The Wise Man's Fear

There are three different silences at the Waystone Inn as dawn arrives. The first is the silence of emptiness, the second is the silence of a man sneaking into his room, while the third is the silence of “a man who is waiting to die” (2).

Bast, the innkeeper’s assistant, recites rhymes as he prepares the inn. Kote, the innkeeper, thanks Bast for his quick thinking the night before that saved them and their patrons from a massacre by an otherworldly monster. Kote sends Bast to collect supplies while he takes over morning preparations.

Chronicler arrives in the main room where Kote is making pies. Bast arrives with holly branches meant to keep the Fae monsters called dancers from taking over their bodies. Bast scares Chronicler by pretending to be infested with a dancer. Bast gives Chronicler a holly crown and the two share a heated exchange about forcing Kote to remember who he truly is. After breakfast, the blacksmith’s apprentice arrives for traveling food and discusses his intentions to enlist in the King’s army because of the high enlistment bonus. Kote tries to talk him out of it by revealing himself as the legendary Kvothe, but the boy disbelieves him and departs.