Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Jamie walking up Kings Mountain. It’s on the border between North Carolina and South Carolina but is in Tennessee County.
It’s only April 1780 right now. There is still six months to wait until the battle will happen. Thanks to Frank’s book, Jamie knows that the battle will happen on Oct. 7, 1980, and that’s when Jamie will die. So, Jamie wants to get a lay of the land.
He walks up the mountain, remembering a conversation between Brian Fraser and Murtagh from when he was a young boy. He overheard them discussing how the high ground is a military advantage. There are also some humorous altercations from a previous battle that Jamie remembers fondly. The focus is on the reminder that the high ground is important.
Jamie knows that the British will have the high ground in this battle, but they don’t win. That’s because of the British commander, Patrick Ferguson. Despite having the high ground, Ferguson wasn’t ready for the commitment the Patriots would have to the cause. He also wasn’t seasoned in battle, but he went up against commanders who were.
This leads to Jamie thinking about Ferguson right now. The man has no idea what’s to come in six months’ time, but Jamie does. And Jamie decides that his fate isn’t set yet. He will not allow Frank Randall to be right about his death. So, Jamie thinks of a ritual for protection and decides on the deasil charm, used to protect newborn children from harm. He says it, thinking of William, and as he goes through it, Jamie realizes that he already gained all those blessings. Is this a hint of something bad to come?