Contents
Chapter 93: Mercenaries All
Overview
After surviving the battle, Kvothe and the company tend wounds, cremate the dead, and grapple with the unnerving absence of the bandit leader’s body. They discover the Maer’s locked coffer packed with gold and a detailed map, claim a token reward, and salvage supplies. Kvothe discreetly secures extra coins, destroys his mommets, resumes his music, and strikes a trade with Tempi: sword instruction in exchange for lute lessons.
Summary
Kvothe wakes after fourteen hours, recovered from chilling exposure and injuries that had alarmed his companions. The group tends wounds: Hespe’s arrowed leg, Dedan’s shoulder gash, and Marten’s head lump. Kvothe bandages himself, keeps some mystery about the lightning, and notes Tempi is unscathed and unreadable.
They gather and tally the dead: one sentry by Dedan, two by Tempi in the forest, three who fled (one by Marten, two by Tempi), and seventeen ravaged by lightning, eight of whom were already dead or dying. They choose a pyre over graves. Privately, Kvothe retrieves the corpse he had used for sympathy, buries it under a cairn, and is sick afterward.
Surveying the devastation, they see the oak blasted to a stump and the camp ruined. They remain three days to heal, dry out, and use the bandits’ provisions. Tensions ease, but Marten keeps his distance from Kvothe. Kvothe secretly destroys his wax mommets. Tempi spends less time on the Ketan and more on language and the Lethani. Kvothe recovers his lute, plays constantly, and notices Tempi listening from hiding.
They clear the crushed leader’s tent but find no body, unsettling Marten and puzzling the rest. Amid the wreckage they recover a locked hardwood box bearing Alveron’s crest and a water-ruined sheaf of papers. After Hespe and Marten fail to pick the lock, Kvothe theatrically "opens" it, revealing a careful area map and bundles of gold—over two hundred royals.
Kvothe proposes each take a single royal as an honest bonus, winning goodwill while quietly palming three more for himself. He secures the lockbox and notes the map offers a shorter route to Crosson, easing Hespe’s travel. During salvage, Kvothe selects a sword and asks Tempi to teach him; Tempi agrees only if Kvothe teaches him lute, and forbids fighting for now.
They finish scavenging: Marten gathers bows and strings, Dedan claims gear and gaming sets, Hespe pockets knives and pipes, and Tempi takes practical items and dyes pants red. Kvothe takes a small knife and razor, burdened by the Maer’s coffer. The chapter closes on the pragmatic truth of looting after battle—mercenaries all.
Who Appears
- KvotheRecovers from the battle, oversees cremation, buries the used corpse, finds the Maer’s lockbox, shares token gold, palms extras, resumes music, seeks sword training.
- TempiUnharmed and reserved; listens secretly to Kvothe’s music; discusses Lethani; agrees to teach swordplay only if taught lute; forbids fighting.
- MartenWounded at the brow; keeps distance from Kvothe; tracks and tallies dead; uneasy about the missing leader; salvages bows and strings; fails to pick the lock.
- DedanKills a sentry bare-handed, suffers a shoulder gash; presses for a share; pleased with a royal; salvages boots, armored vest, cards, and dice.
- HespeArrow wound in leg; accepts a royal; salvages knives and pipes; welcomes the map’s shortcut to ease travel.