Chapter 14

At first light, Ingtar rages that Rand, Loial, and Hurin are gone without tracks. Mat speculates they ran, but Ingtar rejects it, insisting Hurin and Rand know their duty. With no sign of the missing, Perrin wrestles with revealing his secret as the Horn and Mat’s dagger slip farther away.

Reluctantly, Perrin reaches out to the wolves, who recognize him as Young Bull and confirm the last sight of Rand’s group the previous day, but locate Fain and Trollocs moving south. Perrin informs Ingtar, who accepts the tale, recalling rumors of Elyas. To protect Perrin, Ingtar tells the others he is a new “sniffer,” and the party rides, following Perrin’s guidance.

As they travel, Perrin struggles to restrain the wolves’ urge to attack the Trollocs. He receives grisly images of a nearby village massacred, with vultures already feeding. Warning Ingtar, they angle away, accepting Perrin’s “sniffer” explanation for how he knows.

A lone rider approaches from the north: Verin of the Brown Ajah. She notes the dead Myrddraal in the village and immediately asks for Rand. Learning Rand, Loial, and Hurin vanished, she deems it odd but unrelated to the Horn and decides to accompany them.

Riding on, Verin quietly interrogates Ingtar about everything Rand did or said. Perrin maintains the lead on the trail, keeping his wolfbrother nature hidden under Ingtar’s cover while their pursuit of Fain, the Trollocs, and the Darkfriends continues south.