Chapters 16-17 An Unexpected Encounter; Pink Ribbons Summary

In Chapter 16, Mat and two of his friends, Thom and Beslan, try to make their ways through the crowded streets of Ebou Dar. The Seanchan forces have taken over the city, a campaign they call the Return. Those who still fight against the Return are beheaded when caught, and their heads put on spikes outside the city gates on the harbor-side wall as warnings. Mat has a romantic relationship with Tylin Quintara Mitsobar, the Queen of Altara and Beslan's mother, that is less than wonderful. In fact, he feels like a kept man, a toy for Tylin, and he would just as soon escape the city and her dominance if he could.

Mat still hears the dice tumbling in his head, the omen of bad things to come. He worries about...