Towers of Midnight: Chapter 19
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Author: Bryce al'Mara
Chapter Icon: Five dice, arranged in a ring
Point of View: Mat
Setting: Caemlyn
Characters: Mat, Olver, Thom, Talmanes, Elayne, Birgitte
Outline
Mat meets with Elayne and discusses the Dragons.
Summary
Mat grabs his ashandarei and heads out ready for battle. Nodding to some of his guards thinking about how he had doubled the guards because of the gholam. Olver comes running out to join him. Mat tells Olver he is going to see the Queen but Olver asks to ride with him saying he has figured out a way to beat the Snakes and Foxes. Mat asks him to tell Noal about his ideas but he says he already has as well as several other people which makes Mat worried, he doesn't want a bunch of people knowing what they are going to do. Thom and Talmanes join them. Thom is dressed to impress looking like a royal courtier. On their way to meet Elayne Mat thinks about the mercenary groups nothing that there must be 10000 mercenaries around Caemlyn. They arrive at the palace and are led in by Charlz Guybon who tells them stories he has heard about Mat. Mat has Talmanes go watch the soldiers and he and Thom head in to Elayne's sitting room. Elayne greets them warmly crying thanking Mat for bringing Thom saying Andor owes him a favor. Thom asks how the children are doing and Mat is caught off guard having no idea she was pregnant. Thom explains their escape of Ebou Dar and the events that followed. Elayne asks Mat about the bellfounders he asked about. Mat explains the Dragons to Elayne and Birgitte. They negotiate on the Dragons and decide that the Band of the Red Hand will sign a contract with Andor to which they can leave at any time as long as they give a months notice. They are the only ones that can use the Dragons and if they decide to leave they get to take 1 in 4 of them. Also they start production that night and Elayne gets Mat's Foxhead medallion for three days so she can try to copy it and Mat's men can join the Andoran military if they want to. Mat tells Elayne that the ghollam is in town. Elayne invites them to dinner that night and tells them about moving on Cairhein and the Sun Throne. Elayne offers Thom the position of Court Bard he says he will think on it. Thom looks over the position and laughs nothing that it offers a pardon for any crimes commited in Andor or Cairhein.
