Then he uses Air to explode the chest apart. He crushes the remaining three 'soft points' in the shield with Spirit. He pushes at the shield to reach saidin and finally succeeds. Frantically Rand gets through the third knot. He breaks one knot, so now there only five and the shield is thinner. With guidance from Lews Therin, he begins to work on those four knots. Rand is still doubled up in the chest when first one, then three more of the shields on him are tied off. Even with the additional help, Perrin believes the fight is almost lost and thinks sadly of Faile. Perrin hears a loud boom, then a Gateway opens nearby, and black-coated men pour through and join the battle. Bera, Kiruna, and the other Aes Sedai join the fight, even though they were not supposed to. Perrin's only thought during the fight is they have to reach Rand. As they begin their charge, Perrin calls out to the wolves to come now. The fight appears hopeless but Perrin is determined to try to free Rand anyway. There are several hundred Shaido Wise Ones channeling. There is a lot of channeling and some wagons are on fire. Forty thousand Shaido completely surround a camp of wagons. Perrin looks from the top of a ridge and finds a scene from a nightmare. When the chest stays closed he fears they will leave him in there all night and starts shouting to let him out but all he hears is a laugh. When the wagon stops and the chest is taken down, Rand expects to be let out to be fed.

He can tell Alanna is close but doesn't know what that means. He has been baking in the hot sun every day. Rand has been kept folded up in a chest barely large enough for him. He argues with Galina, but she finally gives in about stopping and making preparations when she sees the dead man. Gawyn immediately orders battle preparations. It is one of his men who dies moments later. He spies a horse galloping back toward the group.

Gawyn is observing the landscape near Dumai's Wells while most of the Younglings have been positioned at the rear. Mazrim Taim For the battle that took place, see Battle of Dumai's Wells.

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