Nynaeve and company cross from Tanchico into Amadicia.
Nynaeve and company are traveling away from Tanchico. She’s getting jostled about in the back of a wagon, and the worst part? This was her decision, so she doesn’t even have anyone to blame for it. “Oh no,” she had said. “We can’t leave by ship, because that would be too obvious.” So there she is with her braid to grip and nobody to thwack with it.
Our heroes recently escaped from an attack after Nynaeve conjured a massive dust storm in the drought-stricken countryside. Unfortunately, we only learn about it second-hand, because Robert Jordan couldn’t be bothered to interrupt this perfectly serene travel chapter with action of any sort. GOD FORBID something interesting happens. No sooner does Nynaeve declare that they’ve lost their pursuers than Thom points out the troop of Whitecloaks on the road ahead.
I’ll forgive you if you thought the Whitecloaks’ arrival counted as “something interesting.” It’s an easy mistake to make. Nynaeve’s cover story — that she’s a merchant who picked up some casks of dye in Tanchico to trade — is paper-thin, but the Whitecloaks are so focused on being assholes that they don’t suspect a thing. It’s pretty much these aren’t the droids you’re looking for, and then they’re back en route to the White Tower.
At this point, even Nynaeve has to admit it was a horrible mistake to travel by wagon instead of taking a ship to Tear. Even if it weren’t for the unbearably hot weather and Elayne flirting with Thom like she’s suddenly developed a daddy complex, it’s taking way too long to make it back to Tar Valon. They’ve only just reached Mardecin, the first town east of the Amadicia-Tarabon border, and there is a lot of ground yet to cover.