The Wise Man's Fear

teeth.

Two hours passed, and the sun began to sink behind the western trees. “Tomorrow I leave,” he said. With both his hands still on the lute, I could only guess at his mood.

“Where?”

“To Haert. To Shehyn.”

“Are those cities?”

“Haert is city. Shehyn is my teacher.”

I had given some thought to what might be the matter. “Are you in trouble for teaching me?”

He set the lute back in the case and pressed the lid back in place. “Perhaps.” Yes.

“Is it forbidden?”

“It is most forbidden,” he said.

Tempi stood and began the Ketan. I followed him, and both of us were quiet for a while.

“How much trouble?” I asked eventually.

“Most trouble,” he said, and I heard an uncharacteristic shred of emotion in his voice, anxiety. “It was perhaps unwise.”

Together we moved as slowly as the setting sun.

I thought of what the Cthaeh had said. The one shred of potentially useful information it had let slip in our conversation. You laughed at faeries until you saw one. Small wonder all your civilized neighbors dismiss the Chandrian as well. You’d have to leave your precious corners far behind before you found someone who might take you seriously. You wouldn’t have a hope until you made it to the Stormwal.

Felurian had said the Cthaeh only spoke the truth.

“Could I accompany you?” I asked.

“Accompany?” Tempi asked, his hands moving in a graceful circle intended to break the long bones of the arm.

“Travel with. Follow. To Haert.”

“Yes.”

“Would it help your trouble?”

“Yes.”

“I will come.”

“I thank you.”

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED NINE Barbarians and Madmen

Truthfully, I wanted nothing more than to make my way back to Severen. I wanted to sleep in a bed again and take advantage of the Maer’s favor while it was still fresh in his mind. I wanted to find Denna and make things right between us.

But Tempi was in trouble for teaching me. I couldn’t simply run off and leave him to face that by himself. What’s more, the Cthaeh had told me Denna had already left Severen behind. Though I hardly needed a prophetic faerie to tell me that. I’d been gone for a month, and Denna was never the sort to let grass grow under her feet.

So the next morning our group parted ways. Dedan, Hespe, and Marten were going south to Severen to report to the Maer and collect their pay. Tempi and I were heading northeast toward the Stormwal and Ademre.

“You sure you don’t want me to take him the box?” Dedan asked for the fifth time.

“I promised the Maer I’d return any monies to him personally,” I lied. “But I do need you to give him this.” I handed the big mercenary the letter I’d written the night before. “It explains why I had to make you the leader of the group.” I grinned. “You might get a bonus out of it.”

Dedan puffed up importantly as he took hold of the letter.

Standing nearby, Marten made a noise that could have been a cough.

As Tempi and I traveled, I managed to coax a few details from the mercenary. Eventually I learned it was customary for someone of his social standing to gain permission before he took a student of his own.

Complicating matters was the fact that I was an outsider. A barbarian. In teaching a person like me, it seems like Tempi had done more than violate a custom. He had broken a trust with his teacher and his people.

“Will there be a trial of some sort?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No trial. Shehyn will ask me questions. I will say, ‘I saw in Kvothe good iron waiting. He is of Lethani. He needs Lethani to guide him.’ ”

Tempi nodded at me. “Shehyn will ask you of the Lethani to see if I were right in my seeing. Shehyn will decide if you are iron worth striking.” His hand circled, making the gesture for uneasy.

“And what will happen if I am not?” I asked.

“For you?” Uncertainty. “For me? I will be cut away.”

“Cut away?” I asked, hoping I misunderstood.

He held up a hand and wiggled his fingers. “Adem.” He made a tight fist and shook it. “Ademre.” Then he opened his hand and touched his little finger. “Tempi.” He touched the other fingers. “Friend. Brother. Mother.” He touched the thumb. “Shehyn.” Then he made a gesture as if paring off his little finger and throwing it away. “Cut away,” he said.

Not killed then, but exiled. I started to breathe easier until I looked in Tempi’s pale eyes. For just a moment there was a crack in his perfect, placid mask, and behind it I saw the truth. Death would be a kinder punishment than being cut away. He was terrified, as frightened as anyone I had ever seen.

We agreed our best hope was for me to put myself entirely in Tempi’s hands during the trip to Haert. I had approximately fifteen days to polish what I knew to a bright shine. The hope being that when I met Tempi’s superiors, I could make a good impression.

Before we began that first day, Tempi instructed me to put my shaed away. Reluctantly, I did so. It folded down into a surprisingly small bundle that stowed easily into my travelsack.

The pace Tempi set was grueling. First the two of us moved through the dancer’s stretch I had watched many times before. Then, instead of our usual brisk walk, we ran for an hour. Then we performed the Ketan with Tempi correcting my endless mistakes. Then we walked a mile.

Finally, we sat and discussed the Lethani. The fact that these discussions were in Ademic did not make matters easier, but we agreed I should immerse myself in the language so when I reached Haert I could speak as a civilized person.

“What is the purpose of the Lethani?” Tempi asked.

“To give us a path to follow?” I replied.

“No,” Tempi said sternly. “The Lethani is not a path.”

“What is the purpose of the Lethani, Tempi?”

“To guide us in our actions. By following the Lethani, you act rightly.”

“Is this not a path?”

“No. The Lethani is what helps us choose a path.”

Then we would begin the cycle again. Run an hour, perform the Ketan, walk a mile, discuss the Lethani. It took about two hours, and after our brief discussion was finished, we began again.

At one point in our discussion of the Lethani I began to make the gesture for understatement. But Tempi lay his hand on top of mine, stopping me.

“When we are having talk about the Lethani, you are to make none of this.” His left hand moved quickly through excitement, negation, and several others gestures I didn’t recognize.