The Great Hunt: Chapter 27
The Shadow in the Night
Author: Estyrien al'Halien
Characters: Rand, Loial, Trollocs, Darkfriends, Selene, Tammuz, Aludra, and Hurin
Setting: The Foregate and the Illuminators' chapter house, Cairhien
Point of view: Rand
Whilst Rand and Loial walk back to The Defenders of the Dragonwall, Loial tells Rand of how he was winning the game of cards he was playing "and then Dena came in and joined the game, and she won it all right back". Rand begins to think about the Horn and how "Fain will come sooner or later". Before this trail of thought finishes, a Trolloc and a group of Darkfriends attack them. Rand summons the void and kills the Trolloc using "The Moon Rises Over the Lakes", and the Darkfriends flee.
Rand's first thought is to return to the inn, "Hurin's alone", but a Trolloc sneaks up on him and tries to strangle him. Loial grabs the Trolloc and they wrestle, "Loial had it by wrist and forearm", but Rand cannot kill it through the fear of hurting Loial. Rand summons the void in an attempt to channel saidin but cannot reach it, "there was only the taint". Whilst Rand tries to channel, Loial "threw the Trolloc aside", thus breaking its neck and killing it. This is the first time Loial has killed anything and he is horrified, "But I cannot like it. Even a Trolloc".
The pair see a group of performers with what is supposed to be a puppet of a Trolloc. It is in fact a real Trolloc, "the 'puppet' moved its legs too naturally". Rand realizes that Fain knows they are in Cairhien but "he is afraid of the Trollocs being seen". They realize that being in a crowded place is best as the Trollocs won't strike but "every time Rand tried to reach the music and laughter, there was a Trollocs in the way". They are forced eastwards through the Foregate until they reach the edge of the city. They know that if they set foot out of Cairhien, the Trollocs will be free to act.
Rand sees what he thinks is "a lord's manor" but Loial identifies it as an Illuminators' chapter house. Loial warns Rand that the Illuminators are very secretive and "I don't think they would let Galldrian himself inside". At that moment, Selene steps out from around the corner and berates him for "allowing Trollocs to herd you like sheep". Rand wraps his cloak around her to dull the shimmer of her white dress, which could give them away. As the Trollocs move closer, still looking for them. Selene spots a door leading in to the chapter house and they take the chance to enter, despite Loial's protests.
Once they are inside Loial voices his protests, "I have heard the Illuminators kill intruders", but they cannot go back. They hide in the shadows while two Illuminators, Tammuz and Aludra, walk past, talking about a display. Once they are gone, the group walk through the chapter house looking for an exit. Rand is unnerved by the fact that Loial "crept along in a cloud of clatters and mutterings" while Selene makes no attempt "to keep the cloak closed" as it would hide the glow of her dress.
Loial knocks over a stand filled with "ten soft looking sticks" and causes some fireworks to explode. The group hide in the shadows while Illuminators try to save some of the fireworks. Aludra, apparently in charge of the display, blames Tammuz for the accident, "You great buffoon, Tammuz!", and punishes him accordingly, "you will leave with the carts to buy the manure".
When the Illuminators go away, Loial notices three Trollocs, blocking their way to freedom, and an Illuminator staring into the room. If they moved, "it would become a race as to whether the Trollocs or Illuminators reached them first". Rand sends Loial and Selene off to the way out while he stops the Trollocs. Rand doesn't use the void or channel saidin; instead he points a firework at the Trollocs and lights the fuse. This kills the Trollocs and sets fire to the chapter house. Rand joins Loial in the alleyway, free of Trollocs, but Selene has gone back in to the chapter house. Loial convinces Rand that he can do nothing, "You cannot help her", and the pair return to their inn.
There is a letter for Rand, with a white seal of "a crescent moon and stars", that has been written by Selene. She accuses Rand of "being a dangerous man" but also says that "you are always mine". The chapter ends with Rand wishing that "Ingtar would come".
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