The Dancing Cartman is an inn located in the village of Four Kings, run by Saml Hake. Jak and Strom are its bouncers. Rand and Mat play in the common room for a single night, for room and board. They also meet Howal Gode, a Darkfriend, there. In a late-night confrontation Gode tries to persuade them to give up and serve the Dark Lord. It is in this confrontation, as a thunderstorm rages outside, that Rand channels unconsciously, calling down a lightning bolt that destroys the wall to help him and Mat escape.