The Eye of the World: Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR: THE GLEEMAN

The man who tumbled out of the inn is the titular gleeman, of course. His introduction consists of complaints about the shabby treatment he got upon his arrival in Edmond's Field. He got bad directions on the way there, he was greeted with suspicion, and naturally Cenn and Nynaeve gave him a hard time to boot. When Rand tries to explain that it's because there's news of war, the gleeman practically rolls his eyes.

• "Old news, even in Baerlon," the gleeman said dismissively, "and that is the last place in the world to hear anything." He paused, looking around the village, and dryly added, "Almost the last place."

I kind of regret making fun of small country towns earlier, especially if that made me sound like this.

The gleeman's name is Thom Merrilin, and he begins plying his trade in earnest, showing off by somersaulting, then juggling six colored balls while talking about the multitudes of stories he has to tell:

• "Tales of great wars and great heroes, for the men and the boys. For the women and girls, the entire Aptarigine Cycle. Tales of Artur Paendrag Tanreall, Artur Hawkwing, Artur the High King, who once ruled all the lands from the Aiel Waste to the Aryth Ocean, and even beyond."

That last one sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on why...

• "But I have all stories, mind you now, of Ages that were and will be. Ages when men ruled the heaves and the stars, and Ages when man roamed as brother to the animals. Ages of wonder, and Ages of horror. Ages ended by fire raining from the skies, and Ages doomed by snow and ice covering land and sea. I have all stories, and will tell all stories."

Quite a feat he's boasting of, isn't it? But Thom does put on a good show that would certainly keep my attention if I were a part of that crowd. And then, like a car driver slamming on the brakes, he stops his speech when he notices Moiraine watching him (though he doesn't actually drop the jugging balls, to my disappointment). He clearly isn't pleased to see her, though he pretends to be friendly and not recognize her from wherever they've met before. Only Rand seems to notice anything before Thom vamooses.

He leaves, and the Village Council comes in his place, bickering amongst themselves. Cenn, Nynaeve, and Bran (who is apparently the Mayor in addition to being the innkeeper) bicker at each other, driving my respect for Cenn even lower and giving me the sinking feeling that Nynaeve is going to end up a shallow antagonist after all.

• "If you please, Wisdom," Bran said stiffly, "kindly leave who should worry me to my deciding. Mistress Moiraine and Master Lan are guests in my inn, and decent, respectable folk, so I say. Neither of them has called me a fool in front of the whole Council. Neither of them has told the Council it hasn't a full set of wits among them."
  "It seems my estimate was too high by half," Nynaeve retorted.

Nynaeve, I'm pretty sure there are other ways to persuade people without making enemies out of everyone in the village. But what do I know about being a Wisdom?

The argument prompts Rand and friends to visit his father and talk about what to do. Tam doubts that any warmongers will come calling, but he's pushed for a border patrol of Two Rivers anyway. Later, when Rand's riding with him to go on patrol, Tam talks to him about how people work, and how to lead them:

• "People don't always think or behave the way you might believe they would. Those folk back there... let the hail beat their crops into the mud, and the wind take off every roof in the district, and the wolves kill half their livestock, and they'll roll up their sleeves and start from scratch. They'll grumble, but they won't waste any time on it. But you give them just the thought of Aes Sedai and a false Dragon in Ghealdan, and soon enough they'll start thinking that Ghealdan is not that far the other side of the Forest of Shadows, and a straight line from the Valon to Ghealdan wouldn't pass that much to the east of us. As if the Aes Sedai wouldn't take the road through Caemlyn and Lugard instead of traveling cross-country! By tomorrow morning half the village would have been sure the entire war was about to descend on us. It would take weeks to undo. A fine Bel Tine that would make. So Bran gave them the idea before they could get it for themselves.

Then he starts asking Rand about the black rider again, actually making plans about how to deal with it instead of just dismissing what Rand saw out of hand. He thinks it's an ordinary stranger who might be a thief instead of the supernatural omen it probably is, but it's a great start. Oh, and apparently only other guys Rand's age have seen it, including some we've never seen, which kind of disproves my theory that it's marking out the main protagonist party.

This exchange makes Tam my favorite character so far. He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's imparting to Rand what is actually a fairly decent leadership lesson.

• [Rand] was surprised to realize that his steps felt lighter. The knots were gone from his shoulders. He was still scared, but it was not as bad as it had been. Tam and he were just as alone on the Quarry Road as they had been that morning, but in some way he felt as if the entire village were with them. That others knew and believed made all the difference. There was nothing the black-cloaked horseman could do that the people of Emond's Field could not handle together.

I can't wait for the book to prove that last sentence wrong.

NEXT TIME: Home on the range!