Main Events
Richard is on watch during the night, feeling lonely and thinking about Kahlan. She comes to sit with him, and they have an emotional moment where Richard asks if she has someone waiting for her. She says she has obligations, and Richard feels a warning not to kiss her—something tells him it would be crossing a bridge too far. Kahlan leaves after kissing her finger and pressing it to his cheek. Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander comes to counsel Richard, explaining that as Seeker, Richard may have to let innocent people die to succeed, and that Lord Darken Rahl's followers fight because they believe they are right, making them extremely dangerous. Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander reveals that red fruit in the Midlands is deadly poison because Panis Rahl used a constructed magic to poison all red fruit, knowing children would eat it—a terrible act that killed many children. Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander explains that he had a student who was a spy and stole the magic, and if Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander had killed him when he suspected, those deaths wouldn't have happened. This is a lesson for Richard about acting on suspicion when necessary. Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander then helps Richard use the wizard's rock to cast magic that will hide them from Lord Darken Rahl's tracking cloud by attracting other clouds to obscure it.