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Chapter 45 - Caemlyn

Summary

Mat Cauthon and Thom Merrilin arrive in Caemlyn, where Mat attempts to deliver Elayne’s letter to Queen Morgase but is rejected by a suspicious Palace Guard captain who has been instructed to distrust the White Tower. Mat flees the palace without delivering the letter and returns to The Queen’s Blessing inn, where he informs Basel Gill and Thom of the political climate and his decision to bypass the guards to see the Queen directly, rolling a dice throw that surprises the innkeeper before Mat departs on his risky scheme.

Characters

  • Mat / Mat Cauthon (the boy, ruffian, gutter scum) — Mat arrives in Caemlyn with Thom and rides to the Royal Palace to deliver Elayne's letter, but the Palace Guard captain refuses entry, accusing him of being a trickster and ordering him to arrest him for being a Darkfriend. Mat escapes the guards and returns to The Queen's Blessing inn, where he explains his failed attempt to Gill and Thom, declaring his intent to find another way into the Palace despite the dangers.
  • Thom / Thom Merrilin (the gleeman) — Thom rides with Mat to Caemlyn and suggests they eat at The Queen's Blessing inn. Later, he plays stones with Basel Gill in the library and listens to Mat's report about the Palace guards, reacting with concern to Mat's plan to bypass the guards and deliver the letter.
  • Master Gill / Basel / Basel Gill (the innkeeper) — Basel Gill plays a game of stones with Thom in the inn library and informs Mat about the Queen's anger toward Tar Valon and the influence of her new advisor, Lord Gaebril. He advises Mat on how to navigate the city's guards and offers to take the letter to the Palace, but Mat declines and pays for his lodgings before leaving.
  • Ramey (the horse-faced fellow) — Ramey takes Mat's horse at The Queen's Blessing stable, initially failing to recognize Mat until bribed with a silver mark, after which he quickly and nervously acknowledges Mat's identity and ushers the horse into the stable before Mat can speak further.
  • Coline (Cook, the round woman) — Coline, the inn's cook, directs the kitchen staff and mistakenly identifies Mat as a serving man for a young prince. She tells Mat to inform her husband, Master Gill, that she wants the drains cleaned.