The story now continues in the first person. Kvothe explains that he is a member of the Edema Ruh, a group of traveling performers. Kvothe’s father Arliden was an actor and musician, while his mother Laurian had a gift for words.

One day the troupe goes to a town where the mayor gives them a bit of trouble before grudgingly allowing them to play the public house. As they begin taking admission, Kvothe sees the mayor arguing with an old man driving a wagon into town. The wagon driver is an arcanist. When the mayor and constable try to arrest him, the arcanist uses some words that cause a gust of wind to strike the constable and send him running.

Kvothe strikes up a conversation with the man, Abenthy, or “Ben,” and the arcanist asks if the troupe needs any help with makeup and lights. Kvothe welcomes Ben to the group and is curious about the arcanist because he saw him do something he could not explain: “It was magic. Real magic. The sort of magic I’d heard about in stories of Taborlin the Great” (64).