Shadar Logoth. SHADAR LOGOTH. SHAH DARR LOW GOTH. This city is huge, full of buildings that are bigger than other buildings. Buildings as far as the eye can see, covered in domes and tons of windows and filled with elevators.

Before the buds hit the town and trip the light fantastic, Mat mentions his discomfort with saying an ancient Manetheren war cry. It was as if someone possessed him and used his face and mouth in a manner without consent! Thom the Gleeman slaps him silly; tells him that possession is real and the topic should not be taken lightly. It’s a good thing they have this knowledgeable gleeman around with his 14 mustaches.

At this point, much to Rand’s hesitation, the kids start exploring the ruined city. I know I keep using the word “kids”, because for all I know these three are 22 years old. After spending quite a bit of time bouncing around different, like, old stadiums and malls and video arcades, they find a man waiting in the shadows by a building that I picture as the Pantheon. He tells these whipper-snappers that his name is Mordeth (which is a fucking alarming name by any stretch of the imagination) and that he found treasure in the Pantheon. Mat’s all “oh boy oh boy!” and follows him into the building. Rand and Perrin follow reluctantly. Rand finds the man odd in a manner that he can’t quite put his finger on.

Eventually, after PLUMBING THE DEPTHS, they come to a very large room that does indeed hold an immense amount of treasure. Coins and baubles and ancient swords and pirate chests and rubies and sapphires. It’s trope-y as hell, but they get excited. When Mordeth asks them who they are, Mat bursts like a fucking fountain of verbal diarrhea and, in about two sentences, tells him everything about who they are and what they’re doing. Name dropping “Tar Valon” scares this Mordeth guy to high heaven. Rand finally pinpoints Mordeth’s oddity: he has no shadow. In this chamber full of sconces with torches, this guy doesn’t cast shadow ONE. Rand points this out, and Mordeth gets scary! He grows to fill the chamber, intending to kill the lot… but he’s still scared and disappears through a crack in the wall like a wisp of smoke. Thoroughly unsettled, the three break into a run and don’t stop into they’re well out of the Pantheon-type building.

I must’ve liked this chapter! My details are very detailed, you might say. Later, when they’re back in the safety of the shielded building where the group has set up camp, Moiraine explains that Mordeth was a man who caused the collapse of City Formally Known as Aridhol (and now SHAH DARR LOW GOTH). He is able to steal souls and be born anew in the victim’s body. So that’s fucked up.

Lan returns from scoping out the city and reports that Trollocs and Myrddraal have infiltrated the city. Even though Mordeth and similar creepy crawley Shadow entities are terrified of daylight, the group must venture out in the dead of night to the river to escape the not-afraid-of-the-dark Trollocs and Myrddraal who are not bufferred by Moiraine’s special wards on the building. They are, however, terrified of water.

To the river they go. Will they make it? Of course they will, but the next chapter will assuredly be full of nighttime creepy crawleys and Trolloc fights. Prepare to be slightly bored.