Chapter 2, Strangers Summary

Rand and Mat bring the barrels of brandy and cider into the inn while the councilmen, including Tam, convene inside. Mat tells Rand of a prank he pulled that went awry. Another village boy enters and tells them that he saw strangers in the village. Both Rand and Mat immediately think it is the cloaked rider but the boy describes another cloaked man and a lady. Mat realizes the boy is talking about the two strangers he saw and together they fill Rand in on the details. The man, Lan, appears to be a soldier or swordsman in the woman's employ, and the woman, Moiraine, is what the boys imagine a highborn lady to be. The villagers have never seen anyone like the strangers and can only compare them to what they've heard in stories.

The boys leave the inn to...