The Coppermind

Summary:Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

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This page contains a chapter by chapter summary of Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell. We hope this summary will make it easier to find specific areas of the book, as well as providing a quick plot refresher for anyone who doesn't want to take the time to reread the entire book.

PrologueEdit

Characters
Plot Summary

Daggon tells Lamentation Winebare a story about the bounty hunter known as the White Fox in exchange for drinks at Silence's waystop. Daggon eats dinner and thinks about marrying Silence, believing her to be fond of him. Meanwhile, Chesterton Divide and his men eat and prepare for travel.

Chapter 1Edit

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Plot Summary

Silence and William Ann realize that the merchants in the common room are really Chesterton and his men in disguise. They make a plan to poison the men and track them, knowing that the bounties on these men will be enough to keep Silence's creditors at bay. William Ann goes to fetch the poison while Silence speaks to Sebruki, who is cleaning the pig shack. Silence asks Sebruki to stay out the common room, worrying that Sebruki will recognize Chesterton as the man who murdered her family. Silence goes to the stables and tells Dob the stable hand to take his break, intending to water the horses. However, she is interrupted by Theopolis, who comes asking for money she owes. Theopolis threatens to take over her waystop, effectively forcing Silence and her family into slavery, if she cannot pay off her debts. After Theopolis leaves, Silence waters the horses and considers killing him. William Ann delivers poisoned drinks to Chesterton and his men. Silence returns to the kitchen in the waystop to find Sebruki with her crossbow, intending to kill Chesterton with a poisoned crossbow bolt. Silence manages to talk Sebruki down, but Sebruki drops the crossbow and accidentally fires the bolt through the kitchen window. Fortunately, no blood is shed in the process. Silence sings Sebruki a lullaby to put her to sleep as Chesterton and his men leave.

Chapter 2Edit

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Plot Summary

Silence and William Anne pack their bags and prepare to track Chesterton and his men. Silence remembers learning the Simple Rules from her grandmother, and tries to pass on what she's learned to Wiliam Ann. The two of them follow the road, looking for signs that Chesterton has left. Silence and William Ann discuss religion and belief in the God Beyond. They find the camp, where Silence strangles the guard before he can call for help. The two of them set about killing the men one by one, using bags lined with tar to prevent blood from spilling and enraging the shades. The third man wakes before they can get the bag over his head, and Silence is forced to try and strangle him as well. Before she can finish him, Chesterton wakes and tries to run away. Silence drops the third man to chase Chesterton and kill him instead. They manage to finish him without enraging the shades. William Ann had finished the third man while Silence was chasing Chesterton. Before they can search the men, they are found by Red Young and his band of Fortfolk. Silence gives up Chesterton's corpse to Red Young, knowing that Red could simply kill them and take the body. However, after they leave, Silence and William Ann follow alongside the road, tracking them to get their bounty back. Silence thinks that Theopolis is likely to be behind this, as he was the only one who knew she was tracking a bounty and knew her methods. Silence and Wililam Ann are able to get in front of Red and his people. Silence sets a gunpowder trap on the road intended to confuse Red's band and cause the shades to attack them, allowing Silence to sneak in and take Chesterton's corpse back. The trap works as intended, though two shades begin to follow Silence and William Anne as they drag the body away. Silence sends William Ann on with the body and tries to kill the shades with her silver knife. While she manages to destroy both shades, she is badly wounded in the attempt. William Ann, in a panic, empties Silence's entire pouch of silver dust, trying to save Silence from being withered. The two continue on until Red emerges and takes William Ann captive.

Red, badly wounded by the encounter with the shades, uses William Ann as a hostage to barter for Silence's silver. Silence decides to comply with his demands and track them after. Before she can do anything, a crossbow bolt strikes Red in the shoulder, causing him to jerk away from William Ann. As he moves, the knife he was holding to William Anne's neck unintentionally draws blood, enraging the shades. Red shoves William Ann through a shade, attempting to protect himself as they converge on him. Silence carries William Anne's withering body as she searches desperately for more silver to stop the effects of the shades. After the shades kill Red, they come for Silence and William Ann. Silence uses the last of her silver dust to draw a protective circle around the two of them. As she waits for the shades to break through and wither them both, Silence catches sight of the silver crossbow bolt that Sebruki had fired earlier.

Chapter 3Edit

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Plot Summary

Silence uses the silver bolt to clear a path through the shades and back into the waystop. Near death herself, she manages to find a jar of silver powder and dump it onto William Ann.

Chapter 4Edit

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Plot Summary

Silence, on the edge of death, flashes back to a conversation with her grandmother regarding their migration from Homeland and the recent death of Silence's husband.

Chapter 5Edit

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Plot Summary

Dob the stableman covers Silence with silver powder, negating the effects of the withering. Silence returns to consciousness. William Ann also survives her encounter with shades, albeit with a wounded arm and leg. Dob asks about the events of the night, revealing that he has known all along her secret identity as the White Fox. Silence washes William Ann and puts her to bed, next to the still-sleeping Sebruki. Silence tries to think of a way she can pay off Theopolis now that she no longer has Chesterton's body. While she prepares for the day, Theopolis comes to collect his debts. Silence accuses him of tracking them throughout the night, but cannot get him to confess. Finally, she points out that his shoes are covered in the glowing paste that Silence used to track Chesterton and his men. Silence attempts to open the door behind her, but Theopolis stops her, slapping her across the face and drawing blood. The door opens, releasing the shade of Silence's grandmother kept inside. The shade kills Theopolis, then allows Silence to trap it behind the door again.

Chapter 6Edit

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Plot Summary

Silence finds the hidden cave where Theopolis had stored Chesterton's body and brings the body back to the waystop.

EpilogueEdit

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Plot Summary

Daggon and Lamentation Winebare share another drink. Lamentation has signed on to work at a nearby homestead, spending his nights at the waystop. Daggon thinks again that he should marry Silence. Lamentation informs him that Silence has received seven proposals in the last month, thanks to her receiving the reward for Chesterton's body. Silence claimed that Theopolis was the White Fox and that he had killed Chesterton before being withered in his cave, where she had found both of their bodies. Daggon begins to tell a story about Bloody Kent.

PostscriptEdit

NotesEdit

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