Etzel, you never learn about Sweet 
.... - Edit 1
.... - Edit 1Before modification by DomA at 26/05/2010 03:25:01 PM
The Sweet covers are 95% worthless for speculation, especially for details like this.
However, in this case you've forgotten an important detail: Mat wears the medallion on his skin, under his shirt. It's not visible when he's dressed and his shirt is made up.
He could have left it to Elayne or Birgitte or have hidden it (he may be afraid the Finns could steal it during the rescue), but the cover art doesn't help one bit one way or another. Between the gholam and other potential pursuers (if it's anything like Perrin...), Mat also has plenty of very good reasons to wear the medallion at all time and risk bringing it into Ghenjei. In the middle of nowhere like this, he needs all the protection he can get from channellers/gholam and so on.
However, in this case you've forgotten an important detail: Mat wears the medallion on his skin, under his shirt. It's not visible when he's dressed and his shirt is made up.
He could have left it to Elayne or Birgitte or have hidden it (he may be afraid the Finns could steal it during the rescue), but the cover art doesn't help one bit one way or another. Between the gholam and other potential pursuers (if it's anything like Perrin...), Mat also has plenty of very good reasons to wear the medallion at all time and risk bringing it into Ghenjei. In the middle of nowhere like this, he needs all the protection he can get from channellers/gholam and so on.