—Mat Cauthon
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| <<< A Storm in Tear >>> |
| Setting: Tear |
Summary[]
- Point of view: Egwene al'Vere
Juilin says he can help them until the High Lords need him. He has seen men walking the rooftops in Tear[1] and believes it is only a matter of time until someone asks him to catch the thieves. Elayne asks why he doesn't wear a sword and Juilin says it is not allowed unless you are a lord. Nynaeve explains that she wants Juilin to find thirteen women and goes on to describe them. Nynaeve says that he is not to try to recover the stolen objects they carry as the women are extremely dangerous and Juilin reluctantly agrees. Nynaeve feels a storm coming. After the wise woman goes to her bed, the others go to Egwene's room so she can use the dream ter'angreal.
Egwene is in the field of flowers again, wearing green silk this time. She has learned some of the rules of Tel'aran'rhiod and can go where she wants now. She pictures the Heart of the Stone, and Callandor and is taken there. She sees thirteen women, one of them is Liandrin, all looking at Callandor. They see her. Egwene wakes and sits up, gasping for air. She says they are waiting for them, and they know they are in Tear. Outside, the thunderstorm begins pouring rain down on the city.
- Point of view: Matrim Cauthon
Playing stones with Thom, Mat wants to know if Thom ever loses. Captain Derne comes in, shaking the rain off his coat. Derne tells them that they are docking at Tear now and collects the rest of his payment. Mat paid a hefty sum so that the ship would travel as quickly as possible, through storms and all. As Mat and Thom walk through the rain looking for an inn, they pass by the Wise Woman's home where Elayne, Nynaeve and Egwene are staying. Mat thinks there is no chance the women are staying in such a muddy district. Exposed to the rain, Thom starts coughing. They arrive at The White Crescent and leave their belongings in their room. Mat has a meal and then goes out to look for the girls and Thom insists on coming along, as men talk freely to gleemen. Mat asks about the women and Comar at the inns he sees, while Thom tells stories and talks to the patrons.
Thom is ready to collapse and tells Mat they need to head back to the inn for some sleep. Before they go in the next inn he sees a tall man walking up the street and thinks he looks like Rand but can't believe that it could be. Mat says one more inn and they walk inside The Golden Cup where he finds Comar. Comar is dicing and winning almost every toss. The innkeeper is furious at this outlander bullying Tairens but cannot do anything about a man who is just lucky. Thom doubts it is luck and demonstrates how he can use weighted dice to win while using sleight of hand to swap out the dice before the other man takes his turn. Comar is smart and weighs the dice to return a high roll but not the highest so it is not too suspicious. Mat wants the innkeeper to call the Defenders to arrest the man, but the innkeeper says that the Defenders would never believe him over a rich foreigner.
Mat goes over and gambles with Comar, carefully stopping him from changing the dice. Mat expects the dice to roll the same every time forcing repeated ties which would prove the cheating. But Mat's luck wins out over the weighted dice, winning the toss anyway. Mat baits Comar into accidentally admitting that he has not found Elayne yet. Comar pulls his sword but Mat flips the table to defend himself and in the scuffle Comar breaks his back. As he dies, Comar taunts Mat, saying that others are hunting the women too. The innkeeper tells Mat to go and says he will give the Defenders Rand's description as the killer. "A man I dreamed of," he says. "He's not real." The other patrons all lost money to Comar and will go along with the story. They hurry out of the inn.
Mat has an epiphany and tells Thom his luck only works when things are random like dice, but less with cards and not at all with stones. If he is to find the girls he needs to do things randomly. Mat and Thom look for the girls for three days with Mat choosing different random methods to decide where to look. Mat hears lots of rumors of wars and invasions but nothing about Egwene and the others. Thom's cough gets worse since the weather is still miserable. Mat starts having dreams of Rand and another man[2] weaving a net.
Characters[]
Referenced[]
- Hurin
- Siuan - as Amyrlin
- Rand
- Morgase
- Moiraine
- Bran al'Vere
- Perrin
- Gaebril
- Artur Hawkwing
- Aleria Elffin
Places[]
Referenced[]
Items[]
- Swift (ship)
- Twisted stone ring
Books[]
Referenced[]
Notes
- ↑ In the next chapter it is revealed that these are Aiel.
- ↑ Be'lal.