Mat takes Thom to Mother Guenna, where he learns of Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne being kidnapped. He sets off on his own to sneak into the Stone of Tear.
Mat may have dealt with Lord Comar, but finding him and then searching aimlessly for Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne has taken its toll, and Thom has developed a nasty cough. Against Thom’s protestations, Mat drags him to the nearest Wise Woman — Mother Guenna. She sets him up with a medicinal regimen that tastes as foul as it smells, and makes him drink a dose.
Guenna remarks on Mat’s accent being similar to some women she knew, and this lets him coax information out of her. He’s excited to learn it has been a mere three hours since the women were kidnapped and taken to the Stone of Tear. Thom is in no condition to sneak into a fortress, so Mat leaves him with Guenna. Perhaps with Mat’s legendary luck, the High Lords of Tear outsource security to the same guys as Morgase.