The Gathering Storm

by Brandon Sanderson

Page 131

  This area, close to trade routes and within reach of Tear, was relatively safe from bandits. It was also just far enough north to avoid being caught in squabbles between Illian and Tear. This should have been a place where farmers didnt need to turn good lumber into quarterstaffs, nor watch strangers with eyes that expected attack.

  That wariness would serve them well when the Trollocs reached them—assuming the Seanchan hadnt conquered them and pressed them into their armies by that point. Nynaeve tugged her braid again.

  Her mind turned back to Lan. She had to do something! But Rand wasnt seeing sense. That left only Cadsuanes mysterious plan. Fool woman, refusing to explain it. Nynaeve had made the first step, offering an allegiance, and how had Cadsuane reacted? With presumptuous arrogance, of course. How dare she welcome Nynaeve into her little group of Aes Sedai like a child who had been wandering in the woods!

  How would Nynaeves task—discovering where Perrin was—help Lan? During the past week, Nynaeve had pressed Cadsuane for more information, but had failed. "Perform this task well, child," Cadsuane had said, "and perhaps we shall give you more responsibility in the future. Youve proven yourself willful at times, and we cant have that. "

  Nynaeve sighed. Find out where Perrin was. How was she supposed to do that? The Two Rivers folk had been of little use. Many of their men were traveling with Perrin, but they hadnt been seen for some time. They were in the south somewhere, Altara or Ghealdan, likely. But that left a large area to search.

  She should have known that the Two Rivers would not provide an easy answer. Cadsuane had obviously already tried reaching Perrin herself, and must have failed. Thats why shed given the task to Nynaeve. Had Rand sent Perrin on some secret mission?

  "Rand?" she said.

  He was muttering roughly to himself.

  She shivered. "Rand," she said more sharply.

  He stopped muttering, then glanced at her. She thought she could see the anger hidden there, deep within him, a flash of annoyance at her interruption. Then it was gone, replaced by the frighteningly cool control. "Yes?" he asked.

  "Do you . . . know where Perrin is?"

  "He has tasks set before him and performs them," Rand said, turning away. "Why do you wish to know?"

  Best not to mention Cadsuane. "Im still worried about him. And about Mat. "

  "Ah," Rand said. "You are particularly unaccustomed to lying, arent you, Nynaeve?"

  She felt her face flush in embarrassment. When had he learned to read people so well! "I am worried about him, Rand alThor," she said. "He has a peaceful, unassuming nature—and always did let his friends push him around too much. "

  There. Let Rand think about that.

  "Unassuming," Rand said musingly. "Yes, I suppose he is still that. But peaceful? Perrin is no longer too . . . peaceful. "

  So he had been in touch with Perrin recently. Light! How had Cadsuane known, and how had Nynaeve missed those communications? "Rand, if you have Perrin working on something for you, then why have you kept it secret? I deserve to—"

  "I havent been meeting with him, Nynaeve," Rand said. "Calm yourself. There are simply things that I know. We are connected, Perrin, myself and Mat. "

  "How? What do you—"

  "That is all I will say on it, Nynaeve," Rand interrupted, slicing into her sentence with soft words.

  Nynaeve settled back, gritting her teeth again. The other Aes Sedai spoke of being in control of their emotions, but obviously they didnt have to deal with Rand alThor. Nynaeve could be calm too, if she werent expected to manage the most bullheaded fool of a man who had ever put on a pair of boots.

  They rode in silence for a time, the overcast sky hanging above them like a distant field of graymoss peat. The meeting place with the Border-landers was a nearby crossroads. They could have Traveled directly there, but the Maidens had prevailed upon Rand to arrive a short distance out and approach more carefully. Traveling was extremely convenient, but it also could be dangerous. If your enemies knew where you would appear, you could open a gateway and find yourself ambushed by a line of archers. Even sending scouts through the gateway first wasnt as safe as Traveling to a spot where nobody was expecting you.

  The Aiel learned, and adapted, quickly. Surprising, really. The Waste was terribly unvaried; every part looked just about the same. Of course, she had overheard some Aiel guards saying something similar about the wetlands.

  This particular crossroads hadnt been important in years. If Verin or one of the other Brown sisters had been there, theyd likely have been able to explain exactly why. All Nynaeve knew was that the kingdom which had once held this land had fallen long ago, and the only remnant was the independent city of Far Madding. The Wheel of Time turned. The most grand of kingdoms fell, rusted and eventually changed into lazy fields, ruled only by farmers determined to grow a particularly good crop of barley. It had happened to Manetheren, and it had happened here. Great highways that had once transported legions now dwindled to obscure country roads in need of maintenance.

  As they continued, Nynaeve let Moonlight fall back from Rands position. That placed her riding near Narishma, with his dark, braided hair, bells tinkling on the ends. He wore black, like most Ashaman, and the Sword and Dragon twinkled on his collar. Hed changed in the months since being bonded as a Warder. She could no longer look at him and see a boy. This was a man, with the grace of a soldier, the careful eyes of a Warder. A man who had seen death and fought Forsaken.

  "Youre a Borderlander, Narishma," Nynaeve said. "Do you have any idea why the others left their posts?"

  He shook his head, scanning the landscape. "I was a cobblers son, Nynaeve Sedai. I know not the ways of lords and ladies. " He hesitated. "Besides, Im not a Borderlander anymore. " The implication was clear. He would protect Rand, no matter what other allegiances tugged at him. A very Warder-like way of thought.

  Nynaeve nodded slowly. "Do you have any idea what were riding into?"

  "Theyll keep their word," Narishma said. "A Borderlander would sooner die than break his word. They promised to send a delegation to meet with the Lord Dragon. Theyll do just that. I wish wed been allowed to bring our Aes Sedai, though. "

  Reports held that the Borderlander army included thirteen Aes Sedai. A dangerous number: the number needed to still a woman or gentle a man. Thirteen women in a circle could shield the most powerful of channelers. Rand had insisted that the delegation that came to meet him include no more than four of those thirteen Aes Sedai; in return, he promised to bring no more than four channelers. Two Ashaman— Narishma and Naeff—Nynaeve and Rand himself.

  Merise and the others had thrown the Aes Sedai equivalent of a fit— it involved a lot of downturned lips and questions like "Are you certain you want to do that?"—when Rand had forbidden them to come.

  Nynaeve noted Narishmas tense posture. "You dont look as if you trust them. "

  "A Borderlanders place is guarding the Border," Narishma said. "I was a cobblers son, and yet I was trained with the sword, spear, bow, axe and sling. Even before joining the Ashaman, I could best four out of five trained southern soldiers in a duel. We live to defend. And yet they left. Now, of all times. With thirteen Aes Sedai. " He glanced at her with those dark eyes of his. "I want to trust them. I know them for good people. But good people can do the wrong thing. Particularly when men who can channel are involved. "

  Nynaeve fell silent. Narishma had a point, though what cause would the Borderlanders have to harm Rand? Theyd fought the encroachment of the Blight and its Shadowspawn for centuries, and the struggle against the Dark One was imprinted on their very souls. They wouldnt turn against the Dragon Reborn.

  The Borderlanders had a special honor about them. It could be frustrating, true, but it was who they were. Lans reverence for his homeland— particularly when many other Malkieri had abandoned their identity—was part of what she loved about him. Oh, Lan. Ill find someone to help you. I wont
let you ride into the Shadows jaws alone.

  As they neared a small green hill, several Aiel returned from scouting. Rand pulled the group to a halt, waiting for the cadinsor-clad scouts to pad up to him, several wearing the red headbands marked with the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai. The scouts werent winded, despite the fact that theyd run all the way ahead to the meeting place and then back.

  Rand leaned forward in his saddle. "Did they do as I asked? Did they bring no more than two hundred men, no more than four Aes Sedai?"

  "Yes, Rand alThor," said one of the scouts. "Yes, they kept to your requirements admirably. They have great honor. "

  Nynaeve recognized the strange Aiel brand of humor in the tone of the mans response.

  "What?" Rand asked.

  "One man, Rand alThor," the Aiel scout said. "That is all that their delegation consists of. Hes a short little thing of a man, though he looks like he knows how to dance the spears. The crossroads is behind this hill. "

  Nynaeve looked ahead. Indeed, now that she knew to look, she could see another road running up from the south, presumably meeting with theirs just beyond the hill.

  "What manner of trap is this?" Naeff asked, riding up beside Rand, his lean, warriors face concerned. "An ambush?"

  Rand held up a hand for silence. He kicked his gelding into motion, and the scouts kept up without a word of complaint. Nynaeve was nearly left behind; Moonlight was a far more placid animal than she would have chosen for herself. Shed have words with the stable master when she returned to Tear.

  They rounded the hillside, finding a dusty square of ground, scarred by old firepits where caravans had stopped for the night. A roadway smaller than the one theyd been using twisted up to the north and down to the south. A solitary Shienaran man stood in the center, where roads met, watching the oncoming procession. His shoulder-length gray hair hung loose around a lean face which complemented his wiry build. His round face was lined with marks of age; his eyes were small, and he seemed to be squinting.

  Hurin? she thought with surprise. Nynaeve hadnt seen the thief-taker since hed accompanied her and a group of others back to the White Tower following the events at Falme.

  Rand reined in his horse, allowing Nynaeve and the Ashaman to catch up. Aiel fanned out like leaves blown before a gust of wind, taking up watchful positions around the crossroads. She was fairly certain that both of the Ashaman had seized the Source, and likely Rand had as well.

  Hurin shuffled uncomfortably. He looked much as Nynaeve remembered him. A tad more gray in the hair, but wearing the same simple brown clothing, with a sword-breaker and a shortsword at his waist. He had tied a horse to a fallen log nearby. The Aiel watched it suspiciously, as others might watch a pack of guard dogs.

  "Why, Lord Rand!" Hurin called, voice uneven. "It is you! Well, youve certainly come up in the world, I must say. Good to—"

  He cut off as he was raised from the ground. He made an "urk" of surprise, being turned on unseen weaves of Air. Nynaeve suppressed a shiver. Would seeing men channel ever stop bothering her?