Naked Empire pg 552-600

Zed gave up to the demands of the Imperial Order, so the torture of the D'Haran civilians they had captured would end. Zed decided that since the Wizard's Keep is so large the chance of him encountering something that would help them is low, so he could tell them about the useless items they brought before him to help others. The chance of a valuable item being found is not the greatest problem at the moment because Zed is beginning to lose touch with his senses and may be losing his mind. People are starting to look like people he recognizes randomly, but in that may be the hint at his rescue. One of the guards and children he describe reminds me of Chase who we have not encountered in many books, but it is still possible. I do not know if it is really him because Zed may be losing his mind and I keep coming up with escape plans for him, but it may happen.

The next Chapter is about Nicholas the Slide. He did not lose Richard's trail, and knows exactly what is happening. He has found the poison that was near his building, and destroyed it. Without the antidote or someone who knows the remedy, Richard's chances of survival is low, but Nicholas is still planning to lure Richard to him, so he can eliminate Richard himself.

Richard then is in the next town with the second antidote which also has the leaders of the Owen's people. He convinced them of his ideals, and the leaders end up following the men that have already joined. Owen's people are now dedicated to gaining their freedom, or at least fighting for it.

These chapters face us with seemingly unsolvable problems with the poison and Zed losing his mind. I believe between the two solutions I have came up for Zed one will be true, but Richard's solution is more difficult. He is more definitely going to survive because there are three more books, but the solution is a little more complex. I think Nathan is going to save Richard because he is a prophet, so he could know the poison's ingredients and the antidote. Nathan is already hurrying to Richard and knows of his peril, so this seems the most likely solution. The other solution is Kahlan confesses Nicholas into giving the ingredients of the antidote. The book is leading up to the climax, and the previous books resolved quickly after, so I will look forward to see if my predictions are correct.