The following is a complete, spoiler-filled summary of the events of The Way of the Shield.
If you do not wish to be spoiled for the events of the book, do not continue reading.
Dayne Returns to Maradaine
DAYNE HELDRIN, second-year candidate in the Tarian Order, returns to Maradaine after having been in Lacanja with Master Denbar. After stopping an altercation with a political dissident on the docks, he meets JERINNE FENDALL, a second-year Initiate in the Order, who was sent to bring him to the chapterhouse. On their arrival, Dayne goes to see GRANDMASTER ORREN, and tells the Grandmaster about how Master Denbar died. They were helping the local constables in rescuing Lennick Benedict, the son of a powerful family in Lacanja, from a madman called Sholiar. Dayne’s mistakes resulted in Sholiar escaping, Lennick being severely injured, and Master Denbar killed. Grandmaster Orren explains that Dayne’s failure has incurred the wrath of the whole Benedict family, including the members in the Parliament. One of those Benedicts heads the Parliamentary committee that decides which Candidates are promoted to Adept in the Order, and as long as Benedict controls the committee, there is no chance for Dayne to be admitted before the end of his candidacy.
The Symbol of the Tarian
As Jerinne settles down for the night with the other Initiates, the gossip is all about Dayne, specifically how he had been at the top of his initiacy with AMAYA TYRELL, the Adept who is now their main instructor, and that he and Amaya had been romantically involved. Dayne, on the Grandmaster’s advice, goes to The Nimble Rabbit, where he meets the writers of The Veracity Press, a subversive newssheet: HEMMIT EYAIRIN, MARESH NIOL and LIN SHARTIEN. They mention an event at a new history museum that is having a grand opening the next day, which Dayne decides to attend.
Meanwhile, a conspiratorial group, fashioning themselves after the Grand Ten, discuss their plans for moving their coup forward, starting with a plan involving using pawns at the museum opening. One member of the group is Parliament Member Julian Barton, who takes the role of the Parliamentarian, and is mildly annoyed with fellow conspirator and Parliament Member Chestwick Millerson, who claims the role of Man of the People. After an impromptu sparring session with Amaya—where she tears open the old wounds of how Master Denbar chose Dayne over her—Dayne invites Jerinne to go to the museum with him, and when they arrive, they are given a bit of a hard time by Marshall Chief Toscan who is in charge of security. Once inside, they encounter Lady Mirianne, an old friend of Dayne’s who has been one of the key people founding the museum. She takes Dayne on a private tour of the parts of the museum that are not yet open, including a display of all the former militant orders of Druthal. They are about to kiss when they are interrupted by screams in the distance.
The Museum Attack
Jerinne is in the main hall of the museum during the opening ceremonies, when a number of the servers reveal themselves as revolutionaries—Haltom’s Patriots– who quickly take all the guests hostage, paying notable attention to Parlin and Barton, the two members of Parliament present for the event. The Patriots’ leader, Lannic, gives a speech while Jerinne tries to find a way to protect the people in the lobby. Dayne sends Lady Mirianne out of the building before he starts his plan to create a distraction using mannequins dressed like members of other old Druth orders. Jerinne creates her own distraction, challenging Lannic in his rhetoric, so that all the attention and crossbows are on her. Dayne pushes his mannequins into position, drawing crossbow fire, and jumps into the fray. Only one member of the Patriots—Tharek– proves to be a true threat, and as Dayne and Jerrine subdue the rest, Tharek manages to take a shot at the stage. Dayne saves the two members of Parliament, but in doing so pushes on Patriot into harm’s way. Tharek fights through Jerinne and gets Lannic out of the lobby, and with two other Patriots—Braning and Kemmer—escape out the back. The Patriots split up, but not before Tharek telling Braning that his brother—the Patriot Dayne pushed—had been killed.
The Parliament Assignments
In the aftermath of the museum attack, Dayne and Jerinne are confronted by the Kings’ Marshals, but Lady Mirianne returns to vouch for them and keep them out of trouble. But back at the Chapterhouse, Dayne is chastised for his involvement, especially since there is already coverage of his heroics from the Veracity Press. However, the news of the attack has inspired several members of Parliament to seek out Tarian protection. Even Jerinne, who should not be assigned to anything as an Initiate, is specifically requested by Jackson Seabrook.
Lannic, Tharek and other free members of Haltom’s Patriots reconvene in the Alassan Coffeehouse, and while some want to lay low, Tharek convinces them to take bold action. Dayne is assigned to be on duty with the Initiates for the evening, but first goes back to the Nimble Rabbit to confront Hemmit, Maresh and Lin, who are happy to see him and are surprised that he was not happy with their coverage. After some political debate with the Veracity Press crew and other students, Hemmit agrees to avoid naming Dayne specifically in future coverage.
Jerinne gets ready in dress uniform and is taken by carriage to meet Mister Seabrook. Both he and his attaché Mister Ressin were very impressed with her and how she stood up to Lannic in the museum, which is why she was requested. Dayne returns to the chapterhouse and goes to the bath, where Amaya is finishing her own bath. She confronts him over the news that he will not make Adept, and she wonders if the political maneuvering is why she was so quickly promoted. Their arguing leads to kissing, and then Amaya gets angry at him and storms off, leaving him alone in the cooling baths.
The Battle of Talon Circle
Parliament member Amaya is assigned to. Seabrook tries to impress her with the very fancy meal, but her own background growing up in a noble house makes her already familiar with the trappings. Dayne has dinner with the other initiatives, where he discusses what it means to be a Tarian, including bringing up the Question of the Bridge, a philosophical problem that he feels is at the center of what the Order is supposed to be. Before he can fully explain, the pipes burst, and continue bursting in a straight line, which Dayne interprets as trouble, and runs to follow.
In Talon Circle, outside the club, the Patriots are in position. Tharek has already kidnapped Mister Parlin of the Parliament, and when the sewers burst and flood the square, Tharek and others block the street and keep people trapped in a panic, as they block the doors of the Talon. He uses an elaborate device to launch Lannic and Parlin onto the empty plinth in the middle of the plaza. As the sewers burst in the Talon Club, it’s clear there’s trouble, and the people in the lower floors are trapped. Jerinne and Amaya try to lead people out, but there’s no way, and though the window they see Lannic on the plinth, holding Parlin at knifepoint.
Dayne races toward the chaos, saving people in danger along the way to the circle, and once there, finds himself in a full swordfight with Tharek, who proves to be as skilled a warrior as Dayne. Jerinne and Amaya get out through the roof, and manage to pull Lannic off the plinth and get the club doors open. When Amaya has Lannic captured, Tharek grabs a crossbow and kills Parlin, shouting, “The fate of all who betray Druthal!” before disappearing into the night.
The Rules of the Parliament
King’s Marshals and constabulary reach Talon Circle and start to make arrests, including Lannic. They want to take Dayne into custody, but two other Tarian candidates, PRICE and ALDRIC, have a word with the marshals and get Dayne released. The next morning Dayne wakes to Grandmaster Orren over him, upset that Dayne abandoned his post, and assigns him a punishment detail of working with all the Initiates in the training room all day with no breaks. Jerinne is summoned by Seabrook to accompany him to the Parliament session that day, where she observes the governmental gridlock in action, shocked by how little is actually accomplished. Seabrook leaves her behind, realizing he was the only member who brought Tarian protection, and on her way home, Jerinne meets Lady Mirianne’s handmaiden Jessel, who makes sure Jerinne is aware that she and Dayne are invited to a dinner at Mirianne’s home that evening.
Kemmer and Tharek meet up with Gillem, a tangential member of the Patriots, and Tharek convinced Kemmer that whoever is still free needs to keep working, so they can get Lannic free, and will wait for orders from “The Chief”, who Lannic had been taking commands from.
Dayne spends the day with the initiates, and Amaya comes in to attempt to apologize, as she has now been praised by the newssheets, so she sees how one can achieve that without seeking it. However, they start sniping at each other again before she leaves.
Dayne and Jerinne are picked up for the dinner party, but make a stop at the Rabbit to talk to the Veracity crew, where they go over the implications of Parlin being specifically targeted by the Patriots. Hemmit decides to investigate further.
Members of the Grand Ten meet again, with Barton very upset at how their plans have put him in danger. It is not a planned meeting, so only half the members are there: Barton & Millerson, and The Lord (Archduke Windall of Oblune), the Priest (Bishop Onell of Abenar) and the Justice (High Judge Feller Pin of the Royal Bench).
A Night of Revelry and Rebellion
Dayne and Jerinne arrive at Mirianne’s, where she has arranged a dinner in their honor, which is not a standard seated dinner of the Druth nobility, but something more resembling a picnic in her ballroom, while a theatre troupe presents an avant-garde play for them. The play is a restructuring of several history plays, all of which involve some of Druthal’s bad kings getting the country into wars and being ousted by those who claim to have the country’s best interest at heart. After the play, Dayne is troubled by its content, which he talks about with Mirianne in her garden. Their conversation eventually leads to kissing. Tharek, Kemmer, Braning and Gillem reconvene at Tharek’s own private bunker—a secreted place loaded with weapons. Since most of the Patriots are arrested now, they’ve brought it three new associates: a hothead named Yand, and two new recruits he brought in, brother and sister Wissen and Jala. Tharek gives out assignments for his next plan, and each of them go to their duties. However, Wissen and Jala are actually Hemmit and Lin in disguise, having gone undercover. Hemmit tries to learn more about Braning, what drives him, and determine what Tharek’s full plan is so he can warn authorities. However, he is unable to learn the full scope of Tharek’s plan until it already happens: a large display bearing the banner “Free Lannic”, adorned with the dead body of another member of Parliament.
The Harsh Light of Day
Dayne wakes up in Lady Mirianne’s bed, and comes down for breakfast, seeing that most of the dinner guests spent the night, including Jerinne. Breakfast is not a very pleasant affair, as the morning newssheets are covering the latest attack and the new Parliamentarian’s death. Dayne and Jerinne leave, but Dayne has a revelation about Tharek, and they go to the Spathian chapterhouse, where they confirm Dayne’s suspicion: That Tharek was a Spathian candidate who did not progress to Adept.
Hemmit and Lin are still with the Patriots, unable to find a way to get away from Tharek without revealing who they really are. Tharek is very pleased with how things are going, and says they’ve received new instructions from the Chief of what to do next, and with those instructions are the delivery of Kings Marshal uniforms.
Dayne and Jerinne return to the Tarian chapterhouse, where things are in chaos, as now all members of Parliament again want Tarian protection. Dayne is forbidden from doing anything, and is assigned to the armory to distribute weapons and shields to everyone else. Jerinne is called upon by Seabrook, who insists on her accompanying him to Parliament. However, they find that the building is surrounded by demonstrators and rioters.
Maresh shows up at the Tarian chapterhouse, worried about Hemmit and Lin vanishing for the whole night. Dayne isn’t sure what to do, but Amaya—about to leave on her own assignment—encourages him to go.
The Grand Ten meet again, unsure if they should take action or let things play out, despite the plan not going as they anticipated. But when they realize that unless a quorum of the Parliament is in session, then the convocation can’t end, and Barton and Millerson realize they must get to Parliament to join the final session right away.
Riots of Parliament Circle
At Parliament, Jerinne barely gets Seabrook though the angry crowd. Once inside, very few of the members have shown up for the final session of the convocation, most afraid and at home. By rules of order, they cannot hold session without quorum, and a fight breaks out among the members. This fight is amplified by the shouting outside. In the crowd, Hemmit and the other Patriots, including Tharek, are disguised as Marshals, escorting “prisoners” Gillen and Lin. But their interaction with the crowd starts trouble, and Lin uses the confusion to magically send up a signal for Dayne. This sparks a riot, and Hemmit nearly gets knocked out before he and the rest of the Patriots gets pulled inside the Parliament. Dayne and Maresh see the signal and make their way to Parliament Plaza, but see no way inside until Dayne remembers there are tunnels from the nearby church that lead under the building.
Inside, Jerinne pulls Seabrook off the Parliament floor with a few others, and joins a group of Marshals to get Seabrook somewhere safe. But among those marshals is Tharek, who comes for Seabrook. Jerinne tries to fight him off, but he outmatches her, breaking her leg and killing Seabrook. But then, when more marshals come, Tharek surrenders himself to them.
The Revelation of the Patriots
Dayne and Maresh come through the tunnels, but are captured by the marshals—as the underground chambers are part of the marshal’s headquarters—and brought to cells. They find that they are sharing a set of cells with Lannic, Tharek, Hemmit, and Jerinne, though Jerinne is nearly passed out. Dayne and Maresh set Jerinne’s leg, while he tells her the Question of the Bridge to distract her from the pain. Lannic and Tharek listen, and while Lannic considers the moral question, Tharek is secure in his answer to it. Then Chief Marshal Toscan comes in, who turns out to be the Chief that Lannic answered to. He is pleased that the Patriots caused so much chaos, and plans to have the Marshals positioned to take best advantage of it. When Lannic tries to appeal to Toscan, Toscan kills Lannic in his cell.
This erupts Tharek’s rage, and he nearly effortlessly kills Toscan with a button from his uniform, and then escapes the cells, leaving Dayne and the others behind, but with a promise to them to “Free us all.” Dayne hears the slaughter of more marshals as Tharek leaves.
Barton collects several members of Parliament, including Greydon Hale, who Amaya is guarding, and gets them to Parliament with military escort. Once they have a quorum, the session starts, and someone tries to force a vote since the current attendance gives the minority parties the advantage. Before the vote can happen, Tharek storms the Parliament floor, knocking out Amaya, saying, “The people would speak now.”
As Hemmit and Jerinne recover, Dayne breaks out of the cell, all the while explaining what he sees as the correct answer to the Question of the Bridge: to reject the premise of the question, and fight as hard as you can to save every life, because you’re a god damned Tarian.
The Stand on the Parliament Floor
Dayne sends Hemmit and Maresh away to get help, telling them to take Jerinne with them, as he follows the trail of dead up to the Parliament floor. On the floor, Amaya comes to having been shackled to a chair in the gallery, while Tharek kills another member of Parliament, and makes speeches to the members of Parliament of how they do not represent the people, and he enumerates the rights of the people that he feels they do not respect. Amaya tries to get herself free, but struggles to do that without getting Tharek’s attention. Jerinne starts to come to, realizing that Hemmit and Maresh are taking her away. Realizing that Dayne won’t do what’s necessary to stop Tharek, she makes them turn around and bring her back.
Dayne reaches the Parliament, and manages to save a member—one of the Benedicts—while secreting keys to Amaya in the process. The fact that Tharek was trying to kill a Benedict gives Dayne a realization about Tharek’s motives: he wants to kill the members of Parliament that denied him advancement in the Spathians. Dayne puts down his sword and lets himself be shackled to keep Tharek from killing anyone else, and hoping to buy Amaya time to get free. After it’s clear that the Benedicts kept Tharek from advancing out of enmity for his grandfather, Tharek moves to attack Dayne, who, despite being shackled, keeps Tharek at bay and draws him away from the Parliament podium long enough for a member to end the session and the convocation, and the members run. Dayne breaks his chains and subdues Tharek with the Druth flag, and the Amaya knock Tharek out.
As Dayne and Amaya start to lead the captured Tharek out, Jerinne comes in ready to kill Tharek, but Dayne won’t let her. Marshals then come in, as well as Grandmaster Orren and the Spathian Grandmaster, who is dismissive of Tharek. The marshals take Tharek, and Orren orders Dayne, Jerinne and Amaya back to the chapterhouse, to have Jerinne’s injuries attended to, and for Dayne and Amaya to confine themselves until further inquiry can be made.
Dayne, of the Tarian Order
Hemmit and Maresh emerge from the Parliament with Dayne and the others, and other members of the press are there, swarming Dayne with questions until Lady Mirianne chases them off, and then gives the Tarians a ride back to the chapterhouse. Hemmit and Maresh commit themselves to find Lin, and then Hemmit has a plan of their net big publication. At the chapterhouse, Dayne and Amaya go to their quarters for confinement, but not before Amaya tells Dayne that he is a Tarian at heart, regardless of the uniform he wears, and she has his back. Alone in her quarters, Amaya looks into a box from Master Denbar—her uncle, actually—and a message to find the Grand Ten and stop them. Jerinne recuperates, but because of her broken leg, she expects to fail her trials. Because of her actions—and testimony from the Spathians, including Tharek—she is advanced to Third Year. Price and Aldric support her in this—Price was not advanced to Adept, so his candidacy is done. Dayne’s three days in isolation ends, and the Grandmaster tells him he’s impressed powerful people, and while he still thinks Dayne will never make Adept, he will keep Dayne on as a Third Year Candidate, as a special liaison to the Parliament. There’s also been a book published by the Veracity Press, specifically about Dayne and praising him in this crisis.
The last of the free Patriots—Braning, Kemmer and Gillen—have been hiding out in an inn, and now feel it’s safe to emerge, that Tharek is locked up and no one is looking for them. Braning and Gillem consider going back to a normal life, while Kemmer considers a political role.
The Grand Ten meet again, and while events did not go as they had planned, they are mostly pleased with the results. Mostly, but not The Warrior, who is Grandmaster Orren. However, the Lady—Lady Mirianne—is quite certain she can use the events, and Dayne, to her ends.
Dayne visits the Nimble Rabbit with Jerinne, and is glad that they have survived this crisis, and to have her back through it, and to keep working with her, and thus is willing to accept the praise from the press and the people of Maradaine.