Chapter VII, VIII Summary

In Chapter VII, for two days Jair accompanies the Gnomes in a forced march, with ropes digging into his skin and his feet blistered. He hides his discomfort, waiting for the moment when he might escape. Before dinner on the second night, Slanter secretly applies healing salve to Jair's blistered feet. Then Slanter says a dark walker is nearby, waiting to question Jair on the following day. Jair wonders if Slanter might help him escape. Jair asks Slanter why he is with the other Gnomes, since he is nothing like them. Slanter explains that the Mord Wraiths have control of the Eastland, spreading to other lands, and it is no time for a Gnome to be anything but a Gnome. Slanter loosens the ropes around Jair's arms for a few moments, after Jair promises not to escape, and Jair...