For the next few days, they followed the same rhythm. They woke up, took a quick breakfast, then they were back on their horses, until the sun settled down again, and they had to rest.

Moiraine always sat on the other side of their camp, far away from Nynaeve and her angry gaze. She barely spoke, although Loial tried to talk to her. Her fingers were always moving as if she was trying to weave, but nothing happened. Every night, she was still falling unconscious, and Lan hadn't tried to enter her mind again. Surprisingly, even Nynaeve hadn't asked him to do it again. Although it was obvious that the young woman was longing for new information about Rand.

But before the Aes Sedai was lying down, she had a new ritual. She left the camp and tried to access the One Power. Every time, she returned desperate, although she never complained. But Lan saw the madness in her eyes. He didn't know how long she would keep going on like this. He had seen how Logain had reacted after he had been gentled by Liandrin and the Aes Sedai. The man had been a shadow of himself.

The warder shook his head. He wouldn't allow it that Moiraine would become like Logain. He would protect her. Together, they would find a solution. In silence, he watched how Moiraine left the camp to begin her ritual. Deep down, he knew that this wouldn't help her. She wouldn't break the layer with concentration. He had seen this thing.

When the Aes Sedai returned to the camp, he followed her. She needed to stop with this ritual, and he had to be the one, who had to tell her.

But when he arrived, Nynaeve enfolded the map he had drawn and showed it to Loial. "Have you seen this symbol before, Loial?"

The ogier took the map from her hands, and Lan was surprised at how careful he was with it despite his big hands. "I can't say that I have, and I have seen a lot of symbols in my life. Where have you seen it?"

Nynaeve looked at Lan, who was coming closer. She wouldn't say anything if he didn't want her to. Lan threw a look at Moiraine, who was already lying on her blanket and wasn't listening. She would never ask the others for help, although they really needed them.

"I saw it.", Lan answered sighing "It was burning like fire on a barrier, which prevents Moiraine from touching the source."

Loial furrowed his forehead, then he took a closer look at the symbol again. With his finger, he traced the black lines as if it would help him to recognize them. "It… there is a run hidden. Can you see it?"

"A run?"

"Yeah, I don't know if that was the purpose, but there is the run for protection. Here." The ogier showed Lan the symbol, which looked like a trident. Now, the warder saw it too.

"Let's say that it is the run for protection. What do the other lines mean? Why hide it by turning it into something else?"

"In my opinion, this looks like the letter 'M', which could stand for Moiraine Sedai. And then there is the letter 'L', which could be related to you."

"I'm her warder. How could I help her to touch the source again?"

Again, Loial's fingers moved over the run, while he was thinking. "Protection. Her access is protected by this barrier. Maybe… she can break it when she is in danger. And you… you have to be there with her. She can only break it when you're with her."

"I'm always with her, Loial. But our bond is masked. I don't understand how my mere presence should help her to break the barrier."

The ogier sighed, then he handed the map over to Nynaeve. "I'm afraid, I don't have all the answers you're looking for. I haven't seen this symbol before. You will have to try, Lan."

Lan shook his head, then he started to pace back and forth. This wasn't a solution. This was madness!

"Lan.", Nynaeve said softly, but the warder was ignoring her.

"Your conclusion makes no sense, Loial. Moiraine can't protect herself without the One Power. And I won't let her walk into something, where I don't know if she makes it out of it alive."

"Maybe, it doesn't have to be a big fight. Maybe, one Trolloc will be enough for her to break the barrier."

"Even one Trolloc can kill her! It hasn't been long ago when she nearly died because of Trolloc poison! We don't have another Aes Sedai around us, who could heal her this time! I'm not gonna risk it!"

Loial bowed his head to Lan. "I'm sorry, Lan. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sure that you'll find another way to help Moiraine Sedai."

Angry, Lan gritted his teeth, then he moved to Moiraine, who was already unconscious. Surprised, he realized that the fear of losing his Aes Sedai had become stronger. For twenty years, they had searched for the Dragon Reborn and they had faced the servants of the Dark One more than once. But since they had arrived at the Two Rivers, everything had changed. Moiraine had almost died in his arms because there had been no other Aes Sedai around. Only with Nynaeve's help, she had survived long enough until he had found the camp of the Aes Sedai, who had finally been able to heal her from the poison.

And then, shortly after that, Logain's army had attacked them and the false dragon had escaped his prison. Moiraine had been hurt again, and he had nearly died. But the hardest part had been to watch Stepin's grief. It had reminded him of how easily he could lose his Aes Sedai. If Kerene hadn't saved Moiraine and Liandrin, they probably all had died that day.

Carefully, Lan sat down in front of the sleeping woman and watched her face. He couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to lose her. It was already killing him not to be able to feel her anymore through the bond, but at least he could see that she was still alive and with him. If she would be truly gone…

Gently, he took her hand and covered it with his own. Right now, he wasn't able to help her, but he wouldn't leave her alone. She should know that he was with her.

It was in the middle of the night when Lan felt the presence of Trollocs close by. As quiet as possible, he left his place beside Moiraine and disappeared between the trees. Their fire wasn't big. Maybe the creatures wouldn't notice them.

Soon, he found the small group, which was using a path beneath them. The warder hid behind a tree and watched how the Trollocs moved without looking up. They looked tired and exhausted as if they had been on the run for quite a while. But more important was, that he didn't see a Myrddraal. These Trollocs weren't led by an Eyeless. Maybe, they had lost them during a fight.

Lan exhaled relieved when the Trollocs disappeared without noticing their little camp, but he didn't leave his spot. He was still able to feel the Trollocs. He wanted to be sure that they had left the area before he would return to Moiraine.

Minutes went by, but the feeling of Trollocs didn't disappear. Was it possible that they had stopped for tonight? Should they leave? Or should they stay put? They couldn't risk a fight. Not with so many of those creatures being close by.

Suddenly, he heard female screams from their camp, followed by a loud growl. Immediately, he was on his feet again and ran back. Did the Trollocs trick him? Were they supposed to fool him, while the Fade had sneaked up to them?

Lan broke through the trees and stopped for a second to take in the scene in front of him. Two ugly Trollocs had found them. They both looked like a boar and they had dried blood on their chins and chests, while they both wielded two of their poisonous weapons. Perrin and Loial were doing their best to keep them at distance, while the women stood behind them. Nynaeve had her dagger in her shaking hands, while Egwene used a branch and Moiraine… she was obviously trying to use the One Power and failing.

At this moment, the Trollocs pushed Perrin and Loial out of the way and swung their weapons against the women. Nynaeve and Egwene yelled at the creatures as if they would be impressed by them. Luckily, they ducked when the weapon approached.

But the second Trolloc was focused on Moiraine, who hadn't moved at all. Lan's feet started to run again, while he pulled out his sword. This time, he would make sure that she wouldn't get hurt. He saw the sharp weapon, which was hovering over Moiraine's head, ready to split the woman in half. The warder forced himself to speed up, while the sword of the Trolloc fell.

In the nick of time, Lan arrived in front of Moiraine and stopped the attack mid-air. The Trolloc growled and increased the pressure, but Lan held his position. The sword of this creature was poisoned and if he would move even an inch, it would hit his Aes Sedai.

Suddenly, Loial appeared behind the Trolloc and hit him with a big branch on the head. Surprised, the ugly creature turned its head, but Loial hit him again on the head. Since Loial was bigger than Lan, the Trolloc must've thought that the ogier was the greater danger, since he withdrew his sword and attacked his other opponent.

Lan threw a short glance at Moiraine, who was still concentrated. He saw that she was trembling and he also saw the sweat on her forehead, but he saw no weave. The barrier was still intact.

'At least, she can't burn out. But she still has to stop.'

Then he turned back to the Trolloc in front of him, who had now his back to him. Loial lay on the ground and this time, the sword was hovering over the ogier. Lan jumped and cut off the Trollocs head. Without its head, the creature went on its knees, while the sword fell out of the lifeless claws. Luckily, Loial saw it coming and rolled to the side, before the poisoned blade touched him.

Since this Trolloc wasn't a problem anymore, Lan faced their second opponent but stopped in his movements when he saw that the creature was already lying on the ground. Perrin pushed the head into the dirt, while Nynaeve was pushing her dagger into the body over and over again, although it was already clear that the Trolloc was dead. Egwene was standing beside them and was shaking pretty badly.

Lan put away his sword, then he grabbed Nynaeve's arm to stop her. "That's enough." The wisdom was covered in Trolloc blood and had a hard glance in her eyes. She was determined to protect her friends. "He is dead, Nynaeve."

Slowly, Lan felt how the tension left her body. It was over. They had killed the intruders. But Lan wasn't sure, what the rest of the Trollocs he had seen had noticed. It could be a trap, but they had to leave. "Put the fire out, then grab your stuff. We have to leave."

Perrin nodded tiredly, then he took the branch out of Egwene's hands and guided her back to their blankets. Lan helped Nynaeve to stand on her own feet, then he packed his and Moiraine's stuff. A quick glance to the Aes Sedai showed him, that she was on her knees, but she wasn't trying to channel anymore. Instead, her eyes were focused on her hands, as if she wouldn't recognize them anymore.

They packed everything on their four-footed companions, then Lan ordered them to mount their horses and to ride. Nynaeve hesitated when she saw that the warder was running back to the Aes Sedai, who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Moiraine.", Lan hissed and grabbed her shoulders "Stand up. We have to move."

"It's not working." She was only whispering as if she didn't notice him. Lan cupped her face in his hands. This way, she had no choice but to look him in the eyes. But he didn't like what he saw. His strong Aes Sedai was desperate. He had to be way more careful around her than he had thought.

"We need to leave now, Moiraine. Do you hear me?"

"I'm useless."

"That's not true. You are Moiraine Damodred, an Aes Sedai from the Blue Ajah. And right now, I need you to focus. There are more Trollocs close by and we don't survive a battle if we stay here."

She had closed her eyes at his words, but her hands were still shaken. Lan heard how the horses of Perrin, Egwene, and Loial left the camp, then he heard Nynaeve, who hissed his name: "Lan!"

They had no time for a delay. The other Trollocs could be here any minute. So, Lan grabbed Moiraine's upper arms and pulled her up. He was relieved when he saw that she was able to stand on her own two feet. She even followed him when he was pulling her to their horses. With Lan's help, the Aes Sedai was able to mount her horse, then the warder got into his own saddle.

At least, it looked as if the presence of her horse would help Moiraine to focus on their mission again. She took the reins and pressed her thighs against its flanks to follow their companions. Lan followed her a moment later.

'Do you see it now, Loial? We've fought against Trollocs, and her life had been in danger, but she couldn't protect herself. This is not the solution to get her access back. And I will be damned if I let her close to a Trolloc again!'