The Blade Itself

After a brief standoff, Yulwei and Ferro are admitted to the Agriont, but not before surrendering their weapons. After the crisis at the gate, West tries to convince the Master Armorer to restart weapons production, finally resorting to physical threats. The Armorer backs down. Exhausted from the day’s problems, West returns to his quarters and finds Ardee there, drinking. He finds a half-composed note urging the recipient to meet her at the “usual place.” He guesses that the note is meant for Jezal and orders her to end the relationship. They argue, and West strikes her. The fight escalates, his hands around her throat until he regains his senses and releases her. He apologizes, but the violence brings back vivid memories of their father’s abuse and the guilt he feels for leaving her. She leaves him with his remorse and goes to meet Jezal.

Ferro sits in a room, with Logen keeping watch. Bayaz and Yulwei discuss current events—war in the South, the formidable new Gurkish fleet, the powerful and cruel Emperor, Uthman. Bayaz gives Ferro a test, but she feels she’s being tricked, so she attacks him, bloodying his nose. Bayaz apologizes for his “awful manners,” but he’s certain that Ferro is “what [he is] after” (449). She is ushered into another room with Logen, Quai, and Longfoot, but she eavesdrops on the Magi’s conversation and learns that Khalul—the Second Magus and rival of Bayaz—breeds Eaters in the South, far more than Bayaz has apprentices. Bayaz intends to use the Seed—a dangerous weapon—to defeat Khalul, and he intends Ferro to carry it. Yulwei, however, warns him against this plan. Bayaz offers Ferro the chance for real vengeance against the Gurkish Empire if she will help him. She agrees. Yulwei leaves her in Bayaz’s company and returns to the South.

West visits Glokta, his old friend, and asks him to watch Ardee while he’s away at war. Glokta, feeling bitter and betrayed after returning home a broken man, refuses, angry that West never visited him after the war. But West did visit, only to be turned away by Glokta’s mother. The information reawakens their friendship, and Glokta vows to keep a protective eye on Ardee.

Threetrees and his clanmates gather outside the walls of Carleon. Forley prepares to meet Bethod to warn him about the Shanka. He enters the city, and the others wait. Later, 10 armored soldiers emerge on horseback, drawing a cart. They meet Threetrees on a bridge, and he demands to see Forley. The leader drops a sack at Threetrees’s feet; it contains Forley’s head. Threetrees’s clanmates emerge from hiding and attack. The element of surprise gives them the advantage, and they kill all of Bethod’s men. Threetrees then orders them all to go south to join the Union in its fight against Bethod. They bury Forley and head for Angland.

Jezal waits for Ardee. When she arrives, he sees her bruised face. They walk, and when they reach a secluded spot, he professes his love for her. She laughs but also promises to wait for his return from war. Later, Jezal boards a ship bound for Angland, bemoaning this curse called love, when a messenger arrives to summon him to see High Justice Marovia, in whose chambers he also finds Varuz and Bayaz. Bayaz requests his presence on a “grand adventure.” Jezal declines, deferring to his military obligations, but Marovia informs him that his ship has sailed. They plan to leave the following the day. Their destination: “The edge of the world” (481).

Bayaz notices that Ferro is missing, and he sends Logen to bring her back. Logen soon finds her surrounded by three assailants. He charges into the fray, and the two of them quickly dispatch the attackers; however, more men are in pursuit. They flee through the city until they stumble into the Square of Marshalls, where they are quickly surrounded by masked pursuers. Ferro and Logen are quickly embroiled in a fight for their lives, their assailants battering them with heavy sticks. They escape up the tiered benches to a parapet above and flee across the rooftops, but one roof collapses and sends them both crashing into the house below. They flee into the corridor, but one of the masked pursuers—a woman with red hair—confronts Logen, slashing at his face and flinging a chain around his neck to strangle him. He finally frees himself and hurls her down a flight of stairs. He runs into Ferro, and they duck into a large room, barricading the door, but it’s the only exit. Logen grabs an old, dull sword, grateful to have any weapon at all, but their assailants are too numerous, and Logen soon tires, unable to fight any more.

Somehow, he finds a new inner strength as if possessed and wields the sword with renewed vigor, slaughtering his enemies left and right. When the room is littered with corpses, his killing frenzy passes. The adrenaline fades, and his body shudders with the pain of battle. Ferro drags him to his feet, and they make their way back to Bayaz’s quarters, but the assailants—Goyle’s Practicals—follow. As they face off, Bayaz enters, and the first Practical simply explodes. The others flee, and Bayaz orders Logen and Ferro to prepare for departure.

Glokta visits Ardee, and they soon come to an understanding—he won’t monitor her sexual activity, but he suggests that, as two victims of violence, they should “stick together.” Later, Glokta is summoned to Sult’s office. The Arch Lector is furious over Goyle’s failure to capture Bayaz and his crew. He orders Glokta to Dagoska to monitor the Gurkish incursion and root out corruption within the Inquisition there. Glokta leaves Sult’s office and heads for a waiting ship, and Goyle’s red-haired Practical, Vitari, is assigned to accompany him.