Rand fails to escape, alienates all his friends, visits a predictably disturbing Padan Fain, and ends up hiding in the last place anyone would look: the women’s apartments.
Rand tries to leave Fal Dara on foot, but every gate is closed and guarded. It’s as though the entire fortress has received a memo titled “Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Let Rand Leave.” So instead, he aimlessly wanders the hallways and tries to keep a low profile. The wind swirls up like it did during his lesson, and Rand can feel someone watching him. Either he’s going crazy, or he’s got a stalker. Neither bodes well.
Rand finds Loial watching some men play dice. Loial doesn’t know any secret exits, but he thinks Rand might be sick, so he waves Mat and Perrin over. Rand tells them just enough truth to justify wanting to leave — something about the wind, and being watched. No mention of channeling, obviously, because it’s better to have your friends think you’re actively unhinged than for them to be afraid of you.
When Mat tries to talk about how they are going to get out of the fortress, Rand starts burning bridges. We aren’t going anywhere, he says. Cue the meltdown, and all the dice players stop to stare. Great job keeping a low profile! Now his friends are confused, pissed off, and more than ready to let him have some space. A lot of space.
Rand moves on — and runs into Egwene. Maybe we can alienate her, too! The difference is, she actually knows what’s going on. Rand tries to shove her away like everyone else, but Egwene doesn’t flinch. She just calmly suggests hiding in the one place no one would think to look: the dungeons.
EGWENE: I go there some evenings to visit Master Fain.
RAND: Master Fain? The dungeon? I thought I was the one who was supposed to go mad.
EGWENE: He’s much better now. He tells funny stories.
RAND: Funny stories? Egwene, he’s a Darkfriend.
Even though Rand’s clearly right, he still lets Egwene drag him to see Fain. This works out exactly the way you might expect, with Fain dropping just enough random creepiness to leave them both feeling rattled. New plan: Rand’s got to hide somewhere even more dangerous than the dungeon: the women’s apartments. Don’t worry, Rand — I’m sure sneaking a male channeler into a building full of Aes Sedai will go just fine.