2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion

Celaena and Sam are sent to meet the Rolfe, the Pirate Lord, to make a deal for some slaves. What do you think of Celaena's reaction once she learns of the true purpose of her mission?

She is horrified at the idea of transporting slaves back to her leader, and she is appalled that he would send such an order. Of course, we haven't seen the contents of the sealed orders that were sent.

I wasn't surprised by her reaction. Celaena has see a lot in her short life and I feel that she does really care about those who are unable to fight for themselves. I was more surprised that Arobynn sent her on such a mission.

I found it a bit incongruent that an assassin would exhibit this sense of honor. That said, it does portray her in a much more positive light than previously with her arrogance and disdain for others - suddenly I found her more likable at this point.

It put her in a different light and made her likeable, while before that she was almost just a spoiled 16 yo.

Lauren wrote: "I found it a bit incongruent that an assassin would exhibit this sense of honor. That said, it does portray her in a much more positive light than previously with her arrogance and disdain for othe..."

So did I. We were learning about the Assassin’s Guild on the fly so I was slowly figuring out their backstory. They’re so young and haven’t had time to test their idealism (they thought killing adulterers was justified). Seeing slavery in its awfulness gave both of them pause. I also think they thought Arobynn had nobler values.

These two are young. They may be well trained but they are definitely inexperienced in the gray area of what’s right and wrong.

Melissa wrote: "I wasn't surprised by her reaction. Celaena has see a lot in her short life and I feel that she does really care about those who are unable to fight for themselves. I was more surprised that Arobyn..."

I was really surprised that this was Arobynn’s mission. And, he must of suspected this might be Celaena’s reaction, too, because he hid it from both.

Lieke wrote: "It put her in a different light and made her likeable, while before that she was almost just a spoiled 16 yo."

It did help redeem her somewhat:)

The entire mission was weird. Why send assassins to do this? Why not tell them to begin with? What kind of assassin blindly follows orders without researching anything like what Rolfe was like, how many men he has, a map of the area, escape plans should thing go haywire, not to mention what their mission was? It kind of feels like it was a test for Celaena with Sam as potential collateral damage. I'm just not sure if she passed the test or not. Did she do exactly as Arobynn thought she would or did she completely ruin everything and will go home only to be executed for her insubordination?
Am I reading too much into this? LOL
As for the slaves I'm glad she and Sam did what they did. Assassins with honor.

I agree, I started to like Celaena much more when she stopped acting like a spoiled child and put her skills to a more noble use.

I do wonder how much of her reaction Arobynn predicted or expected, and what his deeper game is. I get that feeling too - his motives are not as simple as they seem!