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A Fount of Power

Well, tie a kerchief on my face and callbeside the general at the prow of their narrow boat "It really is there"

Gawyn squatted at the prow of his own boat, the dark waters rippling and lapping at the sides of the vessel They’d needed thirteen boats to carry them all, and had set into the river quietly and easily--at least, they had once Siuan Sanche had finished her inspection of the boats and decided they were riverworthy Barely

Each vessel carried a single, shielded lantern Gawyn could barelyover the ebony water, the soldiers rowing them in near silence as they pulled up beside the stonework embankht in the sky were distracting, and Gawyn kept finding hi up, to see serpentine beasts illu crimson fire

The White Tower itself see profile in the sky, all white and red, outlined by flaht clouds above, fires blazed inside lare at the base indicated that outlying buildings and trees were also alight

The soldiers shipped oars as Gawyn’s boat gracefully slid up beside that of Bryne, passing under the lip of ancient stonehere rock overhung the river That blocked Gawyn’s view of the furious battle--though he could still hear the rus and pops, and an occasional spray of broken stone falling to the cobbles, sounding like distant rain

Gawyn raised his lantern, risking just a sliver of light from the shield With that illumination, he could make out what Bryne’s soldier had seen Tar Valon’s island was rin; they kept the island froier work, the bulwarks were beautiful Here, the stone delicately arched outward fro a lip that looked like the white tip of a crashing wave In the soft light of Gawyn’s lantern, the undersides of those stones were so realistic, so delicate, that it was difficult to tell where stone ended and river began

One of those stone ripples hid a cleft, almost impossible to spot even fro his boat into the narrow rift, which was enclosed on both sides and top by stone Siuan’s boat went next, and Gaaved for his rowers to go after her The rift turned into a very narrow tunnel, and Gawyn unshielded his lantern further, as Bryne and Siuan had done ahead The lichen-covered stones were ribboned on the sides by dark watere would have been coned for workers," Bryne said fro in the damp tunnel Even the movements of the oars in the water were as of the river "To go out and maintain the stonework"

"I don’t care why they built it," Siuan said "I’lad it’s here And mortified I didn’t know about it earlier One of the strengths of Tar Valon has always been that the bridges oes out"

Bryne snorted softly, the sound echoing down the tunnel "You can never control everything in a city this size, Siuan Those bridges, in a way, they give you a false sense of control Sure, for an invading arhter than a tick, can still have a dozen holes big enough for fleas to slip through"

Siuan fell silent Gawyn cal soer than he’d wanted Light send that he was coh!

The tunnel trelanced over his shoulder at the other ten boats, packed with apprehensive soldiers They were gliding directly into a war zone where both sides were stronger than they were, both sides had little reason to like the the One Power It took a special kind of man to stare those odds in the eyes

"Here," Bryne said, silhouetted against the light He raised a hand and halted the line of boats The tunnel had opened up to the right, where a ledge of stone--a landing with a set of stairs--waited The watery tunnel itself continued on

Bryne stood, bending over, and stepped out onto the ledge,his boat to a cleat The soldiers in his boat followed, each carrying a se What were they? Gawyn hadn’t noticed thees on the boats When the final soldier in that boat stepped out, he pushed the vessel forward and handed its tow rope to a soldier in Siuan’s boat As the line continued forward, they tied each boat to the one ahead of it The lastpillar, and it would hold thee when his turn came and he trotted up the steps, which opened into the floor of a sotten by all save the few beggars who used it for shelter Several of the soldiers were tying up a sriars would sell secrets to any who cared to listen, and news of a hundred soldiers sneaking into the city would be worth good coin from the Tower Guard

Bryne stood with Siuan at thethe street outside Gawyn joined them, hand on his sword The streets were e that the raid would soon pass

The soldiers gathered in the alley Bryne quietly ordered a squad of ten to guard the boats Then the rest opened the soft-looking brown packages that Gawyn had noticed earlier and removed folded white tabards They pulled these over their heads, tying them at the waist Each was marked with the flah Siuan stood with aret those?"

"I had the women in the outer caood idea to have a few copies of your enemy’s unifor her ar on the Tower Guard is a sacred duty They--"

"They’re your enemy, Siuan," Bryne said sternly "For now, at least You’re not Aue Bryne looked over the soldiers, then nodded in approval "This won’t fool anyone up close, but from a distance, it will serve Out onto the streets and fall into ranks Hustle toward the Tower, as if you’re rushing to help with the battle Siuan, a globe of light or tould help with the disguise--if those who see us also see an Aes Sedai at our head, they’ll be more likely to assume ant thelobes of light, then setting theave the coroup spilled out of the alley and formed ranks Gawyn, Siuan and Bryne took up positions at the front--Gawyn and the general walking just ahead of Siuan, as if they were Warders--and they double-timed forward down the street

All in all, the illusion was very good On first glance, Gawyn hiuise What would beto the scene of the attack, guided by an Aes Sedai and her Warders? It was certainly better than trying to sneak a hundred h the city in alleyways, unseen

As they approached the Tower grounds they entered the night the Tower in a ashes broke the walls of the once-; fires blazed within several of the about the Tower like gulls circling a dead whale in the waves Screams and shouts permeated the air, and the thick, acrid smoke made