Chapter 137: Questions

Kvothe flees Levinshir quickly, fearing the iron law might brand him for killing the false troupers. He arrives in Severen, uneasy at the Maer’s harsh justice, and returns to the estate intent on a bath before seeing anyone.

Stapes greets Kvothe warmly, revealing the Maer’s wedding has already occurred and that Dagon captured Caudicus after a bloody pursuit, with the matter then “tended to” decisively. Kvothe gives Stapes the recovered lockbox as a wedding gift and requests a meeting, but declines an immediate garden summons to clean up, which results in a day’s silent rebuke as he awaits the Maer’s ring.

Confined to his rooms, Kvothe dines with Bredon, who shares court news: the Maer’s besotted marriage, the Prince Regent Alaitis slain in a duel, rumors crediting the Maer’s men for ending Eld banditry, and tavern tales of someone returning from Felurian. They play tak, and Bredon notes Kvothe’s improved, more “beautiful” play.

When the summons finally comes, Kvothe meets Alveron in the garden. The Maer chastises Kvothe for wearing a sword, and Kvothe defers, restoring the Maer’s good humor. After ritual small talk, Alveron posits that each person is driven by a central question; Kvothe offers his: where are the Amyr?

The Maer admits a childhood fascination and reveals that official records in Felton once held glaring gaps about the Amyr—paralleling Kvothe’s findings at the University—implying deliberate pruning. Both infer the Amyr may still act in secret. Kvothe proposes a search enabled by the Maer’s name to open private archives; Alveron, intrigued, invites him to his rooms that evening to discuss the matter further.