Assassin's Apprentice

The narrator discusses the Mountain Kingdom, which is not so much a kingdom as an interconnected group of diverse peoples, the Chyurda, who are all loyal to one King. The royal line started with a wise prophet, who eventually became the Queen at the center city of Jhaampe. The Mountain people are brutal and harsh but believe that their royalty should serve the people even if it costs them their lives.

Raiding attacks and Forging incidents have increased, so Verity wins the battle about not going to his wedding. The country is beginning to divide, with inland Duchies not wanting to help the suffering coast and the lack of warships beginning to make the people angry. Regal arranges for Princess Kettricken to pledge herself to Verity symbolically in front of her people, allowing her actual marriage to take place at Buckkeep.

Fitz continues to recover from Verity taking his energy and his discovery that Galen had knowingly harmed his mind. He goes to the Fool’s chambers at the top of an old tower. He knocks and gets no response, so he goes into the room without permission. To his surprise, the room is filled with “light, and flowers, and colors in profusion” (350), alongside a loom with colorful threads and an incredibly realistic doll that unsettles Fitz to look at. Fitz leaves in a hurry, consumed with the realization that the Fool is just as lonely as him.

Fitz goes to Chade that night and asks if he is ready to kill the Mountain prince. This startles Chade, who did not know that Fitz had been given that assignment. Chade reminds Fitz not to forget that he is an assassin; he cannot justify his killings as mercies. Chade reveals that Verity has put forth a formal complaint on Fitz’s behalf, telling the King that Galen mistreated him and wasted him as a valuable resource; Verity has also accused Chade and Shrewd of treating Fitz like a pawn for the kingdom rather than a person. Chade reminds Fitz that Shrewd has no qualms about sacrificing anything for the good of his kingdom.

Patience summons Fitz and tells him that she has already forgiven him for his poor behavior. She gives him a gift—a blue-stoned silver earring—and abruptly pierces his ear with it. She reminds him that he is Chivalry’s son and must behave with honor. She starts to apologize for making his ear bleed, but he tells her that he has already forgiven her, mimicking her own words.

The royal party leaves for Jhaampe the next day. The Fool brings Fitz a gift—seapurge, a purgative herb—and tells him that he is likely to be poisoned and should try not to eat. The Fool’s lack of jesting scares Fitz, who apologizes for intruding into his rooms; the Fool reacts stiffly but seems to relent after Fitz tells him that he just wishes he had a place where he could be himself, too.

Fitz is given new clothes with a new royal standard—a buck with lowered antlers—at Verity’s command, so he is no longer marked as born outside of marriage. Verity asks Fitz to speak well of him, although honestly, to Princess Kettricken. As the caravan prepares to depart, Fitz realizes that Burrich is going on the journey, which makes him nervous, as they still have not spoken since Burrich rejected him.

The journey commences; Fitz bonds once again with Hands, one of the stableboys, and tries not to dwell on the complexities of killing the Mountain prince. The journey is beautiful, inspiring, and soothing for Fitz. By the time they reach the city, hundreds of Jhaampe people have joined their party to celebrate the upcoming wedding.

The narrator shares a brief segment from a Chyurda holy tablet that says that Jhaampe should be a welcoming place for all. He explains that Jhaampe is a confusing city, with large buildings in conical shapes that mimic nomadic shelters. Everything is ablaze with incredible color, layered up a mountainside. Most of the buildings are tents since people are nomadic and settle around the fixed buildings throughout the year.

As the wedding party approaches Jhaampe, the local people ask the caravan to leave their horses and continue the walk to the palace on foot. August, the Skilled leader of their caravan, harshly rejects this, as many in their group are tired. The Jhaampe people send help to carry their supplies instead and carry them on litters as an apology for mistreating them. The palace is a beautiful construction, made from trees grown carefully around a gigantic center tree; it has walls daubed with painted clay and a beautiful open interior.

Fitz glimpses the prince and princess: Princess Kettricken is strong and stern, and her brother is significantly healthier than Fitz had anticipated. To his horror, he realizes that the people who carried their litters are members of the royal household, not servants. He apologizes to the old woman who had carried him—the King’s sister—but she tells him to not worry and to simply call her Jonqui. She introduces him to the prince and princess, who talk to him in their native language to exclude August after he insults Fitz. Fitz realizes that Prince Rurisk knew Chivalry, and Kettricken knows that he is an assassin. Kettricken invites him to walk around the gardens, and he accepts.

As Fitz gets to know Kettricken, he is impressed by her quiet dignity, finding her to be like Patience without Patience’s oddness. He worries that Verity will not find her attractive, even if he will respect her. She shares that she is 18 and is startled to learn that Verity is 33, as Regal had told her that he was much older. She says that Regal spoke very unkindly of Verity, and Fits shares his honest opinion of Verity. 

Kettricken then tells Fitz that Regal had told her while drunk that Fitz is the royal assassin and that if he came to the wedding, it would be to kill Rurisk; she has been afraid ever since. Fitz realizes that he has already been poisoned and returns to his room as soon as he can, taking the seapurge and struggling to survive throughout the night, worried about what will happen if they find him alive come morning.

The next morning, Prince Rurisk rushes into Fitz’s chambers with a purgative but is startled to find Fitz alive. He chides Princess Kettricken, who looks like she has been crying, and sits down with them both to talk. Rurisk explains that Kettricken decided to poison him preemptively and only told Rurisk what she had done when his kind words about Verity made her doubt his intentions. They discuss the politics of the situation, and Rurisk and Fitz agree that an assassination would immediately destabilize everything.

After feasting, Rurisk takes Fitz to the stables to show him the hounds, which have Buckkeep lineage. To Fitz’s shock and delight, the oldest dog in the kennels, and the father of their line of hounds, is Nosy. He reaches out to Nosy and finds that he is bonded to Rurisk now but still fondly remembers him and loves him. 

Fitz quickly goes to Burrich, who reluctantly agrees to speak with him, and tells him that he thought he killed Nosy. This horrifies Burrich, who says, “All these years? And you never learned better of me, never thought to yourself, He would not do such a thing?” (390). Burrich realizes that their difficult relationship comes from Fitz feeling wronged for years. Fitz extends forgiveness, saying that he has missed him. Burrich nearly agrees but says that he will only welcome Fitz back if he swears to never use the Wit again.

That night, Regal summons Fitz, annoyed that he has not reported to him. Regal demands to know how Fitz intends to kill Rurisk and lies—badly—about his drunken confession to Kettricken, insisting that she was making things up. Fitz realizes that Regal knows little about Chade and likely does not understand anything about assassinations, either. Regal orders Fitz to kill Rurisk before the wedding, threatening death if he disappoints or surprises him.

Fitz dreams of the Fool, who tells him that he wants him alive because Fitz allows for possibilities in the future that would not otherwise exist.

The next morning, Fitz puts together pieces of what he knows. Regal and/or Shrewd have lied about Rurisk’s health, or Rurisk has lied about his desire to befriend the Duchies, which is unlikely because he wanted Fitz to survive the poisoning. Kettricken is telling the truth because she knows about Lady Thyme, meaning that Regal, who only knows Chade as Thyme, told her the “truth.” Regal wants Rurisk dead, but there is no clear political advantage to doing so.

Fitz demands that August allow him to Skill to the King, showing August the pin that the King had given him as proof that he must comply. He sends a coded message to the King about Rurisk’s health and Regal’s intentions but is simply told to listen to Regal. Later, at the party, Fitz watches the crowd interact—August, Regal, Kettricken, Rurisk, Cob, and Regal’s servants Sevrens and Rowd—and suspects that something is wrong, although he cannot figure out what. Fitz contemplates his options, including stealing a horse and running away forever, but cannot come to a satisfying conclusion, as his mind is affected by an intoxicating smoke at the party.

Later, Sevrens comes to Fitz with a powerful poison and insists that he use it on Rurisk, threatening him with treason and execution. Fitz, still feeling the influence of the smoke, spies on Regal and overhears him telling Cob about Fitz’s planned assassination. Fitz goes to Kettricken and asks what she will do if he kills Rurisk; she tells him that she would see that he was killed but would go forward with the marriage to Verity. 

Fitz goes to Rurisk and poisons the wine in full sight of him, asking him what Regal could gain from his death; Rurisk drinks Fitz’s glass instead after Fitz takes a few sips. They cannot decide how Regal benefits from Rurisk’s death. Kettricken joins them, and they pretend playfully as if Rurisk has been poisoned. Cob bursts in dramatically, and suddenly Rurisk convulses. Fitz realizes that Regal used two separate poisons and kept Cob apart from the intoxicating smoke to ensure that he could catch Fitz. Fitz overpowers Cob and kills him, but Kettricken hits Fitz on the head, and he collapses.

Fitz comes to in the stable. He hears Regal talk about telling the King about his “betrayal” and preparing for Fitz’s execution. When the servants leave, Regal kicks Fitz in the ribs and tells him that he knows “everything,” despite not knowing much at all. Fitz falls asleep and dreams of the Fool and Verity. He then dreams of Galen talking to a weak mind and realizes that the weak mind is Regal, angry that their plan is falling apart. Galen soothes him and tells him that they will still use Kettricken for their plans until she has borne Verity a child. Fitz then dreams of Patience, who wakes up and asks if he is Chivalry; he soothes her back to sleep. Suddenly, Nosy’s mind reaches his, grieving that Rurisk is dead. Fitz asks Nosy to free him, and Nosy bites through the ropes binding him.

Burrich finds them minutes later and asks Fitz if he is dying; Fitz realizes that Burrich knew where he was because he, too, has the Wit, although Burrich denies it. Fitz tells Burrich that Cob was the one who tried to kill him. He begs Burrich for help, and Burrich asks what he is; Fitz assures him that he is a king’s man and must save Verity. Burrich reluctantly agrees to help.

Fitz is too weakened by the poison and Regal’s kick to his ribs to walk, but Burrich supports him. Fitz insists on finding August, who he believes is still loyal. He says that they can bribe August’s help with his earring, but Burrich refuses, reluctantly revealing that he gave Chivalry that earring as a gift. Jonqui finds them and tells Fitz that Kettricken has publicly forgiven him as kin, freeing him under Jhaampe law. Jonqui wants to find her nephew’s real killer, who clearly also wanted Fitz dead. They return to the palace and find Fitz’s rooms completely dismantled and his poisons stolen.

August finds them and says that Verity is alive but disappointed in Fitz. Regal’s servants have died, supposedly poisoned by Fitz. Fitz tries to draw on Burrich for strength but finds Burrich’s mind closed off despite his willingness to help. They find Regal at the palace’s hot springs and ask what he wants. 

As Fitz talks to Regal, Burrich is attacked by a Chyurda man. Fitz, unable to walk, falls into the pool. Regal explains that he intends to leave Fitz to drown in the pool, technically evading the princess’s protections by not directly murdering him. As they talk, Fitz realizes that Burrich is still alive. Regal throws Fitz deeper into the pool and leaves him to drown.

As he drowns, Fitz desperately tries to Skill, finally reaching Verity; Galen is about to drain Verity of life and kill him. He warns Verity, but Galen attacks; Fitz gives all his life to Verity, who recovers from Galen’s mental attack and subdues Galen, taking all his life force in revenge. Verity reaches out to August and tells him to tell Regal that his “half-brother is dead” (428), revealing Galen’s true parentage. Verity then reaches out to Kettricken, opening his soul to her, and prevents Fitz from dying by sharing too much life with him.

The narrator tells of a mysterious Jhaampe tapestry that might depict King Wisdom finding the Elderlings in the Mountain Kingdom.

Jonqui finds and saves Fitz—Nosy pulled him out of the pool but then died soon after. Fitz and Burrich slowly recover from their injuries, bonding tentatively as they do. Meanwhile, August collapses, unable to Skill after experiencing the force of Verity’s mind; Kettricken mourns Rurisk for a month before going to Buckkeep to marry Verity; and Regal is reluctantly forgiven by the kingdom, the poisoning blamed on his servants. 

Fitz continues to use the Skill in his dreams, making regular contact with Verity. Verity and Kettricken’s marriage helps the kingdom, as do the warships built by the Mountain Kingdom’s lumber, and the kingdom begins to recover.

Fitz’s attendant tells him to rest as he struggles to make sense of his life. He wonders if someday he will ask his attendant to bring him poisons to end his life, but a gentle voice in his mind tells him no.