Chapter 134: The Road to Levinshir

Kvothe, Krin, and a withdrawn Ell make slow progress leading three horses toward Levinshir. The roan’s wandering tests Kvothe’s patience, but he keeps the horses for their value and potential speed later. To draw Ell out, Kvothe asks her to lead the gentle mare Greytail, and Ell responds enough to take the reins.

Exhausted and unwilling to ride while the girls walk, Kvothe trudges on, preoccupied with Alleg’s fate. He recalls deliberately leaving Alleg a waterskin so the gut wound would prolong suffering, a choice he now recognizes as his most terrible act. Thoughts of the night’s killings, branding, and the women he slew haunt him.

That night, Kvothe camps and forces conversation to keep Ell engaged. He falls into nightmares where the faces of the dead become those of his former troupe, until Ell crawls out sobbing and clings to him. Kvothe consoles her until she sleeps, and afterward his nightmares cease, though he still acknowledges his lingering darkness.

The next day Ell is more aware, and the girls begin taking turns riding, speeding their travel. As familiar landmarks appear, excitement turns to dread. Krin fears her father’s anger; Ell weeps that no one will marry her now. Kvothe insists none of it was their fault and calls any man who judges them a fool.

Ell erupts in hatred of men; Kvothe validates her anger while asserting that not all men are like their captors. After resting to steady nerves, he leads them over the rise and takes the girls home to Levinshir.