Contents
Twenty-One: Dark Days
Overview
A winter storm pens nobles in Buckkeep as Duke Brawndy awaits aid for ravaged Ferry. Kettricken publicly comforts him, then privately gives her opal armbands to fund rebuilding, asserting her own authority. Later, Fitz inadvertently bridges Shrewd and Verity by Skill, uncovering Regal’s slanders and Shrewd’s mortal illness. Justin and Serene attack Fitz with the Skill; Nighteyes repels them, and the Fool averts scandal.
Summary
A storm traps Buckkeep’s uneasy court while Duke Brawndy waits for an audience about Ferry’s ruin. Kettricken enters the Great Hall without pomp, hosts Brawndy and chosen onlookers, and draws out the full account of Ferry’s unanswered summons. She promises aid in spirit, though Shrewd remains “ill,” establishing sympathy and public witness.
After a curt audience with Shrewd, Brawndy announces his departure, spurned by the crown. Kettricken redirects him to the Queen’s Garden atop the tower and, in the storm, privately gives him her gold-and-opal armbands “from Verity and me” to rebuild Ferry, pointedly apart from Shrewd and Regal. Brawndy departs still angry yet newly loyal to Kettricken; Celerity exchanges a tender farewell with Fitz.
That night Fitz visits Shrewd. Amid thick Smoke, Fitz takes Shrewd’s hand and, through the Skill, inadvertently links the King with distant Verity. In the brief three-heartbeat contact, Shrewd repeats Regal’s reports that Brawndy is a traitor and Kettricken untrustworthy. Verity rejects this, urges caution over Regal’s spies, and demands trust in Kettricken. The link collapses, leaving Fitz and Shrewd exhausted.
Recovering, Fitz realizes Shrewd’s decline is a wasting, agonizing illness masked by Smoke, not mere dosing. Before aid arrives, Justin and Serene slip into Fitz’s room and clumsily Skill at him, shredding his unshielded mind. Through the Wit-bridge the Skill created, Nighteyes savages Justin from within, forcing Serene to retreat. The Fool arrives with elfbark, publicly reframes the scene to shame them and stifle gossip, and shepherds them out.
Spent, Fitz trades words with Nighteyes and finally lets go into a protective, wolf-guarded rest, while the court tilts further toward Kettricken’s moral authority and Regal’s corrosive manipulations.
Who Appears
- KettrickenQueen-in-Waiting; publicly consoles Brawndy, then gifts her opal armbands to rebuild Ferry, asserting independent authority.
- FitzChivalry FarseerNarrator; supports Kettricken, bridges Shrewd to Verity via Skill, deduces Shrewd’s illness, survives Justin and Serene’s Skill attack.
- Duke Brawndy of BearnsSeeks aid for Ferry; initially rebuffed, then accepts Kettricken’s secret funding and departs loyal to her.
- King ShrewdAiling king; briefly Skills with Fitz and Verity, repeats Regal’s lies; revealed to be suffering a wasting, agonizing disease.
- Prince VerityDistant on quest; joins Shrewd via Fitz’s Skill, defends Kettricken, warns against Regal’s spies.
- Prince RegalAbsent yet pivotal; feeds Shrewd slanders about Brawndy and Kettricken, controls access and optics.
- The FoolBeaten yet loyal; aids Shrewd, then defuses Justin and Serene’s intrusion and suppresses scandal.
- NighteyesFitz’s wolf-bond; repels Justin through Wit via Skill bridge, then stands watch as Fitz collapses.
- JustinUntrained Skilled youth; intrudes on Fitz and attacks clumsily, routed by Nighteyes’ mental assault.
- SereneSkilledwoman; accompanies Justin, hostile to Fitz, retreats under the Fool’s public shaming.
- Lady CelerityBrawndy’s youngest; reassured about Fitz, shares a shy farewell, signaling ongoing political entanglement.
- Lady FaithBrawndy’s second daughter; befriends Shells, observes Celerity and Fitz with curiosity.
- WallaceShrewd’s attendant; manages Smoke, panics at the Skill episode, answers to Regal.
- RosemaryKettricken’s maid; swiftly arranges the Great Hall feast and garden preparations.
- ShellsBuckkeep girl; companions Brawndy’s daughters during Kettricken’s hosting.
- MellowMinstrel; provides music to frame Kettricken’s public hearing of Brawndy.
- Lady ModestyKettricken’s lady; helps host and serve in the Queen’s Garden.
- Lady HopefulKettricken’s lady; attends the Queen during the garden meeting.