Towers of Midnight: Chapter 54
Author: Bryce al'Mara
Chapter Icon: Snake with foxhead for a tail in a triangle
Point of View: Mat
Location: Tower of Ghenjei
Characters: Mat, Thom, Noal, Moiraine
Outline
Mat, Thom, and Noal travel to the Chamber of Bonds and find Moiraine.
Summary
Mat, Thom, and Noal are in the new room and there are five corridors leaving. Mat has Thom start playing music again. Noal notices something on the floor and has Mat come look at it. its a melted pice of slag. Mat realizes it was the doorway and that it melted when the other one did. Mat calls out to the Finns telling them they knew he would come back. Thom says they couldnt have know but Mat insists that they do. An Eelfinn appears calling Matthe son of battles. He tells them he can take them where they wish to go for a price. A female appeared and then another male. Who tells Mat he has brought out their most skilled. there were dozens of them now all talking about making bargains but Mat refuses to make a bargain til they get to the Chamber of Bonds. Mat swung at one but his weapon went through it. Thom threw a knife at one and it hit. Mat swung at another one but used the iron side this time and sliced open one of them. The Finns start appearing on both sides of them. one group distracting trying to give the group on the other side a chance to attack. Thom throws knives at them but Mat tells him to stop telling him they are trying to get them to waste the knives. Mat lights a nightflower and throws it. As it goes off it blinds the Finns and Mat turns around with his eyes closed opens them and heads down the corridor in front of him. They continue straight and end up in a room that is star-shaped with eight tips and only one doorway with eight empty pedestals, one at each point and Moiraine was floating in the middle. Mat reached into the mist that was holding Moiraine and pulled back quickly because it was hot. Thom reaches in and Mat warns him but he doesn't care. Thom pulls her out and wraps her in his cloak. He takes off a bracelet she is wearing saying it looks like a ter'angreal but an Eelfinn responded saying its an angreal almost strong enough to be a sa'angreal and that it can be part of her price if they wish to pay it. There are now four male and four female Eelfinn on the pedestals. As part of the bargain Mat demands the way out restored back where it was and open again and that they have to leave the way out open until they get through. No blocking it up or making it vanish when they arrive. With the way direct, with no changing rooms about. A straight pathway and the Finns can't knock them unconscious or try to kill them or anything like that and that they get to take Moiraine. They ask him what price he will pay. He tells them he will give them half the light of the world. They jump from their pedestals and rush him. When Thom and Noal move towards them he tells them to stop that it must be done or they will kill them. One of the Finns sticks its claws in Mats eye socket and rip his eye right out. They left heading straight down the hallways as they are walking Noal brings up the fact that when Mat made the bargain he demanded that the Foxes couldn't attack them but he didn't mention the Snakes, the Aelfinn, and ahead of them were several dozen of them. Mat orders them to run in any direction away from the Aelfinn.
