Chapter 48, The Blight Summary

They depart the next morning as every capable fighter heads towards Tarwin's Gap. The rest of the citizens leave by another gate and head south towards the capitol. Lan leads the group north through forest and the air grows warmer, but it feels wrong to Rand. Soon it grows uncomfortably hot and muggy. Rand reaches out to touch a branch and stops short, seeing the leaves are disease-ridden. Lan warns them of some of the dangers to be found in the Blight. Conditions grow worse as they travel until even the air turns putrid and chokes them. Loial is outraged at what has been done to the trees.

They make camp overlooking a series of lakes and the broken remains of seven towers. Moiraine erects barriers that hide the camp and will alert her if danger approaches. Nynaeve reveals...