Loial waved to Perrin, apparently wanting to catch up. "Allow me to borrow him for a moment, Loial", Elayne said, steering Perrin toward the center of the grove.
Faile and Birgitte joined her, and Loial waited behind. He seemed distracted by the mighty trees.
"I have a duty I want to assign you", Elayne said softly to Perrin. "Losing Caemlyn threatens to send our armies into a supply crisis. Despite complaints of food prices, we had been keeping everyone fed, as well as accumulating stores for the battle ahead. Those stores are now gone".
"What of Cairhien?" Perrin asked.
"It still has some food", Elayne said. "As do the White Tower and Tear. Baerlon has good supplies of metals and powder—I need to find what we can draw from the other nations, and discover their food situation. It will be a massive task to coordinate stores and rations for all the armies. I’d like one person in charge of it all".
"You were thinking of me?" Perrin said.
"Yes".
"I’m sorry", Perrin said. "Elayne, Rand needs me".
"Rand needs us all".
"He needs me more", Perrin said. "Min saw it, he said. Without me at the Last Battle, he’ll die. Besides, I have a few fights to finish".
"I’ll do it", Faile said.
Elayne turned toward her, frowning.
"It is my duty to manage the affairs of my husband’s army", Faile said. "You are his liege lady, Your Majesty, so your needs are his needs. If Andor is to command the Last Battle, then the Two Rivers will see it fed. Give me access to gateways large enough for wagons to drive through, give me troops to protect my movements, and give me access to the quartermaster records of anyone I want. I will see it done".
It was logical and rational, but not what Elayne needed. How far did she trust this woman? Faile had proven herself deft at politics. That was useful, but did she really consider herself part of Andor? Elayne studied the woman.
"There is nobody better you can trust with this task, Elayne", Perrin said. "Faile will see it done".
"Perrin", Elayne said. "There is a different matter involved in this. May we speak privately for a moment?"
"I’ll just tell her what it is when we're done, Your Majesty", Perrin said. "I don’t keep secrets from my wife".
Faile smiled.
Elayne eyed the two of them, then sighed softly. "Egwene came to me during our battle preparations. There is a certain . . . item of importance to the Last Battle that she needs to be delivered".
"The Horn of Valere", Perrin said. "You still have it, I hope".
"We do. In the Tower, hidden. We moved it from the strongroom none too quickly. Last night, that room was broken into. I know only because of certain wards we set. The Shadow knows we have the Horn, Perrin, and the Dark One’s minions are looking for it. They can’t use it; it’s tied to Mat until he dies. But if the Shadow’s minions can capture it, he can keep Mat from using it. Or, worse—kill him, then blow it themselves".
"You want to mask moving it", Faile said, "using the supply runs to hide where you’re taking it".
"We’d rather just give it to Mat straight out", Elayne said. "But he can be . . . difficult, sometimes. I had hoped he would be here at this meeting".
"He’s in Ebou Dar", Perrin said. "Doing something with the Seanchan.
"He told you?" Elayne asked.
"Not exactly", Perrin said, looking uncomfortable. "We . . . have some kind of connection. I sometimes see where he is and what he’s doing".
"That man", Elayne said, "is never where he needs to be".
"And yet", Perrin said, "he always arrives there eventually".
"The Seanchan are the enemy", Elayne said. "Mat doesn’t seem to understand that, considering what he’s done. Light, I hope that man isn’t putting himself in trouble somehow . . ".
"I will do this", Faile said. "I’ll care for the Horn of Valere. I’ll see it gets to Mat, guard it".
"No offense to either of you", Elayne said, "but I am hesitant to trust this to someone I don’t know well. That is why I came to you, Perrin".
"That’s going to be a problem, Elayne", Perrin said. "If they really are watching for the Horn, then they’ll expect you and Egwene to give it to someone you know well. Choose Faile. There is nobody I trust more than her, but she won’t be suspected, as she has no direct relationship with the White Tower".
Elayne nodded slowly. "Very well. I’ll send word to you on how it will be delivered. For now, begin running supplies to establish precedent. Too many people know about the Horn. After we give it to you, I will send five suspect envoys from the White Tower and seed the right rumors. We hope that the Shadow will assume the Horn is being carried by one of those envoys. I want it to be where nobody expects, at least until we can put it into Matrim’s hands".
"Four battlefronts, Lord Mandragoran", Bulen repeated. "That’s what the messengers are saying. Caemlyn, Shayol Ghul, Kandor, and here. They want to try to bottle up the Trollocs here and in Kandor while trying hard to defeat those in Andor first".
Lan grunted, guiding Mandarb around the reeking heap of dead Trollocs. The carcasses served as a bulwark now that his five Asha’man had pushed them up into mounds like dark, bloody hills before the Blight, where the Shadowspawn gathered.
The stench was horrible, of course. Many of the guards he passed in his rounds had thrown sprigleaf onto their fires to cover up the smell.
Evening approached, bringing its most dangerous hours. Fortunately, those black clouds above made nights so dark that Trollocs had trouble seeing anything. Dusk, however, was a time of strength to them—a time when the eyes of humans were hampered but the eyes of Shadowspawn were not.
The power of the united Borderlander attack had pushed the Trollocs back toward the mouth of the Gap. Lan was getting reinforced by the hour with pikemen and other foot to help him hold position. All in all, it looked far better here now than it had just a day before.
Still grim, though. If what Bulen said was right, his army would be stationed here as a stalling force. That meant fewer troops for him than he would have liked. He could not fault the ta
