Chapter 14

Word Spreads

The innkeeper of the Happy Herald moved his lips as he read one of the pamphlets from the stack I'd just placed on his counter. There were stains on the rag he'd draped over his right shoulder, but the spotless counter reflected the light of the sun coming in through the windows.

Tobacco smoke, or tabac as people called it in this Age, hung in the air. Some of the patrons glanced at me as they puffed their pipes, though nothing more than that. Visitors were not unusual in Jathcross, half the people in the inn were just passing through and this was merely one of four inns this town boasted. Most of their attention was on the young gleeman on stage, his patchwork cloak draped on a chair beside him, as he belted out a rendition of Toss the Feathers though the lyrics weren't what I'd heard before.

Almoth Plain had no big rivers, but enough small ones, and the river Hadon had carved a deep gorge through this part of the plain. Making the bridge here at Jathcross the only way to cross to the northern third of the plain for miles around. Which was what drew so many people here and that, in turn, made it useful to our purpose.

Joefel looked up at me, still frowning. He waved the pamphlet in his thick hand as he spoke. "Is this true?"

I shrugged. "All I know is that someone is paying people like me to deliver these all across Almoth. But I guess they must believe this, or why spend all this coin?" I'd changed my appearance for this visit, darkened my complexion a little, and assumed the local dress featuring embroidered spirals on the vest along with baggy trousers. I'd foregone the sheepskin coat as it was too hot today for that.

He nodded. "Might be. Still, to accuse Whitecloaks of it. Some people might not take kindly to that. I don't need a Dragon's Fang on my door."

"I'm not asking you to tell people it's true. Just to make the information available. Leave it on the counter here and if someone wants one, let them have it. I, uh, can make it worth your while," I say, looking around. I don't want to make it look too obvious, but I'm not a great actor.

"You want to pay me?" The frown turned into a penetrating stare. "I thought you were getting paid to do this?"

I sketched a shrug. "I get a bonus if I can offload a bunch of them at a place like this. As I said, whoever's printing these really wants everybody to read them. And I'm thinking, a smaller bonus for me while you also get something out of it … It's better than no bonus."

"How much?"

"Uh, how about a silver crown for you?"

"A silver crown? Just how much are you getting paid?"

"Enough to risk getting caught by Whitecloaks with those on me," I said, tapping the pamphlets. "And that's the thing, right? Either this ain't true, and there aren't any Whitecloaks to catch me with these accusing them of going around killing people. Or it is true, and then everybody should know about it. Then we should do something about this. Right?"

Joefel growled something, but his eyes went back to the drawing on the pamphlet looking more worried.

"More of those? They're everywhere," an older man complained as he approached the bar. His tin cup rattled as he put it on the counter with some force. His hair was more gray than black and his beard was scraggly.

The innkeeper turned his attention to the older man. "You've read it, Maegel?"

"Oh, aye, seems like those papers are falling like rain on Almoth. Just everywhere. And I'm not liking what's on them, either. Accusing Whitecloaks of such a thing is bad enough at the best of times. But these times," he said, shaking his head. "In these times you don't want to rile people up by pointing fingers everywhere."

"Well, that's true, I suppose," Joel said. "But according to this, it's two particular Whitecloaks that are behind this. Full names, ranks, even got little portraits, see." The innkeeper slid the pamphlet over the counter and pointed them out.

"That wasn't on the ones I saw last," Maegel said, leaning forward to squint at the pamphlet. "I'll be, you're right. Jaichim Carridin, Questioner. Who is giving out orders to a Lord Captain Geofram Bornhald. And he doesn't look like a villain to me."

We'd kept up our surveillance on the Whitecloaks and getting those names hadn't taken long. Not once they found out someone was spreading the word about their presence on Almoth Plain. After that, it hadn't been much trouble updating the design of the pamphlet and I'd seen firsthand that those specific details had done wonders for the credibility of the accusation. Especially the little portraits.

So far, word about them being named and shamed hadn't reached the commanders but I was keeping an eye on that. Especially Carridin, because in the books at least he was a Darkfriend. Getting information on the Whitecloaks could be useful, penetrating the Shadow's network on the other hand could be a real game changer; if I could manage it.

"Yeah," I said drawing their attention to me. "I heard from my cousin Carridin is a real Whitecloak, at least. Supposed to be commanding Whitecloaks in Tarabon."

"That so?" Joefel sucked in air through his teeth. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in letting these lie. There'll be some that will want to hear about this." He came over to me and put the pamphlet back on the stack, but also held one upturned hand in my direction.

I slipped a Domani silver crown into his palm and nodded at them both in turn. "I wish I could stay for a drink, but I need to lighten my bag some more first," I said, shifting the strap of the bag a little where it hung from my shoulder.

Stepping out of the Happy Herald and into the bright light of the afternoon sun I took a breath of semi-fresh air. They did have something like a sewer here, so the smell wasn't bad, but there were a lot of horses and other livestock about. Their droppings would be cleaned up in the evening so right now you had to dodge both traffic and the evidence of their passing when you walked the street.

Up ahead was another inn, this one had a sign with a dancing fox playing a lyre on it. Underneath that sign Gemiad was already waiting for me and she joined my side as I walked past. "How did it go?"

"I didn't even need to say anything. The owner already had one of our early ones pinned next to the entrance and he was very interested in reading the new one. He also said your art had improved," she said with a light smile.

I'd made a couple of dresses and vests for her as well to help her blend in. Gemiad herself had managed to hide most of her Andoran accent so while nobody here would think her a local, they'd believe her to be from the other end of the plain.

"Someone in my inn had read one as well. Word is spreading. Now let's hope action will follow."

"We've seen that. Remember that village we flew over yesterday? They were putting up a palisade!" We had to step aside for a team of horses pulling a heavily laden cart that rattled down the street. "The Whitecloaks won't be able to just ride into that village."

"True enough." It hadn't looked like it would resist a determined assault, but we'd only spotted small groups so far. It appeared that Bornhald, or I should say Carridin, had spread his men far and wide. "Let's see if we can unload the rest in that inn over there and head out again." That one had a sign of a wheel of cheese with a wedge missing.

But if resistance grew I'd wager that Bornhald would concentrate his men again to break that resistance. Yet if he did that, he couldn't threaten as many settlements at the same time and it would be harder to hide his movements.

And if they did concentrate into only a few formations, it would become feasible for me to pay them a personal visit.

VVVV

Rain clattered on the roof of the shelter as summer came to an end. I'd built it yesterday as Gemiad hadn't liked how the sky looked and now we were waiting it out while a low fire drove the cold and the dark to the corners of the cabin. It drowned out the glow of the tablet I'd salvaged back in Caemlyn.

This world was even worse ... last. I'd scarcely … Night Gate when the benighted residents, or what was left of them, ... not after my life's blood ... my soul ... The Celestial Engine controlling time … sought to remove both my future and my past.

The fight was chaotic. We stuttered through our actions, … consequences .. precede their cause ... scars disappeared that I remember … caused them.

"Anything interesting?" Gemiad asked.

"Sort of. I restored the device itself, but that didn't return all the text it once held." I leaned back and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I just hit a section that's especially bad so puzzling out what the author is writing about isn't easy. But I don't think they're writing about this world."

Gemiad closed her book, then tapped on the cover. "How would you even know?"

"Because the author described how something had gone wrong with time in the world he's now visiting. Given that this world doesn't have that problem, I can safely discount this chapter."

"Something wrong with time? Time can go wrong?"

I nodded. "A lot of worlds have something that has gone wrong or no longer functions." I opened my mouth to refer back to that remnant that had kidnapped her, then thought better. "Imagine a wound appearing on your body, only for someone to jump out and stab you. Or rather than growing old, you grow young."

"That's …" Gemiad blinked and shook her head. "Hard to imagine. How would that work? How could anybody live in such a crazy world?"

"Often enough, they can't. But anything that can survive‒"

Something pushed on the door smacking it against the door bar. Outside, someone cursed as they tried to force the door to open by pulling at it, then pushing again.

Wide-eyed, Gemiad jumped up and snatched her club up from where it had been leaning against the wall. She made sure to keep her voice down as she looked from the door to the shuttered window to my left. "What do we do?"

"See who's knocking on our door."

"What?"

"Either it's an innocent traveler in need of shelter or someone that means us harm. If it's the latter, better we deal with it then leave it to someone who can't defend themselves."

"And what if it's Whitecloaks? What if it's the entire legion?"

"Then this is not their lucky day," I said, walking over to the door. Tilting the bar out of the way, I could hear some other sounds. People talking, a horse snorting, metal clinking against metal. The chances of this being some poor, unfortunate soul were dropping.

Though when I opened the door and the wet wind slapped me in the face, I reconsidered that as a bedraggled group of about eight men all turned to me. It was late in the afternoon but the clouds still dumping their contents onto the earth made the forest dark. I could only see a couple of men clearly, most were only dark shapes.

"The Light illumine you."

"Uh, yes." The man that spoke was surrounded by the group and looked to be the one that had tried to open the door; or force it. He huddled in his cloak, but it couldn't hide the sword at his hip, the dirty veil covering his lower face, or the bandage spattered with old blood wrapped around his head. "The Light illumine you as well."

I considered them for a second, then I beckoned them. "Come in, come in. This is no weather to be standing around in. There isn't much, but it's warm and dry."

I stepped out of the way, still holding the door. Gemiad gave me an outraged look, but kept quiet. She did move her club to her side so it wouldn't be easy to spot but could be quickly brought to bear.

The men outside hesitated, then the leader spoke up. "Kenyom, can you secure Rahien over there." He gestured at a nearby chestnut tree. It's canopy kept the ground around its trunk fairly dry.

Kenyom turned out to be a fair-haired young man with gangly limbs leading the horse. While he led the horse, must be Rahien, to the tree the leader stepped forward and led the rest into the cabin.

I spotted another couple of injuries. One had his arm in a sling, another had a hitch in his step. Not a limp, but he grimaced when he moved his right leg. All of them hadn't shaved in days or bathed judging by the smell as they passed me.

A few of the others also wore a veil, though one had a rip. These had to be from Tarabon then, both men and women often wore veils there.

I waited for the Kenyom to finish securing their horse. He'd removed the heavy pack on its back and carried it in. I shut the door behind him and lowered the bar again.

Two of the newcomers reached for a weapon when they heard it slide into place so I gave everyone a smile. "Forgive me, but I prefer keeping the cold and unwelcome guests out."

Their leader moved his hand away from the hilt of his sword. "And we are welcome guests, yes?"

"You look like you need kindness," I told him with a smile. Walking back to my chair I sat down. "And we found this place ourselves. Since it isn't ours, who are we to deny it to other weary travelers?"

"That is kind of you. Especially when so many others have turned us away, yes?" He pulled his cloak off and handed it over to one of his men who in turn were getting rid of their wet mantles. "Will you forgive my poor manners? I am Binuen Car, yes."

"Ron Shen." I returned his nod. "No title or rank of note." Unlike you, I left unsaid.

Binuen tensed again. "Indeed?" He took one of the other chairs across the fire. Gemiad meanwhile kept her back to the wall and an eye on the other men.

"You're not hiding that you're from Tarabon and several are injured. Would I be wrong to guess that you're from the army that Tarabon sent north to Toman's Head at the start of summer? Or should I say were?"

A tall man with blond hair that for some reason was far shorter on his left side than his right took a step towards me before his friend stopped him. "We're not deserters!"

"Calm, yes, calm," Binuen said before turning back to me. "And what would your interest in this be?"

I pressed my fingers together. "I'm curious and I don't know about you but just staring at each other for the rest of the day sounds dreadfully boring. Of course, if you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer them. If I can," I added.

Binuen Car let out a breath, his veil rippling when he did so. "You are right, yes. Me and my men are from Tarabon. But you are also wrong, no. We are part of Lord Ayar's retinue."

"What's left of it," someone else muttered.

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Lord Ayar," I said. "But let's get to the heart of the matter. We've heard rumors about an invasion of Toman's Head. But it's all tales that passed through too many ears and mouths. You were there, I'm guessing. And you encountered something strange. I can see it in your eyes. Why don't you tell me about it?"

I rummaged in my pack and pulled out a metal flask and unscrewed the cap, then I retrieved a small tin cup. "I've got enough cider for everyone to at least get a taste of … sunnier days." Personally, I was a tea person. But the cider could be very useful for a situation like this where I needed to loosen some tongues.

Binuen hesitated, then took both and poured himself a drink. He downed it one gulp and closed his eyes for a moment. With a sigh and a nod, he handed it over to another and as his men passed the cider around he began to speak.

"You have the right of it, yes. Lord Ayar called upon the other northern lords to stop this invasion. We thought it was the Domani again, trying to take our lands, and ignored all the stories about monsters and Aes Sedai. We should have listened better, yes."

Gemiad stepped away from the wall and closer to the fire and Binuen Car.

Binuen shook his head. "We got as far Tobin's Hollow when the enemy was there, waiting for us. They wore strange armor and some of them rode on strange animals. Like chickens, but with longer legs and fiercer beaks. There were gray monsters with long tusks twice as tall as a horse that had this long tentacle on its nose."

That had to be an elephant or s'redit as the Seanchan called them. In the books, we really only saw them in a circus, but it would make sense they'd be used in war as well as beasts of burden.

The cider passed through the group again before coming back to me. Not to appear suspicious, I poured some for myself, then the last I offered to Binuen.

"Thank you. That wasn't the worst of it, no," Binuen said and I noticed more than one of the Taraboners shivering. He slammed the last of the cider back. "Not the worst by far. We could have taken them, yes. If not for the Aes Sedai."

"Aes Sedai?" Gemiad exclaimed. "Are you saying these invaders are being led by Aes Seda?"

Binuen looked at her. "The earth broke beneath our feet and fireballs slammed into our ranks. What else could it be?"

"A False Dragon, for one," I said. They drew back at my words, as if they could conjure the very thing itself into the cabin. "The one in Ghealdan could, so can the one in Saldea according to everybody."

"It wasn't a man," another Taraboner said. The one with a slight limp. "I saw who threw the fireball. It was two women, one of them pointed and everybody just went up in flames."

"Could you describe them?"

He shrugged. "Wasn't that close, thank the Light. I wouldn't be here if I was, yes? All I could see was that the one that pointed wore grey and the other wore a blue and red dress."

"I saw two pairs dressed like," Kenyom said. "One in grey, the other in blue and red."

"A uniform then, suggesting they were part of the army," I said.

"A useless disguise," Binuen said. "Once they started using the One Power they couldn't hide they were Aes Sedai, no?"

"If it was a disguise," I said. It seemed these Seanchan were indeed like the books. And their treatment of channelers had been stomach-turning even with the knowledge it had been fiction. "But you survived this somehow?"

Binuen Car's shoulders slumped. "I … once Lord Ayar understood the odds, he ordered a retreat. It was the only choice, yes? Retreat and warn King Andric of the Aes Sedai's plot."

I made a wordless noise of agreement.

"But the journey back has been hard. We lost touch with the rest of the army and almost every village tells us to move on rather than let us in." He shook his head. "Last year, none of them even had gates to close."

"I'm afraid while you rode to Toman's Head, the Whitecloaks sent a Legion into Almoth Plain to terrorize the people. While disguised as either Domani or Taraboners. Might want to warn the king about that as well when you reach Tarabon."

I gave him my best butter wouldn't melt in my mouth expression. Binuen looked as if he had swallowed a hot coal.