Contents
Chapter 27
Overview
Rand and Loial are ambushed by Trollocs in Cairhien’s Foregate and driven toward the Illuminators’ compound. Selene appears and guides them inside, where an accident exposes them. With Trollocs closing in, Rand detonates fireworks to destroy them, igniting a fire, and escapes. Selene disappears but later sends Rand a possessive note.
Summary
Leaving The Bunch of Grapes at dusk, Rand and Loial are confronted in the Foregate by Trollocs disguised as festival puppets with Darkfriends. Rand kills one, and Loial, struggling, snaps another’s neck—his first kill. More Trollocs begin herding them through emptied streets, driving them east and away from help.
Spotting a walled compound on a nearby hill, they aim for it, hoping for safety. Selene suddenly appears, coolly chastising Rand for being driven like sheep, and leads them through an unbarred postern into the Illuminators’ chapter house despite Loial’s warning that intruders risk death.
Inside, among racks and towering tubes, Loial accidentally knocks a rack of smoldering punks onto a fuse, launching a firework. As a blossom explodes overhead, Illuminators rush out. Rand, Selene, and Loial hide behind a low wall while Aludra berates Tammuz and orders him to fix the mishap.
When three Trollocs creep in through the alley by the unbarred door, escape becomes a race. Rand sends Loial and Selene toward a dark alley. To stop the Trollocs, Rand topples a large tube toward them and lights its fuse. The ensuing blast obliterates the Trollocs and blows out a building corner, starting a fire, while Illuminators raise the alarm.
Rand flees through the alley to the outer door, but Selene slips away back toward the chaos and cannot be recovered. Rand and Loial return to The Defender of the Dragonwall, where the innkeeper delivers a sealed note bearing a crescent moon and stars. Selene’s message hints they will meet again and urges Rand to think of the Horn and glory, leaving Rand frustrated and wishing for Ingtar’s arrival.
Who Appears
- Rand al'ThorHunted by Trollocs; struggles to avoid saidin; ingeniously uses fireworks to destroy Trollocs; receives a possessive note from Selene.
- LoialOgier companion; fights a Trolloc and makes his first kill; helps guide escape; worries about Illuminators’ deadly secrecy.
- SeleneMysterious woman; appears unexpectedly, pushes Rand toward ‘greatness,’ guides entry, then disappears; later sends a seductive, proprietary note.
- AludraIlluminator in charge; scolds Tammuz after an accidental launch; organizes the response to the fire.
- TammuzIlluminator subordinate; blamed by Aludra for mishaps; ordered to make amends and handle menial duties.
- HurinSniffer; remains at the inn guarding weapons; questions Rand on Thom’s status when they return.
- CualeInnkeeper of The Defender of the Dragonwall; delivers Selene’s sealed message to Rand.