The chapter begins with a gathering of members of the Village Council. Tam and Cenn are among them, as are the blacksmith and miller. Rand and Mat (and by extension the readers) don't hear what they talk about, though Mat thinks a prank he played might have something to do with it:
- "You see, I covered two of [the blacksmith's] dogs in flour, so they were all white. Then I let them loose near Dag's house. How was I to know they'd run straight home? It really isn't my fault. If Mistress Luhhan hadn't left the door open they couldn't have gotten inside. It isn't like I intended to get flour all over her house." He gave a bark of laughter. "I hear she chased old Luhhan and the dogs, all three, out of the house with a broom."
Obviously I've never had anyone do this to me, so maybe I'm not in a position to say I kinda like Mat's style. I mean, let's face it, this is probably the height of entertainment in a peasant village like Elmond's field.
Then we get to the real meat of the chapter:
- Feet clattered on the stairs, and Ewin Finngar half fell into the cider in his haste, his pudgy face shining with eagerness to impart his news.
Ewin kind of reminds me of those little kids who try to tag along with the bigger kids and do cooler, more grown-up things with them, much to their annoyance. I didn't actually realize he was a kid at first. I thought he was around Rand and Mat's age until I noticed that he was acting really doe-eyed and childish throughout the chapter. Then I went over it again and noticed that Mat described Ewin and his friends as "snot-nosed" and that there were "only fourteen" years separating him from Rand and Mat. That's what I get for not reading more deliberately.
He tells Rand and Mat about two exotic strangers from faraway lands, a lady dressed in blue clothes fancier than anything the locals would ever wear, and her companion, a man with a cloak that blends into the environment, I suppose.
- "They're the ones I meant to tell you about," Mat muttered, "before you got me off onto-" He cut off, opening his eyes for a sharp glance at Ewin.
Mat was about to tell Rand about them? Oh yeah, that was in the previous chapter. That's another thing I missed. Anyway, Mat saw them too, and he's rather taken by the lady Moiraine's appearance:
- "And her, Rand. I never even imagined anyone like her. She's out of a gleeman's story. She's like... like..." He paused to give Ewin a sour look. "...like a high-born lady," he finished with a sigh.
Once again I can't claim to understand the life of people who live in small country towns, but is this really the most beautiful woman Mat has ever seen? Has he never left the village? Are all the local women just really frumpish?
Then we learn that Nynaeve has a bit of a temper when Ewin relates a misunderstanding between her and Moiraine. We still haven't seen Nynaeve yet, but I bet we will soon.
As the three of them walk through town, Rand and Mat catch a raven looking at them, and it doesn't go away even after they throw rocks at it. Now, I'm not against the presence of ominous foreshadowing in fantasy, because even good fantasy stories like Locke Lamora or Name of the Wind tend to use them. The key is that they use them sparingly, and in a way that comes into play later in the plot, so that they don't just come off as unrelated portents. I do hope that ravens come back later, otherwise this one here is kind of incongruous here.
Right now it serves to attract the attention of Moiraine and Lan. The description of Moiraine's appearance is too long for me to transcribe here. Suffice to say she's pretty. I imagined her looking like an elf, except I don't think elves exist in this world.
Rand does get a bit flustered at being in her presence, but thankfully he composes himself and asks the question that was on my mind: what brings them to Edmond's Field? She tells him a cover story about being a historical scholar and looking for old stories, once again bringing up the whole history repeating thing.
She pays each of the boys a silver penny to do various odd jobs for her during her stay, which Mat and Ewin immediately fetishize like lovestruck saps. After she leaves, Mat and Ewin argue a bit over whether or not the "gleeman" (a minstrel of some sort) is coming, when suddenly a peddler comes to town and the chapter ends.
I like Rand a little more this time, and I think he and Mat have the potential to be a good team together. Since Mat has noticed all the ominous things that Rand has, I think they'll get that chance when the time comes.
NEXT TIME: News from afar, and it's all bad!
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