Contents
Thirty-Two: Execution
Overview
An epigraph recounts Burrich’s storied past. In the hall, Regal demands Fitz’s public capitulation; Will’s Skill pressures fail. Fitz lunges to poison Regal but instead doses Will, who is removed, stricken. Returned to his cell, Fitz takes Burrich’s carryme and deliberately releases his body, fleeing into Nighteyes to escape Regal’s coercion.
Summary
The chapter opens with a historical sketch of Burrich: a formidable soldier turned master of Buckkeep’s stables, renowned for his temperance after injury and for lifesaving animal lore. This framing underscores Burrich’s competence and the gravity of his advice to Fitz.
Fitz runs free in Nighteyes’s body during the night, urged by the wolf to “come all the way” and let go of his human body. Fitz cannot yet understand how to sever himself, and pain from his real body intrudes, dragging him back as guards arrive to resume the ordeal.
Dragged before Regal and Will, Fitz braces his Skill walls while Regal outlines his plan: force Fitz to publicly confess treason and denounce allies, including Kettricken, Patience, and Molly. Will insists he can break Fitz alone, but Regal refuses. Fitz taunts them that Verity knows everything, provoking Regal’s assault and Will’s alerted defense.
Seizing a desperate chance, Fitz tries to grind a hidden poison powder into Regal’s face. Will intercepts, and Fitz instead smears most of the powder into Will’s eyes, nose, and mouth. Guards beat Fitz down; Will is carried off to a healer, visibly affected. Regal, frustrated, suspends the session and Fitz is hauled back to his cell, bleeding and near collapse.
In the cell, Nighteyes again urges Fitz to leave his body before Regal breaks him. Accepting Burrich’s plan, Fitz chews the carryme pellet hidden in his cuff. As seizures threaten, he deliberately loosens his hold on his battered body and fully joins Nighteyes. Choosing death over coercion, Fitz abandons his human form and runs with the wolf.
Who Appears
- FitzChivalry FarseerPrisoner; withstands torture and Will’s Skill, attempts to poison Regal, then takes carryme and abandons his body to join Nighteyes.
- King RegalDemands Fitz’s public confession and denunciations; oversees beatings; nearly poisoned; halts session after Will is stricken.
- WillSkilled coterie member; assaults Fitz’s mind; intercepts attack and is accidentally dosed with poison, removed to a healer.
- NighteyesWolf bond-partner; urgently presses Fitz to ‘let go’; receives Fitz’s consciousness as Fitz abandons his body.
- BurrichRecalled through epigraph and plan; his carryme and counsel enable Fitz’s deliberate release from his body.
- KelfryGuard who restrains and holds Fitz upright during Regal’s questioning.
- VerdeGuard who roughly handles Fitz and worries about punishment if Fitz dies.
- Farrow healerExamines Fitz briefly; advises stopping for the day; later receives Will for treatment.