“ | I gave them this. I gave them freedom, and this is the thanks I get? The scorn of clerks? Of swollen-headed old errand-boys? | ” |
— Bayaz
|
Sore Thumb is the twenty-fifth chapter in The Blade Itself.
Chapter Summary[]
Logen Ninefingers stands on the balcony in the Tower of Chains, looking out over Adua, frightened by the city's size and foreignness. Bayaz joins him, bitter at the way he’s been received by the Closed Council after all he claims he’s done to create Adua and the Union.1 Logen takes his leave, avowing to wander the city and face his fears.
On his walk through the city, Logen sees many things — the construction of the pavilions for the Contest, a park, Jezal dan Luthar running, a statue of Bayaz, the House of the Maker, and the drilling of professional soldiers. The latter are well trained, but designed for battle on Union terms, rather than the rugged terrain in the North. Sitting on a bench, Logen encounters a woman, who treats him not as a monstrosity, but like someone equally as out of place in Adua; Ardee West.
That night, Logen wakes with an urgent need to piss. Stumbling around in the dark, uncomfortable with southern plumbing, he encounters an icy cold and an apparition in the shape of his long dead wife, Thelfi. Suddenly, the room explodes in searing light, followed by a crash. When he opens his eyes, Logen finds a gaping hole in the wall and the woman gone. Bayaz stands unsteadily in the room, after using his magic to drive off the woman, who he muses was probably an Eater sent by Khalul.2 He then promptly falls asleep. Quai enters having been woken by the noise, and Logen asks what an Eater is. Quai just mutters, “It’s forbidden, to eat the flesh of men.”
Character[]
Introduced | Appeared | Mentioned |
---|---|---|
Icy Apparition | Logen Ninefingers | Thelfi |
Bayaz | Khalul | |
Jezal dan Luthar | ||
Ardee West | ||
Malacus Quai |
Locations and Terms[]
Adua | The Union | Tower of Chains | Closed Council | The Contest | House of the Maker |
The North | magic | Eaters | The Second Law |
References[]
- Bayaz has seemed always cordial and in control thus far, but he slips here. Is this a moment of frustration or something of his true nature?
- The first mention of Khalul as Joe continues to dip in the world building.