Contents
Twenty-Nine: Escapes and Captures
Overview
During Regal’s King-in-Waiting ceremony, ominous portents unsettle the court. Fitz helps clear King Shrewd’s chamber, where Shrewd chooses to die after a final Skill-farewell to Verity. Discovering Justin and Serene had been draining Shrewd, Fitz takes carris, kills them in vengeance, and sparks a hall-wide brawl before being subdued as Chade smuggles Kettricken and the Fool to safety.
Summary
Regal’s King-in-Waiting ceremony proceeds amid blue-flamed omens and courtly tension. Kettricken, visibly pregnant, reads the lineage scroll that excludes her unborn child. Regal crowns himself, then hastily turns the rite into a feast as murmurs rise. Fitz, beset by political overtures and Celerity’s shy attentions, retreats and reels from Molly’s cleared room, hardening himself for the night’s tasks.
Fitz slips to Shrewd’s chambers. With the Fool’s antics and Chade’s candle-tricks unsettling Wallace, Kettricken withdraws. Shrewd asks Fitz to Skill him to Verity for farewell, then dies by sheer failing in Fitz’s arms. In the Skill-stream, Fitz senses Justin and Serene leeching Shrewd’s strength; Nighteyes’ Wit shock forces them off, letting Fitz seal his walls.
Wallace returns, panics at Chade’s Pocked Man disguise, and flees to raise alarm. Fitz urges Chade to get Kettricken and the Fool away. Accepting carris seed, Fitz vows vengeance with Shrewd’s plain belt knife and races for Galen’s rooms. He finds Justin and Serene Skilling; he cuts Serene’s throat, and chases Justin toward the Great Hall.
Fitz knifes Justin to death before the assembled court, declaring Shrewd slain and wielding “the King’s knife.” Regal’s Farrow guards swarm him; Buckkeep’s own guard clashes with them as chaos erupts. Blade pretends to parley, then bear-hugs Fitz; someone clubs Fitz from behind as the brawl spreads. Meanwhile, Chade escapes with Kettricken and the Fool into hiding.
Who Appears
- FitzChivalry FarseerProtagonist; clears Shrewd’s chamber, witnesses his death, kills Serene and Justin, sparks brawl, then is captured.
- King Shrewd FarseerFailing king; shares a final Skill-farewell to Verity, then dies in his chair.
- Chade FallstarMaster assassin; as the Pocked Man panics Wallace, then extracts Kettricken and the Fool.
- Regal FarseerCrowns himself King-in-Waiting; his guards attack Fitz as hall descends into chaos.
- The FoolMocks Wallace, grieves over Shrewd’s body, then flees with Chade into hiding.
- Queen KettrickenHeavily pregnant; withdraws before Shrewd’s death and escapes with Chade.
- JustinCoterie member draining Shrewd; flees and is killed by Fitz in the Great Hall.
- SereneCoterie leader at Galen’s rooms; Fitz slits her throat during Skilling.
- WallaceShrewd’s attendant; panics at blue flames and the Pocked Man, raises alarm.
- NighteyesWolf bond-partner; launches Wit shock through Fitz to repel Justin and Serene.
- BladeBuckkeep guard; feints aid, then grapples Fitz, enabling his capture.
- KerfBuckkeep sergeant; orders separation and disarming during the riot.
- RosemaryKettricken’s maid; present in Shrewd’s chamber, flees with the Queen.
- Lady CelerityTilth noble’s daughter; shadows Fitz at feast, receives a conflicted parting gesture.