The Dragon Reborn: Chapter 49
A Storm in Tear
Author: Val a'Shain
Characters: Egwene, Nynaeve, Elayne, Juilin Sandar, Ailhuin Guenna, Mat, Thom, Derne, Comar.
Setting: the city of Tear.
Points of view: Egwene, Mat
Egwene's point of view
Egwene thinks Elayne might be right. Maybe she did push Nynaeve too far. She can't make herself apologize though. When Mother Guenna returns she brings back a man named Juilin Sandar. According to here more sensible than most men and the best thief-take in Tear. He tells them he will help them but that the High Lords may have work for him soon. He has seen people on the roofs from the corner of his eye. There are thieves active in Tear. Nynaeve wants to know what he charges. After they settle on a price she tells Juilin she just wants him to find them. They will do the retrieving of the artefacts themselves. She also stresses how extremely dangerous the women he will be looking for are. When she is satisfied he understands she starts to describe them. Egwene gets the impression Juilin could recite each word back to them after she is done.
After Juilin departs they spend the rest of the day in the house reading. Nynaeve is uneasy because she feels a storm coming. When it is time to sleep Egwene tries the ring again. Once in the world of dreams she makes her way to the Stone. When she gets there she sees Liandrin waiting for her, looking straight at her. With a start Egwene wakes up. When she calms down a little she tells the others the Black sisters know they are in Tear and are waiting for them.
Mat's point of view
Mat is playing stones with Thom aboard the Swift. He can't concentrate on the game. Finally Captain Derne tells them they are in Tear. Mat and Thom gather their things and disembark. Mat wants to start the search immediately. The weather in Tear is appalling though so Thom prefers a good inn. They take rooms in the White Cresent. Mat goes out and to his surprise Thom joins him. People talk to a gleeman he says. He might learn something. They visit some two dozen inns that night without any result. Thom is developing a cough that is getting worse as the night grows older. The tries to convince Mat again to go back after they have marched past three inns without Mat noticing. Mat wants to try one more before they go.
They step into the Golden Cup and Mat spots Comar almost immediately. The talk to the innkeeper for a bit and find out he is probably cheating at the dice game he is playing. Mat steps up to him and puts a golden coin on the table. Comar dices with him but Mat feels the dice tumbling in his head. Even with the loaded dice he still wins. He tells Comar to leave Tear and tell Gaebril anything he wants as long as he leaves the girls along. A surprised Comar reveals himself and then draws a sword. In the fight that follows he breaks his back. Before he dies he tells Mat he is not alone and that the girls won't live much longer. At least he hasn't found them yet.
Mat and Thom are shoved out of the inn by the innkeeper and Mat finally realizes they need some sleep. On the way back Mat realizes his luck works best at random things. They will have to randomly search inns if they want to find the girls. At dawn they are back out searching though. Thom's cough has grown worse. They hear a lot of rumours that day. One even more unlikely than the next. But no trace of Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve. Mat won't give up though, he has a wager to win.
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