Seeing an opportunity for escape, Linden grabs Anele by the arm and runs from Mithil Stonedown. She is uncertain in which direction to head, but decides to make for the river. She hopes to elude the Haruchai by either following the river or floating along it as she had done with Covenant once before. But, she is wounded, and lacks the strength to run:
Why would she? That toughness was developed in the Land, not in the “real world.”For ten years, she had done little to sustain the physical toughness that she had developed on her travels with Thomas Covenant.
With Earthpower to aid him, Anele runs ahead of Linden –
Breaking onto open ground near the river, Linden collapses from her injuries and exhaustion, and hears Anele walking towards her. He speaks – but it’s not his voice that Linden hears.She thought she heard him cackle as he ran, overflowing with mad glee.
Lord Foul.“Pathetic.”
This is the third time that Linden has heard his voice; in Kiril Threndor, she was not worthy of his attention:
And in the dream sequence during her recent summons to the Land, she heard him again:“To you I do not speak.” – WGW
But was he referring to Linden, or to Joan? Perhaps both?“Tell her I have her son.”
But now there can be no mistake; Lord Foul is addressing her personally….and he calls her pathetic. Nice.
Servants? The Haruchai?“Entirely abject. You disappoint me, Linden Avery. I would delight to see you grovel thus, but I have not yet earned your prostration. If you had not released this failing cripple, my servants the Haruchai would have aided you. They would have fostered your false hopes. Now they will hunt you down and imprison you. This displeases me.”
Furious, Linden finds her voice and shouts back:
Echoes of Thomas Covenant, in TWL:“Damn it, Foul! Leave him alone. If you need a victim, try me. Take your chances.”
Foul:“You can’t be stupid enough to try this again.”
Displaced bones……hmmmmmmm.“And if I do not? If I elect rather to mock you with this cripple’s torment? What then? Insipid woman! Will you scour the life from these displaced bones for my amusement?”
Linden wants to call up wild magic, but cannot. Kevin’s Dirt blinds her, but something else also:
Since when?But she was not Covenant. His power did not belong to her.
But Linden doesn’t back down:
Foul is not daunted:“Are you having fun, asshole? Enjoy it while you can. Sooner or later, I’m going to recover my health-sense. And when I do, you will leave Anele alone. That I guarantee. If you don’t, I’ll be able to get at you. I’ll tear you out of him with my bare hands.”
Should have perished ages ago – just how old is Anele?“Do you believe so? That would please me. I would find satisfaction in such a contest. And this mad vessel, that clings so stubbornly to continuance when he should have perished ages ago – ah, he would be quite destroyed.”
At last Linden backs down, and with bitterness in her voice, says:
Foul:“Then what is all this for? Does mocking us please you so much that you just can’t resist? Hell, you can’t escape unless you destroy the whole Earth. Don’t you have anything better to do?”
This is one of the proposed breaks in continuity that SRD has mentioned in the GI. To my knowledge, the only mention of hurtloam to Linden was when Covenant asked Nassic for hurtloam in TWL. Personally, I don’t think it’s a stretch of logic to imagine that Linden, in pain and exhausted, cannot remember what hurtloam is at that particular moment. But I digress.“At this moment? Indeed I do. You must be restored, lest you prove unable to serve me. I mean to assist you. Come, woman. Accept our guidance. We will show you hurtloam.”
Somewhere she had heard of hurtloam, but she could not remember what it was, or who had mentioned it.
Linden isn’t moving, and Anele/Foul beckons:
Self-maimed Masters…we all know that SRD does not choose his words carelessly. Self-maimed brings back memories of another time when Haruchai were maimed, when Foul conquered Korik, Sill and Doar and maimed them to resemble Thomas Covenant. That maiming led to the end of the Bloodguard. But how have the Haruchai maimed themselves?“You require healing. Without it, these self-maimed Masters will ensnare you blithely, and this time you will not win free. They will hold you helpless until I am forced to foil them on your behalf. Without hurtloam, also, you will not regain the discernment which renders you able to serve me. Come, I say. I find little sport in your wretchedness. Be assured that this abject old man does not wish harm upon you.”
Spoiler
This seems like more than just a reference to the Humbled.
Ruin of the Earth……Runes of the Earth…..hmmmmmm"You have been especially chosen for this desecration. You are being forged as iron is forged to achieve the ruin of the Earth. (emphasis mine) You have been chosen, Linden Avery, because you can see. Because you are open to that which no other in the Land can discern, you are open to be forged. Through eyes and ears and touch, you are made to be what the Despiser requires. Descrying destruction, you will be driven to commit all destruction.”
But Linden does not trust Foul:
Foul:“And you think I’ll do what you tell me why? Because I’ve lost my mind? I’m suddenly stupid? Shit, Foul, you’ve had things your own way too long. You’re getting complacent.”
Linden:“Blind fool! Do you doubt the Haruchai will give chase? Do you conceive that they will now offer you friendship and aid?”
Foul:“Of course not. But I know you, Foul. I know better than to believe anything you say.”
Linden changes tactics, probing for information:“Paugh! (well said- dlb) You have never known wisdom or discernment sufficient to comprehend my desingns. Your defiance serves no purpose. It merely feeds my contempt. You disdain me at your peril.”
Foul:“So convince me. Give me a reason to listen to you .”
Deeper purpose?“I have said that the Haruchai serve me, albeit unwittingly. That is sooth. Also it is sooth that they will imprison you. Whether you partake in them or no, my designs will be fulfilled. Forces have been set in motion which will shatter the Arch of Time, putting an end to the Earth, and to all that I abhor. If you are imprisoned, however, certain aspects of what will ensue remain clouded to my sight. On that path, I cannot determine that my Enemy will not again find means to snare me. But if you remain free, apt and able to satisfy me, my release is assured. Your attempts to oppose me will secure it. The Arch will be torn asunder, and I will reclaim my rightful place among the eternal Heavens. My Enemy will be unable to thwart me. There is more, but of my deeper purpose I will not speak. (emphiasis mine) It must therefore be plain that I do not desire your capture. And it must surely be plain as well that you will not fail to evade the Haruchai if you are not restored to your fullest strength. You require hurtloam. The Haruchai have ensured that no lore remains which might aid you. Only Earthpower will suffice.”
Linden continues to probe:
Foul:“Stop it. Don’t be so damn cryptic. It’s petty. And you’re wasting time. Just tell me what you’ve done.”
Foul denies responsibility of the ceasures - how did Joan begin to make the ceasures in the first place, without his influence? Also, the mention of Elohim immediately after Foul denies responsibility for Kevin's Dirt makes me think that the Elohim are responsible for the Dirt.“Done? I? Naught. Apart from the claiming of your vacant son, I have merely whispered a word of counsel here and there, and awaited events. The ceasures are none of mine. Also I had no hand in your blindness, for I did not utter the fine riposte of Kevin’s Dirt. If you fear what has been done, think on the Elohim and feel despair. They serve me as do the Haruchai, unwittingly, and in arrogance.”
Definition of riposte:
1. a quick, sharp return in speech or action; counterstroke: a brilliant riposte to an insult.
2. Fencing. a quick thrust given after parrying a lunge.
A strange choice of words.....
Linden:
Foul:“And you expect me to believe you? You didn’t send that storm?”
Shame and excruciation....again, a strange choice of words. I wonder if SRD meant excoriation?“Shame upon you, woman. Shame and excruciation! You undervalue my enmity. That pitiable assault serves me well enough, but it is too crude, far too crude. I would not deign to raise my hand for such an unsubtle ploy.”
Again, Linden remains still, but she knows that in this point, Foul is telling the truth, because he loves to take credit for his actions.
Anele runs toward the Mithil, while Foul continues:
At last, knowing that she cannot outrun the Haruchai, and reminded of her son, Linden moves to the river bank, and somehow finds within herself the ability to mock Foul:“Refuse me and be damned! That you will be captured is certain! Then you will be helpless while your son remains in my hands!”
Foul gives this prophetic and cryptic response:“What now, Foul? Do you tell fortunes by staring into riverbeds?”
Why water?“More than you know, fool. Men commonly find their fates graven within the rock, but yours is written in water.”
Foul indicates a section of the river:
Linden doesn’t move.“There, as I promised. Hurtloam.”
Without her health-sense and with no understanding of the value of this gift, Linden stares blankly at the water.“There! Are you mad as well? It is hurtloam, I tell you.”
Foul:
Finally, Linden scoops up a handful of sand, and within moments, the effects of hurtloam become apparent, as she experiences the healing of the Land and rejuvenation of her health-sense. As her healing becomes complete, she looks at Anele, who is lying on his back in the grass, his hands covering his face. Linden again sees his need for his own healing, and ignoring his terrified objections, places hurtloam on his forehead. Immediately, all traces of the Despiser disappear, and Anele begins to convulse. She realizes that a being full of Earthpower cannot contain more, and she struggles with him to remove the hurtloam from his forehead. In the struggle, Anele flings himself into the Mithil River. As Linden prepares herself to dive in after him, a rope is cast by Liand, who has followed them to the River, and he pulls Anele to safety. Anele stands, and Foul begins to laugh.“There! This doddering cripple is rife with Earthpower, which I loathe. In this he cannot be mistaken.”
You started it. 
Foul says of the Masters to Linden, "They would have fostered your false hopes". So, Foul was perfectly fine with Linden being with the Masters at first. But he got ticked off that the Masters would imprison her. Again, this speaks of Linden's freedom being necessary for Foul. But what are these "false hopes" that the Masters would "foster"???
