The Great Hunt/Chapter 27

==Summary==
Rand and Loial leave The Bunch of Grapes to return to the city, Loial lamenting Dena's win at dice. Rand sees one of those Trolloc puppets approaching, accompanied by five puppeteers. He thinks they can wait for Ingtar no longer and is planning to leave as soon as possible. Before he realizes what is happening, the Trolloc leaps for him and he unsheathes his sword and strikes. It is a real Trolloc! The accompanying men, presumably Darkfriends, turn and run. Another Trolloc grabs Rand but Loial fights it. The Trolloc and Loial grapple with each other in the street so Rand cannot attack with his sword, lest he accidentally hit Loial. The Trolloc is trying to draw its sword to kill Loial, so Rand tries to channel to save his friend, but saidin won't come. He feels only the taint, not the Power. Fortunately, Loial breaks free and throws the Trolloc against a building, killing it. Loial is a bit shaken as he had never killed anything before.
They see Trollocs in every direction pretending to be puppets. Fain must have sent them, but they must want to stay hidden as they are disguised. Rand and Loial will be safe if they can get into the populated streets, but slowly they are corralled to the eastern end of town where all the houses have shuttered windows. They end up outside a walled area with several buildings which Loial identifies as the Illuminator's Chapter House. Suddenly, Selene appears. Rand tries to get her to leave so she doesn't get hurt. She calmly asks him what trouble he is in and tells him that the man who carries the Horn of Valere should not be troubled by mere Trollocs.
They try to sneak into the Illuminator's Chapter House. Selene wants him to seek the Oneness to calm himself. Selene finds a door along the wall and as they are about to enter, Loial says Illuminators kill intruders. Rand thinks it must be better to deal with humans who can be reasoned with than Trollocs, so they go inside and move along an alleyway between two buildings until they come to an open area. They hear the Illuminators, Aludra and Tammuz, arguing about the preparations for tonight's firework display. Then Rand notices all the fireworks piled up in the clearing, which unnerves him. They slowly move between the fireworks, trying to remain unseen and unheard. Loial accidentally sets off one of the firework tubes, which causes Rand to knock Selene over to try to protect her body.
The commotion attracts the Illuminators and Aludra starts berating Tammuz for it. Then Loial finds Trollocs behind them. They are trapped between the Trollocs and Illuminators. Selene still talks about Rand's greatness and how proud she will be of him after he gets them out of here. Rand tries to come up with a plan to escape without channeling and shoots a firework at a Trolloc, and there is an explosion and one of the buildings is on fire. The Trollocs are nowhere to be seen. As the Illuminators scramble out of a nearby building to investigate, Loial says Selene went the other way and they cannot find her now. The burning building illuminates the entire area so they can only run before they are caught.
They return to the inn where the innkeeper gives Rand a sealed parchment left by an old woman. The note, which must be from Selene, calls Rand dangerous and unpredictable; yet it tells him to think of the Horn, glory, and her. Rand can only sink into a chair and hope that Ingtar arrives soon.
==Characters==
*Rand
*Loial
*Selene
*Aludra
*Tammuz
*Hurin
*Cuale
===Referenced===
*Dena
*Ingtar
*Hurin
*Padan Fain
*Galldrian
*Mat
*Thom
==Groups==
*Darkfriends
*Guild of Illuminators
===Referenced===
*Village Council
==Places==
*Cairhien
*Foregate
==Sword Forms==
*The Moon Rises Over the Lakes
==Items==
*Horn of Valere