Chapter 49 - A Storm in Tear

Summary

In Tear, Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne hire the thief-catcher Juilin Sandar to locate the thirteen Black Ajah sisters, and Egwene subsequently enters Tel'aran'rhiod to witness Liandrin and the others plotting near Callandor in the Heart of the Stone. Meanwhile, Mat Cauthon and Thom Merrilin arrive in Tear during a heavy storm and discover Comar, an assassin with impossible luck at dice, at The Golden Cup inn. Thom exposes Comar's weighted dice, leading Mat to kill the terrified assassin in a physical struggle after Comar reveals he is not the only one hunting the women. Deprived of his usual predictive luck in the fight, Mat resolves to search the city's inns randomly, beginning a three-day trek through the rain while hearing conflicting rumors of war and the Dragon's return.

Characters

• Egwene / Egwene al'Vere — Egwene listens to Juilin Sandar's negotiation with Nynaeve and later enters Tel'aran'rhiod by visualizing the Heart of the Stone. Inside the dream, she sees thirteen women, including Liandrin, gathered around the floating sword Callandor before suddenly returning to her body to warn her friends.
• Nynaeve (mistress) — Nynaeve hires Juilin Sandar by paying thirteen silver marks and providing detailed descriptions of the Black Ajah sisters. She warns Juilin of their danger and later sits with Ailhuin talking of herbs while waiting for Egwene to return from the Dreaming.
• Ailhuin / Guenna (Mother Guenna) — Ailhuin introduces Juilin Sandar to the women and vouches for his honesty despite his haggling nature. She later prepares fish soup for supper and discusses herbal cures with Nynaeve before showing the women to their rooms.
• Sandar / Juilin (thief-catcher, Master Sandar) — Juilin negotiates his fee with Nynaeve, accepting thirteen silver marks to find the thirteen women. He listens to their descriptions, acknowledges the danger of the Darkfriends, and departs to begin his search, warning that he will be summoned by the High Lords soon.
• Liandrin — Liandrin appears in Egwene's dream within the Heart of the Stone, sitting cross-legged around Callandor with other Darkfriends. She turns her head to look at Egwene with a smile before Egwene wakes.
• Mat (boy, farmer) — Mat arrives in Tear via the Swift, plays stones with Thom, and kills the assassin Comar after exposing his cheating dice. Realizing his luck is most effective in random situations, he begins a random search of inns with Thom to find Egwene and the others.
• Thom (gleeman) — Thom plays stones with Mat, exposes Comar's weighted dice by revealing the hidden marked dice, and pulls Mat away from the scene before the Defenders arrive. He joins Mat in the random search of inns despite his worsening cough.
• Derne (Captain Derne) — Captain Derne arrives on deck of the Swift during a storm, complains about the weather, collects his gold from Mat, and ties the ship off to the dock in Tear.
• Lopar / Cavan (innkeeper, landlord) — Cavan Lopar, the rotund innkeeper of The White Crescent, provides Mat and Thom with rooms and food, agreeing to let Thom perform for a fee in exchange for silver.
• Comar — Comar, a large man with a white streak in his beard, gambles with impossible luck at The Golden Cup. When Mat confronts him, Comar attacks with his sword but is killed by Mat in a physical struggle, revealing he was not the only one hunting the women.
• innkeeper (innkeeper) — The innkeeper of The Golden Cup watches Comar's gambling with fear and annoyance. He examines the dice exposed by Thom, refuses to call the Defenders against Comar due to fear, and helps Mat flee the scene after the killing.