Rand POV#

Rand and Mat are a day away from The Queen's Man. (TEotW,Ch33) It is three nights since Four Kings, two since Market Sheran and one since the Darkfriend woman. They are approaching Carysford. The town is next to the Cary River and there is a bridge over the river. Rand and Mat pass through the village and spent the night in haystacks. The next morning they notice that the road to Caemlyn is filled with people going to see the false Dragon. Merchants and Queen's Guard pass them several times. They pass through two more towns.

At the third town (Andor Village 2), which they reach at nighttime, they pause near an inn, the Goose and Crown.[1] At one end is a man on a cart, and at the other end are two other men. One of the two men walks away, and Rand realizes that it is a Fade. The man on the cart is Almen Bunt and the man returning to the inn is Raimun Holdwin, the innkeeper. The two hold a short conversation and it is apparent that Bunt is suspicious of Holdwin. Holdwin says that his "friend" is looking for two young men, one of whom carries a stolen heron-marked blade. Holdwin goes inside his inn. Rand and Mat approach Bunt and ask for a ride to Caemlyn and Bunt agrees.

During the ride, Bunt tells the boys a little about Queen Morgase. She has an Aes Sedai advisor named Elaida. She has a daughter named Elayne and a son named Gawyn. Luc is dead and Tigraine is gone. Taringail Damodred married Morgase. Taringail is also dead.[2] Rand falls to sleep and has nightmares. In one nightmare, Thom tells him, "The Dragon is one with the land; and the land is one with the Dragon."[3] He awakes in the morning, and Bunt tells them that they have arrived at Caemlyn.
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