Jarra is in disarray after Rand came through and made ripples in the pattern. Perrin finds another man with golden eyes and learns nothing about his connection to the wolves.
Everyone in Jarra is acting like they’re hung over. Evidence of celebration litters the village green. Outside the inn, a man named Simion sweeps the walk and stifles copious yawns. Moiraine asks if a wedding has taken place, and Simion is happy to relate that it was not just one wedding, but a slew of them over the last two days. The least likely pairings suddenly seemed to be written in the stars, and nobody has had a chance yet to recover from the festivities.
Heading into the common room, we learn that the insanity wasn’t limited to nuptials. According to the innkeeper, a group of Whitecloaks was in town yesterday and fell into disarray the likes of which you wouldn’t expect from a military organization. Three up and quit, another left to hunt for the Horn, and others had varying opinions on where to search for the Dragon. The most offensive among them groped women and tried to set fire to the inn. The remaining Whitecloaks had to tie them up and cart them away.
Perrin muses to himself that they’re wasting time listening to all of this news when they could be asking about Rand. See, this is why Perrin chapters are so hard to read. How dense are you, dude? Obviously none of this would have happened if not for Rand. In the privacy of their rooms, Moiraine explains that Rand is such a powerful ta’veren that he dramatically changes the way people’s lives are woven into the pattern just by being nearby.
Simion shows Perrin to his room and confirms that Rand slept there the night prior. He said Rand was acting paranoid, talking to himself and laughing randomly. Super — our savior wields godlike powers and now he’s a few arrows short of a quiver. We’re all doomed.
Simion realizes Moiraine is Aes Sedai and begs her to help his brother, who happens to be a wolf dude like Perrin. The difference is that this guy is so far gone that he’s basically a wolf stuck in a human body, and he’s being kept in a locked room. Moiraine surprises nobody when she says she can’t help, but Perrin convinces Simion that his brother’s only chance of a happy ending is to set him free. And there you have it. Another Perrin chapter done, and we still know jack shit about his connection with the wolves.