Six of Crows

Two days later, the Dregs reach Djerholm, which features neat houses and warehouses painted in bright colors. Jesper, Kaz, and Inej note the cannons lining the walls of the Ice Court, which rises straight up out of the surrounding city. Kaz leads the group through the city—fortunately, dark-skinned Inej and Jesper blend in with the many foreigners visiting for Hringkälla tomorrow. Matthias and Nina explain that all the ash wreaths are to honor Djel, Fjerda’s main god. There’s a big, sacred ash tree in the middle of the Ice Court, which Matthias didn’t previously mention.

The group settles in a grimy tavern, which has a rooftop terrace that offers them a view of the outer gate. The food, they soon discover, is horrendous. As a prison wagon approaches, Kaz pulls out a “backless book,” which has a telescope embedded in the back. Matthias explains how often the wagons run, and Kaz declares they’ll get in on the first wagon tomorrow morning. As they catch sight of the hooded, shackled, and chained prisoners inside, and they see the guards counting, Kaz explains they’ll use a “bunk biscuit”—that is, just as a good thief steals a wallet by swapping in something the same size and shape, they’re going to take the prisoners’ places. And Kaz will take care of the wagon’s locked doors, which lock on the outside. Jesper insists this is impossible.

Kaz sends Nina to gather information while the others go to a bakery to get some real food. There, Inej and Matthias discuss how difficult it is for him to be home, but not really be home. They also discuss Nina, whom Matthias denies being worried about. Still, Inej notices his relief when Nina joins the group at the bakery. Nina shares that most prison wagons pass a roadhouse two miles away, so they’ll lay their ambush there. When they reach the appointed spot, Jesper runs down the road to keep watch for the wagon while Inej sleeps. She wakes with a start to a snapping sound, and Nina explains that Wylan is using chemicals to drop a tree across the road. The wagon is coming.

Once the guards get busy moving the tree, Kaz hurries to the road to unlock the wagon, but then he just stands there, staring inside. Inej joins him to see what’s going on. She notices that Kaz’s face is waxy, and he flinches when she touches him. The wagon is packed with prisoners, who are hooded and wear iron collars clipped to the ceiling. Matthias joins them as Kaz unlocks the prisoners, giving them commands in Fjerdan. They lead the prisoners into the gully, where Nina puts them out and steals their hoods and chains. The prisoners’ identities aren’t ideal—there’s an old man and a Shu boy among them—but hopefully the guards won’t worry about it.

Matthias locks Wylan, Nina, and Jesper in place, while Inej then locks him in. Nina motions that she wants to see how Kaz is going to deal with the doors before Inej puts the hood on her head. Kaz, she sees, just took the hinges off the doors. The guards are done moving the tree now, so Inej climbs into the wagon as Kaz joins her and begins to put the hinges back. But he’s barely able to get the screws in place, and he seems agitated and unwell. As the wagon starts to move, he puts Inej’s hood on, then his own hood and collar. Inej focuses on Kaz’s rapid breathing—and then, he faints.