Chapter 49 - A Storm in Tear

Summary

Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne hire the thief-catcher Juilin Sandar to locate the thirteen Black Ajah women in Tear, paying him a substantial sum for his services before Egwene enters the dream world to discover they are already in the Heart of the Stone. Meanwhile, Mat Cauthon, desperate to find the girls in the rain-soaked city, confronts the lucky gambler Comar, who claims he has not yet found them; Mat kills Comar in a struggle after realizing Comar's luck is tied to weighted dice, then resolves to continue his search with absolute randomness to maintain his own supernatural fortune.

Characters

• Egwene — Egwene sits in silence with Nynaeve and Elayne before Juilin Sandar arrives, and later listens to Nynaeve's detailed description of the thirteen women. She attempts to read but is distracted, then enters Tel'aran'rhiod using the ter'angreal, finding Liandrin and the other Black Ajah sisters waiting for Callandor in the Heart of the Stone before waking up and warning her companions.
• Nynaeve — Nynaeve negotiates with Juilin Sandar, paying him thirteen silver marks to find the Black Ajah women and offering more silver upon their recovery. She provides a precise physical description of each woman to ensure identification and warns Sandar of their deadly danger before he departs.
• Elayne — Elayne expresses concern about Juilin's overconfidence and later works on embroidery and reads essays while Egwene prepares to dream. She watches Egwene wake from the dream and listens as Egwene reports that the Black Ajah knows they are in Tear.
• Juilin Sandar (thief-catcher, Master Sandar) — A lean man in his middle years dressed in a brown coat and straw hat, Juilin Sandar arrives with Mother Guenna to offer his services as a thief-catcher. He describes his fees, notes the suspicious activity in Tear, and accepts Nynaeve's payment to find thirteen specific women, claiming he will treat them as if they were Aes Sedai.
• Ailhuin / Mother Guenna — A large, gray-haired wisdom and herbalist, Ailhuin brings Juilin Sandar to the table and vouches for his honesty. She prepares tea, listens to the agreement between Nynaeve and Sandar, and later fills bowls with fish soup for supper.
• Mat — Mat plays stones with Thom on the Swift, then docks in Tear during a heavy rainstorm to search for Egwene and Nynaeve. He confronts Comar at an inn, discovers Comar uses weighted dice via sleight of hand, kills Comar in a physical struggle after Comar's luck fails, and then continues his search for the girls with renewed urgency and a strategy of total randomness.
• Thom — Thom Merrilin plays stones with Mat and later demonstrates how Comar uses sleight of hand to swap weighted dice. He accompanies Mat into the rain to search inns, acts as a distraction by performing stories, and urges a exhausted Mat to sleep before continuing the search at dawn.
• Comar (merchant, the man with the white streak) — A large man with a close-cropped black beard and a white streak, Comar sits in an inn drinking and winning heavily at dice. He is confronted by Mat, draws his sword, and is killed when Mat throws him over a table, revealing just before his death that he was not the only one hunting the girls.
• Derne (Captain Derne, the square-faced man) — The captain of the Swift arrives on deck in the rain to collect his gold payment from Mat and confirm they have arrived at the dock of Tear, complaining about the weather and his desire to never carry 'talkers' again.
• Lopar (innkeeper, Cavan Lopar) — The rotund innkeeper of The White Crescent, Lopar gives Mat and Thom rooms for silver and agrees to let Thom perform for a fee. He later tries to protect Mat by fabricating a story about a tall red-haired man to deflect the Defenders' wrath after Mat knocks Comar over and Comar dies.