CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE Strange Attraction

Kvothe storms a livery, demands a true endurance mount, and forces the cavler Kaerva into straight dealing. He inspects a full-blood Khershaen, names it Keth-Selhan, and negotiates a steep discount, buying horse, saddle, and tack for fifteen talents under urgent terms.

He rides with disciplined pacing toward Trebon, balancing speed with the horse’s stamina. Stream crossings and rough roads slow him, but he manages food, water, and warm-ups to preserve Keth-Selhan. Near Trebon he meets a tinker at a crossroads who reveals town is half a mile ahead.

Intending to shed the costly mount, Kvothe bargains with the tinker. A white sock on the horse—revealed by solvent-tainted stream water—exposes the livery’s dye-job and the ironic Siaru name. Kvothe trades the horse for a valuable lodestone and, for the tack, secures a blanket, a shirt, a bottle of brandy, and three jots.

Walking into Trebon, Kvothe notes shamble-men and a massive iron Tehlin wheel, reading the town as superstitious and mining-influenced. At the inn, guarded reactions confirm the wedding turned tragic; the innkeeper directs him to the lone survivor upstairs.

Kvothe finds Denna injured but alive, with a bandaged arm and a bruise. After a brief, wry exchange, Denna confirms she is unwell yet mobile and insists they leave, signaling that her account of the wedding—and any clues about the suspected Chandrian—will follow.