Our minds cope with pain, Kvothe relates, through four doors: sleep, forgetting, madness, and death. Following the death of his family, Kvothe wanders into the forest and sleeps. His mind also sleeps, dulling the more painful parts of the experience.

In his dreams, old friends give him survival instructions. The woodsman Laclith gives him instruction on edible plants. Laclith turns to Abenthy, who teaches him about knots. Abenthy turns into Kvothe’s father, who talks about the waystones. Then the stone turns into many greystones. As he awakens, Kvothe’s mind has covered pain with useful information on fire, food, and snares.

Laclith told him that water must come first, so Kvothe first finds a spring. Then he creates a snare to capture food and camps near a greystone. After sleep, he is surprised to find that the snare has captured a rabbit. He wants to use Laclith’s teachings to dress it, but when he thinks about killing it, he feels sick and cuts the rabbit loose. After chiding himself for foolishness, he eats some mushrooms and sets a new snare.