Rand and Mat begin to unload the barrels of cider into the Winespring Inn. As they walk through the common room of the inn to get to the cellar, they notice that most of the members of the Village Council are present, including Haral Luhhan, the blacksmith, Cenn Buie, the thatcher, Jon Thane, the miller, Tam, and Bran. They appear to be waiting on the other members of the Village Council to arrive. Master Luhhan gives Mat a frown, making Rand believe that he suspects Mat of some mischief.

As they pass near the kitchen where the door to the cellar is located, Mistress al’Vere tells them that she will feed them honeycakes when they are done. Once in the cellar, Mat tells Rand that he played a prank on Adan al’Caar, Ewin Finngar, and Dag Coplin by coating the Luhhan’s dogs in flour and telling the younger boys that they were ghost hounds. Rather than scaring the boys though, they ran back home and got flour all over the Luhhan’s home.

They head back upstairs and back through the common room to get another load of cider and notice that the final two members of the Village Council had arrived in Rowan Hurn and Semal Crawe. They are speaking quietly near the hearth in the common room and Rand cannot hear what they are saying.

Rand and Mat continue to unload casks of cider and take them to the cellar and after taking the last of the casks to the basement, Ewin Finngar comes into the cellar to tell them about the strangers in the village. He tells them of the Lady Moiraine and Lan, who he believes to be “in service” to Moiraine. He also tells them that Nynaeve apparently does not like Moiraine because she called Nynaeve a “child” when asking for directions earlier. 

When they leave the cellar and head outside the inn, Rand feels watched again and notices a raven perched on the roof of the inn and staring and him and Mat. He and Mat throw stones at the raven, but it just sidesteps them, something they have never seen a raven do before.

As Rand and Mat discuss the strange acting raven, the lady Moiraine appears behind them and the raven flies away toward the mountains. Rand is very impressed with her. He is unable to put an age to her, thinking she looks twenty and then older the next moment. She was dressed nicer than anyone in the Two Rivers on a feast day and she wore a golden ring in the shape of a Great Serpent.

Moiraine introduces herself and asks their names. When Rand and Mat and Ewin introduce themselves, she gives them all silver coins, although Mat and Rand get larger coins, and tells them that she is paying them in advance for some tasks she made need help with while she is in Emond’s Field. Rand asks her why she has come to the Two Rivers and she tells him that she is a collector of stories and there are many stories here in the Two Rivers.

As Moiraine leaves, Lan follows her and the boys are startled because they didn’t even see him as they talked to Moiraine. Rand and Mat decide they will not spend the coin she gave them, even though it is enough money to buy a horse in the Two Rivers. After Moiraine’s departure, they hear shouts and turn to see a crowd of villagers gathering around a peddler’s wagon that has made it to the Green.