Chapter 52

In The Wandering Woman, Mat’s luck runs low as he loses at dice and hears that Elayne and Nynaeve have slipped the palace again despite his watchers. He organizes search pairs to cross into the Rahad, determined to find them.

Across the river, Elayne and Birgitte prowl the Rahad in threadbare disguises masked by inverted weaves, checking yet another likely building and retreating under hard stares. On the street they witness a knife duel; a Domani wilder, Asra, Heals the loser too late and coolly orders the winner to inform the widow. Elayne notes Asra’s limited strength but honed Healing and resists chasing her to avoid provoking the crowd. Moments later, Mat and Nalesean pass by searching; Elayne ignores them and presses on to the next building.

That night, Egwene visits Logain in his guarded tent, probing his view of Rand’s amnesty; when Logain erupts, she restrains him with Air and promises to protect him while the Hall debates gentling. In Tel’aran’rhiod, Egwene confers with Elayne and Nynaeve: the Wise Ones say need will not locate the same object twice, so footwork must continue. They trade news of Rand in Cairhien with Perrin, Loial, and Min; Egwene urges caution with Mat, while Elayne and Nynaeve deflect awkward hints about their risky forays.

After waking, Egwene finalizes a covert plan with Siuan to free Logain during a midnight shift, drugging Warders’ tea to prevent bloodshed, reasoning that gentling or arranged death would be disastrous, especially with Rand wary of Aes Sedai.

Meanwhile, far from the tents, Myrelle and Yellow sister Nisao wait in the dark. Myrelle has taken a forbidden transfer of a Warder’s bond and feels the wounded man’s inexorable approach. Lan Mandragoran arrives, battered from a bloody westward trail; Myrelle prepares to Heal and manage his perilous grief, knowing keeping him alive will be a desperate challenge.