The story threads have started to come together. Our heroes have each for their own reasons come to the same place. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills.
Chapter Summaries
Perrin and company hightail it out of Illian, but not quite fast enough to escape Sammael’s Darkhounds. Faile learns about Rand and Mat. She’s still interested in Perrin. Mat and Thom are set upon by assassins.
Mat and Thom enter Caemlyn. Things have changed since the Daughter-Heir left. Mat pisses off the Royal Guard by mentioning Tar Valon. Basel Gill and Thom play stones.
Mat decides to scale the same wall Rand did in The Eye of the World. He has a great time hiding in the garden from guards, overhears a plot to kill Elayne and the two horrible women from Emond’s Field, then decides to stop playing around and deliver Elayne’s letter. He is taken to Morgase, only to discover her new advisor Lord Gaebril is the conspirator he overheard. He wisely abstains from accusing a trusted noble. Morgase acts oddly overall.
Mat continues his peculiar conversation with Tallanvor of the Queen’s Guard. Mat returns to The Queen’s Blessing and asks Gill about Lord Gaebril. People seem to be sharing bad dreams in Caemlyn as well as Tear. Thom thinks highly of Morgase and advises Gill to spread rumors about Gaebril in the hopes they reach the Queen’s ear. Mat wagers he can save Elayne and the two hissing cats she calls friends.
Elayne and company reach Tear by boat after spending the voyage battling seasickness. They find refuge with an herbalist who introduces them to a thief-taker named Juilin Sandar.
Mat and Thom arrive in Tear. They quickly take rooms at an inn and begin their search for the girls in the pouring rain. After searching all night, Mat randomly enters an inn where Gaebril’s lackey has been cheating at dice. Mat isn’t feeling well and isn’t thinking straight. After Thom shows him how Comar is swapping out his loaded dice, Mat approaches the table offers a gold coin as wager. Comar throws his dice and expects to win, when Mat grabs the dice before he can do the switch. Mat throws them, expecting to get the same roll, but something odd happens and he gets an even better toss than Comar. Mat tells Comar to leave Tear and tell Gaebril the girls are dead. Comar is caught off guard and reveals he hasn’t found them yet, then draws his sword. A fight ensues and Mat accidentally kills Comar by throwing him over his back onto a table. Mat and Thom flee the scene, but continue their search in the storm through the next few days.
My Thoughts
Whew!
Everybody knows about balefire it seems. What’s the saying? If everyone is special, no one is.
I think I would hate to be Mat’s friend. He seems like one of those people who doesn’t try at life, but somehow ends up prosperous through sheer luck. It’s fun to read about him though.
I can’t decide if Jordan is being too subtle or not subtle enough with the dreams being shared in Illian, Caemlyn and Tear. Plus the conversation Mat overhears in Caemlyn. It seems telegraphed to me now, but I know what happens later. I can’t decide.
The two chapters with the Accepted are definitely the worst so far. I seriously contemplated applauding Elayne when she walked up and slapped Egwene. If she’d also slapped Nynaeve, I think I would have. I usually find myself defending them, but these chapters are seriously terrible.
I really love it when Mat tosses dice. It puts a huge grin on my face.
I’m excited for the finale of this book!
