jvj

{ Cavern Of Black Ice, Chapter Seven, a few pages in }

Wennil Drook was "a soft-spoken luntman". He was staved and skin hung, and this was the only person Raif had seen this happen to.

What keyed me up a little was that the proof of his thievery (because "A clansman who stole from his own was considered as good as a traitor and promptly staved and skin hung") was that Mace Blackhail -found- the stolen knife in the luntman's pack. The dockleaves may or may not be important.

Mace. Any time his name comes up .. I think cunning. The problem with this is that we know next to nothing about Wennil Drook. How would this guy's death have benefited Mace. I'd like to think it'll come out at some stage. That Wennil knew something about Mace. Maybe it's not going to though .. maybe it's just me being paranoid about a most hated villian .

Effie thinks of him a bit further along, Wennil Drook that is. Nellie Moss has something unpleasant in her face, and then Effie is thinking of Wennil Drook, who she liked. He always had rocks to show her.

Nellie Moss is almost certainly the one who tells Mace where Raina was .. partly because Raina said to (kind of).

{ A Cavern Of Black Ice, Chapter Eleven, "Oaths and Dreams" }

In Raif's pov (The Listener starts it), towards the end, Raif thinks of Wennil Drook again. It's just before Inigar asks if anyone will stand second to him (this yearman).

"Unbidden" starts the sentence. There is no real reflection on the thought, just ends by telling how Inigar Stoop cut out the man's heart from the clan (chisel to guidestone).

That's three mentions of Wennil Drook within a few chapters. My interest is piqued .. again.

I think that the incident with Wennil Drook was probably to illustrate the fact that Mace's 'cunning' character was developing a long time before the opening of the book. What I got from the whole situation was that Mace stole the knife himself, (because the Scarpes become known for their stealing later on in SFRI) and when he realised what the consequences woul be he knew he had to get rid of it and do it properly. Also the convenience of planting it among Wennil Drook's belongings and then being the one to 'find' it, and bringing about Wennil Drook's death sentence, would've made it possible to plant someone in Wennil's position as luntman, someone he knew he could use. I can't remember exactly where it says it but it does mention and give examples of the luntmen/womens' access to all sorts of private parleys and secret passageways. What a convenient person to have under his control...

* New thought... Maybe Nellie Moss's son stole the knife, then Mace promised Nellie if he got rid of it for him then she could have a better position in the clan. But then Nellie was conveniently in Mace's debt, and that was yet another situation Mace could abuse to his convenience.

Miss Fish,

Fantastic thought about Nellie and her son. And just the way Mace would have done it!

would've made it possible to plant someone in Wennil's position as luntman, someone he knew he could use. I can't remember exactly where it says it but it does mention and give examples of the luntmen/womens' access to all sorts of private parleys and secret passageways. What a convenient person to have under his control...

* New thought... Maybe Nellie Moss's son stole the knife, then Mace promised Nellie if he got rid of it for him then she could have a better position in the clan. But then Nellie was conveniently in Mace's debt, and that was yet another situation Mace could abuse to his convenience.

My thoughts exactly. You cannot go ahead and kill the chief. I think this detail, as unprecise at it stands, tells us that Mace planned his rise all along and sacrificed more innocent than he absolutely had to. And who to substitute first with guys sworn to you but the luntman?