Difference between revisions of "Chapter:One - A Place for Demons (The Name of the Wind)"

From The Kingkiller Chronicle Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 1: Line 1:
−
Felling night, the eighth day of the week finds six men at the Waystone Inn. Kote listens to Cob telling a story about Taborlin, the great, and his run-in with the insidious Chandrian, interjecting once to speak about a Tinker’s debt in verse. This story bears the first mentions of the signs that precede the Chandrian, specifically blue fire. It also speaks of Taborlin’s prowess at naming. The story is never finished as the five at the table fall to bickering over the details before being interrupted by the arrival of an injured Carter carrying his attacker, a Scraeling, in a bundle with him. Carter reveals that he was attacked on the road to Baedn-Bryt leaving Nelly, his horse, for dead. Kote proves the creature to be a demon by pressing a piece of iron into its side producing a sharp crackling sound. Later, they bring the dead Scraeling to a priest with Kote watching over them to make sure it is disposed of properly.
+
It's Felling night and within the Waystone Inn, Old Cob is recounting the tale of Taborlin the Great to Jake, Graham, Shep, Aaron, and the innkeeper. In it, Taborlin is said to be locked within a high tower with nothing to escape while the Chandrian are hinted to be near due to blue flame.
−
 
+
−
Bast, Kote’s student, brings him dinner once the latter has retired to his rooms. They speak about Bast playing truant and how much of a danger the Scrael truly is to the defenseless community of farmers that made up the town. Kote keeps in his room a thrice locked chest made from roah, a rare and heavy wood more than worth its weight gold. It is sealed once with a lock of iron, another of copper, and the last with a lock that could not be seen.
+
The story is paused as the men eat their dinner. As he quickly finishes eating, Old Cob resumes the story and mentions that Taborlin knew the name of all things and utilized this ability to escape from the cell by calling upon the name of stone. He is met with a drop that would kill most, but Taborlin also knew the name of the wind.
−
Over the course of the next day, there are mentions of the Penitent King and his troubles with rebels in Resavek. The warring brought with it the chances of a third tax in an already bleak time which could break some of the less fortunate families in town. The roads were growing dangerous with roving bands of deserting soldiers who robbed travelers and merchants.
+
 +
It's explained that Taborlin lands safely due to an amulet given to him by a tinker, at which point Graham mentions that "a tinker pays for kindness twice". Jake corrects him by saying "a tinker's advice pays kindness twice," at which point the quiet innkeeper speaks for the first time, correcting both by saying: "A tinker’s debt is always paid: Once for any simple trade. Twice for freely-given aid. Thrice for any insult made."
 +
 +
The story continues and devolves into an argument about the Chandrian until Carter comes into the Waystone, bloody and injured. Old Cob assumes that men attacked Carter, at which point he yells at him that he shouldn't have taken the risk. Carter drops a large black spider, hollow and made of a stone-like material with blades as sharp as razors along its legs. The innkeeper seems unaffected by the "demon" as he explains to the rest that he'd heard of them from a traveling trader. He uses a shim to confirm if it's a demon, as all demons fear three things: Iron, fire, and as Jake adds, the name of God. A crackling sound can be heard as he presses the coin against it, at which point the innkeeper asks what they should do now.
 +
 +
Hours later, the innkeeper is standing in the doorway of the Waystone, taking note of the road and the fact that it "didn't seem to lead anywhere, as some roads do." He seems as though he's waiting for something to happen. He called himself Kote, but it's hinted that it isn't his true name as he'd "chosen the name carefully when he came to this place." It's also explained that he'd "taken a new name for most of the usual reasons, and for a few unusual ones as well, not the least of which was the fact that names were important to him."
 +
 +
He looked up and saw a night sky without a moon, full of stars, all of which he knew the names and stories of. Kote sighs without realizing and heads back into the Waystone, where he cleans methodically for roughly an hour despite the fact that the Waystone is already nearly immaculate. He hums to himself without realizing, as he would've stopped himself had he noticed. He seems younger as he cleans, younger than a man in his thirties. Young for an innkeeper.
 +
 +
Kote heads upstairs and enters his room which is described plainly as "monkish" with only a bed, desk, chairs, fireplace and a chest. A charming young man enters the room, bringing Kote food although he calls him Reshi. Kote asks the young man, named Bast, what he's learned today. Bast explains that he didn't read Celum Tinture, as a beautiful girl distracted him, but Kote cannot bring himself to be angry with him.
 +
 +
Kote then informs Bast that Carter was attacked by a scraeling, which causes Bast to partially panic. Kote explains that he took all of the proper steps in helping dispose of the scraeling. Bast believes that the other inhabitants are incompetent and uninformed in matters, hinting that Kote must ensure their safety. Kote mentions to Bast that the blacksmith will be quite busy, implying that Bast may not wish to be around at the same time before shooing him out of the room.
 +
 +
As he sat alone, Kote's eyes wandered his room for just a moment and he seemed to purposely avoid noticing an object. It was unavoidable, however, as they eventually lingered to the chest, described as:
 +
 +
It was made of roah, a rare, heavy wood, dark as coal and smooth as polished glass. Prized by perfumers and alchemists, a piece the size of your thumb was easily worth gold. To have a chest made of it went far beyond extravagance. The chest was sealed three times. It had a lock of iron, a lock of copper, and a lock that could not be seen. Tonight the wood filled the room with the almost imperceptible aroma of citrus and quenching iron.
 +
 +
At that moment, Kote's age returned and he did not seem young anymore. He seemed empty and full of regret as he met the chest's gaze. He sighed once more without realizing it, rose to his feet and went to bed.
 +
 +
The Waystone's regulars returned the following day, though the prior day's events soured the mood. This time they spoke of important matters such as rumors of the Penitent King dealing with rebels in Resavek, a third levy tax as soon as the harvests were in, along with talk of deserters on the roads making even short trips risky.
 +
 +
No one spoke about what happened the night prior, but it was on everyone's mind as they complained that things were growing worse. They tried to return to normalcy, but still, each of them bought a piece of iron from the smith, heavy as they could swing. Despite the fact that none shared their true thoughts, their conversations naturally took a dark turn and the evening ended on a grim note.
  
 
==Characters==
 
==Characters==

Revision as of 21:03, 15 July 2019

It's Felling night and within the Waystone Inn, Old Cob is recounting the tale of Taborlin the Great to Jake, Graham, Shep, Aaron, and the innkeeper. In it, Taborlin is said to be locked within a high tower with nothing to escape while the Chandrian are hinted to be near due to blue flame.

The story is paused as the men eat their dinner. As he quickly finishes eating, Old Cob resumes the story and mentions that Taborlin knew the name of all things and utilized this ability to escape from the cell by calling upon the name of stone. He is met with a drop that would kill most, but Taborlin also knew the name of the wind.

It's explained that Taborlin lands safely due to an amulet given to him by a tinker, at which point Graham mentions that "a tinker pays for kindness twice". Jake corrects him by saying "a tinker's advice pays kindness twice," at which point the quiet innkeeper speaks for the first time, correcting both by saying: "A tinker’s debt is always paid: Once for any simple trade. Twice for freely-given aid. Thrice for any insult made."

The story continues and devolves into an argument about the Chandrian until Carter comes into the Waystone, bloody and injured. Old Cob assumes that men attacked Carter, at which point he yells at him that he shouldn't have taken the risk. Carter drops a large black spider, hollow and made of a stone-like material with blades as sharp as razors along its legs. The innkeeper seems unaffected by the "demon" as he explains to the rest that he'd heard of them from a traveling trader. He uses a shim to confirm if it's a demon, as all demons fear three things: Iron, fire, and as Jake adds, the name of God. A crackling sound can be heard as he presses the coin against it, at which point the innkeeper asks what they should do now.

Hours later, the innkeeper is standing in the doorway of the Waystone, taking note of the road and the fact that it "didn't seem to lead anywhere, as some roads do." He seems as though he's waiting for something to happen. He called himself Kote, but it's hinted that it isn't his true name as he'd "chosen the name carefully when he came to this place." It's also explained that he'd "taken a new name for most of the usual reasons, and for a few unusual ones as well, not the least of which was the fact that names were important to him."

He looked up and saw a night sky without a moon, full of stars, all of which he knew the names and stories of. Kote sighs without realizing and heads back into the Waystone, where he cleans methodically for roughly an hour despite the fact that the Waystone is already nearly immaculate. He hums to himself without realizing, as he would've stopped himself had he noticed. He seems younger as he cleans, younger than a man in his thirties. Young for an innkeeper.

Kote heads upstairs and enters his room which is described plainly as "monkish" with only a bed, desk, chairs, fireplace and a chest. A charming young man enters the room, bringing Kote food although he calls him Reshi. Kote asks the young man, named Bast, what he's learned today. Bast explains that he didn't read Celum Tinture, as a beautiful girl distracted him, but Kote cannot bring himself to be angry with him.

Kote then informs Bast that Carter was attacked by a scraeling, which causes Bast to partially panic. Kote explains that he took all of the proper steps in helping dispose of the scraeling. Bast believes that the other inhabitants are incompetent and uninformed in matters, hinting that Kote must ensure their safety. Kote mentions to Bast that the blacksmith will be quite busy, implying that Bast may not wish to be around at the same time before shooing him out of the room.

As he sat alone, Kote's eyes wandered his room for just a moment and he seemed to purposely avoid noticing an object. It was unavoidable, however, as they eventually lingered to the chest, described as:

It was made of roah, a rare, heavy wood, dark as coal and smooth as polished glass. Prized by perfumers and alchemists, a piece the size of your thumb was easily worth gold. To have a chest made of it went far beyond extravagance. The chest was sealed three times. It had a lock of iron, a lock of copper, and a lock that could not be seen. Tonight the wood filled the room with the almost imperceptible aroma of citrus and quenching iron.

At that moment, Kote's age returned and he did not seem young anymore. He seemed empty and full of regret as he met the chest's gaze. He sighed once more without realizing it, rose to his feet and went to bed.

The Waystone's regulars returned the following day, though the prior day's events soured the mood. This time they spoke of important matters such as rumors of the Penitent King dealing with rebels in Resavek, a third levy tax as soon as the harvests were in, along with talk of deserters on the roads making even short trips risky.

No one spoke about what happened the night prior, but it was on everyone's mind as they complained that things were growing worse. They tried to return to normalcy, but still, each of them bought a piece of iron from the smith, heavy as they could swing. Despite the fact that none shared their true thoughts, their conversations naturally took a dark turn and the evening ended on a grim note.

Characters

Characters physically appearing in the chapter

Characters mentioned in the chapter, but not physically present

Referenced

Locations

Locations physically appearing in the chapter

Locations mentioned in the chapter, but not physically visited

Items

Significant Phrases

A tinker's debt is always paid:
Once for any simple trade.
Twice for freely-given aid.
Thrice for any insult made.


Retrieved from "https://kingkiller.wiki/w/index.php?title=Chapter:One_-_A_Place_for_Demons_(The_Name_of_the_Wind)&oldid=1194"