The Widow's House (The Dagger and the Coin, #4)

by Daniel Abraham

Might.

Perhaps. Probably not, however.

Cunning men passed through the crowd conjuring balls of flame and telling fortunes.

Cunning men, dragons and truth from blood spiders. Do those count as "magic" for the purpose of Fantasy subcategorization?

“You will be,” Basrahip said. “Your wounds will heal.” Geder felt a tug of hope, of something like relief. It wasn’t enough, but it was enough to make him want if more. “Are you sure of that? Because right now, it seems like they’ll all go on forever.” Basrahip took another bite of his food and smiled around it. “Prince Geder, I am certain.”

But being certain isn't the same thing as being right.

I’m not sure quite how he managed it,” Marcus said, carefully sheathing the sword, “but I do believe our great scaled friend here is drunk.”

speculation is also the natural realm of tolerance, for judgment demands evidence, and it follows that the absence of evidence which forms the core of speculation requires the absence of judgment.

Well said.

Geder’s personal guard had taken their positions at the doors and behind him, protecting him in case of attack, but even they glanced at the massive weapons of war.

Should have taken weeks, if not months. Which would screw up simultaneity.

My name is Barriath Kalliam,

Oh! Welcome back, Dread Pirate Roberts.

“And you, sir?” “Found a dragon.”

“We’ve lost Porte Oliva.”

Yeah, finally some high-anxiety action.

And Cithrin sat as if the conversation all around her wasn’t happening and she were alone with the sound of the water lapping at the ship and the creaking of the boards.

Did she get infected with spiders? But then she'd be going crazy.

Because it seems to me you’ve just given away a lot of gold.” “I didn’t give it away,” Cithrin said,

Not technically, no. But the sovereign cannot be compelled — at least not without a revolution that undermines the feudal aristocracy and replaces it with mercantilism. The invention of fiat currency before rule of law is established? Unlikely.

“People die. I can’t save all of them,”

Yeah, but this one is your oldest son.

“Mother?” Barriath said, sweeping the wide hat from his head. “What are you doing here?”

Didn't we hear that before?

“You gave our gold to the king,” Lauro said. “We’ll never get the gold back.” “Exactly,” Cithrin said. “Neither will anyone else.”

Ah. So jumping straight to sovereign debt as a tradeable commodity itself. Conceptually more interesting, but requiring a vast conceptual shift.

Cithrin imagined the copies of the letter coming into the hands of the slaves of Antea. She could barely imagine what it might mean to them.

Wait, everyone is literate? And there's only one language?!?

I thought you’d want to know you’d drawn even with Palliako.” “How do you count that?” “He took Asterilhold, Sarakal, and Elassae. You’ve taken Northcoast, Herez, and Narinisle. I call Birancour a split,” Komme said, and spat into the bushes. “Cithrin bel Sarcour, secret queen of the world.”