Mave woke in the night. The evening had passed pleasantly she had walked with Ali until the other young people began to break of and return to their homes and then followed suit and returned to the inn, having decided to head for the old mill the next day. Eager as she was to press on, Mave could see no good that would come from stumbling around in the dark. Truthfully it might be difficult to locate the ruin even druing the day. Myriah's room was one of several on the inns second floor. It was large and contained too beds, having evidently once been home to an older sibling who was now married or following their own trade. The girl had prattled on for a time before falling asleep, asking all manner of questions about the Hunt for the Horn. Mave had answered the girl as best she could, but the interrogation was wearing and she had fallen asleep before the girl had finished speaking. Now though... Someone was in her room.

Slowly she opened her eyes, seeing nothing but shapes in the dark. Reaching out she opened herself to the True Source, allowing the life affirming glow of Saidar flow into her. At once the shadows sharpened and she could make out contrasts which had been invisible to her a moment before. A figure was carefully rifling through the small pouch of possessions Mave had stowed at the end of the bed. Her hand snapped forward and caught the figure by the wrist. Myriah let out a scream and tried to pull away jerking Mave off balance and spilling her satchel across the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the girl blurted and Mave let her go. She staggered back against the wall. 

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it is rude to go through other peoples things?" Mave demanded acidly.

"I'll help you pick up just let me..." Myriah began, turning to unshutter a lantern. Warm light filled the room as she lifted the shutter and extended the wick. Warm light which spilled across the upturned satchel and its contents. The great serpent ring glinted on the floorboards. Myriah's eyes widened in shock. The door opened.

"Myriah are you ok?" her mother demanded, peering musily into the room, draped in a night gown of white muslin. Mave plucked the ring from the ground in a smooth motion and stuffed it into the bag, repeating the motion with the map and other few personal possessions she had.

"Your pardon's mistress, the contents of my pack spilled," she explained, truthfully enough. Myriah's eyes were very wide, almost panicked. To the common people Aes Sedai were creatures out of nightmare, to be feared and despised. Darkfriends many people claimed. The girl was close to weeping. Luckily Mistress Sindi was too sleepy to have appeared to have noticed.

"Ah, well back to bed with the pair of you," she said said with a yawn, slipping back through the door and closing it behind her. Myriah took a shaking step towards the door but Mave pinned her with her best 'Aes Sedai' look. It appeared to work because they girl froze like a rabbit in front of a snake.

"Please... please dont hurt me Aes Sedai," the girl wailed in a desperate whisper wringing her hands and backing away.

"Oh do sit down girl," Mave snapped, "I'm not going to hurt you, and if I am an Aes Sedai you know that my word is good." Myriah took a moment, clearly seraching for some loophole in what she had said.

"What... what about your men and your Warder?" she stammered. Mave blinked in confusion.

"My... oh friends downstairs you mean?" she clarified. Presumabley by 'her warder' she meant Ali, but perhaps not, who knew what fancififul notions the girl had.

"You have my word that they won't hurt you either," she allowed. That did seem to relax the girl, though she edged away as though Mave were a poisonous serpent.

"My ma says that Aes Sedai come in the night to steal away girl children to imprison in their tower," the girl said, teeth all but visibly chattering. Mave finished repacking her satchel. She fished out her ring and threaded a leather cord through it and hung it around her neck so it was concealed by her night gown.

"We don't do that," Mave assured. It was true that if an Aes Sedai discovered someone could channel, that they would go to extraordinary lengths to bring them to Tar Valon for training. The Sisterhood had been diminishing for millenia and each new sister was an ornament to the Tower. Such discoveries were incredibly rare however, and the majority of initiates were those who had come to Tar Valon voluntarily in order to be tested. Once a girl put on the White though, she could expect to remain in the Tower until she attained a shawl or the Tower put her out. Mave tried not to think about that. She didn't feel like there had been any choice for her other than to take up this quest, but when she returned to Tar Valon, the reckoning might be severe.

"What... what are you doing here?" Myriah said, falling into a sitting position on her own bed. It seemed it was more in shock then genuine desire to sit down. Mave mirrored the action, sitting down on the feather stuffed mattress. 

"I'm ... researching," Mave said carefully, "that is one thing we do, seek out forgotten knowledge." Myriah nodded.

"Are you here about the monsters?" she asked, warming slightly to the topic. Mave cocked an eyebrow.

"Monsters?" she asked. Myriah nodded eagerly.

"The lumberjacks say there are monsters up in the mountains, they come down sometimes in the winter and take people," she explained. The lack of concern seemed to indicate that she thought it was more of a myth than a reality but Mave felt a slight chill go through her.