The Malazan Empire, page 417
‘Divisions, battalions and brigades,’ she said. ‘And garrisons. Our land forces. I will speak of the fleets later. Thus, from west to east along the frontier. On the Reach. First Maiden Fort, its defences still under construction and nowhere near complete. I have judged it indefensible and so am sending the garrison to reinforce Fent Reach. Second Maiden Fort has a garrison of six hundred indicted soldiers presently being retrained. The island is a penal fortress, as you know. The willingness of the prisoners to fight is of course problematic. None the less, I would suggest we leave them there. Third Maiden Fort will remain active, but with a nominal presence, there to act as forward observers should an Edur fleet round the island and make for the city of Awl.’
‘Where we have an army,’ the king said.
‘Yes, sire. The Snakebelt Battalion, stationed in the city. The Crimson Rampant Brigade is in Tulamesh down the coast. Now, eastward from the Reach, the port of Trate Cold Clay Battalion and the Trate Legion, with the River Brigade and the Katter Legion down in Old Katter. High Fort has, in addition to its rotating garrison forces, the Grass Jackets Brigade. Normally, we would have the Whitefinder Battalion there as well, but they are presently conducting exercises outside First Reach. They will of course be moving north immediately.
‘Further east, the situation is more satisfactory. At Fort Shake is the Harridict Brigade, with the Artisan Battalion encamped outside the Manse—more exercises.’
‘How long will it take the Whitefinders to reach High Fort?’ the king asked.
‘Reach and Thetil Roads are in good repair, sire. Five days. They leave tomorrow. I would emphasize again, the Ceda’s mages are a major tactical advantage. Our communications are instantaneous.’
‘But I want something more,’ Ezgara said in a growl. ‘I want something preemptive, Preda. I want them to change their minds on this damned war.’
Unnutal slowly turned to catch Kuru Qan with her gaze. ‘Ceda?’
‘Relevant? Less than we would hope. You want their villages struck? Those just beyond the mountains? Very well.’
‘How soon can you arrange it?’ the king asked.
‘The cadre in Trate is assembling, sire. Dawn, three days from now.’
‘Pray to the Errant that it dissuades them.’ The king managed a wry grin as he watched the Ceda resume his pacing. ‘But you are not confident that it will, are you, Kuru Qan?’
‘I am not, sire. Fortunately, I do not believe even Hull would suspect that we would attack the Edur villages.’
Brys felt his blood grow cold. ‘Ceda? Has my brother…?’
A sorrowful nod. ‘This is a path Hull Beddict has been walking on for a long time. No-one here is surprised, Finadd.’
Brys swallowed, then struggled to speak. ‘I would have…thought…given that knowledge—’
‘That he would have been assassinated?’ Ezgara asked. ‘No, Brys. His presence is to our tactical advantage, not this damned upstart emperor’s. We are well aware he is advising the Edur on our manner of waging war, and we mean to make use of that.’ The king paused, looked up. ‘Hull’s actions in no way impugn you in our eyes, Brys. Be assured of that.’
‘Thank you, sire.’ And to prove your word, you invite me to this meeting. ‘It is unfortunate that Nifadas failed in his mission. What do we know of this new “upstart” emperor you mentioned?’
‘He has vast magic at his command,’ Kuru Qan replied distractedly. ‘We can discern little more than that.’
The First Concubine moved from the king’s side, seemingly distracted.
‘The most relevant detail for us,’ Unnutal Hebaz added, ‘is that he is in possession of absolute loyalty among the Edur tribes. And, although Hannan Mosag has been usurped, the Warlock King now stands at the emperor’s side as his principal adviser.’
Brys was startled by that. ‘The Warlock King simply stepped aside? That is…extraordinary.’
The Preda nodded. ‘Sufficient to give us pause. Our forward posts have reported sightings along the frontier. Shadows moving at night.’
‘The wraiths,’ the Ceda said, his expression souring. ‘We have dealt with them before, of course, and effectively so. None the less, they are an irritant.’
‘Do the Tiste Edur have sacred sites?’ Nisall asked from where she now stood, close to the far wall. Faces turned towards her. Arms crossed, she shrugged. ‘Sorcery that annihilates those sites might well weaken their hold on these wraiths. Wasn’t something similar done to the Nerek and the Tarthenal?’
The Ceda seemed saddened by the suggestion, but he nodded and said, ‘An interesting notion, First Concubine. The Edur are very secretive regarding their sacred sites. Although it does appear to be the case that the very ground beneath their villages is sanctified. Thus, when we destroy those villages, the result may well prove more profound than we imagine. This is a relevant consideration. As for the hidden groves and such, we should make use of the various Acquitors who are familiar with that territory.’
‘How soon will the delegation reach the Mouth at Gedry?’ Brys asked the Preda.
She nodded towards Kuru Qan. ‘The return journey is being hastened. A week, no more.’
Then three days up the river to arrive here. The war would be well under way by then. ‘Sire, may I ask a question of you?’
‘Of course, Brys.’
‘Where is the Queen’s Battalion?’
A momentary silence, then the Preda cleared her throat. ‘If I may, sire…’
Thin-lipped, the king nodded.
‘Finadd, the queen has taken personal command of her forces, along with the Quillas Brigade. She insists on independence in this matter. Accordingly, we are not factoring those assets into our discussion.’
‘My dear wife has always held them to be her own, private army,’ Ezgara Diskanar said. ‘So be it. Better to have them pursuing her ambitions in the field than here in Letheras.’
‘That being said,’ Unnutal Hebaz added, ‘we believe they are less than a league south of High Fort, marching northward to meet the Edur in the pass. Her doctrine seems to be one of striking first and striking hard. She will set her mages to clearing the wraiths from her path, which will no doubt be telling enough to eliminate the element of surprise.’
‘Is she leading them in person?’
‘She and her retinue departed four days ago,’ the king said.
Brys thought back to that time. ‘The royal visit to her keep at Dissent?’
‘That was the pretext.’
‘Then will Prince Quillas make an effort to join her?’
‘My son has separated his ship from the delegation and now makes for Trate.’
‘To what extent,’ Brys asked, ‘has her battalion made use of the caches in the region?’
‘Knowing her,’ the king snapped, ‘she’s damn near emptied them.’
‘We are hastening to replace the depleted stocks,’ Unnutal Hebaz said. ‘Obviously, we are forced to adjust our tactics as a consequence. We will fight defensively, in keeping with our doctrine, and, yes, the Edur will be expecting that. But we will not roll back. We will not retreat. Once engaged, we intend to maintain that contact. This will be, I believe, a brutal war—perhaps the most vicious war we have fought since conquering Bluerose’s League of Duchies.’
‘Now,’ the king said, ‘I would hear details on the defence of our frontier cities and the Sea of Katter. As well, the disposition of the fleets…’
Brys found the words that followed drifting into a formless murmur somewhere in the background. He was thinking of his brother, marching with the Tiste Edur to wage war on his homeland. On the kingdom that had so cruelly betrayed him. The queen and the prince would want him, desperately…or, at the very least, his head. And through Hull’s crimes, they would seek to strike at Brys, at his position as the king’s protector. They might well send soldiers to round up Tehol as well, on some fabricated pretext. The added pleasure of avenging financial losses incurred as a result of Tehol’s brilliant chaos. They would in fact, waste little time.
Brys needed to warn Tehol.
The Rat Catchers’ Guild Chief Investigator sat at a courtyard table beneath torchlight. A small heap of delicate bones sat in the centre of the large plate before her. Within reach was a crystal carafe of white wine. An extra goblet waited in front of the empty chair opposite her.
‘You’re not Tehol,’ she said as Bugg arrived and sat down. ‘Where’s Tehol and his immodest trousers?’
‘Not here, alas, Chief Investigator, but you can be certain that, wherever they are, they are together.’
‘Ah, so he has meetings with people more important than me? After all, were he sleeping, he would not be wearing the trousers, would he?’
‘I wouldn’t know, Rucket. Now, you requested this meeting?’
‘With Tehol.’
‘Ah, so this was to be romantic?’
She sniffed and took a moment to glare at the only other occupants of this midnight restaurant, a husband and wife clearly not married to each other who were casting suspicious glances their way, punctuated with close leaning heads and heated whispers. ‘This place serves a specific clientele, damn you. What’s your name again?’
‘Bugg.’
‘Oh yes. I recall being unsurprised the first time it was mentioned. Well, you kept me waiting, you little worm, and what’s that smell?’
Bugg withdrew a blackened, wrinkled strip, flat and slightly longer than his hand. ‘I found an eel in the fish market. Thought I’d make soup for myself and the master.’
‘Our financial adviser eats discarded eels?’
‘Frugality is a virtue among financiers, Chief Investigator.’ He tucked the dried strip back into his shirt. ‘How is the wine? May I?’
‘Well, why not? Here, care to pick the bones?’
‘Possibly. What was it originally?’
‘Cat, of course.’
‘Cat. Oh yes, of course. Well, I never liked cats anyway. All those hair balls.’ He drew the plate over and perused it to see what was left.
‘You have a fascination for feline genitalia? That’s disgusting, although I’ve heard worse. One of our minor catchers once tried to marry a rat. I myself possess peculiar interests, I freely admit.’
‘That’s nice,’ Bugg said, popping a vertebra into his mouth to suck out the marrow.
‘Well, aren’t you curious?’
‘No,’ he said around the bone. ‘Should I be?’
Rucket slowly leaned forward, as if seeing Bugg for the first time. ‘You…interest me now. I freely admit it. Do you want to know why?’
‘Why you freely admit it? All right.’
‘I’m a very open person, all things considered.’
‘Well, I am considering those things, and so consequently admit to being somewhat surprised.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me in the least, Bugg. What are you doing later tonight, and what’s that insect? There, on your shoulder?’
He pulled the vertebra out and reached for another. ‘It’s of the two-headed variety. Very rare, for what I imagine are obvious reasons. I thought my master would like to see it.’
‘So you permit it to crawl all over you?’
‘That would take days. It’s managed to climb from halfway up my arm to my shoulder and that’s taken over a bell.’
‘What a pathetic creature.’
‘I suspect it has difficulty making up its minds.’
‘You’re being funny, aren’t you? I have a thing for funny people. Why don’t you come home with me after you’ve finished here.’
‘Are you sure you don’t have any business to discuss with me? Perhaps some news for Tehol?’
‘Well, there’s a murderous little girl who’s undead, and she’s been killing lots of people, although less so lately. And Gerun Eberict has been far busier than it would outwardly seem.’
‘Indeed? But why would he hide that fact?’
‘Because the killings do not appear to be politically motivated.’
‘Oh? Then what are his motivations?’
‘Hard to tell. We think he just likes killing people.’
‘Well, how many has he killed this past year?’
‘Somewhere between two and three thousand, we think.’
Bugg reached with haste for his goblet. He drank the wine down, then coughed. ‘Errant take us!’
‘So, are you coming home with me or not? I have this cat-fur rug—’
‘Alas, my dear, I have taken a vow of celibacy.’
‘Since when?’
‘Oh, thousands of years…it seems.’
‘I am not surprised. But even more intrigued.’
‘Ah, it’s the lure of the unattainable.’
‘Are you truly unattainable?’
‘Extraordinary, but yes, I am.’
‘What a terrible loss for womanhood.’
‘Now you are being funny.’
‘No, I am being serious, Bugg. I think you are probably a wonderful lover.’
‘Aye,’ he drawled, ‘the very oceans heaved. Can we move on to some other subject? You want any more wine? No? Great.’ He collected the carafe, then drew a flask from from under his shirt and began the delicate task of pouring the wine into it.
‘Is that for your eel soup?’
‘Indeed.’
‘What happens now that I’ve decided to like you? Not just like you, I freely admit, but lust after you, Bugg.’
‘I have no idea, Rucket. May I take the rest of these scones?’
‘You certainly may. Would you like me to regurgitate my meal for you as well? I will, you know, for the thought that you will take into you what was previously in me—’
Bugg was waving both hands in the negative. ‘Please, don’t put yourself out for me.’
‘No need to look so alarmed. Bodily functions are a wonderful, indeed sensual, thing. Why, the mere blowing clear of a nose is a potential source of ecstasy, once you grasp its phlegmatic allure.’
‘I’d best be going, Rucket.’ He quickly rose. ‘Have a nice night, Chief Investigator.’ And was gone.
Alone once more, Rucket sighed and leaned back in her chair. ‘Well,’ she sighed contentedly, ‘it’s always been a sure-fire way of getting rid of unwanted company.’ She raised her voice. ‘Servant! More wine, please!’ That bit about clearing the nose was especially good, she decided. She was proud of that one, especially the way, she disguised the sudden nausea generated by her own suggestion.
Any man who’d cook that…eel had surely earned eternal celibacy.
Outside the restaurant, Bugg paused to check the contents of his shirt’s many hidden pockets. Flask, eel, cat bones. A successful meeting, after all. Moreover, he was appreciative of her performance. Tehol might well and truly like this one, I think. It was worth considering.
He stood for a moment longer, then allowed himself a soft laugh.
In any case, time to head home.
Tehol Beddict studied the three sad, pathetic women positioned variously in the chamber before him: Shand slumped behind the desk, her shaved pate looking dull and smudged; Rissarh lying down on a hard bench as if meditating on discomfort, her red hair spilled out and hanging almost to the floor; and Hejun, sprawled in a padded chair, refilling her pipe’s bowl, her face looking sickly and wan. ‘My,’ Tehol said with a sigh, his hands on his hips, ‘this is a tragic scene indeed.’
Shand looked up, bleary-eyed. ‘Oh, it’s you.’
‘Hardly the greeting I was anticipating.’ He strode into the room.
‘He’s gone,’ Hejun said, face twisting as she jabbed a taper into the coals of the three-legged brazier at her side. ‘And it’s Shand’s fault.’
‘As much yours as mine,’ Shand retorted. ‘And don’t forget Rissarh! “Oh, Ublala! Carry me around! Carry me around!” Talk about excess!’
‘Ublala’s departure is the cause for all this despond?’ Tehol shook his head. ‘My dears, you did indeed drive him away.’ He paused, then added with great pleasure, ‘Because none of you was willing to make a commitment. A disgusting display of self-serving objectification. Atrocious behaviour by each and every one of you.’
‘All right, all right, Tehol,’ Shand muttered. ‘We could have been more…compassionate.’
‘Respectful,’ Rissarh said.
‘Yes,’ Hejun said. ‘How could one not respect Ublala’s—’
‘See?’ Tehol demanded, then flung up his hands. ‘I am led to despair!’
‘You’ll have company here,’ Shand said.
‘He was to have been your bodyguard. That was the intent. Instead, you abused him—’
‘No we didn’t!’ Hejun snapped. ‘Well, only a little. All in good fun, anyway.’
‘And now I have to find you a new bodyguard.’
‘Oh no you don’t,’ Shand said, sitting straighter. ‘Don’t even think it. We’ve been corrupted enough—’
Tehol’s brows rose. ‘In any case,’ he said, ‘Ublala has now found someone who cares deeply for him—’
‘You idiot. She’s dead. She’s incapable of caring.’
‘Not true. Or, rather, there’s something inside her that does care. A lot. My point is, it’s time to get over it. There’s work to be done.’
‘We tried following up on that list you gave us. Half those companies don’t even exist. You tricked us, Tehol. In fact, we think this whole thing is a lie.’
‘What an absurd accusation. Granted, I padded the list somewhat, but only because you seemed to need to stay busy. Besides which, you’re now rich, right? Wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. My investment advice has been perfect thus far. How many money-lending institutions do you now hold interest in?’
‘All the big ones,’ Shand admitted. ‘But not controlling interest—’
‘Wrong. Forty per cent is sufficient and you’ve acquired that.’
‘How is forty per cent enough?’
‘Because I hold twenty. Or, if not me, then my agent, Bugg included. We are poised, dear ladies, to loose chaos upon the Tolls.’
He had their attention now, he saw. Even Rissarh sat up. Eyes fixed upon him, eyes in which the gleam of comprehension was dawning. ‘When?’ Hejun asked.
