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"A good idea," Verin said "I have stayed here before at The Great Tree We will go there"

Loial went to fetch the horses -- the inn roof had now fallen in completely, but the stables had not been touched -- and soon they wereexcept for Loial, who claiain Perrin held the lead line to one of the packhorses they had brought south

"Hurin," Rand said, "how soon can you be ready to follow their trail again? Can you follow it? The men who hit you and started the fire left a trail, didn’t they?"

"I can follow it now, my Lord And I could sh There weren’t any Trollocs, and they didn’t kill anybody Just men, my Lord Darkfriends, I suppose, but you can’t always be sure of that by smell A day, maybe, before it fades"

"I don’t think they can open the chest either, Rand," Loial said, "or they would just have taken the Horn It would be much easier to take that if they could, rather than the whole chest"

Rand nodded "They et it beyond the Foregate, they’ll join the Trollocs again, for sure You will be able to follow that trail, Hurin"

"I will, my Lord"

"Then you rest until you’re fit," Rand told him The sniffer looked steadier, but he rode slumped, and his face eary "At best, they will only be a few hours ahead of us If we ride hard " Suddenly he noticed that the others were looking at hitar, Mat and Perrin He realized what he had been doing, and his face colored "I atar It’s just that I’ve beco to take your place"

Ingtar nodded slowly "Moiraine chose hen she elmar name you my second Perhaps it would have been better if the Ae" The Shienaran barked a laugh "At least you have actually ed to touch the Horn"

After that they rode in silence

The Great Tree could have been twin to The Defender of the Dragonwall, a tall stone cube of a building with a common rooe, polished clock on the mantel over the fireplace The innkeeper could have been Cuale’s sister Mistress Tiedra had the sahtly plump look and the same unctuousto as behind the words you spoke But Tiedra knew Verin, and her welco smile for the Aes Sedai arm; she never mentioned Aes Sedai aloud, but Rand was sure she knew

Tiedra and a swarm of servants saw to their horses and settled them in their rooms Rand’s room was as fine as the one that had burned, but he wasbuckets of water scullery ht up from the kitchen One look in the mirror above the washstand showed him a face that looked as if he had rubbed it with charcoal, and his coat had black smears across the red wool

He stripped off and cliht as much as washed Verin was there One of three Aes Sedai that he could trust not to try to gentle him themselves, or turn him over to those ould Or so it seemed, at least One of three anted hion Reborn, to use hi s But I have cut the strings

His saddlebags had been brought up, and a bundle fro fresh clothes He toweled off and opened the bundle -- and sighed He had forgotten that both the other coats he had were as ornate as the one he had tossed on the back of a chair for a maid to clean After a moment, he chose the black coat, to suit his h collar, and silver rapids ran down his sleeves, water battered to froth against jagged rocks

Transferring things from his old coat to his new, he found the parchments Absently, he stuffed the invitations in his pocket as he studied Selene’s two letters He wondered how he could have been such a fool She was the beautiful young daughter of a noble House He was a shepherd whoo mad if he did not die first Yet he could still feel the pull of her just looking at her writing, could almost smell the perfureat wene, but she wants to be Aes Sedai, and how can I o mad and maybe kill her?"

Words could not lessen his h, or the way sheat him It almost seemed to him that she was in the room with him, that he could shed to find hi fancies like I’m addled already," he muttered

Abruptly he tipped back the mantle of the lamp on the bedside table, lit it, and thrust the letters into the fla in through the shutters and fanning the fla letters into the cold hearth just before the fire reached his fingers He waited until the last blackened curl went out before he buckled on his sword and left the roo roo the dark walls held eventhree boiled eggs and trying to appear nonchalant Ingtar peered into the unlit fireplace, frowning Loial had a few books fro one beside a la his hands clasped on the tabletop To his nose, the roo It was hiht, what’s happening to all of us? His hands tightened into fists, large and square These hands were lanced up as Rand entered Perrin thought he looked determined, set on sohbacked armchair across fro his sword so he could sit "Resting?"

"He insisted on going out," Ingtar answered "I told him to follow the trail only until he smelled Trollocs We can follow it froo