47 The Price of a Ship

At dawn, Nynaeve wakes from anxious dreams featuring Moghedien and Egwene. Trading barbs, Nynaeve and Elayne compare identical dream-messages from Egwene: Rand has won a great victory at Cairhien, he carries a Seanchan-made spear, and Egwene insists on secrecy. Worried by Egwene’s sudden fear during an earlier contact, Nynaeve reluctantly decides to use the dream-ring that night only to check the Heart of the Stone.

Birgitte arrives, tension flares, and then Thom and Juilin stagger back from Samara, injured, reporting mobs hunting “Darkfriends,” fires, and street fighting. Uno follows with worse news: Masema’s followers and Whitecloaks are clashing; Masema talks of invading Amadicia; the docks are held by Whitecloaks; a just-arrived ship was first taken by the Prophet’s men, then seized by Whitecloaks.

Galad appears, calmly admitting he secured and paid for the ship (the Riverserpent) to fulfill his promise to get them passage, which helped spark the current turmoil. Despite the danger, Nynaeve presses to move quickly with Uno’s Shienarans as escort, while Galad warns of mobs and plans to link them to his men at the docks.

Valan Luca bursts in to evacuate the menagerie ahead of the riots. In private, he asks Nynaeve to stay and impulsively proposes marriage; she refuses, declaring herself effectively betrothed to another and warning of her deadly enemies. Luca persists in melodramatic vows but escorts her back.

Meanwhile, Elayne tries to recruit Cerandin to flee by ship, but Cerandin refuses to abandon her s’redit and pointedly disbelieves Elayne’s claim to be Daughter-Heir. Cerandin effortlessly flips Elayne when grabbed; Birgitte withholds aid, chiding Elayne’s high-handedness. Frustrated to fury, Elayne screams, then stalks off as the camp hastens to depart for the docks.