Contents
Eight: Tradeford
Overview
Fitz reaches Pome and Tradeford, learns of Regal’s spectacle of “justice,” and resolves to approach the king. A Skill-dream shows Ripplekeep’s fall and Duke Brawndy’s death, underscoring Bearns’ ruin. Disgusted by the King’s Circle yet determined, Fitz studies Tradeford Hall’s grounds, preparing to infiltrate and assassinate Regal despite Will’s threat.
Summary
As summer wanes, the Red Ship Raiders intensify assaults on Bearns, destroying towns rather than settling them. Aid is thin, and Duke Brawndy fights to the last at Ripplekeep. His daughters continue resistance after his fall.
Fitz arrives in Pome using the alias Jory. At a wedding feast, he is mistaken for a beggar, learns of Tradeford’s hiring fair and the King’s Circle, and sees Forged prisoners caged for “justice.” He resists provocation from two local youths, choosing not to spill blood and instead resolves to face Regal prepared.
Fitz secures an inn room, bathes, shaves, and reflects on loneliness without Nighteyes and the danger of Will’s subtle Skill. Falling asleep, he is drawn into a Skill-vision of Ripplekeep’s last stand: Duke Brawndy is slain, and Celerity and Faith fight fiercely as Bearns collapses. Fitz momentarily acts through Celerity, then Verity pushes him out, warning him to guard his walls.
He wakes debilitated, doses heavily with elfbark, and forces himself onward. Disturbed by gallows at Pome’s edge, he walks to Tradeford, a thriving city whose elegance reveals why Regal prefers it to Buckkeep. Fitz does day-labor on the waterfront, hearing praise for Regal and widespread enthusiasm for the expanding King’s Circle, where criminals and Forged are slaughtered as entertainment.
Reconciling beauty with the need for Buckkeep’s harsh defenses, Fitz recommits to killing Regal. He studies Tradeford Hall’s open, gracious grounds to identify approaches and exits, intent on infiltrating before nightfall.
Who Appears
- FitzChivalry FarseerProtagonist; travels to Pome and Tradeford, learns of King’s Circle, Skill-witnesses Ripplekeep’s fall, and plans to assassinate Regal.
- King RegalAbsent presence; his opulent Tradeford court and brutal King’s Circle galvanize Fitz’s resolve to kill him.
- Duke Brawndy of BearnsDies defending Ripplekeep in Fitz’s Skill-vision, symbolizing Bearns’ collapse.
- CelerityBrawndy’s daughter; fights fiercely at Ripplekeep. Fitz briefly acts through her in the Skill-dream.
- FaithBrawndy’s daughter; assumes command amid the slaughter, orders retrieval of bodies.
- Verity FarseerSkilled king-in-waiting; pushes Fitz out of the dangerous dream and warns him to guard his walls.
- WillRegal’s Skilled adept; a looming, subtle threat whom Fitz fears may be influencing him.
- Capaman LogisLocal Farrow noble whose wedding feast feeds the town where Fitz observes caged Forged.
- Teamster womanTransports caged Forged to the King’s Circle; scolds onlookers for baiting them.