Still in the Old World, Richard is poisoned by Owen, a man from the Bandakar Empire, in order to force Richard to save the Bandakar people from the Order. Arriving in the Bandakar lands, he finds they are stunted intellectually and culturally, and embrace a philosophy of aggressive passivity, allowing themselves to be dominated entirely by the Order. Given their complete lack of ability to do violence, Owen brought Richard, believing he could drive the Order away. Using the Bandakar as hostages, Jagang has sent them into the Wizards Tower to rob it, as the pristinely ungifted Bandakar are totally immune to magic.
Demanding to meet their leader, and is shocked to discover that the youngest Bandakar is named the spiritual leader and blindfolded, believing that innocent children could not lead them astray. After proving through debate that this is nonsensical, Richard is nearly killed by a Bandakar, and the horrified Bandakar realize that despite their passive ideology, they are also capable of violence. After raising a ad hoc army from the newly converted Bandakar, Richard assaults and kill Nicholas the Slide by tricking Nicholas into inhabiting Jensen's pet goat, which he had been using to spy of Richards plans.
