- Back on schedule after their detour to rescue Tealiff, Katsa, Oll, and Giddon head into Estill where Katsa is supposed to punish a borderlord who cleared more land than he was supposed to in a lumber deal with Randa.
- Oll warns Katsa that this particular lord has a daughter Graced with mind reading. Normally someone with such a grace would be in service to the King of the region, but apparently King Thigpen, King of Estill, sent her back to her parents because her gift wasn't developed enough yet.
- Katsa isn't too concerned. Her response is, fine, "she'll know I'll want to knock her senseless if she so much as looks at me" (4.19). Uh, yeah—problem solved.
- At the lord's house, servants scamper out of the way at Katsa's approach. Seems she has quite a reputation, which makes sense considering that she started snapping necks for King Randa when she was ten.
- The lord kowtows to Katsa and immediately agrees to pay King Randa the money he owes and then some. Oll and Giddon go to collect the loot, leaving Katsa alone with the lord to carry out his discipline. Katsa knows she's expected to break his arm or cut off one of his fingers or something like that, but she just doesn't have the energy for it today. Finally she strikes him on the temple, knocking him out, and leaves it at that. "He would wake with a headache, but no more. If Randa heard what she had done, he'd be furious" (4.66). Meh—Katsa can't make herself care.
- The lord's daughter—the mind reader—enters at that moment, and Katsa realizes that "this girl she would hurt; this girl she would torture if it would stop her from taking Katsa's thoughts" (4.70). The girl takes one look at Katsa, who is staring her down, then turns and runs away.
- Good move, little mind reader. Good move.