Mat’s been hopping around the rooftops to scope out the Stone. His best way in is a precarious trip across the narrow city wall, so with his staff and his bundle of fireworks in tow, he makes his way to the wall where he notices someone already trying to scale it. Mat’s all like “Well, fuck that guy, he’s going to draw attention to both of us”, but he doesn’t have much time to contemplate further as he gets attacked by armed men. We’re talking double-barreled shotguns and BFG 9000s. The assailants are Aielmen, and Mat offers to let them go about their business if he can go about his. Since Mat’s deftness was surprising to the Aielmen, they agree. After asked what he’s doing near the Stone, Juilin Sandar pops out of the shadows and asks the Aiel the same thing. Then Sandar gets weird, and Mat responds that he himself was just out for a harmless walk! And once the Aiel Lady threatens Mat’s throat with a jugular full of spear, Mat gulps and fesses up that his friends are prisoners in the Stone. And can the Aiel help him? Nope! They’re not here to rescue prisoners. And Mat and Sandar best not say a word and start hollerin’ while the Aiel do what they’re going to do! So fuck off, kids.

Sandar asks if Mat’s friends happen to be three young women, and Mat gets very suspicious. After telling Mat that Sandar is looking for the same three, he offers to let Mat be “his prisoner” so that the guards will let a thief-catcher and his prisoner through a gate. Meanwhile, a whole slew of Aielmen are climbing the Stone so Mat’s new idea is to stick his pile of fireworks into an arrowslit in the Stone at the end of the wall and cause one hell of a commotion. The explosion is so fucking huge that it almost knocks him clear off the wall to his death. But since Mat’s lucky, he doesn’t die. That happens in Book 8! Or does it?!

The arrowslit has opened up to a hole big enough for a man to fit through. He and Sandar enter the Stone and fight off a bunch of guards. Together, they intend to go find the cells.

Speaking of the cells, Egwene screams herself awake within one of the cells. Nynaeve and Elayne help her, you know, stop screaming her lungs out like a dingus. Elayne knows that they’re bait, but for whom it is uncertain. Rand? The Dragon Reborn? Could be. Especially since Egwene dreamed about Rand and Callandor and whatever she dreams goes. She also dreamed of Mat and Perrin, and it certainly wasn’t a sexy dream. The guards didn’t take her ter’angreal, so Egwene intends to go to sleep again and maybe she’ll bump into Liandrin so she can kick her ass. In Tel’aran’rhiod, Egwene finds Joiya Byir and stops her from retrieving Callandor with some good ol’ fashioned saidar. Egwene informs Joiya that she will only allow her to awake on her terms.

Some stuff happens with Perrin and the wolves that isn’t particularly interesting until Perrin becomes a man again, smashes a door open in the Stone with his hammer, and discovers Zarine tied up with chains. She disappears before he can unchain her, and it turns out it was alllll a dream! Isn’t that annoying?

Meanwhile, alarms sound as Mat and Sandar move through the Stone. High Lords have started to enter the Fray, and lucky lucky Mat is able to fend all of them off. Having eliminated an impossible threat, Mat and Sandar continue looking for the cells.

What a long fucking chapter. Reading ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.