Contents
35. The Bright Thing in the Grave
Overview
Norrigal recounts a fable-like history of Queen Mireya: her uncle Kalith’s usurpation, her feigned madness and exile, her witch-gifts, and her later purge of the Takers in Oustrim before giants rose. The tale reframes the party’s mission to restore Mireya. Back in captivity, a goblin elder humiliates Kinch, sharpening the stakes and urgency.
Summary
Norrigal relates a fable about Ispanthia. Mireya’s father, a broken king, abandons rule; his brother Kalith poisons the royals, frames the fool, and spares Mireya only because she feigns divine madness on her monkey’s warning. Exiled to Gallardia to wed the Toad Earl of Orfay, Mireya’s latent witch-gifts emerge.
As goblins press the realms, corvids and women warriors turn the tide. The Gallards reject witches, sending Mireya to marry Oustrim’s king. There she casts out the Takers Guild and thwarts Assassin-Adepts by heeding animals, but overextended magic leaves her unwarned when giants seize a cold western city; she subsequently disappears.
Norrigal’s tale frames the present quest: an old ally—a bird-warrior—intends to restore Mireya to Ispanthia’s throne with help from two witches, a possible Coldfoot guard, and a thief who hates his Guild. This links Galva, Norrigal, Sesta, and Kinch to a broader restoration.
Returning to captivity, Kinch accepts likely death and momentary peace from hard choices. A decrepit goblin steam-keeper forces Kinch to crank a device that spills salt, sprinkles it on Kinch’s arm, licks him, then rubs salt into a small cut and savors his blood, before resuming his work—an intimate cruelty that hardens Kinch’s hatred and underscores the captives’ impending fate.
Who Appears
- Kinch Na ShannackNarrator captive among goblins; contemplates death and endures a goblin elder’s demeaning, painful torment.
- NorrigalWitch who tells a fable revealing Queen Mireya’s history and the party’s restoration mission.
- MireyaIspanthian princess-turned-queen of Oustrim; witch who expelled the Takers, vanished after giants struck.
- KalithMireya’s uncle; usurps the throne by poisoning the royals and framing the fool.
- Old goblin steam-geezerDecrepit goblin who forces Kinch to produce salt, then licks and salts his blood.
- Spanth GalvaBird-warrior ally implied as the friend seeking to restore Mireya’s throne.
- Toad Earl of OrfayGallard lord who treats Mireya kindly during her exile before she is sent to Oustrim.
- The monkeyMireya’s animal confidant; warns her of poison, prompting her to feign madness.