KKC Theory Wiki

Waystone Inn

location · importance 78 · 12 theories

“Kvothe's quiet hideaway as Kote, possibly a deliberate trap”

also known as the Waystone

Appearance§

The Waystone is built of grey foundation stones with copper locks upon its doors and thick timbered doors. Its upstairs and downstairs fireplaces are built of the same black rock. A sword named Folly hangs mounted on the wall, its description resembling Cinder's sword. Upstairs sits a thrice-locked chest of roah wood, seamless, without visible hinge, and exceptionally heavy, with a faint citrus scent lingering about it. The basement holds a cooling forge and the smell of coal smoke and seared iron, where Kote works at smithing and binding. The inn is kept meticulously clean, swept and polished, and is pervaded by a silence of three parts.

Description§

The Waystone Inn is a quiet inn in the remote backwater town of Newarre, run by a red-haired innkeeper called Kote, secretly the retired Kvothe, alongside his student Bast. It is the present-day frame setting in which, over three days, Kvothe narrates his life to the scribe Chronicler. Kvothe designed and built the inn himself rather than simply purchasing it, constructing it of grey stone with copper locks upon its doors; both its upstairs and downstairs fireplaces are built of the same black rock, an engineering feat of which Kote is privately proud. He keeps the place meticulously, sweeping and polishing, and grows angry if the floors are scratched. A sword named Folly hangs mounted on the wall, and in his upstairs room sits a thrice-locked chest of roah wood, seamless and exceptionally heavy, which he cannot open. The frame is marked by a recurring silence of three parts, the third and deepest of which belongs to Kote himself, framed as the patient sound of a man waiting to die; he permits no music in the inn, stopping himself when he catches himself humming. Despite seeming diminished, Kvothe demonstrates residual power at the inn: he kills the scrael, kills a skin-dancer possessing a deserter, and shatters a strawberry-wine bottle from a distance with sympathy. Certain magic is dampened within: Kvothe cannot work sympathy there, and the captured skin-dancer cannot leap to a new body. The inn shares its name with the waystones, the old grey standing stones of folklore that mark crossing points between the mortal world and the Fae.

Relationships§

  • Built By Kvothe — Kvothe designed and built the inn himself and runs it as Kote
  • Houses Bast — Kvothe lives there with his student Bast
  • Frame For Chronicler — Setting where Kvothe tells his story to Chronicler over three days
  • Displays Folly — A sword named Folly hangs mounted on the wall
  • Located In Newarre — Stands in the small remote town of Newarre
  • Site Of Slaying Scrael — Kvothe kills the scrael at the inn
  • Site Of Slaying Skin Dancer — Kvothe kills a skin-dancer possessing a deserter at the inn
  • Marked By Silence of Three Parts — Frame opens on a silence of three parts, the third belonging to Kote
  • Contains Chest Roah — Thrice-locked chest of roah wood in the upstairs room he cannot open
  • Named For Greystones — Shares its name with the waystones marking crossings to the Fae

Established facts§

  • The Waystone Inn stands in the small remote town of Newarre and is run by Kvothe under the alias Kote, who lives there in self-imposed retirement with his student Bast.
  • It is the present-day frame setting where Kvothe tells his life story to Chronicler over three days, with Bast present.
  • Kvothe designed and built the Waystone Inn himself rather than purchasing it.
  • The inn is built of grey stone and has copper locks upon its doors and thick timbered doors.
  • Its upstairs and downstairs fireplaces are both built of the same black rock, an engineering feat Kote is privately proud of.
  • Kote keeps the inn meticulously, sweeping and polishing, and becomes angry if the floors are scratched.
  • A sword named Folly hangs mounted on the wall; Kvothe hangs it there over Bast's objection.
  • Kvothe keeps a thrice-locked chest of roah wood in his upstairs room that is seamless and exceptionally heavy and that he cannot open; a citrus scent is associated with it.
  • The frame opens on a silence of three parts, the third and deepest of which belongs to Kote, framed as the sound of a man waiting to die.
  • Kote permits no music in the inn, stopping himself when he catches himself humming.
  • Kvothe demonstrates residual power at the inn: he kills the scrael, kills a skin-dancer possessing a deserter, and shatters a strawberry-wine bottle from a distance with sympathy.
  • The skin-dancer at the inn asks Kvothe 'Te rhintae?'
  • Magic is dampened within the inn: Kvothe cannot work sympathy there, and the captured skin-dancer cannot leap to a new body and instead tries to crawl out.
  • Two well-dressed young men, one sandy-haired and one dark, arrive early in book one, and the sandy-haired one drunkenly recognizes Kote as Kvothe.
  • Kvothe stores stacks of cut ash and elm wood and presses apples for cider by hand.
  • The basement holds a cooling forge and the smell of coal smoke and seared iron, where Kote works at smithing and binding.
  • Bast states there are six solid walls between his room and Kvothe's, having moved to the far side of the building so his guests would not keep Kvothe awake.
  • The Waystone shares its name with the waystones, grey standing stones that mark crossing points between the mortal world and the Fae.
  • Kvothe passes between the mortal world and the Fae through a waystone with Felurian.
  • Waystones stand near sites where the Chandrian have struck, including the Mauthen farm and the troupe's massacre.
  • As Kote, Kvothe has locked away part of his name and power, no longer travelling and no longer playing music.
  • Kvothe designed and built the Waystone with copper, as established in the Doors of Stone prologue.

Theories§

Appears in theories§

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