At the Stag and Lion, baths are the first order of business, and Lan expresses displeasure with how carelessly the boys speak. After dinner, Ba’alzamon invades Rand’s dream and lets him know that he’s still being pursued.
Lan heads to the common room to gather news. For the rest of the party, baths are the first order of business. Can you imagine how rank these people must be after traveling for over a week without bathing? Books never emphasize this point, but it must be downright vile.
In the bathing room of the Stag and Lion, more than just the bathwater reaches a boil.
BATH ATTENDANT: I heard there are Trollocs in Saldaea…
MAT: Heh. Let me tell you all about Trollocs.
RAND: Shut up, Mat.
THOM: Aye, best be quiet, lad. You always get the stories wrong when you try to tell them.
MAT: What? I was just going to tell him about Emond’s Fi–
PERRIN: Shut up, Mat.
MAT: Look, he brought it up first. I–
Lan bursts into the room and kicks the attendant out, then focuses his rage on Mat.
LAN: Idiot sheepherder. Don’t talk about Trollocs, don’t even think about Trollocs. What part of this do you not understand?
RAND: Gosh, that bath attendant seemed to be worried about something…
PERRIN: I’ll bet it’s the Trollocs.
LAN: God damn it!
Soon the entire contingent is seated in a private dining room, enjoying a meal together. Moiraine proves that she is still human after all by suggesting they stay for two nights in Baerlon. Oh boy — let the country bumpkins run around unsupervised in a big city for a day. Clearly, Moiraine does not realize that this is the fantasy equivalent of feeding a mogwai after midnight.
That night Rand is back in tel’aran’rhiod, and this time he has a proper meeting with Ba’alzamon, which means “heart of the dark” in the old tongue. But I don’t speak the old tongue, so I’ll just call him Ballzy. Naturally, the dream leads to nothing but cryptic talk and vague threats, although Ballzy does strongly imply a physical connection between dreams and the real world when he breaks a rat’s back in the dream.