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Kiae frowned slightly, having thought she had made her feelings on the matter clear. "I do not mind stopping by, but I shall not be staying at the inn with you," she told the Green. "I do not wish to draw any more attention to your family than is necessary," she added, not wanting Esole to think she was insulting her family.

Kiae nodded, appreciating Esole's efforts to remain calm. "I agree completely with that. And I have no arguments against you staying with your family. I merely feel I would not only be an intrusion, but a possible danger right now," she explained, trying to be clear without being condescending.
She was fairly sure Ethin would remain with her, but there was a nagging doubt he might remain with Esole and the family he had already met, she was sure. "Oh well, it will work out either way," she thought, trying to be pragmatic.

Ethin looked over, startled. He wanted to see Esole's brothers again and meet her father, but he wanted to do what Kiae wished. He felt so conflicted. At that moment, Ethin realized that his moment's hesitation was noted by both women. He cleared his throat before speaking. "I would love to stop by, but.. I will be staying with Kiae," he said, hoping to appease both parties as well as himself.

Esole nodded in acceptance, grateful for Kiae's civility. She led the group through the gates and in the direction of her father's inn. She had not been to Saldaea in ages and she basked in the glory of homecoming. She guided them to her father's inn, which has grown in size considerably - to her surprise- and was significantly more regal looking. She smiled at the success.

As they approached the inn, a tall, dark, muscular man smiled from the door. It was the youngest of her three brothers, Easar. She quickly dismounted and ran to her brother who responded accordingly.

"It has been long, little sister," he said with a toothy, heartfelt grin plastered on his sun-darkened face. "I see you bring a new friend and Ethin!"

"Oh, Easar! How great it is to see you! You've gotten so big. And where did those muscles come from? Ah and yes, I come bearing Ethin and Kiae Sedai of the Yellow Ajah," she said in a quick breath, full of excitement.

"It is a pleasure to be in the presence of such a regal being such as yourself, Aes Sedai," Easar said with a low, courteous bow.

Ethin approached Easar and shook his hand firmly. "Good to see you again, Easar. You have the grip of a bear. You would have been a fine Warder," Ethin told the man, his version of a compliment.

"Shall we be heading inside?" Ethin asked, not wanting to attract attention by having a discussion with such a large group in the street.

"Yes, yes. Of course," Easar responded. "Kiel! Tend to my sister and her companions' horses!" Easar shouted. A few seconds after, a dark, lanky boy came bursting out of the stable doors and took the reins of the horses, bobbing his head this way and that, and took the horses into the stable. "Now let us greet Father, Chel, and Derrin. They will be surprised and happy to see you all."

Easar held the door open for the group and followed them in. A tall, thin man with a resemblance to Esole looked up and a bright smile appeared on his face. "Ollie darling! You are here! What good fortune this day has brought me that my only daughter has returned! This must be Ethin, your Warder. I have heard so much about you." Esole's father said, addressing Kiae. Clearly he knew she was of a high status. "Forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Ezekiel Estaan. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" he said with a regal bow, fit for a lowly servant to a queen.

"Papa!" Esole exclaimed, running to her father. She wrapped her arms around him lovingly. "How I've wished to visit you! So much as happened that I must tell you about in time. But for now, all I have time to say is that Ethin is Kiae's Warder now, not mine. But fret not, I am not without a Bond," she said in her excited, fast-talking way.

Her father merely nodded, not needing an explanation at that moment. He knew that she would tell him later. At that moment, Ethin spoke up. "Ezekiel, I hate to interrupt your family time but I feel we must get to the meat of why we came here," Ethin said, hesitantly. "We are on a mission of the Tower and must know about any abnormal happenings in Saldaea that may have happened of late."

Esole nodded in agreement. Her father took that as his cue to guide them to a back table where they could speak where unwanted ears would not hear. "Many oddities have been happening lately but the people go on about their day pretending no such thing occurred," Ezekiel began. "But the fear is in them. There have been several murders of various people. I have not figured out their affiliation but I have the strangest feeling they are all connected somehow. And there is a name being whispered around. Erasmus they say. I do not know who he is or if he is doing the killings, but he has something to do with all of this."