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Nynaeve made Thom help her closer, where she could stare down at the seae? You did not put that signal out in the hope of luring us in"

"I gave you the real e," the woman said wearily "I did not think it could do any harm I don’t understand it, and I -- please --" Suddenly she was sobbing, clinging to Luci as hard as the younger wo "Please, don’t let him use the salt on me! Please! Not the salt! Oh, please!"

"Tie theo downstairs where we can talk" Thoe of the nearest bed, then quickly cut strips from the other coverlet

In short order both women were bound, back to back, the hands of one to the feet of the other, added bits of coverlet tied in for gags The pair were still weeping when Thom assisted Nynaeve from the room

Elayne wished she could walk as well as the other woo tu down the stairs She felt a s Thoirl, Lini’s voice said sharply I arooman, she told it with a firmness she would not have dared with her old nurse even today I do love Rand, but he is far away, and Thoent and It sounded too iven the snort thatfoolishness

"Juilin," she asked hesitantly, "ere you going to do with the salt and cooking oil? Not exactly," she added eneral idea"

He looked at her for a moment "I do not know But they did not, either That is the trick of it; their h s and soh So, true or not, just to escape what they ih"

She did not either She could not repress a shiver, however What would so before she gave herself nightmares

By the ti about without help, poking into the cupboard full of colorful canisters Elayne needed one of the chairs The blue canister sat on the table, and a full green teapot, but she tried not to look at them She still could not channel She could embrace saidar, yet it slipped away as soon as she did At least she was confident now that the Poould return to her The alternative was too horrible to contemplate, and she had not let herself until this moment

"Tho the lids on various containers and peering in "Juilin" She paused, took a deep breath, and, still not looking at the two in to see why Aes Sedai have Warders Thank you very much"

Not all Aes Sedai did Reds considered all men tainted because of what men who could channel did, and a few never bothered because they did not leave the Tower or simply did not replace a Warder who died The Greens were the only Ajah to allow bonding with more than one Warder Elayne wanted to be a Green Not for that reason, of course, but because the Greens called themselves the Battle Ajah Where Browns searched for lost knowledge and Blues involved themselves in causes, Green sisters held theo forth, as they had in the Trolloc Wars, to face new Dreadlords

The two men stared at one another in open ah side of Nynaeve’s tongue Elayne was al to be helped as ; either h of course she always claimed to be a picture of sweet reason and sense

"A Wisdom" Nynaeve took a pinch of powder from one of the canisters and sniffed it, touched it to the tip of her tongue "Or whatever they call it here"

"They don’t have a name for it here," Thom said "Not erous Fora leather scrip fro up so to when they’re ill? A hedgedoctor?"

"Yes," Elayne said It always pleased her to show Thos about the world, too "In Amadicia, it is men who study herbs"

Nynaeve frowned scornfully "What could a ? I’d as soon ask a farmer to make a dress"

Abruptly Elayne realized that she had been thinking of anything and everything except what Mistress Macura had said Not thinking about a thorn doesn’t make it hurt your foot less One of Lini’s favorites "Nynaeve, what do you think that e means? All sisters are welcome to return to the Tower? It makes no sense" That was not what she wanted to say, but at least she was closing in on it

"The Tower has its own rules," Thom said "What Aes Sedai do, they do for reasons of their own, and often not for those they give If they give reasons at all" He and Juilin knew they were only Accepted, of course; that was at least part of why neither gle was plain on Nynaeve’s face She did not like being interrupted, or people answering for her There was quite a list of things Nynaeve did not like But it was only a moment since she had thanked Thom; it could not be easy to call down a e "Very little in the Tower makes sense most of the time," she said sourly Elayne suspected that the tartness was as much for Thom as the Tower

"Do you believe what she said?" Elayne took a deep breath "About the Aht back by any ave her was touched with sy the truth" Juilin turned one of the chairs around and straddled it, leaning his staff against the back "I’ve questioned enough thieves and murderers to know truth when I hear it Part of the tiry"

"The pair of you --" Taking a deep breath, Nynaeve tossed the scrip onto the table and folded her arms as if to trap her hands away from her braid "I am afraid Juilin is prob