While Zed is escorting Jennsen to safety, Richard and Kahlan return to the Midlands and come to the aid of a group of rebels whose homes have been destroyed by a new weapon created by Darken Rahl called the "Whisperer". The Whisperer can capture shadows of the underworld and use their scream to kill anyone within a league. Kahlan manages to confess a D'Haran soldier named Carver Dunn, who helps them to deduce that the Whisperers are being stored at a fort nearby. Richard infiltrates the fort using Carver's identity and discovers that a cargo of Whisperers is being sent from D'Hara to replenish the fort's supply. As Richard befriends the fort's captain, Kahlan becomes protective of Carver, who is trying to lead a better life, but is later killed by one of the rebels. When Kahlan learns of the rebels' plan to use the intercepted cargo of Whisperers on villages loyal to Rahl for revenge, she goes to the fort to inform Richard, and together, they are able to stop the rebels in time. As Richard and Kahlan destroy the Whisperers, they reflect on the choices they made to save the innocent D'Harans.