Chapter 8

Perrin, Moiraine, Lan, and Loial arrive in Jarra, finding signs of recent mass weddings and an unsettling odor Perrin cannot place. At the inn Hardin’s Leap, Simion greets them; talk in the village reveals rampant, impulsive marriages and Whitecloaks behaving erratically, with desertions, brawls, and even attempted arson.

Simion confirms Rand stayed the previous night, played flute for the weddings, suffered a nightmare, and fled east claiming someone would die if he did not go. Moiraine cautions Perrin about speaking openly and explains the extreme ta’veren effects around Rand as the likely cause of the village upheavals and Whitecloak discord.

Recognizing Moiraine as Aes Sedai, Simion begs help for his brother Noam. Moiraine agrees to examine Noam but refuses any lethal secrecy. They find Noam caged in a shed, feral and golden-eyed. When Perrin reaches toward Noam’s mind, he senses overwhelming wolf impulses and recoils.

Moiraine tests Noam, then declares that nothing remains of the man to Heal. Simion is devastated. Perrin, moved by Noam’s condition, urges Simion to free him rather than let him waste away in a cage. Simion agrees; Perrin opens the pen, and Noam bolts into the night.

Afterward, Simion warns that Whitecloaks carried a list naming Perrin Aybara, a yellow-eyed blacksmith who “runs with wolves.” To avoid attention, Perrin asks for meals in his room while they plan to continue pursuing Rand eastward.