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"You’re going after her, aren’t you?" Min found herself asking "Graen-dal"
"I have to fix what proble the ancient sword fro the blade There was no heron ht, showing the undulating lines of its folded ed, he clais about it he did not share
Rand snapped the blade into the black scabbard, looking at her "Fix the problems you can, don’t fret over the ones you cannot It was soainst the Seanchan on its own The last thing I can do for the people here is reht be waiting for you, Rand," Min said "Did it occur to you that the boy Nynaeve found was a plant? Intended to be discovered, to lead you into a trap?"
He hesitated, then shook his head "He was genuine, Min Moghe-dien ht have considered a trick like that, but not Graendal She’d be too worried about being traced We have to move quickly, before word reaches her that she has been co, then?" Rand asked, looking surprised
She flushed What if things go as poorly with Graendal as they did with Seain?
"Yes," she said, just to prove to herself that she wasn’t giving up "Of course I’ Don’t think you can leave me behind!"
"I wouldn’t dream of it," he said flatly "Coht stand he picked up the statuette of a real in his hand, inspecting it, then looked up at Min, as if in challenge She said nothing
He tucked the statuette into the oversized pocket of his coat, then strode froed sword belted to his waist
Min hurried after Rand He glanced at the pair of Maidens guarding the door "I go to battle," he said to theed a brief moment of handtalk; then one loped ahead and the other tailed Rand as he marched down the hallway Min hurried up beside hi, her boots loud on the floorboards He had rushed off like this to fight Forsaken before, but usually he took more time to plan He’dat II-lian He’d had barely a single day to decide what do with Graendal!
Min checked her knives,certain they were secure in her sleeves, but it was just a nervous habit Rand reached the end of the hallway, then strode down the stairs, his face still calm, his step quick but not hurried Yet he seemed like a thunderstorm, contained and wrapped up, sooal How she wished he’d just explode and lose his temper, the way he used to! He’d exasperated her then, but he’d never frightened her Not as he did noith those icy eyes she couldn’t read, that aura of danger Since the incident with Seardless of cost, and she knew that hefailed to convince the Seanchan to ally with him What would that combination of failure and determination lead him to do?
At the bottom of the wide staircase, Rand spoke to a servant "Fetch forroom"
Lord Ramshalan? The overstuffed man from Lady Chad the botto He strode through the whiteroom, which was decorated in deep reds to contrast with the white floor He did not sit, but re the edonce had, and seemed completely out of place in the rooe of a small lake to the southeast Rand had placed it there theafter Kerb died It marked Natrin’s Barrow
"It was a fort, once," Rand said absently
"The city where Graendal is hiding?" Min said, walking up beside him
He shook his head "It’s not a city I’ve sent scouts It’s just a solitary structure, built long ago to watch the Mountains of Mist and guard against incursion through the passes by Manetheren It hasn’t been used for military purposes since the Trolloc Wars; there’s hardly need to worry about invasion from Two Rivers people who don’t even reh, Arad Doet invaded by a shepherd from the Two Rivers"
Once that would havethat he didn’t do that anymore
"A few centuries back," Rand said, eyes narrowed in thought, "the king of Arad Doman seized Natrin’s Barrow back in the name of the throne For some time before, it had been occupied by ato set up their o kingdo liked the location, and used the fortress as a palace instead
"He spent a great deal of time there, so ained toofell, but his successors also used the fortress, and it beca needed relaxation The practice dwindled during the last hundred years or so, until it was granted to a distant cousin of the King about fifty years back Their faeneral Dootten"
"Except by Alsalam?" Min asked
Rand shook his head "No I doubt he knew of it at all I learned this history from the royal archivist, who had to search for hours to locate the na the place There has been no contact with theh they used to visit towns on occasion The few far in the palace, though nobody knohere the former oent They seeht about how odd that is"
He eyed her "This is exactly the sort of location Graendal would choose as her center of power It’s a jewel--a forgotten fortress of beauty and power, ancient and regal Close enough to Bandar Eban for her to have a hand in ruling Arad Doh away to be defensible and secluded I made a mistake in my searches for her--I assurounds I should have realized; it isn’t just beauty that she collects, but prestige A s fits her just as ant manor house Particularly since this one is more palace than fort now"
Footsteps in the entryway behind drew Min’s attention, and a few seconds later a servant ushered in Nynaeve and the foppish Ramshalan, with his pointed beard and thin mustache Today he had tiny bells at the end of the beard and wore a black velvet beauty mark on his cheek, also in the shape of a bell He wore a loose silk costu, ruffled shirt poking out beneath Min didn’t care what fashion dictated, the man looked ridiculous Like a disheveled peacock
"My Lord called for antly toward Rand
Rand didn’t turn away from the map "I have a puzzle for you, Ramshalan," he said "I want to knohat you think"