"So I believe you've told me," Talmanes said. "Three or four times so far. I half believe that if I were to peek into your tent at night, I'd find you mumbling it in your sleep. 'I'm going to keep bloody gambling! Bloody, bloody gambling and drinking! Where's my bloody drink? Anyone want to gamble for it?' " He said it with a perfectly straight face, but once again, there was that hint of a smile in his eyes, if you knew just where to look.
"I just want to make sure everyone knows," Mat said. "I don't want anyone to start thinking I'm getting soft just because of... you know."
Talmanes shot him a consoling look. "You won't go soft just because you got married, Mat. Why, some of the Great Captains themselves are married, I believe. Davram Bashere is for certain, and Rodel Ituralde. No, you won't go soft because you're married."
Mat nodded sharply. Good that was settled.
"You might go boring though," Talmanes noted.
"All right, that's it," Mat declared. "Next village we find, we're going to go dicing at the tavern. You and me."
Talmanes grimaced. "With the kind of third-rate wine these little mountain villages have? Please, Mat. Next you'll be wanting me to drink ale."
"No arguing." Mat glanced over his shoulder as he heard familiar voices. Olver—ears sticking out to the sides, diminutive face as ugly as any Mat had seen—sat astride Wind, chatting with Noal, who rode beside him on a bony gelding. The gnarled old man was nodding appreciatively to what Olver was saying. The little boy looked astonishingly solemn, and was undoubtedly explaining yet another of his theories on how to best sneak into the Tower of Ghenjei.
"Ho, now," Talmanes said. "There's Vanin."
Mat turned to spot a rider approaching along the rocky path ahead. Vanin always looked so ridiculous, perched like a melon atop the back of his horse, his feet sticking out to the sides. But the man could ride, there was no doubting that.
"It is Mount Sardlen," Vanin proclaimed as he rode up to them, wiping his sweaty, balding brow. "The village is just ahead; it's called Hin-derstap on the map. These are bloody good maps," he added grudgingly.
Mat exhaled in relief. He'd begun to think that they might end up wandering these mountains until the Last Battle came and went. "Great," he began, "we can—"
"A village?" a curt female voice demanded.
Mat turned with a sigh as three riders forced their way up to the front of the column. Talmanes reluctantly raised a hand to the soldiers behind, halting the march as the Aes Sedai descended on poor Vanin. The rotund man squatted down in his saddle, looking for all the world as though he'd rather have been discovered stealing horses—and therefore on his way to execution—than have to sit there and be interrogated by Aes Sedai.
Joline led the pack. Once, Mat might have described her as a pretty girl, with her slender figure and large, inviting brown eyes. But that ageless Aes Sedai face was an instant warning for him now. No, he wouldn't dare think of the Green as pretty now. Begin letting yourself think of Aes Sedai as pretty, and in two clicks of the tongue you'd find yourself wrapped around her finger and hopping at her command. Why, Joline had already hinted that she'd like to have Mat as a Warder!
Was she still sore at him because he'd paddled her? She couldn't hurt him with the Power, of course—even without his medallion, since Aes Sedai were sworn not to use the Power to kill except in very specific instances. But he was no fool. He'd noticed that those oaths of theirs didn't say anything about using knives.
The two with Joline were Edesina, of the Yellow Ajah, and Teslyn, of the Red. Edesina was pleasant enough to look at, save for that ageless face, but Teslyn was about as appetizing as a stick. Sharp of face, the II-lianer woman was bony and scrappy, like an aged cat left too long on its own. But she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, from what Mat had seen, and he'd found her treating him with some measure of respect sometimes. Respect from a Red. Imagine that.
Still, from the way each of those Aes Sedai looked at Mat in turn as they reached the front of the line, you'd never know that they owed him their lives. That was the way of it with women. Save her life, and she'd inevitably claim that she'd been about to escape on her own, and therefore owed you nothing. Half the time, she'd berate you for messing up her supposed plans.
Why did he bother? One of these days, burn him, he was going to get smart and leave the next lot crying in their chains.
"What was this?" Joline demanded of Vanin. "You've finally determined where we are?"
"Bloody well have," Vanin said, then unabashedly scratched himself. Good man, Vanin. Mat smiled. Treated all people the same, Vanin did. Aes Sedai and all.
Joline stared Vanin straight in the eyes, looming like a gargoyle atop some lord's mansion stonework. Vanin actually cringed, then wilted, then finally looked downward, abashed. "I mean, I have indeed, Joline Sedai."
Mat felt his smile fade. Burn it all, Vanin!
"Excellent," Joline said. "And there is a village ahead, I heard? Finally, perhaps, we'll find a decent inn. I could use something other than the 'fare' these ruffians of Cauthon's call food."
"Here now," Mat said, "that isn't—"
"How far do we be from Caemlyn, Master Cauthon?" Teslyn cut in. She did her best to ignore Joline. The two of them seemed at one another's throats lately—in the most cool-faced and outwardly amiable of ways, of course. Aes Sedai didn't squabble. He'd gotten a talking to once for calling their "discussions" "squabbles." Never mind that Mat had sisters, and knew what a good squabble sounded like.
"What did you say earlier, Vanin?" Mat asked, looking at him. "That we're about two hundred leagues from Caemlyn?"
Vanin nodded. The plan was to head for Caemlyn first, as he needed to meet up with Estean and Daerid and secure needed information and supplies. After that, he could make good on his promise to Thorn. The Tower of Ghenjei would have to wait a few more weeks.
"Two hundred leagues," Teslyn said. "How long until we arrive, then?"
"Well, I guess that depends," Vanin said. "I could probably make two hundred leagues in a little over a week, if I were going alone, with a couple of good horses to ride in shifts and was crossing familiar terrain. The whole army, though, through these hills using a broken roadway? Twenty days, I'd say. Maybe longer."
Joline glanced at Mat.
"We aren't leaving the Band behind," Mat said. "Not an option, Joline."
She looked away, her expression dissatisfied.
"You're welcome to go on your own," Mat said. "That goes for each of you. You Aes Sedai aren't my prisoners; leave any time you want, so long as you head north. I won't risk you heading back to be taken by Sean-chan."
What would it be like, traveling with just the Band again, not an Aes Sedai in sight? Ah, if only.
Teslyn looked thoughtful. Joline glanced at her, but the Red didn't give any indication if she'd be willing to leave or not. Edesina, however, hesitated, then nodded to Joline. She was willing.
"Very well," Joline said to Mat with a haughty air. "It would be good to be away from your crudeness, Cauthon. Prepare for us, say, twenty mounts and we shall be off."
"Twenty?" Mat asked.
"Yes," Joline said. "Your man here mentioned that he'd need two horses to make the trip in a reasonable amount of time. So that he could remount, presumably, when one of the beasts grew tired."
"I count two of you," Mat said, his anger rising. "That means four horses. I figured you'd be smart enough to do that math, Joline." And then, softer, he added. "If just barely."
Joline eyes opened wide, and Edesina's expression was painted with shock. Teslyn gave him a shocked glance, seeming disappointed. To the side, Talmanes just lowered his pipe and whistled quietly.
"That medallion of yours makes you impudent, Matrim Cauthon," Joline said coldly.
"My mouth makes me impudent, Joline," Mat replied with a sigh, fingering the medallion hidden beneath his loosely tied shirt. "The medallion just makes me truthful. I believe you were going to explain why you need to take twenty of my horses when I barely have enough for my men as it is?"
"Two each for Edesina and myself," Joline said stiffly. "Two each for the former sul'dam. You don't presume that I'm going to leave them behind to be corrupted by your little band here?"
"Two sul'dam," Mat said, ignoring the barb. "That's eight horses."
"Two for Setalle. I assume she'll want to be away from all of this with us."
"Ten."
"Two more for Teslyn," Joline said. "She will undoubtedly want to go with us, though she currently has nothing to say on the matter. And we'll need about four pack animals worth to carry our things. They'll have to trade their burdens too, so four more for that. Twenty."
"Which you'll feed how?" Mat asked. "If you're riding that hard, you won't have time to graze your horses. There's barely anything for them to eat these days anyway." That had proven a big problem; the spring grass wasn't coming in. The meadows they passed were brown with fallen leaves, the dead winter weeds pressed flat by snow, barely a new shoot of grass or weed. Horses could feed on the dead leaves and winter grass, of course, but wild deer and other animals had been active, eating down whatever they could find.
If the land didn't decide to start blooming soon . . . well, they were in for a difficult summer. But that was another problem entirely.
"We will need you to give us feed, of course," Joline said. "And some coin for inns. . . ."
"And who is going to take care of all those horses? You going to brush them down each night, check their hooves, see that their feed is properly measured?"
"I suppose we should take a handful of your soldiers with us," Joline said, sounding dissatisfied. "A necessary inconvenience."
"The only thing that is necessary," Mat said flatly. "Is for my men to stay where they're wanted, not where they're an inconvenience. No, they stay—and you'll have no coin from me. If you want to go, you can take one horse each and a single packhorse to carry your things. I'll give you some feed for the poor beasts, and giving you that much is generous."
"But with only one horse each, we'll barely be faster than the army!" Joline said.
"Imagine that," Mat said. He turned away from her. "Vanin, go and tell Mandevwin to pass the word. We'll be camping soon. I know it's barely afternoon, but I want the Band far enough from that village not to be threatening, but close enough that a few of us can go down to feel things out."
"All right," Vanin said, with none of the respect he'd shown the bloody Aes Sedai. He turned his horse and began to ride down the line.
"And Vanin," Mat called. "Make sure Mandevwin is aware that when I say 'a few of us' will go down, I mean a very small group, led by myself and Talmanes. I won't have that village invaded by seven thousand soldiers looking for fun! I'll buy a cart in the town and what ale I can find, then send it back for the men. There is to be strict order in camp, with no one accidentally wandering down to visit, now. Understand?"
Vanin nodded, looking grim. It was never fun to be the one who had to inform the men that they weren't going to be getting leave. Mat turned back to the Aes Sedai. "Well?" he asked. "You taking my kind offer or not?"
Joline just sniffed, then trotted her horse back down the ranks, obviously turning down the chance to go alone. Pity, that. It would have made him smile each step of the way to think of it. Though, it probably would have taken Joline all of three days to find some sap in a village somewhere to give her his horses so that her crew could ride faster.
Edesina rode away, and Teslyn trailed after, regarding Mat with a curious expression. She still looked disappointed in him too. He glanced away, then felt annoyed at himself. What did be care what she thought?
Talmanes was looking at him. "That was odd of you, Mat," the man said.
"What?" Mat said. "The restriction on the men? They're a good lot, the Band, but I've never known a group of soldiers who weren't likely to get themselves in a little trouble now and then, particularly where there's ale to be found."
"I wasn't talking about the men, Mat," Talmanes said, bending to tap out his pipe against his stirrup, dottle falling to flutter back onto the stony roadway beside his horse. "I'm talking about how you treated the Aes Sedai. Light, Mat, we could have been rid of them! I'd count twenty horses and some coin a bargain to be free of two Aes Sedai."
"I won't be shoved around," Mat said stubbornly, waving for the Band to begin its march again. "Not even to get rid of Joline. If she wants something from me, let her ask with a grain of politeness, rather than trying to bully me into giving her whatever she wants. I'm no lap dog." Burn it, he wasn't! And he wasn't husbandly either, whatever that meant.
"You really do miss her," Talmanes said, sounding a little surprised as their horses fell into pace beside one another.
"What are you blathering about now?"
"Mat, you are not always the most refined of men, I'll admit. Sometimes your humor is indeed a bit ripe and your tone on the brusque side. But you are rarely downright rude, nor intentionally insulting. You really are on edge, aren't you?"
Mat said nothing, just pulled the br