Mat POV#

Mat dices with Rittle, Saddler and Snelle in The Dusty Wheel inn. Kati serves wine and ale. The innkeeper is Hatch.[1] Mat leaves and walks randomly though the New City. He is attacked by thugs, but Talmanes and his men including Harvell are keeping watch.

The gholam confronts him and his men light lanterns. Mat has the foxhead medallion tied to the front of his ashandarei. After sparring a few moments, the gholam proceeds to knock out the lanterns. Talmanes saves the last one and runs into a building, dropping the lantern and setting the building on fire. The gholam runs after him and Mat throws the ashandarei in a desperate attempt to stop it. It trips the gholam but now the foxhead medallion is gone. The gholam comes for Mat. At the last second he pulls out two more medallions.[2] The gholam flees back into the burning building and Mat follows retrieving his ashandarei. As he fights, Mat shouts in the Old Tongue, "Al dival, al kiserai, al mashi" (For light, glory and love). "Carai an manshimaya Tylin. Carai an manshimaya Nalesean. Carai an manshimaya ayend'an" (Honor of my blade for Tylin. Honor of my blade for Nalesean. Honor of my blade for the fallen). The gholam backs into a room, but the door is actually a gateway for Skimming and the floor is a small platform. Mat knocks the gholam off the platform into the endless black void.[3] Sumeko and Julanya made the gateway. Mat intends to give the extra medallions to Olver and Tuon. Captain Guybon arrives. Mat and Talmanes claim combat pay from the Crown for ridding the city of the gholam. The gateway was Elayne and Birgitte's idea. Mat and Talmanes will collect Setalle and Olver from their inn and get back to camp.
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