Chapter 19: Shadow's Waiting

The party takes shelter in a ruined building inside Shadar Logoth. Nynaeve tends to the exhausted Moiraine with her herbs while Thom explains that Mat's Old Tongue outburst was the old blood speaking through his lineage, not a dead man possessing him.

Rand, Mat, and Perrin sneak out to explore the city and encounter Mordeth, a strange bald man who claims to be a treasure hunter. He leads them to an underground chamber filled with gold, gems, and jeweled weapons, offering to share the hoard if they help carry it out. When Mat mentions they are heading to Tar Valon, Mordeth flies into a rage. Rand notices the man casts no shadow, and Mordeth swells to monstrous size before vanishing into a crack in the wall like smoke. The boys flee through darkened streets, feeling hungry eyes watching from every shadow.

Back at camp, Moiraine reveals Aridhol's grim history: Mordeth corrupted King Balwen until the city's suspicion and hatred consumed it, birthing Mashadar—an evil trapped in the bedrock. Mordeth himself is snared within the walls, seeking to consume a soul to escape. Lan returns with Trolloc badges—over a hundred Dha'vol Trollocs have entered the city, driven by Myrddraal. Moiraine decides they must flee to the River Arinelle, where the water will protect them since Trollocs cannot swim.