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Edorion turned his helon, the city can hold a while longer, but even if these Aiel will fight those, the question is, can you bring theenerous esti with a spear throughtaken alive when they ees who fled ahead of the Aiel; there isn’t a dog or a pigeon left in the city, and I doubt there will be a rat left soon The one good thing is that no one see very much about ill take the Sun Throne, not with this Couladin outside"

"He called on us to surrender to He Who Comes With the Dawn, on the second day," Daricain put in, earning a sharp look from Edorion for the interruption

"Couladin has some sport with prisoners," Estean said "Out of bowshot, but where anyone on the walls can see You can hear theht burnto break our will or simply likes it Sometimes they let peasants make a run for the city, then shoot them full of arrohen they’re almost safe However safe Cairhien is Only peasants, but" He trailed off and sed hard, as if he had just remembered what Rand’s opinions were of "only peasants" Rand just looked at him, but he seemed to shrivel, and muttered under his breath about brandy

Edorion leaped into the on, the point is that the city can hold until you come, if you can come quickly We only beat back the first assault because the Foregate caught fire"

"Flaate, a city in itself outside the walls of Cairhien, had been mostly wood, as Rand reht there"

The other Tairen went on right over him " but Lord Meilan has the defense well planned, and the Cairhienin appear to be keeping their backbones for the time" That earned him frowns from Meresin and Daricain that he either did not see or pretended not to "Seven days with luck, perhaps eight at h abruptly seemed to deflate Edorion’s plumpness "I did not see one horse," he said as if to himself "The Aiel do not ride You will never be able to ?" Rand asked Rhuarc

"Seven days" was the reply Mangin nodded, and Estean laughed

"Burnto reach here on horses If you think you canaware of the Aiel eyes on him, Estean scrubbed the hair from his face "Is there any brandy in this town?" he muttered

"It isn’t how fast we can make it," Rand said quietly, "but how fast you can, if you dismount some of your men and use their horses for spares I want to let Meilan and Cairhien know that help is on the way But whoever goes will have to be sure he can keep his mouth shut if the Shaido take him I do not intend to let Couladin know any more than he can learn on his own" Estean hiter in the face than the Cairhienin

Meresin and Daricain were on their knees together, each seizing one of Rand’s hands to kiss He let them, with as much patience as he could find; one bit of Moiraine’s advice that had the ring of common sense was not to offend people’s custoe or even repulsive, unless you absolutely had to, and even then think twice

"We will go, on," Meresin said breathlessly "Thank you, ht, I voill die before revealing a word to any but h Lord Meilan"

"Grace favor you, on," the other added "Grace favor you, and the Light illumine you forever I am your man to the death" Rand let Meresin say that he also was Rand’sthe at him Edorion had called them like hounds, butat ahis pink cheeks, and let it out slowly "I suppose if I on, forgive old crowns, that you can really come in seven days?"

Rand stared at him The man was as bad as Mat "I don’t have a hundred crowns silver, much less a thousand in --"

Sulin broke in "He has it, Tairen," she said firer, if you hed "Done, Aiel And worth every copper if I lose Come to think, I’ll not live to collect if I win Cos to heel "We ride"

Rand waited until the three had made their bows and were halfway back to the horses before rounding on the whitehaired Maiden "What do you old crowns? I’ve never seen a thousand crowns, lances as if he were dein "A fifth of the treasure that was in the Stone of Tear belongs to those who took the Stone, and will be claimed when they can carry it away" Sulin spoke as to a child, instructing it in the simple facts of everyday life "As chief and battle leader there, one tenth of that fifth is yours Tear subht of triumph, so one tenth of Tear is yours as well And you have said we can take the fifth in these lands -- a tax, you called it" She fumbled the word; the Aiel did not have taxes "The tenth part of that is yours also, as Car’a’carn"

Rand shook his head In all of his talks with Aviendha, he had never thought to ask whether the fifth applied to him; he was not Aiel, Car’a’carn or no, and it had not seeht not be a tax, but he could use it as kings did taxes Unfortunately, he had only the vaguest idea how that was He would have to ask Moiraine; that was one thing she had ht it so obvious that he should know

Elayne would have knohat taxes were used for; it had certainly beenadvice from her than from Moiraine He wished he knehere she was Still in Tanchico, probably; Egwene told his He wished he could sit Elayne down and make her explain those two letters Maiden of the Spear or DaughterHeir of Andor, wohed at hi soh, now If he ever saw her again, she would run a hundred et aw