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silentbreeze90 Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 8:04 pm
Aℓℓετε Mαяιαηεℓα διο  Allete woke to the pattern of sunlight through tree leaves on her face and instantly remembered their disastrous op from the night before. She laid quietly thinking as she stared up into the bright day and considered their position.
In the light of day, she was inclined to think more charitably of her adventure and their chances of rescuing their mentors, but deep down she knew that to be groundless optimism. Her magic was recovering to an extent, but it would still be quite a while before she was back to her usual abilities. She was still basically useless in a crisis situation with only just barely enough strength to protect herself. She still wouldn’t even be able to think about providing support to any plans to break into their mentors’ prison and liberate them. If she thought about their changes logically, she knew they were slim. Even if they made it into the prison, they would have a horrible time getting out. Most likely, neither she nor Kieve would have magic considering her state and the care their enemies had taken to separate Kieve from his power to start with. They would be, if not dead weight, then the next closest thing to it. No, their chances of rescuing their mentors were probably lower than before the operation unless Ky had heard any significant weaknesses from Stevan. Somehow she doubted they’d have that sort of luck.
At that moment, Ky passed her some food, having seen her wake, and she automatically started chewing on the day-old bread. More awake than she’d been the night before, she noticed the bread, now going just slightly stale, had a deliciously spicy sausage hidden within its folds, and she ate with more enthusiasm for her breakfast, trying to at least enjoy the simple meal. As she ate, Ky spoke up, explaining her own thoughts and conclusions.
Allete grimaced at the news, but wasn’t really surprised. Apparently her sister had come to the same conclusions as she had. She wanted to argue. Really, truly wanted to argue. And yet, she knew that she couldn’t. This was a conclusion Ky had come to after much thought, and part of her knew, beyond doubt, that this was the right, in fact the only, course they could take. Ky, even more than Allete, was probably agonizing over having even said they should leave their mentors behind.
Allete bowed her head and bit her lip, trying to bring herself under control as she was suddenly filled with self-doubt. Had they chosen the right method of getting to their mentors? Had there been any other way? A better way? If only she hadn’t been caught. If only she’d been more careful with her scrying, with the protections she’d laid out. If only she could have found a way to escape the city that hadn’t involved using up all of her power! What would Kieve have done if he had been in her place?
With effort, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. They weren’t helping. There was no use bemoaning the things they could no longer change. She looked up directly into her sister’s eyes and managed a strained smile.
“Unfortunately, I have to agree. Personally, I was having trouble even making it up to a 25 percent chance of success.” She looked southwest while considering the suggestion her sister had made, almost as if she could see past the majestic mountains and over the many miles that separated them from the capital city of the country they had grown up believing was their enemy. Now that their information gathering had turned up no clues in that direction, Naime might just be the only place they could find real answers.
But was it the right thing to do? The right place to go? Oh, how she wished Catrin was here now to give advice. If wishes were fishes, we’d all cast nets. Wishes wouldn't solve anything at this point.
“Yes.” Despite her uncertainty, she spoke decisively. She had to hold it together, for her sister’s sake as well. “That sounds like a good idea. We’ll go to Naime. I just have one condition. We have to find a way to send a letter home to let them know what’s happened to Rebecca and Kieve. Maybe they can help out where we were unable to.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 6:22 pm
Kyla Alessandra Dio
While not altogether pleasant, the realities of their situation were settling more fully, and Ky found herself feeling more calm about the whole ordeal. She realized that she had begun to feel rather alone, very much just she and Allete together facing the world. Of course they should contact the rest of their family to update them on the situation! Surviving as a group, as a family, they had years of experience in subterfuge and working closely knowing and relying on each other. They would have to do so extremely carefully, though. They could leave no trace, no sign of their presence beyond Merryvale. Their message must not lead to discovery of its origin in Zurin.
Beyond choosing these next important steps, now they must also plan their escape from Bernay – and their course to Naime! Ky took a deep, slow breath, closing her eyes. There was so much to do. So much loomed ahead, while they must also work with what they were leaving behind, and execute their present challenges perfectly. Her eyes opened to continue with her sister.
“Yes, that is definitely a condition we should meet.” Here was an action they could take. They were not giving up, they were working with every piece in their arsenal. “I almost let the pressure close us off from our allies. If we are to win a nation, we certainly can’t start off by forgetting our truest supporters. I’m sure that together our guardians can achieve what we alone could not.
“So the two main challenges ahead of us now are how to leave this city, and how to contact our mentors. Kieran and Catrin may still be in Merryvale. I’ll go in disguise to a post office, and send a coded letter to the communications box we set up in Merryvale. If still in the town, Kieran and Catrin will receive our news right away, and if they have left, our carefully arranged forwarding system will get the letter home. I’ll be careful to leave no trace of my physical essence.
"Do you want to come back into town with me, or wait here until I can come back to you? I’ve also been thinking over whether we want to misdirect somehow, fake an exit via one of the compass gates? Then again, I think if we simply vanish, that may be the best tactic of all. He’ll still spend time thoroughly checking the city anyway, and each possible route of escape. If he has the resources, the search may continue in multiple directions, but he will be bound to this city for at least a while longer. Blessed with a crumb of luck, we may leave with no definitive clue to our movement whatsoever – and a whole new challenge ahead."
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silentbreeze90 Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 11:31 am
Aℓℓετε Mαяιαηεℓα διο Allete considered their options as her sister spoke, carefully weighing the strengths and risks of the plans. “Honestly, I will be a burden to you if we’re trying to sneak back into the city, and although you can likely go through the checkpoint safely, I’m hesitant to go through while there’s a chance to run into Parker. I won’t be able to extend my senses far enough to know whether he’s in the vicinity without also chancing that he will sense me back.” She gave a rueful smile, “Unfortunately, magic is rather inconvenient in that way.”
She paused, running through scenarios again. She was absolutely certain that Parker hadn’t known what she was scrying, so her sister would be safe, but by now he had likely distributed pictures of her around the city for the guards to arrest on sight. He would be expecting her to leave the city, rather than enter it, so there was a possibility that she could get through with a disguise, but that was a risk they could easily avoid if they split up. “You go in and take care of the arrangements for the letter. I’ll set some false traces outside the city for the soldiers to find. Although disappearing might make it harder for Parker to track us, I also don’t want the people of Bernay to suffer too much because of our little misadventure.”
She considered what kind of trail to leave, “The guards from the North gate may remember our papers claim that we’re from a small village near Canton, and Rebecca and Kieve are clearly known to be from Roanin. I doubt we were that memorable coming in, but just in case, you should openly leave through the North Gate, using the same papers as when we came in and tell them that you’re going back home to visit family. I’ll set tracks further out from the city, back towards Roanin.”
Her brow furrowed as she considered, “It’ll confirm his suspicions that we are associated with Rebecca and Kieve, but I doubt he will do anything to them. It will seem to him that we’ve run with our tails between our legs, and that we’re panicking and making mistakes without guardians to watch over us. He should assume that we’ve run straight back home. If we’re lucky, he may even let them go with the intention of following them back to us.” She shrugged, “Of course, if he suspects that we have training, then he may wonder if we are headed southwest towards Orin, since our tracks lead north and east. Considering that we managed to escape the city under last night’s circumstances, there is that possibility. We’ll have to head directly over the mountains. The roads will be rougher, but we should be fine, and I’d rather evade detection at this point rather than chancing Orin. Besides, it will be easier to make our way into Symian undetected through the mountains. Checkpoints can easily be avoided in the dense forests there.”She looked to her sister for agreement, and having obtained it, they split up. Ky for the city, and Allete towards the eastern outskirts.
In the countryside, she bought a couple horses, solid, unspirited animals that could travel a good distance without tiring. She regretted the loss of their own horses, but Dancer and Bell would stand out like a sore thumb in their travels and mark them as targets for any bandits. She hoped her sister would find good homes for their faithful companions. Taking the two placid horses to the next crossroads, she picked at the remains of lunch as she watched the travelers passing through. Finally she saw a likely pair, a young man and his wife, struggling with their mounts as they travelled away from the city. They were obviously city-born, with little of the natural comfort of those who had grown up riding horses. Their horses, having noted their inexperience, were taking the opportunity to frolic, disregarding their owners and meandering on and off the road as they pleased. She wondered that two such inexperienced riders had such spirited horses, but perhaps they had been a gift from someone who appreciated horseflesh, or perhaps they had merely chosen the two prettiest mounts in the string. These two certainly fit that description, though they were nothing compared to Dancer and Bell. Matching dark chestnuts with black manes and tails, they held their heads proudly, tails held high and prancing through each step. As the couple came to the crossroads, they attempted to turn their horses towards the right fork, succeeding only in turning their horses in circles. Perfect. They were going in the direction she wanted as well.
She stood from her food and went to the head of the woman’s horse, stopping its turning and gently turning it towards her own two horses. The woman, though at first frightened, seemed to relax as Allete calmed her horse with a touch, and the man, after an initial shout, and a measuring glance, finally allowed his horse to follow hers to the side of the road. An hour later, less some food, coinage and the two placid horses she had bought, and with two spirited mares that nonetheless obeyed her direction, she took a different fork of the road than the couple had and, taking a circuitous route, made her way towards the West Gate of Zurin.
She stopped in a small copse of trees near the road, tying their new mounts securely as she sat down to wait.
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