Wizard 32

**Chapter 32**

Back to Rachel, who's talking with Giller. She's named her creepy doll Sara because *“A doll's got to have a name you know.”* Apparently Giller wants to leave as well, and Rachel's promised to help him. Kids, always do whatever your magic talking doll tells you! Especially if it involves helping the strange old man in weird clothing!

Rachel and Giller talk, and suddenly they hear someone coming. It's the queen! Oh noes! Rachel hides behind Giller's robes while he talks with the queen. A pointless conversation ensues, which I won't bother repeating, except that we learn Father Rahl is scheduled to arrive the next day. This, in case you couldn't guess, is a Bad Thing.

Giller tells Rachel to steal PV's key to her mother's jewelry room (which contains the magic box) and also the biggest loaf of bread she can lay hands on. There's a pointless exchange between Rachel and PV, and then...

We're back to Kahlan and Richard! They're watching a large number of short-tailed Fish flying about. I wonder why they're not panicking, when Kahlan freaked out at the sight of a singled long-tailed Fish way back when?

This area is called the Fire Springs, and it has vents in the ground where steam and *“foul-smelling yellow liquid and thick mud”* erupt. Apparently the Fish are going to the top of the biggest vent, where Richard sees something egg-shaped, and touching the egg-thing.

Beyond the Fishapalooza is a cave known as the Shadrin's Cave, because it is reportedly the home of a beast called the Shadrin. The book tells us this, so it must be important.

Richard and Kahlan walk. They're heading towards Tamarang, which is apparently where Queen Milena and the last magic box are. It makes me think of tamarinds, which look like giant mutant bean pods, but are quite tasty.

Kahlan is suicidal o\_O and Richard has to watch her every minute. He's taken her knife away, and ties her up when they go to sleep. O\_o \~/ Kahlan is depressed and apathetic. She says he should just let her die rather than risk the quest.

Kahlan is a wimp. She's been told that she'll use her Magical Mystery Power on Richard by Shota, a highly suspect and unreliable source, and she immediately believes it and decides the only possible solution is suicide. No trying to figure a way around the prophecy proclamation of a witch. No trying to fight destiny. Shota thinks we're going to fail? Let's roll over and die now and save Rahl the trouble. \~/\~/

So much for the strong female character.

Richard knows they're being followed, and have been since the second day out of Agaden Reach. Whatever is following them has yellow eyes, but it's not Gollum.

Back to Rachel and Giller! Whee! Giller swaps the magic box for a fake magic box, and hides the real one inside the loaf of bread. He instructs Rachel on how to smuggle it out of the castle and goes on at length about how EVAL Darken Rahl and Queen Milena are. You know, in case you missed it the first 27 times. Giller can't leave because he's being watched (um...wizard? Spells?), so he instructs Rachel to hide with the box until winter.

And we whiplash back to the Richard and Kahlan Show. Richard decides he's had enough of Kahlan's emo moping and tells her if she wants to die, go back to the Fishapalooza and let the Fish kill her properly. She whines about how she's doing it for the Cause, and she hopes Richard remembers her kindly. Richard grabs her shirt and says he'll remember her as a filthy traitor. He doesn't suggest the possibility that Shota might have been lying, wrong, or misunderstanding, but suggests that maybe she and Zedd are fated to attack him because he's the one who will mess everything up. They argue for a bit more, and Richard manhandles her, *“[throwing] her backward as hard as he could.”* Way to handle the suicidal woman, Richard. You're a star. \~/

They bitch back and forth a bit more, and then Kahlan wanders away, presumably to feed herself to the Fishapalooza. Richard cries. And I don't really care.

Drinks: 4

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