The Blade Itself

Having been scattered by the Shanka attack, Logen’s fellow clanmates and barbarians (Dogman, Tul Duru, Grim, and Black Dow) regroup and sit around a fire, making new plans. They believe that Logen is dead, and with the woods crawling with Shanka, Black Dow vows to head south. Threetrees and Forley the Weakest now join the group and are happy to see everyone still alive. Without Logen to act as their leader, Black Dow vies for control, but Threetrees argues that he is in charge. The rest align with Threetrees, so Dow relents. Eventually, Threetrees decides to head south, but first, they must deal with a Shanka patrol. Threetrees lays out a plan of attack, but Dow charges in early. Despite the confusion, the barbarians are victorious, but Threetrees warns them not to get overconfident. “‘We killed these, aye,’ he [says], looking sour, ‘but there’ll be plenty more’” (171).

Jezal heads to his morning training, but Varuz is absent, and Glokta has taken his place. The torturer probes Jezal about his motivations for training, pushing him to work harder and realize his talent. As he walks away from his meeting, Jezal meets Yoru Sulfur. When Jezal mentions that he wants to quit fencing, Sulfur implores him to reconsider.

Later, Jezal calls on Major West, but he’s not home. Ardee is, however, and her frustration at her own common blood, her boredom, and her envy of “spoiled little rich boys” (180) like Jezal boils over in a vicious tirade. He storms out, furious, but then he decides that the best revenge he can take on Ardee is to train hard and win the Contest.

Glokta and his Practicals lurk in the shadows while a covert transaction takes place between a highly-placed Mercer named Gofred Hornlach and some sailors. They interrupt the exchange and take the Mercer prisoner. Glokta suspects Hornlach of hiring the assassin and intimidates him into admitting everything—conspiring to defraud the King and hiring the assassin to eliminate witnesses.

Logen and Bayaz ride through the North country. Bayaz sees beauty and nobility there, but Logen sees it through the eyes of a military tactician. He knows that Bethod will be hunting them, and he suggests they make for Angland. Bayaz tells them that Caurib has the power of sight and knows where they are headed.

That night, Bayaz discourses about the nature of magic and knowledge. He asks Logen about his feud with Bethod, but Logen won’t speak of it. He will only speak about the futility of vengeance and the regret of so much death in his past. Bayaz, however, sees Logen not as a brutal killer but as a man who “shows courage and compassion” (195). He wonders why Logen has never asked why Bayaz summoned him, and Logen responds that knowledge has only made his troubles worse.

Later that day, they are caught by Bethod’s soldiers. Their leader, Blacktoe, and Logen are acquainted, and Logen tries to use that slight bond to stall for time, but to no avail. Blacktoe demands Logen’s sword, but the soldiers are unprepared for Logen’s attack. He disarms Blacktoe, and a battle ensues. Logen, Bayaz, and Quai escape, the surviving soldiers in pursuit. They flee into the woods but come up against a barrier and more soldiers. Trapped, Logen desperately looks for a way out but sees none. He dismounts and drops his sword, but when Blacktoe orders Bayaz to dismount, the trees around them explode in flames. Most of the soldiers are caught in the fire or the chaos, and just as suddenly as it started, the fire burns out. Bayaz trembles from the effort. Blacktoe is burned and severely injured, and Logen kills him out of mercy. They depart before reinforcements arrive.

In the aftermath of a battle, Ferro Maljinn buries the dead. Her work is interrupted by an unfamiliar man calling her name. She grabs her bow and fires an arrow, but the shot uncharacteristically misses. He calls himself Yulwei and offers his help. Skeptical, she tries to kill him with a knife, but he magically evades her blows. He warns her that soldiers, priests, and an “Eater” are coming for her. The Emperor wants to make an example of her by starving her in public in order to quash any notion of rebellion amongst the other enslaved people. She vows to fight on and is even resolved to the possibility of killing herself if captured. She is filled with bloodlust and the thirst for vengeance, and Yulwei argues that she is enslaved to her obsession.

She buries her dead comrades and heads for the open desert, but Yulwei offers to guide her past the Emperor’s men unnoticed. He asks for a favor in exchange for saving her life. With no other choice, she agrees. Under cover of night, he leads her right past an encampment of soldiers, unseen and unheard. She wants to kill them in order to vent her rage, but she refrains, and the effort leaves her feeling bereft.

At an Open Council meeting, Sult publicly accuses the Mercers of high treason. As proof, three prisoners—Rews, Hornlach, and the assassin, Carpi—are paraded before the Council. They all admit to conspiracy, naming the head of the Mercer Guild, Magister Kault, as the ringleader. Despite their protests, the Mercer Guild is dissolved, and their trade routes are placed under the control of the Inquisition. Hoff then issues a warrant for Kault’s arrest, and the Council’s business is concluded.

As Jezal leaves the Council meeting, he sees Ardee chatting intimately with a soldier under his command. He dismisses the man tersely, and he and Ardee stroll along the boulevard, all memory of their previous argument forgotten.

Glokta and a squad of soldiers break into the Mercer Guildhall to serve the arrest warrant. They find Kault in his opulent office with a rope tied around his neck. He argues that the Mercers are guilty of petty crimes only—taxes and bribery—but the real criminals are the bankers and members of the Closed Council. Before Frost can grab him, he hurls himself out a window.