Winter's Heart/Chapter 18

==Summary==
There are rumors of a man found one night with his throat ripped out. Mat can immediately tell that this is the gholam, searching - and finding - nourishment. Mat resents how Olver forces him to play Snakes and Foxes every single night. Thom and Beslan sneak out of the Palace too often for Mat's liking, and he believes they are up to some mischief. He also notices that the Seanchan are continuing to stream into Ebou Dar with no signs of slowing down. There are also several rumors about the Dragon Reborn, ranging from he captured Illian to he has knelt before the White Tower. Of course, as Mat thinks about Rand, those strange flashes of color appear in his head. These days he tries very hard not to think of the other two ta'veren just to avoid the colors. He wants to escape Ebou Dar with Valan Luca and his circus, just to stay close to Aludra and learn her secrets. Mat goes to The Wandering Woman, which now houses high-ranking Seanchan military officers to the brim. He asks Setalle Anan to hide some clothes and gold for him. He plans to move his gold little by little, so Tylin would never guess that he was planning to leave her. She agrees, and he wanders the city, searching for a bellfounder. He finds one, Calwyn Sutoma, but he is shooed away because the bellfounder knows nothing of Illuminators and is trying to create the biggest bell made in the history of the world, to celebrate the victory of the Empress over Ebou Dar. Mat shakes his head, thinking how wrong it is for a man to commemorate the sacking of his own city! One day, when Mat enters his rooms, Tuon is looking at his ashandarei. She says that she is going to buy it from him, but he refuses to sell it. He goes back to the Wandering Woman to check on his stash of gold.
==Characters==
* Mat
* Setalle Anan
* Nerim
* Lopin
* Tylin
* Calwyn Sutoma
===Referenced===
* Gholam
* Riselle
* Harnan
* Vanin
* Thom
* Juilin
* Olver
* Beslan
* Suroth
* Tuon
* Empress
* Loial
* Rand
* Perrin
* Elaida
* Valan Luca
* Aludra
* Nynaeve
* Elayne
==Places==
* Tarasin Palace
* Ebou Dar
===Referenced===
* Rahad
* Aryth Ocean
* Spine of the World
* Tear
* Murandy
* Arad Doman
* Andor
* Amadicia
* Altara
* Cairhien (city)
* Illian (city)
* Two Rivers
* Tanchico
==Items==
* Ashandarei