“There are others who can confirm this?” Galad asked.

“Child Oratar can. And Child Bornhald can confirm what we saw in the Two Rivers. Goldeneyes was at Falme, too. For what he did there alone he should be brought to justice. It is clear. The Light has delivered him to us.”

“You’re certain our people are among the Whitecloaks?” Perrin asked.

“I could not see faces,” Gaul said, “but Elyas Machera’s eyes are very keen. He says he’s certain he saw Basel Gill.”

Perrin nodded. Elyas’ golden eyes would be as good as Perrin’s own.

“Sulin and her scouts have similar reports,” Gaul said, accepting a cup of ale poured from Perrin’s pitcher. “The Whitecloak army has a large number of carts, much like the ones we sent ahead. She discovered this early in the morning, but asked me to pass these words to you once you awoke, as she knows that wetlanders are temperamental when disturbed in the morning.”

Gaul obviously had no idea that he might be giving offense. Perrin was a wetlander. Wetlanders were temperamental, at least in the opinion of the Aiel. So Gaul was stating an accepted fact.

Perrin shook his head, trying one of the eggs. Overcooked, but edible. “Did Sulin spot anyone she recognized?”

“No, though she saw some gai’shain,” Gaul said. “However, Sulin is a Maiden, so perhaps we should send someone to confirm what she said—someone who won’t demand the opportunity to wash our smallclothes.”

“Trouble with Bain and Chiad?” Perrin asked.

Gaul grimaced. “I swear, those women will drive the mind from me. What man should be expected to suffer such things? Almost better to have Sightblinder himself as a gai’shain than those two.”

Perrin chuckled.

“Regardless, the captives look unharmed and healthy. There is more to the report. One of the Maidens saw a flag flying over the camp that looked distinctive, so she copied it down for your secretary, Sebban Balwer. He says that it means the Lord Captain Commander himself rides with this army.”

Perrin looked down at the last chunk of ham. That was not good news. He’d never met the Lord Captain Commander, but he had met one of the Whitecloak Lords Captain once. That had been the night when Hopper had died, a night that had haunted Perrin for two years.

That had been the night when he had killed for the first time.

“What more do you need?” Byar leaned in close, sunken eyes alight with zeal. “We have witnesses who saw this man murder two of our own! Do we let him march by, as if innocent?”

“No,” Galad said. “No, by the Light, if what you say is true then we cannot turn our backs on this man. Our duty is to bring justice to the wronged.”

Byar smiled, looking eager. “The prisoners revealed that the Queen of Ghealdan has sworn fealty to him.”

“That could present a problem.”

“Or an opportunity. Perhaps Ghealdan is precisely what the Children need. A new home, a place to rebuild. You speak of Andor, my Lord Captain Commander, but how long will they suffer us? You speak of the Last Battle, but it could be months away. What if we were to free an entire nation from the grip of a terrible Darkfriend? Surely the Queen—or her successor—would feel indebted to us.”