The dust was slowly fading, while Lan tried to hold his breath. He was still shielding Moiraine with his body and hoped that she hadn't inhaled the dust. Using that much of the One Power was exhausting, and he was still impressed that she had managed it to kill all the Trollocs.

When most of the dust was gone, Lan inhaled carefully. He had to cough twice, but then the air was clear enough to breathe. Slowly, he sat upright and took in his surroundings. He heard the moans of the hurt and the painful cries of the heavily injured ones. The once beautiful tree was still burning, but not one of the Trollocs was moving.

Lan's eyes returned to Moiraine's face. She was still unconscious. The dust had settled in her hair, so her dark brown hair seemed gray now. He probably didn't look much better.

"Are you alright?" The mayor, Bran al'Vere, appeared by Lan's side and laid his hand on Lan's shoulder.

Lan nodded shortly. His shoulder was burning, but he knew that it wasn't actually his shoulder. Moiraine was in pain because he hadn't stopped the blade of the Trolloc.

"What were those creatures?" The mayor sounded rattled, while he took in the dead army. He had never seen a Trolloc in his life.

"Trollocs."

Bran's dirty and bloody face turned pale. With big eyes, he turned back to the warder. "Trollocs? But… they are not… no one has seen… Light, save us."

Lan was close to strangling the man. Moiraine had been right. Those villagers had forgotten about the danger, which was still moving through the land. Aes Sedai and Trollocs belonged to stories, which were told to little children when they were misbehaving. Has no one of the villagers left the village in their life? How had they survived that long? Hadn't the peddler brought them news of what had happened in the world outside of the Two Rivers?

Instead, the warder focused on his inner calmness, while they were surrounded by the cries of the injured ones. These people needed help. And the mayor needed instructions. He hadn't been confronted with such a situation before. "We need to help your people. Many of them are injured and won't survive the night if we don't help them."

Bran nodded slowly, while he thought about Lan's words. "Our wisdom… Nynaeve… she can help. I will find her."

"She can't do it alone. She will need help. Maybe the other women of the women's circle have some knowledge about herbs and how to treat wounds."

"My wife and daughter. They can help. They will organize everything." Bran's eyes fell on Moiraine. "She is… an Aes Sedai."

Lan waited for the man to continue, although he had a feeling what this man wanted to ask of him. Everyone in this village knew that Moiraine was an Aes Sedai since the moment they had entered the tavern. If he was mentioning it now, he could only be asking for…

The mayor noticed that Lan wasn't helping him this time with his words. He gulped, then he stumbled: "I heard that they can… well, heal people. Can she…?"

"Not in her condition. Give her some time and then we'll see."

"Of course." Bran nodded quickly, but he looked relieved.

"DAD!" A crying Egwene ran towards her father and hugged him tightly. Her mother followed at a slower pace, but when her eyes fell on Lan and Moiraine, she quickly kneeled down by the side of the Aes Sedai.

"Is she alright?"

"She is exhausted.", Lan explained.

"Do you need anything? Water, food,…"

"We'll be fine."

But Marin al'Vere was stubborn. She had seen how Moiraine and Lan had fought against the Trollocs and she knew that everyone would be dead if those two hadn't been by their side. "You have fought against those monsters. We are alive because you two killed most of them. You drew their attention and gave us the possibility to escape. Name what you need and I will get it for you."

Lan took a deep breath. He knew that the family al'Vere just wanted to help, but right now, he just wanted to take care of Moiraine. "You need to help your people. Many of them are hurt and they need the wisdom."

Marin lowered her eyes, but Lan saw the tears in them. It felt like a punch to Lan's guts when he realized what this meant. It was Egwene, who confirmed his suspicion when she said: "Nynaeve is dead. I was there when a Trolloc grabbed her."

"Who will help us now?", Bran asked alarmed, and looked at his wife "Nynaeve had no apprentice."

"I can help.", Egwene said with a shaky voice.

Lan looked at the young girl appraising. She was young, but the wisdom had been young as well. Only a few years older than Egwene. And it wasn't like they had another option. More people would die if their injuries wouldn't be treated.

"I will talk to the women's circle, Egwene. We will help you.", Marin said, and her daughter left immediately. Then the wife of the mayor turned her attention back to Lan. "Can I get you some water?"

"I wouldn't say 'No' to that." Lan sighed when Bran and Marin left him as well. Then he dove into his bond with Moiraine. She was still unconscious, but he had noticed that she had furrowed her forehead during his conversation with the al'Vere's. She was close to waking up.

Gently, he brushed the dust off her face, and Moiraine reacted immediately to his touch. It wouldn't take long anymore. The warder moved his hands to her shoulder. Slowly, he pulled back her coat. Her tunic had a hole from the blade and the area was drenched with her blood. As careful as possible, Lan lifted the fabric off the wound.

Moiraine groaned when it pulled on her injured skin, and Lan felt a stab of pain in his shoulder as well. She was still bleeding, but the wound was also infected with the black poison of the Trollocs. `We have to find a sister before the infection gets worse. But we haven't seen one for weeks.´

Someone gasped behind him, and when Lan turned his head, Marin kneeled down beside him. She carried a water bucket, which was obviously meant for them, but her eyes were on Moiraine's wound. "Moiraine Sedai got hurt?"

"It was the blade of a Trolloc."

"I will get some herbs and…"

Marin was already back in action, but Lan interrupted her: "There is no need for that. I will take care of her. You have to think about the other villagers."

"Are you sure? I could…" The woman saw Lan's blank face, then she got back on her feet. "If you need anything, please call for me."

Lan nodded, then he returned his focus to Moiraine's injury. The skin around it was already warm. The poison was working its way through her body.

"Lan." Her voice was no louder than a whisper, then she groaned again when he touched the skin around the wound. He could use the water to clean the wound.

The warder reached for the water bucket. Marin had given him a wooden spoon as well. This way, he could drip the water onto the infected wound.

"Lan." This time, his Aes Sedai was moving. Her fingers found his tunic and grabbed it tightly, while she was forcing herself to blink. Lan felt that she was still feeling hazy.

"I'm here, Moiraine."

"The Trollocs… where…?" She was still not able to concentrate enough to build a full sentence. Luckily, Lan knew what she wanted to know. While he was answering her, he pulled the water bucket closer.

"You killed them all." He filled the spoon with some water, then he slowly dripped it on her skin.

As soon as the water touched her, Moiraine hissed, and Lan felt pain piercing his shoulder. The haziness was gone, but now she was in pain. Quickly, the woman of the Blue Ajah tried to push Lan's arm out of the way, but he was faster and brought some distance between her fingers and the spoon before he dripped more water onto her.

Again, Moiraine tried to block Lan, but suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and pulled it aside. Surprised, Lan looked at Marin, who had returned. In her other hand, she held a few pieces of fresh fabric, which were obviously for Lan.

"You should clean it a second time.", Marin said and nodded at the empty spoon "The wound needs to be washed out very thoroughly."

"No." Moiraine's voice was hoarse, and Lan felt the resistance in her body. She wanted to get up. To move away from the pain. But Marin was right. Since they didn't have another Aes Sedai close by, he needed to clean the wound as best as he could.

Moiraine squirmed when she saw how her warder was getting another spoonful of water, but Lan was stronger. Her whole body stiffened when the water hit her again, then it was over. Lan took a clean fabric and dried the wound, carefully.

"Marin! I need your help!", Bran called for his wife. He was helping an old man, who had a deep cut on his leg.

The wife of the mayor threw a questioning look at Lan, who gave her a short nod, then she went to her husband. She left the fabrics on Moiraine's stomach, so they would be in reach for the warder.

"Have you seen the children?", Moiraine asked through gritted teeth.

"Only Egwene. She is shaken, but alive." Lan pressed a clean fabric on the wound. He didn't have their herbs on him. Their bags were buried under the remains of the tavern, so he would retrieve them later. Until then, this should help for a while.

Moiraine's breaths eased when Lan stopped working on her wound, and the pain started to fade. Relieved, the warder grabbed the spoon again, then he helped Moiraine to lift her head, so she could drink the water. When she couldn't take anymore, he took a few gulps himself, while he watched the villagers. The women's circle was helping as best as they could and every man, who wasn't injured, was either helping with the injured or starting to carry away the dead.

"How bad?"

"It could've been worse. It's a good thing that we were here."

"We need to find the boys." When Moiraine tried to sit upright, Lan pushed her down gently by placing his hand on her healthy shoulder.

"Rest. In your condition, you can't help anyone."

"The boys…"

"The sheepherder isn't even here. He had left the village with his father hours ago, remember?"

Sighing, the Aes Sedai nodded defeated. She was exhausted and she couldn't hide it from Lan.

"Rest. And when you feel better, we will search for the boys."

Moiraine's fingers searched for Lan's, and he happily intertwined their fingers. He knew that she was drawing comfort and strength from his presence. While she was resting and regaining some of her strength, he would sit by her side, watching over her. Like he would always do.