Chapter 131: Black by Moonlight

Kvothe settles the two rescued girls in a tent. Finding Ellie in shock, he doses her with crushed velia to counteract the poison he slipped into the troupe’s food and drink. Krin, defiant and despairing, demands proof; Kvothe explains and persuades her to drink. Both girls fall asleep under the drug’s calming pull.

Stoking his anger into focused resolve, Kvothe waits hours until the poison weakens the camp. Under bright moonlight he approaches the fire and swiftly kills Otto, then strikes Laren as the poisoned troupe stumbles awake. Josh and Fren rush him; Kvothe kills them before they land. Tim attacks with a heavy sword, but Kvothe shatters it using a sympathetic binding and maims him before moving on.

In the woods, Alleg ambushes Kvothe and stabs him in the abdomen before Kvothe cripples and guts him. Knowing a gut wound can be fatal, Kvothe presses on, hunting the scattered slavers through the night. He finds and kills them all, including Anne, who breaks her leg in flight, and Tim, who flees far despite his wounds.

By dawn, Kvothe returns to the tent, bleeding and in mounting pain. Lacking light and steady hands, he postpones treatment and contemplates the likely danger of his injury. He cleans his sword, sits in the grass, and begins to think about what must come next.