will have an attendant bring a chair and some chilled wine to help your lady. Jed's jaw clenches in frutstration before Jasmine settles a soothing hand on his arm.
-----
Jasper smirks at the antics of his companions, dark thoughts racing through his head. Should just find someone in the know and make them tell us where it is. He focuses his eyes back forward, his tendril of Spirit probing the various objects before him. It brushes over a small statue of a man, fist raised triumphantly over his head. As it does, Jasper can almost feel a tingle run through him. He's not sure what it is but he's fairly certain that the statue is some kind of object of the power.
Noting its location and memorizing its features he reluctantly moves on, the statue well out of reach of even the most industrious thief. There seems to be a lot of junk present but who knows. The next few items seem like mundane pieces of history, although they're probably worth a fortune to someone. His weave continues on, probing towards a small red sphere, looking like nothing more than a child's ball made of stone. As it brushes it, the sphere seems to soak the weave in and suddenly it's all Jasper can do not to have the full tide of saidin pour out of him into the ball.
-----
With a sudden loud roar the air explodes in a large pressure wave from the center of one of the artifact sections. Jak watches in horror as nearest the blast, Jasper and Alathea are launched into the air among a wave of items. A nearby pillar cracks sharply from the impact, debris raining down.
People begin running for exits and safety, cries of terror and alarm filling the air along with the sound of breaking antiquities. As the guardsman is going to fetch an attendant the concussion washes over him. A moment of indecision plays out on his face until finally he waves Jasmine, Jed and Ryland through the door and away from the madness. With a firm look he turns to go back into the quickly escalating mob trying to flee the chamber. Wait here and don't move a muscle or so help me I will see that you are all tried and executed for crimes against the crown. With that he rushes back into the chaos trying to determine where the attack came from.
Pace and Fiallain hear the commotion more than they feel it on the far side of the room. Fiallain reaches above her shoulder for her spears before cursing at the realization that they are resting uselessly back at the inn. They look to reconnect with their companions but can't see them amidst the dust and chaos of the panicking people.
Pace ducks his head as the concussion goes off, turning away from the remains of the blast wave that makes it to him. He turns back to the direction of the blast and immediately reaches for the Source. His seemingly eternal battle with Saidin teeters on an edge for a mere moment before he finally secures his grasp. He rushes towards the epicenter of the blast, looking for an enemy. The pillar closest to the blast creaks and moans ominously, so Pace casually throws weaves of Air around it and Hardens them, keeping it in place. He ties off the weave and looks for other ways he can help.
The blast wave picks Alathea up and hurls her through the air as easily as a child might throw a rag doll. She doesn't know for certain, but she's pretty certain that Jasper touched the wrong object. I told him! I told him, but he wouldn't listen! And then she's not moving anymore: she realizes that she's lying on the ground, looking up at the display that she crashed into. Her whole body aches, some places worse than others, but she thinks that she's all right. I think I'm lucky...had I hit that pillar a handspan lower, I'd have broken my head open!
As the palace guards start shouting, Alathea realizes her precarious position. They're going to find out where that blast came from, and they're going to suspect the people nearest to it! She pulls herself to her hands and knees. Jasper is lying nearby. With muttered curses, she scrambles over to him, keeping as low to the ground as possible to avoid being seen, and shakes him gently. His wounds look worse than hers: he's bleeding from a gash on the head, and appears to have hit the ground much harder than she had. But she can't waste time! She whispers urgently, "Jasper! Jasper! Come on, we need to get away from here!" Hoping that he follows, she scrambles away from the wreckage.
Hide: 1d20 - 1 Uh, I hope there's some modifers for cover!
Move Silently: 1d20 - 1 Surprisingly good...
Head ringing worse from the sudden surge of Saidan than the blast itself, jasper slides along the floor, knocking people over as he takes out their legs. Coming to a stop in the middle of the floor, jasper stares up at the ceiling. oops is all he says with a smile. Seeing Alathea suddenly fill his vision, he suddenly laughs.well, that was fun
Feeling a strange warm feeling on his head, Jasper puts his hand to his brow. hmmm...blood he takes a moment and concentrates to center himself. after the Fog clears, Jasper slowly stands up, dust falling from his black jacket. He glances about, looking around.
yes, you are right. we must go
Jasper will put his head between his hands and stumble around, making it look like his head had been rattled pretty hard. once he gets close enough he will drop to his knees and fall ontop of the man figure.
Jasper will act like he is much worse than what he really is, allowing Alathea to lead him out of the museum. once crossing the threshold, he will fall to his knees and pretend to be in pain. then stumble up and walk a little further. once out of sight of the palace, he will stand up right and say thanks. where's jak?
Cursing under her breath when she reaches behind her back and grasps... nothing instead of her weapons, Fiallain follows behind Pace in a low crouch, her eyes scanning the room for signs of further trouble, but also for Alathea and their others companions.
Bending low, she scoops up a jagged fragment of debris that look like it might serve as a substitute, albeit a poor one, for her missing spears. Her others hand reaches down to clutch her veil, ready to don it for the fight certain to erupt as guards begin filing into the room. Softly she hisses to Pace. What was that? Do you see the others?
Stealth: *crosses fingers for circumstantial bonuses...*
Jasmine's eyes pop open at the explosion and ensuing chaos. Momentarily stunned, Jasmine collects herself enough to close them again and play her role. When the guard waives them through into the palace, Jasmine stays limp until they are past the door and out of sight. At that point she says to Jed Keep going as if you are running from the explosion in fear. Tell anyone you meet that I am hysterical from the shock. While you are running deeper into the palace I will look for the item and anything else of note. If you see any sul'dam with damane, avoid them at all costs. Make a round about way out of the palace and we can go and meet the others at the inn. The light send they are all safe.
Ryland stands in a fighter's crouch facing the doorway until Jasmine speaks. He turn and nods, his eyes wide as if from shock and not a little fear at the damage cuased in the other room. "Lady, that will not be hard to do."
With that he secures his cloak freeing his arms and begins moving forward at a jog. Burn me for getting involved with these people!
After crawling for long enough to put herself a good distance from the site of the blast, Alathea pulls herself to her feet. It doesn't take much to assume the look of a terrified bystander, and she hopes that the guards will take her for just that. She looks about the room frantically enough to send her hair whipping behind her, searching amongst the crowd of panicked people for Jak. "Jak! Jak! Where are you?"
Jed nods at Jasmine's words and immediately begins running through the halls, almost barreling over a young servant who came to see what all the noise is about. While running through the Palace he keeps an eye out for any potential storage areas to run into and any damane that might be around, avoiding them at all costs.
Jasper will put his head between his hands and stumble around, making it look like his head had been rattled pretty hard. once he gets close enough he will drop to his knees and fall ontop of the man figure.
Jasper will act like he is much worse than what he really is, allowing Alathea to lead him out of the museum. once crossing the threshold, he will fall to his knees and pretend to be in pain. then stumble up and walk a little further. once out of sight of the palace, he will stand up right and say thanks. where's jak?
standing next to alathea, looking disorientated, Jasper hears Als scream for Jak. He looks down at her, and puts his hand on her shoulder. in a caring voice i am sure he is fine. i hardly think something like this would cause him undue harm as he finishes, he voice looses the caring tone and becomes halting, as if he is unfamiliar with passing empathy.
embracing Saidan, Jasper grabs both of her shoulders. this might sting a little he finishes in the same stuttering manner as he channels the power into alathea. The coldness of the weave as it penetrates into her causes her to gasp.
best i can do
Jasper turns around, feeling another man channel, and locks gazes with Pace. Throwing him a shallow nod to recognize him, Jasper continues his search for Jak.
Blood and Ashes, it would be easier to find the guy if he was holding Saidan.
Jasper turns around, feeling another man channel, and locks gazes with Pace. Throwing him a shallow nod to recognize him, Jasper continues his search for Jak.
Blood and Ashes, it would be easier to find the guy if he was holding Saidan.
Jasper turns around, feeling another man channel, and locks gazes with Pace. Throwing him a shallow nod to recognize him, Jasper continues his search for Jak.
Blood and Ashes, it would be easier to find the guy if he was holding Saidan.
Fiallain relaxes slightly as the guards seem to be more interested in getting everyone away rather than looking for a fight... so far anyway. Nonetheless, she keeps a grip on the shard she clutches as the crowd swarms around them. She glances at Pace before letting her gaze sweep the chaotic room. "Might be a good idea to follow the sheep before we attract attention." Letting the crowd push her slowly towards the exit, she continues looking for the others.
As the cold of Jasper's Healing washes through her body, Alathea's stomach flutters with nausea. It doesn't actually feel any different than any Healing she's experienced before, but the knowledge that it's produced by tainted saidin makes it different. But she can't bring herself to complain: Jasper is actually acting like he cares about someone other than himself, and furthermore, they have more important things to worry about. "Thank you, Jasper. Now, let's get out of the palace as quickly as we can. Jak is probably already outside; we'll find him and the others there. She fervently hopes that Jak is outside, and not hurt or captured or worse.
allowing himself to be herded along, Jasper grabs alathea by the arm and drags her along behind him, heading for the side, where there is less press of people. smashing his fist and elbow into those that impede his progress, Jasper manages to get himself and Alathea off to the side just as they cross the threshold of the palace.
scanning the crowd, Jasper tells Alathea this is the best vantage point and the fastest way for us to ensure that we can see not only jak, but the others as well. once we see them, we can hook up with them as we head to the Inn.
Caught up in the flow of the Sadin flowing through him Pace gazes around him. Any person who he sees in danger he pushes out flows of Air to keep them safe or he leans down to heal them. [i]They will not be harmed while I can keep it from happening.[/ i] Faillain can pull only him away with concerted effort which breaks his concentration.
After the second time that Jasper punches or pushes a bystander out of the way, Alathea puts a hand on his arm. She keeps her voice quiet and tries not to sound like she's scolding him. "These people are scared, and hitting them is not helping us get out any faster. It just angers people and makes us more memorable."
Fiallain glances behind to see if Pace is following. She catches a glimpse of him well behind her now in the press of people and she lets out a growl of frustration. What is that man doing?!?
Forcing her way back through the retreating crowd, she moves up behind him, about to let him have her tongue when he bends down and does 'something' with a child that had fallen and injured his leg. The boy has a look of confusion and wonder on his face as Fiallain bends and scoops him up to keep him from getting trampled in the throng. Instead of pulling Pace away, she nods at him with new respect and follows in his wake as he searches for others in danger.
Finally getting outside and off to the side, away from the sheep, Jasper plants his feet firmly and starts scanning the crowd keeping an eye out for both guardsman and, most importantly, any Seanchan.
Still feeling a man holding Sadain, and actively channeling, Jasper still maintains his grip on the one power. deciding to be cautious, Jasper prepares himself to channel a massive blast of fire at the front entrance should the channeler not be Pace or Jak.
someone's channeling inside there right now, and doing a decent amount of it too. If its not either Pace or Jak, they are going to meet the Dark One all roasted he says to Alathea, pushing her behind him.
Once she and Jasper make it out of the palace, Alathea begins to search the crowd for her other companions. There's no reason to worry. They'll be out here, and if they aren't, they will be soon. But despite telling herself that, she can't help but worry. What if they're detained? What if Jak is taken away?
Alathea is craning her neck and standing on her toes, attempting to see above the crowd when Jasper comments about the channeling. At the mention of Jak, her skin prickles and crawls, as if insects are swarming over her. She whips her head around to stare at Jasper. Why does he keep saying that? He...must be delusional. Has his madness really come that far? It could be...how long had he been channeling before I met him? After a long, silent moment, she finally speaks. "Jak can't channel. I'm sure Pace has a good reason to be doing...that. I'm sure we'll find out soon."
[i]Looking needle in a haystack. That is what we are doing. By the Light we are not going it this way.[i]
Ryland turns to the closest door, turning the handle then slamming his shoulder into it if it does not move.
Jasper looks down at Alathea with a bemused smirk.
sure, Jak cant channel. and I'm the Lord Dragon. he finishes with a chuckle. oh man, this is gonna be funny watching this scene unfold.
Alathea knows she shouldn't rise to the bait, but Jasper should know just how personally his...lie affects her. She had opened up to him, told him that she'd personally seen a man succumb to the taint on saidin, and he still throws this in her face. Keeping her voice cool and quiet so that only he can hear, she replies, "I was unaware that your madness had spread so far, that you are jumping at shadows like so."
Jasper and Alathea mill around in the plaza outside the palace grounds. A few peoples' eyes widen at snippets of their conversation but otherwise they wait unmolested. After a few minutes they both catch sight of Jak being dragged outside by two guards, his head drooping. Alathea begins to rush over in a fury until she notices the men gently lower Jak to the ground and wave over a servant to look after him before they head back into the entrance. As you approach, you can see he is unconscious with a small smear of blood on his scalp where some piece of masonry must have hit him.
Jasper spins with a snarl at the feel of saidin approaching before calming as he sees Pace and Fiallain emerge from the surrounding crowd. The Aiel and the Dedicated seem little the worse for wear, simply covered in dust and debris from the commotion.
Minutes continue to pass and the plaza begins to clear out, people starting to wander off as the commotion dies down. The stream of people coming out of the palace tapers off and the guards resume their posts, although now there are 8 where there was 4 originally and between them is stretched a rope with a sign hanging off of it that says "Closed until futher notice". There is no sign of Jed, Jasmine and Ryland.
-----
Jed and Ryland jog down the corridors of the Inner Palace, Jasmine between them doing her best to look hysterical should they encounter anyone. The men shoulder open doors as they pass but don't seem to find anything of note. Occasionally Jasmine will examine something briefly before moving on but the search seems fruitless.
All too quickly the commotion in the Outer Palace dies down and people begin showing up in the halls again. Slowing down, trying to look calm and collected as if they belonged exactly where they were, the three companions begin to slowly try to make their way back towards the plaza and an exit, attempting to move closer to the outer wall with each passage they take.
Finally rounding a corner, you see a large oaken door that looks as likely an exit as you've seen, in front of which stand 2 guards. Before you can retreat back the way you came they call out to you, weapons held at the ready. Halt! Who are you and what are you doing here?
"Well, that was certainly interesting" Fiallain grins at Alathea before finally noticing the unconscious form beside her. " Is he hurt badly?"
Without waiting for a response, she kneels beside him to inspect his wounds even though there isn't much she could do for him. Healing had never been her forte.
After a moment's inspection, she frowns. Where are the others? They should be here by now...
kneeling down next to jak, jasper looks him over. hmmmm, some little blood, cut on his head. Man needs to duck better. he finishes with a snort.
Grabbing Jak by an arm, Jasper motions Pace to take the other. just for appearances he says as he channels some weaves of air.