Sorry this is so late, everyone. It's been a really rough week. The early chapters were rough going - I don't know about you lot, but I'm pretty much done with the Hounds of Tar Valon for a while - but some good Mat stuff later on, and Thom comes back!
Chapter 26:
The possessions of the Black Ajah who fled indicate they fled to Tear, but it's obviously either misdirection, or a trap. Still, the Hounds decide to spring it by diving into it headfirst.
Chapter 27:
Egwene visits Tel'aran'rhiod (which I'll just call TAR from now on) using Corianin Nedeal's ring. She sees many different people there, including an ugly serving woman named Silvie, who appears to be a Darkfriend of some kind, and who forces her from TAR. Perrin chains himself to a chair in his dreams, and Rand is being visited in TAR by someone who likes to take the forms of those he loves, and then attempts to kill him.
Chapter 28:
The girls give Mat one of the notes from the Amyrlin, asking him to deliver Elayne's letter to Morgase; he's also really hungry - like, *REALLY* hungry.
Chapter 29:
Nynaeve actually acts like something other than a Light-blinded fool; too bad Egwene couldn't follow suit. The Amyrlin gives tacit approval for Elayne joining them on the way to Tear, implying that she had hoped the other two would get Elayne to join them. It's a deep and dangerous game that woman is playing, but I'm already tired of how every Tairen metaphor seems to involve silverpike in some way.
Chapter 30:
If you can't hide what you are going to do, do it so everybody thinks you are a fool. Then they stand around waiting to see you fall on your face.
Tonight, every toss won for him. Every toss..."The Dark One's own luck," another man growled....
Luck. Burn me if it's not good for more than dice.
..."Time to roll the dice."
This is important. I daren't say more.
Chapter 31:
Thom is alive, which is great news - I think he's one of Jordan's better characters. Interesting, without having to be one of the most important people in all of history. Then again, maybe Thom is Jain Farstrider. Who knows?
