Later that morning, just as the darkness was leaving the sky and the sun was rising, the group trotted along slowly. Egwene and Nynaeve spoke softly in the darkness, their voices nothing more than a soft murmur that was carried on the breeze, while Mat and Perrin sat alert on their saddles, Mat with a bow and arrow and Perrin with his axe. Moiraine was gripping her staff tight, her eyes tight with tension and determination as she stared off into the forest in one direction. Thom was humming some soft tune to himself, which Rand could only here because of the Void.
Rand was a little more relaxed, his sword out from his scabbard, and he was confident that he could manage himself. Lan had gone out to scout a little while ago, and Rand knew that when he came back he would bring news of three fists of Trollocs, and five Myrddraal. That was all over five hundred of them, and Rand knew that there was another five hundred not to far away, though he had no way of letting Moiraine know without revealing himself.
Trollocs! Lews Therin spat out, his voice twisted with madness and a cold anger and disgust. Abominations, that's all they are! Aginor had always wanted to experiment with animal genes, but not even I had predicated such violent and evil creatures! You have not seen the full extent of death until you have stared into the bottom of a Trolloc cook pot.
The sounds of thundering hooves bought Rand's attention to the side, but as he gripped himself in the Void, in the oneness, he did not take saidin. He did not want to be sensed so soon. After a few seconds, where Mat lifted his arrow and Perrin waited anxiously, while Egwene moved her mare closer to Moiraine and Nynaeve scowled into the darkness, the apprehension in her eyes the only thing breaking her angered pose, Lan came into view, his black stallion galloping madly down the forest paths, stirring up dead leaves as he bought his horse up to Moiraine's.
"There's three fists, with five Myrddraal," Lan said, panting slightly. His eyes were hard with determination as Moiraine stiffened in shock, letting the emotion cross her face.
"How could the Shadow sneak so many past the Borderlands?" Moiraine wondered out loud.
Lan didn't answer, but only smiled grimly. "We must move quickly," He said urgently. "There is one place where we can go that we will be safe,"
"No," Moiraine said flatly.
"Where else can we go?" Lan asked, a tinge of frustration in his voice. "Moiraine Sedai, there is no other choice!"
For a moment Moiraine sat still, her head bowed. Then she raised it and her eyes were hard. "Very well." Was all she said.
Hooves pounded along the grass, flattening the blades and crashing plants of varying shades of green. The horses were a streak in the wind, a gust of noise and colour. Leading them was Lan, his black stallion easily making the pace. Moiraine's horse followed his, with the Two Rivers people at the rear. The trees grew more and more deformed the further they travelled, their limbs turning darker and blackening, some of them were dead or dying, and as the sun rose up to noon, Lan suddenly turned his horse left.
"Trollocs!" He shouted, unsheathing his sword.
Rand blinked and looked to the left, the faint smell dirty rotten carrion entering his senses. To their left, rising up the hill, was at least a hundred Trollocs, their bestial bodies moving as fast as any horse. Following them was a single Myrddraal, its black cloak lying limp on its back, unmoved by the wind or movement. It sat on a beast of a horse, a vicious and ugly looking beast, and in one hand lay a gleaming sword of darkness that seemed to suck up the very light of the sun, in its left hand was a whip, which cracked over the heads of the Trollocs at various intervals.
"Can we outrun them?" Mat shouted anxiously over the noise of horses moving, while Egwene shivered in fright. Even Nynaeve looked scared, her eyes wide and her usual scowl and glare replaced with pale cheeks. Only Lan, Rand and Thom looked grim and determined, while Moiraine was clutching her staff and looking impassively over the hordes of screaming and roaring Trollocs, which were gaining on them by the second.
"No," Moiraine said, and Rand's arms burst out into goosebumps, as her voice seemed to be heard as if she were speaking softly into their ears. "We must fight!"
She let her horse come to a stop, and Lan moved out in front of her while Rand, Mat and Perrin joined him. Egwene and even Nynaeve crowded around Moiraine as she lifted her staff.
As the Trollocs sprinted over the grassy hill on their various hooves, talons or paws, dodging occasional trees and snarling like the beasts they were, the ground rumbled ominously. The charge hesitated, lone Trollocs slowing down, only to be sped up as the Myrddraal cracked the whip above their heads. The ground continued rumbling as they got closer, and Mat loosed his first arrow from the Longbow, sending an arrow sailing gracefully through the air and into the eye of a goat-snorted Trollocs.
"Yes!" Mat crowed as he took another arrow from his quiver.
"Wait until they are at our throats," Lan said softly, but his voice was hard. "Then we shall see if you have any worth in battle."
Mat swallowed, then yelled and ducked as the ground in front of him erupted in showers of dirt. Earth rolled, like a carpet being rippled in the breeze, and Rand could hear the ground rumbling and groaning in protest. Trollocs shouted as they tripped, the rolls washing over their charge and breaking it. Only the Myrddraal continued on, its horses moving as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly Rand felt the taint of the shadow closer to him, much closer, and he spun around just as Trollocs burst from the trees. With a yell of warning, he spurred on his horse and his sword flashed, slicing through the first Trolloc's head easily. The bestial figure fell with a scream of pain as four more replaced him, large and awkward looking poles with hooks attached at the end of them in their hand.
"Moiraine!" Egwene screamed.
"Lan, take them!" Moiraine commanded loudly. She slammed her staff in the ground, her gaze still focused on the Trollocs in front of her, merely five hundred paces away. The ground rumbled and storm clouds thundered, suddenly appearing from nowhere, the grey and billowing clouds casting a shadow over the earth as they blocked off the sun. Lightning flashed, two forks, then four, and Trollocs screamed as their charred and burnt bodies were hurled aside like rag dolls. Fire blossomed from the grounds as another wave of earth broke apart at their feet.
Not less than a twenty paces away, Lan spurred his hose to meet the smaller Trollocs group. Together, they worked as an efficient and deadly team. Lan's sword sliced and hacked with a well-practised ease, and Trollocs fled from where he stood, while Mandarb, his magnificent stallion, attacked with his hooves, smashing aside armour and bodies. Trollocs met death in those two, but more replaced the dead and scythe-like swords replaced the poles. Lan's sword was a blur, and whenever the Warder blade met Thakan'dar wrought steel, sleet lightning flashed in the air, a blue pulse that ended in sparks, which flickered and died in the air just as more of the were produced.
Mat had fallen from his saddle, and was now desperately swinging one of the hooked-poles, probably stolen from the corpse of a Trolloc. His face was a picture of fear and anger as he wielded the pole like a quarterstaff, using the hooked end to jab forcefully into Trolloc eyes. Since most of the beasts didn't use helmets, it was an effective technique and already four Trollocs were snarling and shouting wildly as they staggered around Mat. One of the Trollocs was wielding their customary blades and was swinging it widely in one hand while holding its other hand to its eyes. Its bear muzzle was snarling as it struck into thin air, but occasionally it stabbed and killed its kin, until one of the other Trollocs pushed their blade into its back and the blinded Trolloc collapsed.
Perrin was near Moiraine, using his axe to swipe at any Trolloc that came near. Behind him, Egwene and Nynaeve watched with horror as the Trolloc hordes came closer and closer, pushing back the human defenders, but none managed to come to closer, because at the centre of all of the fighting, Rand stood, his horse lying dead on the ground, dark black staining the ground where it lay.
He was one with the sword, and Cat over the Wall, the rising sword stabbing under a Trolloc under the chin and the blade protruding from its head. The sword moved into River under the Rocks, and the lowered thrust impaled a Trolloc in the guts, while Whirling Windmill produced a spinning slice that slashed a beaked Trolloc in the chest, the power-wrought blade easily slicing past the flimsy armour. As the beak faced Trolloc screeched in anger, a black-cloaked Myrddraal approached. Rand stepped back, his eyes glittering with repressed anger. He was wrapped in the Void, his emotions fed into the flames, and he seized the light that was saidin. Power poured into him, a heat that warmed his body, and a taint that threatened to overwhelm him. There was an instance where a struggle occurred between Rand and the avalanche of chaotic and tainted power, before Rand gained control.
Destroy them all! I must destroy them! Lews Therin howled angrily, but Rand was already holding saidin and his attempts to grasp it for himself were deflected.
The Myrddraal hesitated just a fraction; it could sense the power that throbbed in Rand. Rand took advantage of that seconds pause and leaped forward, his blade slicing into the dirt as he performed Heron Wades in the Pond. The Myrddraal fell back, its eyeless gaze threatening to chill Rand and its sword moving like a skilful serpent. Blue lightning arced from where the blades met as Rand pressed on. Saidin pulsed within him, and suddenly the Myrddraal screeched, an unearthly scream that was far worse than any Trolloc snarl. Smoke began to lick its cloak as it was burnt from the inside, its internal organs melting under the intense pressure and heat Rand was channelling into it. Any sign of the smoke was lost in the shouts and smells of battle. Rand took the chance to push its blade away, and his own blade flashed in the air as it met flesh, and the Myrddraal collapsed into a twitching pile of limbs.
The Trollocs were almost dead now, and Lan was finishing off the last three with a whirlwind of horse and sword. At least twenty of the beasts lay on the ground in various stages of mutilation. Moiraine was still peering forward, and large yellow and red flames had grown from the ground. Smoke poured in the air as another volley of lightning struck beyond the flames, and screams of pain echoed past them as the lightning struck into flesh.
"Moiraine Sedai!" Lan said urgently as he came towards Moiraine.
"In a moment," Moiraine said, her voice weak and fatigued. The flames beyond the hill suddenly grew in height and intensity, until Rand could feel the heat from flames from where he was standing. Suddenly a gust of wind swept through the ground, and leaves, dirt and blood were swept out as it passed them. The Aes Sedai suddenly sagged in her saddle and her staff lowered. "The flames will not hold them forever, and when they break through they will follow a false trail. They will not be fooled for long," She said weakly. "Lan, take us to Aridhol."
The group rode on with great haste. Mat had recovered his horse, but Rand had none and was forced to ride on the back of Mandarb, and he gripped the Warder by the waist. It was uncomfortable, but Rand bared it as Lan led them past hills and forests, until the came upon a rocky path that led up to the top of a hill. At the top, the group stopped as Perrin, Mat, Egwene and Nynaeve gasped at the crumbing city walls, with towers of weathered stone. Broken buildings lay beyond the walls and in the Void, he could sense the evil of the place. Not the evil of the Dark One, but an evil nonetheless.
"What is this place?" Mat asked.
"It was once an ally with Manetheren, back in the Trolloc Wars. It was named Aridhol, but the city died and was renamed." Moiraine said tiredly. "Shadowspawn fear to come here."
"What was it renamed to?" Egwene asked softly.
"Shadar Logoth." Moraine answered, and the name was enough to make Rand feel uneasy.
A large building made of crumbling stone became their Inn, and Moiraine set up various wards until she was ready to drop. Her brow was lowered in exhaustion and Lan looked very odd, his stony face present as he gently laid Moiraine to bed. Mat and Perrin were gone, probably exploring like last time, and Rand was quick to leave and find them. Next to her, Egwene looked on worriedly as Nynaeve prepared a mild sleeping tea, using a small flickering fire to heat it. Thom was sitting quietly on the ground, his harp out, and he tuned it carefully, stroking the strings like he would a lover. Only the flickering glances he shot at Moiraine showed the concern he felt.
"I only need a few hours rest," Moiraine said to Egwene weakly. "The Trollocs will fear to come here, most likely they will avoid it."
"Where are Mat and Perrin?" Nynaeve suddenly asked as she handed Moiraine the tea.
Lan looked around sharply, and his blue eyes flashed with anger. "Those fools!" He growled. "I would have expected better sense from them, especially Rand!"
"No doubt it was one of Mats little adventures, it always is." Nynaeve said sharply. She tugged on her braid and stood as Moiraine fell asleep the instant the tea had been swallowed. "I will find them,"
"Don't be foolish Wisdom," Lan said roughly. "Shadar Logoth is no place for you, it is no place for any man or women. It is better to stay here where there are wards. I will find them."
Nynaeve stared at the Warder, incredulity showing in her eyes, but he stared stonily back and she lowered them with a small blush, her cheeks heating. Lan looked momentarily surprised, but he stepped up and walked out.
"…help me, and you may have a large share of your own. I cannot possible carry this all out on my own, and by the time I come back, others will have taken it."
Rand entered the underground chamber with a grim look on his face. His hand rested on his sword and he eyed the scene in front of him with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Mordeth stood, just as Rand remembered him, while Perrin watched Mat dig into the treasure eagerly.
"What's this?" Rand asked, his voice cold.
Mordeth spun around in surprise, his eyes widening a fraction, and for a moment Rand could see the evil that lay beneath the rather portly man.
"Rand, this is Mordeth." Perrin said, his eyes glancing between Rand, Mordeth and the treasure.
"He's a treasure hunter and he needs our help to carry some of this stuff back to his horses. If we help him, he'll give us a share!" Mat exclaimed eagerly. "Light Rand, real treasure!"
"Mordeth?" Rand asked sharply.
KILL HIM! DARKNESS, HE IS DARKNESS THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST! Lews Therin practically roared.
I intend to destroy him! But not now, we will destroy both Mordeth and the Taint at once. Rand said back grimly, and he smiled slightly at Lews Therin's harsh anticipation.
"Yes, why, do you recognise it?" Mordeth asked.
"Yes actually, I do." Rand said. "The only Mordeth I ever heard of was the one who led Aridhol into an evil that was almost as bad as the Dark One. And…" Suddenly Rand paused and he stepped back, his face showing manufactured shock. "You have no shadow!"
Perrin stumbled back, as Mat dropped the gold coins he was holding. Mordeth was not smiling anymore and suddenly his lashed forward, and tendrils of mist whipped through the air. The man's body was turning into a smoky grey mist, mist that Rand knew as Mashadar. Mat gave a frenzied shout and staggered back, as Mordeth hurled through the wall, fleeing. Rand knew it would be not strike if it thought that one of them would help release it.
"Mat, don't take anything!" Was the first thing he said.
Mat nodded numbly and dropped the pouch full of coins he had. "W-What was that?" He stammered, pointing at the wall where Mashadar had disappeared.
"Ask Lan to tell you," Rand said grimly. "But if you take anything from here, you will end up just like it! We need to leave here now!"
Mat paled and he hesitated as Perrin grabbed him, and together with Rand, they left the chamber.
Upstairs, sunlight beamed onto the street and Rand suddenly felt safer as the first rays hit his chest. He whirled on Rand and jabbed him in the chest, his eyes hard and his face stony.
"Mat, do you have anything from the chamber? Did he give you anything?" Rand asked, and Mat shook his head.
"He didn't give us anything," Perrin said slowly.
"Did you take anything?" Rand asked, and Mat hesitated before he slowly pulled out an ornate dagger with gleaming rubies in the hilt. Rand shuddered at the mere sight of the weapon, it had been the one that had stabbed into his side and released a deadly evil into him. "Is that all?"
Mat nodded and Rand quickly grabbed the dagger and hurled it aside. It clattered down a crumbling wall and lay gleaming in the sun.
"Good," Rand said with relief, just as a flash of dizziness throbbed into him, and Lan appeared.
"You fools!" He hissed. "Come with me!"
Four hours later, Rand sat on his makeshift bed inside the warded building. His head ached, throbbing madly, but he ignored it as he waited. Moiraine had just woken up and was looking more refreshed and energised, while Mat and Perrin lay on their own beds, still down from the chastisement they had received from both Lan and Nynaeve. The story of Shadar Logoth and Mordeth had been told to them, and when Rand was asked how he had heard of it, he shrugged and said that Tam had a book that spoke of the fate of Aridhol. Now, Lan had gone to scout and he sat and waited. With Mat safe from the dagger, Rand could begin his own plans once the Trollocs broke up their party. Soon Lan would come back and report that Trollocs were entering Shadar Logoth. Soon Rand would ensure that Mat was sent off safe with Thom to Caemlyn, and he would kill the Myrddraal from Whitebridge to make sure that Thom didn't disappear, to make sure that Mat was not alone.
Sure enough, Lan quickly returned and headed for Moiraine.
"A few dozen Trollocs at least, and a Myrddraal." The Warder reported.
"So the Myrddraal is pushing the Trollocs into Shadar Logoth," Moiraine murmured, while Egwene squeaked softly.
"Then what is pushing the Myrddraal?" Lan asked, and received no answer.
"Can't we get past it?" Mat asked.
"All of the Aes Sedai in the White Tower could not hope to destroy Mashadar," Moiraine answered from the other side of the wall of grey and white mist, which throbbed at the mention of Aes Sedai. She laughed bitterly. "We must separate for a time. Follow the red star in the night sky. Eventually you will reach the river, a few leagues from the city. I will have to meet you there."
Two Trollocs rounded the corner, almost as surprised to see Mat and Rand, as Mat was to see them. For a second nobody moved until Rand, who was on the back of Mat's saddle, leapt off with his sword flying.
"Ride Mat!" He shouted as he slammed into the Trollocs. His sword flowed as he blocked and parried thrusts and blows from curved swords, these Trollocs were very skilled, and yelled again. "Blood and Ashes Mat, RUN!"
He heard the sound of pounding hooves on stone and he smiled grimly. He seized saidin and with a quick glance around, he raised his hands and channelled. Fiery arrows appear on the tips of his fingers and thumb, ten in total, and Arrows of Fire erupted from his hands; fiery arrows appearing in place of the others as soon as they had flew out. A hundred arrows had burst from his palms in a second, and the Trollocs had no time to scream as they were impaled, burnt and killed instantly. Their crumpled bodies fell to the ground and Rand smiled in satisfaction.
Yes! Burn them, freeze them, crush them and destroy them! Above all, kill them! Lews Therin panted in excitement, a childlike glee bursting into Rand. The man was definitely insane.
As three more Trollocs appeared, Rand readied himself and raised his hands again. Light and power burnt into him, accompanied by the rotten tasting taint, and suddenly Rand staggered as a wave of dizziness, almost like the rot he had developed the first time around. But this dizziness was different, and suddenly Rand felt flushed and hot. He was sweating badly, he discovered, as he placed a hand on his forehead, and he staggered back, one hand still raised. The three Trollocs sprinted closer, eagerness in their human eyes, and Rand, waved his hand sharply, and they were suddenly yanked up by and invisible force and hurled aside with great force, collapsing in a crumpled heap several hundred paces away.
"You utter fool!" Came a cold voice behind him, and Rand spun around. Ba'alzamon stood there, a fine red cloak swirling in the light breeze. The stars and moon overhead cast a feeble light, but Ba'alzamon sucked it up as if he was eating it, the light being sucked into his very body. Furnace eyes blazed with fire behind the hood, and a disgusted frown marred his face.
"What do you want?" Rand asked roughly.
Ba'alzamon didn't reply, stepping around the dead Trolloc bodies in black boots, while lifting his cloak up as if to stop it from touching the large pool of blood forming. He eyed the bodies with speculation, before shifting his gaze to Rand.
"Arrows of Fire," He said slowly. "Lews Therin Telamon created that weave,"
"I know," Rand said coldly.
"So, that is why you are experience at saidin. You have his knowledge…or at least, some of it. I was puzzled at first, even one such as yourself was too young to be so proficient. And when we last met…I thought I heard an echo of Lews Therin. But…I do experience bouts of madness from time to time." Ba'alzamon said wryly, sound almost sane, before he ruined it as he laughed loudly, his rough voice echoing over the hollow and crumpled buildings. Distantly, Rand could see flickering flames as he guessed that Moiraine wielded her powers against Trollocs. "You will serve me, or you will die! You are a fool; you do not know what you could do with your power if you just knelt down once, just once! Acknowledge the Great Lord of the Dark as your Master just one and he will be content! You can reign over these lands all you wish, and He will not interfere."
"Leave or be destroyed." Rand growled, saidin pulsing in him. But he was feeling hot, and sweat mopped his brow, dizziness pounding into his head.
"Do you know what you are experiencing?" Ba'alzamon asked, his eyes blazing in triumph. "You are experience the sickness that comes from drawing in the power. Normally, these would last a few hours, maybe a day at the most. But you…you have tried to channel when your body could not accept anymore! You will take weeks to recover, maybe you will die!"
Rand felt a cold void form in him, and fear flitted on the Void. No! This was not how he was meant to die! There was still much to be done, lives to be saved! Ba'alzamon was lying!
"You know I do not lie," Ba'alzamon said softly. He took a step forward and extended his hand. "Join me, and I will heal you right now. Join me, and rule the world! I do not want to rule, it can be yours! People will bow down to your name, and quiver in fear and awe at your mere presence!"
"Never!"
Never!
With a roar, Rand extended his own hand as Ba'alzamon stepped backwards, his cloak fluttering in the wind. A disc of fire, sleek and white-hot, formed in the palm of his hand and Rand hurled it at Ba'alzamon, his hand still outstretched. With a burst of ebony coloured power, Ba'alzamon slapped it aside, white and red sparks cackling in the air as the dark material of his glove came into contact with the sleek wheel of fire. Heat blossomed in the air as the fire tore through the crumbling walls of the building nearby, and fire burst from all windows, doors and holes.
"You fool! Why will you not submit?" Ba'alzamon shouted angrily, black flames forming in his extended hand. Rand threw himself to the ground as a bar of black flames burst from the hand, searing and gliding through the air where Rand had once stood. On the ground, Rand channelled desperately, and the ground tore open in violent jagged edges, rocks torn asunder as they spread through the road. Ba'alzamon channelled saidin at that moment, and Rand could feel the utter strength radiating off the man. It was a rival to himself, and suddenly Ba'alzamon was standing in a bubble of grey power.
Rand jumped up, just as the cracks in the ground filled with flames, and he had to slice away a roaring sleet that sped towards him. A touch of earth sealed the cracked stone, just as hammers of power slammed into to each other and strands of air slashed and slammed and each other. The air crackled and erupted into multicoloured sparks and Rand raised his hand, a bar of white-hot fire, liquid-like in appearance, burst from his palm Balefire swept across the plaza and Ba'alzamon threw himself down to the ground as the beam tore into buildings of stone.
"You are insane!" Ba'alzamon shrieked in fear and anger. But his next attack mimicked Rand, and balefire sliced and tore through stone, sending houses crumbling to where they stood. As Rand channelled again, a grey mist seeped into the street, lit up by the various fires. Both Ba'alzamon stared each other down, their hands raised, and Rand wrung himself deeper into the void, before both fighters spotted Mashadar. For a split second, burning furnaces met steely grey, and in unison they both swung their hands towards Mashadar.
Balefire leap from their palms, and the two blinding bars of white-hot liquid fire erupted from their palms. Mashadar reared, the mist parting against the powerful balefire, and there was a loud hissing noise, like an angry snake as more and more mist burst into the street. Tendrils shot out, and Rand shifted automatically, saidin slicing through vines of mist with a flash of sheet fire, dark and throbbing. More and more vines burst from the mist, and Rand stopped the balefire as he took a step backwards. Concentrating, he melded a flow of air and fire together, before earth and spirit tied off with each other and merged with the original weave. A fiery orb, brightly flickering and scarlet in colour, surrounded Rand. Tendrils struck the orb and dissipated, and Rand turned back to Ba'alzamon, who was faring worse.
Maybe it was because of Ba'alzamons connection to the Dark One, or the True Power that he wielded, but Mashadar seemed to go after him with a vengeance. Misty arms curled around a black glowing shield, while fiery whips extended from Ba'alzamon, cracking down at Mashadar whenever it came close. Ba'alzamon stood in the centre, his gaze locked with Rand, a furious expression on his face and a burning light in his eyes.
Rand smiled mockingly and Ba'alzamon snarled, his face twisting up into the face of a madman. The Forsaken tried to take a step forward, but Mashadar pushed at him and he staggered back. The mist was surrounding him, slowly obscuring him from view, striking out with its power. As Ba'alzamon slowly became lost in the darkened mist, Rand was not forgotten either. Mashadar pounded into his shield, slicing away the fiery scarlet dome. Rand channelled again, and a single vertical line of black and sparkling silver appeared just behind him. It expanded like a sheet of rolled up paper uncurling, and Rand took a single step backwards, stepping out from Shadar Logoth. Seconds later, the gateway disappeared, just as a wave of fire, black and chaotic, burst from the lump of Mashadar. A moment later, Ba'alzamon stood, his face tight with strain and he disappeared into the shadows, just as Mashadar reared for another strike.
"What is going on?" Lan wandered out loud, atop the hills surrounding Shadar Logoth. Fire could be seen at the eastern end of the crumbling ruins, flickering yellow flames illuminating the darkened streets. Sitting in her saddle next to him, Moiraine frowned as a building collapsed under a rush of white flames.
"I would say that the white bar of flames is Balefire," She remarked, "But who would have the ability to create that?"
Lan and Moiraine's eyes met, and an understanding passed between them.
"You think it is him," Lan said, it was not a question.
"It must be." Moiraine said and shivered. Light, if the boy had created Balefire without instruction, what could he do once he had grown into his powers and had experimented with them even more? Suddenly she sensed something, like a giant spark, and her lips curled up into a smile. "Now, if the Wisdom would appear from the trees, perhaps we can go and search for the missing boys?"
From beyond the darkened trees, Nynaeve appeared, her cheeks burning but her gaze defiant. As Moiraine stared at her, she resisted the urge to sigh. So much planning lost, and now she would have to deal with a stubborn and wilful young woman, who would most likely not accept the news of her abilities well. She could only pray to the Creator that she would be able to find the other boys soon.
Across the other side of the river, Perrin and Egwene hurried forward into the darkness, shivering as the wind chilled the water dripping from their clothes. Behind them, Trollocs howled as they approached the river, and would not cross it.
"Do you think they'll follow us?" Egwene asked Perrin anxiously.
"Moiraine Sedai said that Trollocs were afraid of deep water," Perrin answered slowly. "But we should keep moving. When it is daylight, we'll find the others."
Egwene nodded and together, they entered the deserted Caralain Grasses.
Mat shivered, ducking beneath a building as two Trollocs stormed past. He was all alone now, with no Aes Sedai or Warder or Rand to help him out. Light, what was Rand thinking, hurling himself at Trollocs? Didn't he have more sense than that? Battle were made to sound good in stories, but Mat had soon discovered that there was nothing glorious about it. It was all a sweaty and angry mess where you tried to avoid getting jabbed with pointy objects! Light, he wished he had a weapon. As he crept from the shadows, he noticed that he was near the place where Mordeth had appeared. He shivered, and quickly darted towards the next building. The walls were in sight!
There was a snarl behind him, and a shout, and Mat gave a yell of fright as he was pushed down against the wall. Standing above him was a dark eyed Trolloc, with a snarling dogs mouth and drool dripping from sharp teeth. Mat squirmed and patted the ground for something to fight with as the Trolloc grinned menacingly. His hand closed something metal, a hilt, and Mat lashed out. The Trolloc howled in pain and staggered back, and Mat jumped to his feet and sprinted for the walls, never looking back. If he had, he would have seen the Trolloc convulse on the ground as a squirmy black substance spread all over its body.
"Mat!" Somebody hissed as Mat sprinted past the walls, and Mat turned to see Thom beckoning him from behind a tree. Sighing in relief, he made his way over, his hand clutched around a golden dagger with rubies planted in the hilt.