Chapter 81: The Jealous Moon

As evening falls, Marten provides rabbits while Kvothe gathers roots and herbs, and the company enjoys a hearty meal with fresh bread, butter, and local cheese. Spirits are high, and they begin trading stories.

Hespe tells a romantic tale of a queen loving a serving boy, revealing her feelings for Dedan through her tender delivery. Oblivious, Dedan begins a tale of Felurian he heard at the Pennysworth Inn, insisting on its authenticity and inviting judgment.

When Tempi asks if Felurian is a warrior, Kvothe and Dedan clarify she kills men through sex. Tempi is briefly horrified, then relieved after Hespe pantomimes orgasm and Dedan adds that some men go mad.

Dedan continues, recounting two brothers seeing Felurian under a bright moon and quoting her eerie, unfamiliar song. As Dedan graphically describes Felurian’s body, Hespe’s irritation mounts until she abruptly leaves, angered by his lewdness.

Dedan cycles from confusion to anger and moves his bedroll away. Kvothe prompts for the ending: the father sprains his ankle; the uncle vanishes chasing Felurian. Marten refuses to mediate, likening intervention to quenching fire with bare hands, and quietly assigns first watch to Kvothe.

Night deepens as Kvothe spreads the fire, settles on watch, and stares at the stars, thinking of Denna. The team’s morale, buoyed by food and weather, is undercut by awkwardness and unspoken feelings.