An Enemy Spy Reads The Wheel of Time III: Something's Fishy in the White Tower

[GrayDeath]

Shhhh! AES Isn't supposed to know that one yet. Next you'll be telling him that Bela was the Dark one all along.

Wait, you mean there are people who fall for her deceiption!?

[Anteros]

You guys are being silly. Bela is definitely the Creator.

[tiornys]

You guys are being silly. Bela is definitely the Creator.

Who is also obviously the Dark One. Keep up with us here.

[An Enemy Spy]

Chapter 30: The First Toss

A book ago I never would have said this, but we thankfully are getting a Mat chapter now. Save this book from Team Magikarp, you silly boy. After the girls gave him the letter and left the room, he spent the day in there plotting his escape and eating the delicious food the Aes Sedai have brought him. Mostly eating. Being cursed by an evil dagger and then healed gives you a monstrous appetite. Mat better hope he can food in this quantity once he's left the city because I'm pretty sure he'll actually die if he doesn't consume enough food to feed a bear for the winter.

When the Aes Sedai who brings his food comes in Mat mentions he's feeling like seeing more of what the city offers, and maybe he'll even stay at an inn tonight. She sees right through him but says that as long as he doesn't try to flee the city he's free to go where wherever he wants. Infinite freedom inside a finite space, like the number of decimals you can fit inside the space between the number zero and one. I don't think that has anything to do with anything, but it's an interesting thought I just had while writing this.

When the sun goes down Mat gathers up all his crap and shoves a bunch of food in his bag, and then he's off for a night on the town. His plan is to win as much money as he can for the trip by playing dice at the inns and then using the letter with the Amyrlin's signature on it to bluff his way out of the city. He figures the Aes Sedai will be expecting him to be brought back by the city guards and when he isn't they'll search the city thinking he's trying to hide somewhere. There is a hole in this plan however, since when the guards at the docks are asked if they've seen Mat, they will say "Yes. He had a letter from the Amyrlin Seat ordering us to do as he asked."

He goes to an inn and decides to win just enough money to get him comfortably far away from the city. So he wins a game. Then he wins another game. And he wins, and he wins, and he wins. He wins so much that he starts to get unfriendly looks, so he goes to another inn and he just keeps winning. Inn after inn, game after game, Mat just wins and wins and wins. It's enough to make you think he's using magic dice cups slipped into his room by Selene for some nefarious purpose. Mat's pretty unnerved by it as well, and he thinks it might be residual effect of the dagger, a feeling that isn't helped when someone calls it the Dark One's own luck, which makes Mat flip out and shout that he isn't a Darfriend. Wouldn't want to look suspicious after all.

Before long Mat's pockets are stuffed with gold and he realizes that he basically just became rich in a single night. Well, time to find a ship out of here. As he makes his way toward the port, Mat can't help but notice some suspicious looking men that seem to be following him. I mean, he did just win a ton of gold through rather conspicuous means so it's not surprising that someone would perhaps want to rough him up for the money in his pockets or perhaps because they think he cheated them out of their money. Or is something more sinister afoot on the streets of Tar Valon?

He ducks down an alley and hides in the shadows, losing the two knife wielding footpads following him. They realize he's gotten away from them and decide to move on because "there are strange things moving this night" and they'd rather be out of this. Uh oh, looks like Mat might have something scarier than a couple of goons looking for him. As has been firmly established, Mat is an avid fan of the Assassin's Creed series of video games(He felt the film, while delivering on the visual spectacle, focuses too much on the modern day part of the story which detracted from the historical segments and as a whole failed to live up to the promising concept. This has been Movies With Mat, make sure to like and subscribe.) and decides to climb over the rooftops. He gets to a bridge and goes over it when he is beset by a ruffian who grabs him from behind and puts a knife to his throat. Mat figures his luck hasn't let him down so far tonight, so he pushes himself backward and they both go tumbling off the bridge. Sure enough, Mat is fine while the other guy is killed by land on his own dagger and stabbing himself in the heart. Yowza.

Mat realizes he's that he's standing over a dead body with a knife stuck into it and makes himself scarce before the guards show up and ask inconvenient questions like "If you didn't stab this guy, why has he clearly been stabbed?" He knows he should go toward the docks but instead is drawn by an inexplicable urge to go to an nearby inn called The Woman of Tanchico. And based on the harp symbol that the chapter on the next page begins with, I think he'll be meeting with a certain gleeman there.

[An Enemy Spy]

Oh, and I don't have any kids. Not sure where that idea came from.

[Sivarias]

Oh, and I don't have any kids. Not sure where that idea came from.

I got the impression from some other posts somewhere (maybe not even yours) that you were married and in your 30's. After that it was balance of probability.

Also, Matt chapters are best chapters IMO. At least from this book forward.

[An Enemy Spy]

I got the impression from some other posts somewhere (maybe not even yours) that you were married and in your 30's. After that it was balance of probability.

Also, Matt chapters are best chapters IMO. At least from this book forward.

Nah man, I'm single and 26. Glad I come off as a real adult though.

[Douglas]

It's enough to make you think he's using magic dice cups slipped into his room by Selene for some nefarious purpose.

Nah, he's just that lucky.

Spoiler

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Serious, or sarcastic? I doubt AES can tell.

[lord_khaine]

You comes off as about 5-6 years older at the least.

[georgie_leech]

Less a flaw in the plan, more assuming the Aes Sedai would never assume that the guards could have seen Mat try to leave without telling them about it. After all, no one could possibly out manipulate an Aes Sedai by taking unusual orders that appeal to a higher authority intended for someone else entirely, subverting their entire plan to keep Mat in the city.

I can count on... one and a half-ish hands the number of times the Aes Sedai weren't arrogantly blind to something obvious if they had actually, you know, checked.

[Velaryon]

A book ago I never would have said this, but we thankfully are getting a Mat chapter now.

Get used to it. Mat chapters are among the most fun in the entire series, and often bring some much-needed relief from the stupidity/bullheadedness/self-pitying/serious dramatics/just plain obnoxiousness that other characters occasionally bring to the table.

[Anteros]

Also, the orders explicitly say to keep silent about what you were ordered to do. Any guard with any sense wouldn't admit letting Mat past even if they questioned him.

[Sapphire Guard]

The guards might tell Siuan herself if she comes looking, but even then she can't make a fuss about it beyond probably plotting to kill the girls for immediately abusing their emergency powers.

[An Enemy Spy]

Chapter 31: The Woman of Tanchico

Mat enters the inn's common room and sure enough, there is Thom Merillin playing for the crowd. Mat notices that he looks sorrowful as he plays, and thinks about how he never knew Thom to be a sorrowful man. Of course Mat doesn't know that Thom's protege/lover got murdered in the last book. Mat sits down and starts flashing his cash at the serving girl, ordering a large amount of food. Once Thom's finished his act, he comes over and joins him, stinking drunk and barely able to walk without stumbling over, and not just because of the wound he took fighting a Myrdraal. He's been staying at this inn for some time, drinking himself into a blind stupor in his grief. Thom came here from Cairhien after killing a man who "needed to be killed". I genuinely don't remember if we saw Thom do this in the last book, so refresh me if we have. Given that a civil war had just begun the last time we saw Cairhien though, I imagine there's plenty of reason to not want to be in that city right now.

The reason Thom fled to Tar Valon is because he hates it and is punishing himself for being in a place that's so emotionally painful for him. Mat lets him in on the plan to bust out of this city and head to Caemlyn, that other place that's full of pain and regret for Thom. Naturally, Thom decides that's a great place to go and feel sorry for himself and agrees to accompany Mat. They exit the inn and Mat mentions the thugs he encountered, but Thom tells him that there aren't any thieves in Tar Valon because everyone is too afraid of being caught and taken to the Aes Sedai for some unspecified punishment. Which means that the guys after Mat were definitely more than just muggers.

If that wasn't a kick in the butt for Mat to get out of here as soon as possible, I don't what is, and he's determined to be on the very first ship out of Tar Valon.

I also want to say that I couldn't be happier that Thom and Mat are teaming up. Two chaotic neutral guile heroes, one wise and cynical and the other young and reckless. If this duo stays together, I can see it becoming my favorite part of the series.

[Ashen Lilies]

The last we see of Thom before this chapter he's preparing to go kill someone after Dena's death. We don't see him do the killing, and we aren't told who, precisely, he killed. It is, however, somewhat straight-forward to connect the dots and figure out who it was he smoked based on context and timeline of surrounding events.

Spoiler: Inferences (probably not a spoiler)

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We are told the men who killed Dena worked for King Galldrian.

There was no Carhienien civil war before Thom goes off to kill someone. There is a civil war after he's done.

Do the math here.

Spoiler: Actually a spoiler

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And it's not even the ****ing first time Thom's killed a high noble for the sake of love.

[MammonAzrael]

The last we see of Thom before this chapter he's preparing to go kill someone after Dena's death. We don't see him do the killing, and we aren't told who, precisely, he killed. It is, however, somewhat straight-forward to connect the dots and figure out who it was he smoked based on context and timeline of surrounding events.

Spoiler: Inferences (probably not a spoiler)

Show

We are told the men who killed Dena worked for King Galldrian.

There was no Carhienien civil war before Thom goes off to kill someone. There is a civil war after he's done.

Do the math here.

Spoiler: Actually a spoiler

Show

And it's not the ****ing first time Thom's killed a high noble for the sake of love.

Spoiler: Response to the spoiled spoiler

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You do not mess with the Gray Fox.

[Deathkeeper]

I also want to say that I couldn't be happier that Thom and Mat are teaming up. Two chaotic neutral guile heroes, one wise and cynical and the other young and reckless. If this duo stays together, I can see it becoming my favorite part of the series.

I'm like 90% sure that Mat is only CN when no one else is around. When anyone else he could even maybe possibly care about is around, he has a tendency to be equally as helpful as he is loud-mouthed about not wanting to help.

[georgie_leech]

I'm like 90% sure that Mat is only CN when no one else is around. When anyone else he could even maybe possibly care about is around, he has a tendency to be equally as helpful as he is loud-mouthed about not wanting to help.

Hey, CN people can have consciences too. His desire for freedom and a general distrust of authority is a pretty hefty chunk of his character.

[GrayDeath]

Hey, its alive!




Now thats out of the way: The teamup is one of the High Points of the Book (and its not as if this book in particular were low on High Points, mind!).

Without spoilering I cant say more than: Be prepared for enjoyable chapters. ;)

[Anteros]

Hey, CN people can have consciences too. His desire for freedom and a general distrust of authority is a pretty hefty chunk of his character.

Spoiler: Because everyone loves alignment debates. Mild Spoilers

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I'd say Mat starts as CN and moves solidly into CG by the end of the series.
Rand is Neutral Good. He tries to work above the law, but he's willing to do things outside of it when the situation arises.
Perrin is Lawful Boring. He's probably lawful neutral. He postures a lot about what it means to be a good person, but doesn't actually do much for anyone outside of his home town or friends.
Egwene is Lawful Evil. I could go into detail why, but it's much larger spoilers.
Nynaeve starts out as Lawful Neutral and becomes Chaotic good by the end. She probably shifts the most of any character.
Elayne starts out Lawful Neutral but leaning towards good and ends the series as Lawful Neutral but leaning towards evil.

[An Enemy Spy]

Chapter 32: The First Ship

Mat and Thom head to the dock and spy the first ship about to cast off, a three masted ship larger than most in the harbor. The dockmaster comes to stop him, they've all been shown a drawing of Mat and know not to let him on a ship. He's suspicious when Mat shows him the Amyrlin's letter, but not suspicious enough to risk disobeying a direct order from her. The dockmaster tries to yell at the crew to stop, but it's too late, the ship is already leaving. Mat could wait for a nother ship, but that would also mean hanging about in a place where assassins are after him and where people might start asking pointed questions about that letter he's holding, so he and Thom make a run for it and leap off the dock and onto the ship.

The captain is none to pleased to see a pair of vagabonds jumping onto his ship and orders a couple of his crewmen to toss them overboard, but the letter and more importantly the gold in Mat's purse gets him to change his mind. Several fat Andoran gold crowns later and Mat and Thom are staying in the captain's own cabin. The captain is a Tairen named Huan Mallia who's conversation with them gives us a bit of knowledge into what's going on in Tear, in between insults directed at every other nation but Andor from which he thinks Mat is a lord on a secret mission. There's a new lord in Tear by the name of Samon who has apparently appeared as if from nowhere, but has risen to great popularity and is basically running the place now, promising to destroy Tear's hated rival Illian. Nothing fishy going on there. Looks like we've got a Forsaken in Tear.

Mat and Thom lay down to go to sleep and Thom is snoring almost immediately, but Mat's attampt to doze off is interrupted by the sound of a bump and soft footfalls moving toward his cabin. On a normal night he'd ignore these sounds but on normal nights he wasn't usually accosted by footpads with orders to kill him, so he decides to get up and quietly wake Thom. Thom doesn't wake so Mat grabs his quarterstaff and prepares to face the intruder. The door creaks open and two men with cloaks and daggers skulk through, right into Mat's quarterstaff as he delivers the killing blows to the chest and throat his dad taught him. Damn Mat, you're savage! He takes one of their cloaks and puts it on to disguise himself and goes up to the top deck where he finds another cloaked man. Affecting his best assassin voice, Mat tells him that the target is dead to gauge whether or not he's one of them, and when the man affirms it Mat bonks him on the head. Another man comes from behind with a knife to quickly for Mat to raise his staff but is killed by a thrown blade from Thom who had finally decided to help out. They look over the railing and see two more men in a small boat. Thom loudly asks Mat if he should kill them as well and the two inept assassins jump overboard in panic to escape him, too stupid to realize that the river has gotten too wide for them to make it to shore. The crew is roused by the noise and rushes in to discover that Mat and Thom have dispatched of five armed men, which does nothing to dispel their belief that he's some cold blooded Andoran assassin on secret business for the queen.

The final part of the chapter follows Rand on his mad stumble through the countryside leaving weirdness in his wake. In every village he passes through the people act strangely, like everyone deciding to get married at once. His dreams are torturous, his loved ones appearing to him and trying to kill him. Selene had come as well and told him he needs to take Callandor from the Stone of Tear. And so the disparate plotlines all converge on Tear. Except for Mat I guess, he's going to Caemlyn. But I'm sure that will just be a brief stop on the way.

[Traab]

Hes back! lol Yeah, you can almost hear the chugga chugga sounds picking up speed cant you? These tracks all converge in one place and one place alone. I cant really recall much specifics but yeah, we are seeing how rand effects the pattern wherever he goes now. Its kinda interesting really, I dont think its spoiling much to say we have already seen how matt warps reality, but rand? Thats a whole other level of disturbance of the pattern. With matt his dice tend to always come up winners, with rand its pretty much literally a dice roll. Probably closer to one of those d-100 rolls, could be minor, could be major, could be good, could be bad, could be GREAT, could open a portal to the realm of the great old ones just as they are inhaling, thus sucking all of creation into the endless void of madness. Rand will call those Tuesdays.

[georgie_leech]

It's not all that different than the Improbability Drive, his protagonist powers literally warp the world around him, making unlikely things happen.

[An Enemy Spy]

Been a long time since I last updated. Hope ya'll are still tuning in.

Chapter 33: Within the Weave

Perrin and Co. are on a dirt path called the Lugard Road and heading toward the town of Murandy, which is a bit north of Illian and south of Whitebridge according to my map. On an old paving stone that remains from long ago is the footprint of what looks like a dog, though what dog could possibly leave a print in solid rock? An evil dog, that's what. A bad doggo! No biscuits for them.

Perrin's wolf dreams have been troubling him even more since the events in Jarra, and now he barely sleeps, though he can't express these problems to the other people in the group. This is Wheel of Time after all, where nobody ever volunteers vital information until its too late. I'm sure Perrin's secret will come out in time, but not before he's wrung every bit of brooding and drama he can out of it. He does remember the dream where Egwene found him, though of course he has no way to know it was actually her.

They've been going through more villages and seeing more weird stuff, like one where the town's spring had suddenly started flowing again after a long drought. and another where the wells had all gone dry. The Rand giveth and the Rand taketh away it seems. And sometimes he just steals all your water and gives it someone else. Turmoil and devastation lies in Rand's wake, and Perrin reflects on how for a hero, Rand sure does seem to be doing a lot of evil. Of course it's not Rand's fault, it's that dadgum blasted Pattern, so does that make the Pattern evil? It sure doesn't seem to be concerned with collateral damage at least. It creates heroes and villains and lets them run amok over everybody else.

They come to a town called Remen, where the subject of interest is an Aielf(or Aiel to those of you who don't remember how I've renamed them. They remind me of how elves are sometimes used in fantasy as a Mary Sue race that is better than humans in every way.) in a cage. He was captured in battle. Astonishing really, that a super special perfect Aielf could possibly be captured by mere westerners. Wouldn't surprise me if he meant to caught. The inkeeper tells them that a group of hunters for the Horn of Valere(how long do these hunts last anyway? Until everyone gets bored and goes home?) and ran into a group of twenty Aielves who they defeated and brought on of back. I don't believe it, not because it's unfeasible that twelve men could surprise twenty and beat them, but because Aielves are oh-so perfect and can never ever lose unless they're up against overwhelming forces. Prove me wrong, Robert Jordan. Also, the supposed heroes, Lord Gann and Lord Orban, are a couple of conceited prigs who would absolutely make up a story about defeating twenty of the mighty Aielves.

The Whitecloaks are also in town, which is sure to lead to shenanigans.

The chapter ends with Perrin going up to his room and noticing a mysterious girl in the crowd staring at him. Based on the amount of description lavished on her, I smell a new party member!

[georgie_leech]

He returns! And he comes bearing snarky commentary on fantasy cliches! Rejoice!

[Misery Esquire]

Chapter 33: Within the Weave
... The Rand giveth and the Rand taketh away it seems. And sometimes he just steals all your water and gives it someone else. ...

Hydroeconomics is a complex and varied field, with many depths to be plumbed and long rivers of thought.

The chapter ends with Perrin going up to his room and noticing a mysterious girl in the crowd staring at him. Based on the amount of description lavished on her, I smell a new party member!

Pfft. This is obviously just ordinary amounts of description for the girl, and they'll be recruiting the bash "heroes" who will have to learn patience, understanding, and how to hold their peace.

Obviously.

[Anteros]

They come to a town called Remen, where the subject of interest is an Aielf(or Aiel to those of you who don't remember how I've renamed them. They remind me of how elves are sometimes used in fantasy as a Mary Sue race that is better than humans in every way.) in a cage. He was captured in battle. Astonishing really, that a super special perfect Aielf could possibly be captured by mere westerners.

For what it's worth, the Aiel have plenty of flaws. It's just that your only current information about them is filtered through legends or from sources like Lan or Ingtar who have enormous respect for them. They're far from perfect when you get to know more about them in later books.

[Douglas]

For what it's worth, the Aiel have plenty of flaws. It's just that your only current information about them is filtered through legends or from sources like Lan or Ingtar who have enormous respect for them. They're far from perfect when you get to know more about them in later books.

Their combat prowess is quite deserving of the Aielf view, though. I'm not sure exactly when this bit of background is revealed so this might be a very minor spoiler, but when an invasion by them gets opposed by an alliance of most of the major nations on the continent and still ends only when they accomplish what they came to do and voluntarily go back home, that's a bit extreme.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I felt like there was a lot of Frank Herbet's Fremen in the way the Aiel are characterised. Certainly in their one-on-one combat prowess.

[Traab]

All I can say is, this is like reading the series again. I get to enjoy some entertaining stuff to read, then wait a year for the next update. Its all sorts of nostalgic.