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Abila was a goodly sized toith several tall watch towers andfour stories, every last one roofed in slate Here and there, ap between two structures where an inn or some merchant’s house had been pulled down The Prophet disapproved of wealth gained by trade asor what his followers called lewd behavior He disapproved of a great s knoith sharp examples
The streets were jammed with people, but Perrin and his co since been trampled to halffrozen ankledeep , but very feagons, and not a single carriage Except for those wearing worn castoffs or possibly stolen clothes, everyone wore drab woolens Most people hurried, but like the folk on the road, with heads down Those who did not hurry were straggling groups ofweapons In the streets, the smell was mainly dirt and fear It etting out of a toith no ould not prove harder than getting in
"My Lord," Balwer murmured as they came abreast of one of those heaps of rubble He barely waited for Perrin’s nod before turning his ha his way in another direction, hunched in his saddle with his brown cloak held tight around hi off alone, even here For a secretary, heamount on these forays of his He see Balwer frohts, Perrin set to what he was there about
It took only one question, put to a lanky young ht on his face, to learn where the Prophet was staying, and three more to other folk in the streets to find the ray stone hite rubbing forto accept accommodations from those who did On the other hand, Balwer said he had slept in a leaky farmhouse as often and been as satisfied Masema drank only water, and wherever he went, he hired a poorand ate the food she prepared, fair or foul, without complaint The man had made too many s for that charity to count far with Perrin
The throng that packed the streets elsewhere was absent in front of the tall house, yet the nue almost made up for it They stared at Perrin sullenly, those who did not sneer insolently The two Aes Sedai kept their faces hidden in their deep hoods and their heads dohite breath rising from the cowls like stea the hilt of his long knife It was hard not to stroke his axe
"I’ve coon Reborn," he announced When none of the men moved, he added, "My name is Perrin Aybara The Prophet knowsMaseon Reborn He was not there to start a riot
The claiuards Several exchanged wideeyed looks, and one went running inside The rest stared at hileeman In a few moments, a woman cahnecked dress of blue wool that was fine if unadorned, she ht have been the merchant herself Masema did not throw those who offered him hospitality into the streets, but their servants or farlories of the Lord Dragon"
"If you will come with me, Master Aybara," the woman said calmly, "you and your friends, I will take you to the Prophet of the Lord Dragon, ht sound, but terror filled her scent
Telling Neald and the Warders to watch the horses until they returned, Perrin followed her inside with the others The interior was dark, with few lamps lit, and not much warmer than outside Even the Wise Ones seemed subdued They did not smell afraid, but almost as close to it as the Aes Sedai, and Grady and Elyas smelled of wariness, of raised hackles and ears laid back Strangely, Araer Perrin hoped the e, carpeted roo on hearths at either end, eneral’s study, every table and half the chairs covered with h that Perrin tossed his cloak back and regretted wearing two shirts under his coat But it was Mase in the middle of the roos to a lodestone, a dark, scowling ular scar on one cheek, in a wrinkled gray coat and scuffed boots His deepset eyes burned with a black fire, and his scent The only naive that s ild intensity, was ht he could put a leash on this?
"So, it is you," Maserowled "I did not think you would dare show your face I knohat you’ve been up to! Hari told o, and I have kept myself informed" A man shifted in a corner of the roo nose, and Perrin upbraided hireen silk coat wasears The fellow rubbed his hands together and grinned at Perrin viciously, but he kept silent as Maserew hotter by the word, not with anger, but as though he meant to burn every syllable deep into Perrin’s flesh "I know about you on I know about you trying to carve out your own kingdoreed for glory! You have turned your back on --!"
Suddenly Maseer flaled sound and tried to back through the wall Seonid and Masuri had lowered their hoods and stood with bare faces, calm and cool, and plainly Aes Sedai to anyone who knew the look Perrin wondered whether they held the Power He would have wagered that the Wise Ones did Edarra and Carelle were quietly watching every direction at once, and sht, it was them For that matter, Grady wore readiness like his black coat; ainst the wall beside the open doors, outwardly as composed as the sisters, but he s at Masema with his