The wrapping on the door woke Mave with a start for the second time in an hour. She sat up in her shift, expecting to see Myriah making a run for the door to get away from an 'Aes Sedai'. Instead she saw the door swing open, revealing Ali, back lit by moonlight from the dusty window at the end of the hall. Even in the dim light his eyes all but glowed their strange shade of red. Without words she got out of bed and stepped towards him.

"Trouble," Ali warned her and she paused, turned and grabbed her satchel as well as a shawl which she quickly wrapped around her shoulders.

"What is it," she demanded as Ali lead her down the stairs to the common room. It was lit by the flickering embers of the fire and Darius' body was a lumpen shadow amidst a glistening pool of shedding blood. Mave felt her heart leap up into her throat.

"You killed him..." Mave gasped, hastily lowering her voice. Ali shook his head vigorsly.

"No... well yes... sort of," he stammered. The blood had spread far enough by now that crossing the room would soon be difficult. There was no way, short of burning the inn down, that it could be concealed now. Already people could be heard stirring, roused by the sounds of the brief and violent scuffle between the two men.

"We need to get out of here," she breathed quietly. It was doubtful that Hollobrook had anything like a watch, but being caught at the scene of an apparent murder still wouldn't be taken very well.

"We can't just leave! They'll think we did it, or that I did it!" He said, heart racing. He had been in control earlier, but now that he was faced with the consequences, he felt himself a bit panicked. He wanted to wait and tell the truth, but he knew telling them he was being chased by Darkfriends and Mave was an Aes Sedai was the last thing that would absolve him in the villager's eyes. The two rivers youth dropped his head. His next words were quiet, hoping desperately she would believe. Hoping he would convince himself as well. "I'm not a murderer, Mave."

"I know," She said, placing a hand on his cheek. "But we don't have time. We have to go now."

"Light, what's going on?" A voice was heard in some room down the corridor. More whispered seeped out of the doors, but to Ali they erupted in his ears. As one, he and Mave headed towards the door, though Mave came up short with a shocked expression on her face. "My things!"

"Leave them!" He said, now fully committed to fleeing.

"I can't, Ali." She confessed, and whether or not she was exaggerating, he didn't wait to find out. From the hallway they heard a gasp, followed by a scream that pierced their ears even across the room. With some digging the townsfolk might notice the knife was in Darius's own hands, but at the moment they were liable to react to anything. Quickly Ali grabbed Mave's hand and pulled her out the door, closing it quietly behind them. For a moment, Ali thought of sneaking back in through the windows and acting like they were asleep, but the girl Mave had shared a room with would have noticed her gone.

"We need to decide now." He told her once they were off the porch. The night air was cool and crisp to the touch, and the moon leered over them like a waiting spectre. It made Ali feel exposed. "We can sneak in through the window and grab your things before we go, or make some excuse up as to where we were. We uh...we could say we wanted some private time of our own in the barn."

As if on cue, raised voices could be heard inside. Feet were stamping closer to the door just beside them, and something along the lines of 'I think they're out here!' sounded from the otherside of the door. Ali's normally ruddy face paled.

"Bloody Ashes, ok let's just sneak back in and grab your things." He told her, and less than half an hour later, the two were tramping out of town with nothing but their supplies, a few blankets, and one horse.

"He was a darkfriend?" Mave asked incredulously. The sun was already rising, shafting light across the face of the mountains. Ali had turned them off the road a couple of miles out of Hollowbrook, as soon as the road curling around the lake took them out of sight of the village. The horse picked its way up one of the small streams which fed the lake. It was unlikely that there would be any pursuit Darius, like the rest of them, was an outsider, but it didn't pay to take chances.

"He said that people in his circles knew me. Knew my eyes," Ali admitted. Mave felt a shiver run through her. All along she had assumed that the shadow was chasing her, but what if they weren't? What if they were chasing Ali and she had just been in the way. It also raised the question of why. His eyes were strange yes, but the world was filled with the strange.

"I should..." Mave began and then paused. What she should do was take him to Tar Valon, place him under the protection of the White Tower. She was certain she could arrange it. Ali would be placed under protection, kept safe. But in all likelyhood she would never be allowed to see him again. Also there was the Black Ajah to consider, could she really trust the White Tower.

"We need to get out of here," she corrected. If Darius had reported where they were it wasn't safe, but this might be the only chance she had to recover whatever was hidden in the mountains.

"I think going forward is the best course, as much as I hate to admit it." He said, putting a bit of pressure on the haunches of the horse with his heels to pick up the pace a tad. "No villager would follow us into the mountains, and I doubt Tanil or Deslan would think we went the way they expected us to travel toward just yesterday. Too obvious. I also don't think they would seek some sort of revenge for Darius, either." Ali remarked, muttering the last bit as an afterthought, the two young travelers bouncing as their horse cantered up a slope. Mave asked why he thought that, though he didn't know if she truly was ignorant. Sometimes he felt she was simply wishing to study his reaction and casting mysterious glances at him every now and then. Mave was young, but she certainly was an Aes Sedai.

"Because Darius was a darkfriend," He explained. "While I doubt they knew that, they mustn't have been close. If they were both darkfriends as well, why did only one of them go after me? If it had been all three you would have never found me this morning."

The thought sent a shiver up his back. Mortal combat the previous evening after no sleep gave a man grim thoughts, but they needed to press on.

"Good point. Well I-" Mave started, though both her and Ali froze, their veins ice when they heard an unexpected horn in the distance. It was small at first, but the din rose until it echoed across the valleys west of Illian. Ali found that, after he had his fright, the horn wouldn't have come from Hollowbrook or anywhere near them. In fact it came from Illian, which confused him to no end. Mave bid him continue to ride, for they were in the last edge of the forest. The trees here grew thick, like a candle burning brightest before it goes out.

A minute later, just as they had their horse clop along another small plateua that lifted them above the tree line, another horn sounded. This time they could see what was happening.

Upon the plains north of Illian in the far distance, a column of men and horses could be seen marching toward the city. It was more men than Ali had ever seen in one place. He felt it was a conquering army come to take the city, and his keen eyes saw the banners were blue with a golden sigil along it. Perhaps a bird or a fish? From these leagues away he could not tell, even with their enormous banners and their high vantage point. Ali felt something tickle his skin, which was a telltale sign that Mave was drawing in the one power, likely to help her see.

"I think..." She began, shaking her head. "I think that is the retinue of Mayene."

"Are they going to destroy Illian?" Ali asked.

Mave snorted. Sometimes Ali had a good mind for fighting and warfare and other times his farmboy truly shined. "No, there's only two hundred men or so, I think. Likely the Winged Guard escorting the city's ruler. The First I think they're called. The ruler I mean." She placed a finger on her lip as she tried to remember. "I vaguely remember a few of my sisters talking about the First of Mayene. A real trollop they called her."

"Her?" He asked. He was used to a the village council and the women's council, but anyone who ruled over many people must have been royalty. "Who is she?"

---

Berelain sur Paendrag Paeron, First of Mayene, Blessed of the Light, Defender of the Waves, High Seat of House Paeron sent her horse into an excitable canter, moving the beast expertly yet impatiently before her officers as they merely trotted along in a brisk order of march. The wind upon the plains whipped her thick, richly dark hair in a fashion that somehow accentuated her eyes and full bosom. Her horse whinnied audibly, echoing the thoughts of its rider. She raised an eyebrow at the Lord Captain, clearly wishing for them to pick up the pace.

"Your Grace, we are merely a few miles from the city gates." Lord Captain Bertain Gallenne said, his manner as grim as always. The fellow wore a black eyepatch that only increased his dour look, along with the greyed facial hair he had acquired. He really only spoke hotly in terms of war or combat, or in defense of Mayene and its ruler. Below him, his tall black gelding stamped rhythmically along the path. He spoke to her like she was still the girl of twelve that had assumed the throne. "Do try to remain calm for a bit longer."

"We have been riding for a week, Bertain." She complained, groaning. To her commanders she showed her true feelings on matters, but she and Bertain both knew that as soon as they entered the city gates she would be as cooly imperious as always. The Lord Captain (as well as many of the older guards) looked to Berlain like a favored niece, but he knew how effective both her wiles and charm could be from the near impossible agreements she had already made with keeping Tear off their backs all of these years. "My rump is sore and I need a good bath if I am to convince these Lords of anything, much less an alliance against Tear. If we continue at this pace we'll have another hour to go!"

Behind the both of them rode a red faced youth, even younger than the First. Havien Nurelle was his name, recently appointed to be First Lieutenant. He was always so preoccupied with keeping his newly appointed position and not disappointing Bertain that he could cause his own horse to trip over itself, though everyone knew him to be true of his word and at least passable with a blade. Bertain looked back to the lad and sighed, nodding for him to give the orders.

"Sir?" Havien asked as Berelain moved on ahead. He still wasn't used to the Lord Commander's gestures. Like as not he hadn't been listening.

"Tell them to get a move on!" He said to the youth, just before sighing. At least Berelain wasn't riding at a gallop. If they moved much faster, the gatemen would think they were invading!

"I think we had best avoid them," Mave said as they wheeled away from the edge of the plateau and continued their trek up into the mountains. The arrival of the First of Mayene, during the declaration of the Hunt for the Horn no less, was bound to stir things up in Illian. It was unlikely one could throw a rock without hitting a spy for Illian, Mayene or Tear, and very possibly all three. Such a meeting would also draw the attention of darkfriends seeking to pervert it to their own ends as well as the White Tower who would seek to shape things in which ever direction the Amrylin, the Hall, or individual sisters thought best. None of which boded well for Mave and her mission, or for her newfound problem of what to do with this strange boy with his maroon eyes.

Even with Ali's tracking skill it took them to midmorning to find the old mill that had been spoken of the previous night. The mountains frequently sent down enough snow melt to burst the channels of the major streams which then cut other temporary ruts in the rocky earth. Such channels appeared to be dry streams, even if they had only flowed for a single season. When they finally reached the mill however they found they were not alone. Tanil and Deslan both sat on the tumbled down pile of mud bricks beside not only their horses but Mave's also. Tanil was whittling a piece of timber with a small knife while Delsan seemed to be watching the clouds above.

"What are you doing here?" Mave demanded as she walked out of the woods. The warmth of Saidar already surrounded her ready to be woven if they showed any sign of threat. Tanil immediately dropped his carving and the knife and Delsan sat up looking nervous.

"We came to find you," Tanil said hurriedly, glancing between Mave and Ali who had his bow in his hands and an arrow nooked if not drawn.

"Look we know something was up with Darius, something...wrong," Delsan cut in.

"Neither of you are murderers, we havent known you long but long enough to know that the light burn it," Tanil hurried on.

"So something strange is going on and... well that is what Hunters do right? Follow something strange? Whatever it is you two are up to we can help, we brought your horses and the supplies," Delsan said helpfully.