The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2
The Wise Man’s Fear
by Patrick Rothfuss
Contents
Chapter 133: Dreams
Overview
Kvothe hides the impostors’ wagons, strips their marks, and begins escorting Krin and a traumatized Ellie on foot. He gently coaxes Ellie into minimal responses over supper, showing cautious improvement. As they camp, Kvothe reflects on the cold, close killings he committed, and his sleep is consumed by worsening dreams.
Summary
Kvothe spends an hour hiding the impostor troupe’s wagons in dense woods, erasing Edema Ruh markings and loading supplies onto the horses. With only one saddle, he decides they will all walk to avoid worsening Ellie’s shock. A drifting memory of Vashet’s teaching on the Lethani contrasts right action with mere success.
As dusk approaches, Krin rouses Kvothe from his weary daze. They make camp: Krin gathers wood and cooks, while Kvothe tends the horses and erects a tent, mindful the girls are unaccustomed to sleeping outdoors. Ellie remains blank and unresponsive, requiring constant guidance to keep moving.
Over dinner, Kvothe keeps a calm, unbroken conversation, using humor and simple questions to draw Ellie out. Gradually, Ellie nods, drinks water on her own, and feeds herself, though her awareness remains dulled. Once Ellie is settled to sleep with Krin’s help, Krin anxiously asks about her recovery; Kvothe hopes time will heal her shock.
Kvothe chooses to sleep outside the tent entrance, wrapped in his shaed, to keep watch. In the quiet, he relives the close, deliberate killings—Otto’s throat, dragging Alleg, Kete’s screams—and recognizes their weight as his first cold, intimate murders. Exhausted, he finally sleeps, only to be seized by worse dreams.
Who Appears
- KvotheHides the wagons, escorts the girls, gently coaxes Ellie to respond, then broods over his close killings and has troubled dreams.
- KrinCompetent, wary survivor; cooks, tends camp, helps Ellie to bed, and anxiously asks about Ellie's recovery.
- Ellie AnwaterMayor’s daughter, catatonic from trauma; gradually responds to Kvothe’s gentle prompts, eats and drinks, then sleeps.
- VashetAppears in Kvothe’s recollection, affirming the Lethani’s emphasis on right action equating to true success.