Chapter 71: Interlude—The Thrice-locked Chest

As Kvothe, Bast, and Chronicler pause their storytelling for cards, Mayor Lant enters the Waystone Inn seeking private scribal work. Kvothe plays the deferential innkeeper, produces wine, and locks the door, then escorts Bast upstairs to grant Lant privacy with Chronicler.

To fill the time, Bast asks for lessons. Kvothe proposes a puzzle: how Bast would open his ornate, thrice-locked chest. Bast examines it, noting two different lock plates (iron and copper), hinge-less construction, unpleasant wood, and an exceptionally tight seam. He tries sympathetic coaxing and careful listening, then attempts to pick the copper lock, recoiling when he touches the iron plate.

Escalating, Bast uses a bright metal prybar but gains no purchase. He cannot tip the chest due to its great weight. He then attacks with a slender, leaf-bladed hatchet; the blows ring dully and leave no mark, confirming the chest’s extraordinary resilience. Bast reasons through fire and acid—considering melting the copper or using Aqua Regius—but Kvothe notes the limitations, risks to the contents, and prior precautions.

Admitting defeat for now, Bast tidies up. When a crumpled paper slips from the desk, Kvothe sharply orders Bast to leave it, signaling Kvothe’s ongoing vigilance and secrecy. They return downstairs as Lant calls that he is finished, the mystery of the thrice-locked chest left intact.