The Malazan Empire, page 915
Old man, give me your skin.
When she’d removed the last spine she reached up and settled a hand on its blazoned brow. ‘Better? I hope so, friend.’
‘Mercy,’ said a thin voice in accented trader tongue, ‘I’d forgotten about that.’
Setoc stepped round the horse and saw, lying in a careless sprawl on the ground, a corpse. For an instant her breath caught—‘Toc?’
‘Who? No. Saw him, though, once. Funny eyes.’
‘Does nothing dead ever go away around here?’ Setoc demanded, fear giving way to anger.
‘I don’t know, but can you even hope to imagine the anguish people like me feel when seeing one such as you? Young, flush, with such clear and bright eyes. You make me miserable.’
Setoc drew the horse round.
‘Wait! Help me up—I’m snagged on something. I don’t mind being miserable, so long as I have someone to talk to. Being miserable without anyone to talk to is far worse.’
Really. Setoc walked over. Studied the corpse. ‘You have a stake through your chest,’ she said.
‘A stake? Oh, a spoke, you mean. That explains it.’
‘Does it?’
‘Well, no. Things got confused. I believe, however, I am lying on a fragment of the hub, with perhaps another fragment of spoke buried deep in the earth. This is what happens when a carriage gets picked up and then dropped back down. I wonder if horses have much memory. Probably not, else this one would still be running. So, beautiful child, will you help me?’
She reached down. ‘Take my arm, then—can you manage that much? Good, now hold tight while I try and lift you clear.’
It was easier than she’d expected. Skin and bones don’t weigh much, do they?
‘I am named Cartographer,’ said the corpse, ineffectually trying to brush dust from his rags.
‘Setoc.’
‘So very pleased to meet you.’
‘I thought I made you miserable.’
‘I delight in misery.’
She grunted. ‘You’ll fit right in. Come with me.’
‘Wonderful, where are you going?’
‘We’re going after your carriage—tell me, is everyone in it dead like you?’
Cartographer seemed to ponder the question, and then he said, ‘Probably. But let’s find out, shall we?’
The children of Onos Toolan and Hetan seemed unaffected by the arrival of yet another animated corpse. When Cartographer saw Baaljagg he halted and pointed, but said nothing.
Setoc took the boy’s hand and led him close to the horse. She vaulted on to the animal’s back and reached down and lifted up the boy.
The twins set out once more on the trail. Baaljagg fell in with them.
‘Did you know,’ Cartographer said, ‘the dead still dream?’
‘No,’ said Setoc, ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘Sometimes I dream that a dog will find me.’
‘A dog?’
‘Yes. A big one, as big as that one.’
‘Well, it seems your dream has come true.’
‘I hope not.’
She glanced down at him as he trudged beside the horse. ‘Why?’
‘Because, in my dream, the dog buries me.’
Thinking back to her vision of Baaljagg clawing free of the ground, she smiled. ‘I don’t think you have to worry about that, not with this dog, Cartographer.’
‘I hope you are right. I do have one question, however.’
She sighed. A corpse that won’t shut up. ‘Go on.’
‘Where are we?’
‘The Wastelands.’
‘Ah, that explains it, then.’
‘Explains what?’
‘Why, all this . . . waste.’
‘Have you ever heard of the Wastelands, Cartographer?’
‘No.’
‘So let me ask you something. Where did your carriage come from, and how is it you don’t even know the land you were travelling in?’
‘Given my name, it is indeed pathetic that I know so little. Of course, this land was once an inland sea, but then one might say that of countless basins on any number of continents. So that hardly amounts to brilliant affirmation of my profession. Alas, since dying, I have been forced to radically reassess all my most cherished notions.’
‘Are you ever going to answer my questions?’
‘Our arrival was sudden, but Master Quell judged it propitious. The client expressed satisfaction and indeed no small amount of astonishment. Far better this wretched land than the realm within a cursed sword, and I would hardly be one to dispute that, would I? Maps being what they are and such. Naturally, it was inevitable that we let down our guard. Ah, see ahead. Ample evidence of that.’
The tracks seemed to vanish for fifteen or twenty paces. Where they resumed wreckage lay scattered about, including half an axle.
A lost horse and a lost wheel behind them, half an axle here—how had the thing managed to keep going? And what was it doing in that gap? Flying?
‘Spirits below, Cartographer—’ and then she stopped. From her height astride the horse, she could make something out ahead. Daylight was fading, but still . . . ‘I see it.’
Two more stretches without tracks, then where they resumed various parts of ornate carriage lay strewn about. She saw one large section of painted wood, possibly from the roof, bearing deep gouges scored through it, as if some massive hand had been tearing the carriage to pieces. Some distance ahead rested the carriage itself, or what was left of it. The humped forms of dead horses lay thrown about to the sides.
‘Cartographer—’
‘It struck from the sky,’ the corpse replied. ‘Was it a dragon? It most assuredly was not. An enkar’al? What enkar’al could boldly lift from the ground the entire carriage and all its horses? No, not an enkar’al. Mind you, I was witness only to the first attack—tell me, Setoc, do you see anyone?’
‘Not yet,’ she replied. ‘Stavi, Storii! Hold up there.’ She lifted the boy and set him down on the ground. ‘I will ride ahead. I know it’s getting dark, but keep your eyes on the sky—there’s something up there.’ Somewhere. Hopefully not close.
The horse was nervous beneath her, reluctant to draw nearer to the carriage, but she coaxed it on.
Its fellow beasts had been torn apart, bones splintered, gouges of flesh missing. Everywhere those same thin but deep slashes. Talons. Enormous and deadly sharp.
She found the first corpse, a man. He had wrapped the ends of the traces about his forearms and both arms were horribly dislocated, almost pulled free of the shoulders. Something had slashed through his head diagonally, from above, she judged. Through his skullcap helm, down along one side of the nose and out beneath the jaw, leaving him with half a face. Just beyond him was another man, neatly decapitated—she couldn’t see the head anywhere close by.
She halted her mount a few paces from the destroyed carriage. It had been huge, six-wheeled, likely weighing as much as a clan yurt with the entire family shoved inside. The attacker had systematically dismantled it from one flank, as if eager to get within. Blood stained the edges of the gaping hole it had made.
Setoc clambered up to peer inside. No body. But a mass of something was heaped on the side that was now the floor, gleaming wet in the gloom. She waited for her eyes to adjust. Then, in revulsion, she pulled back. Entrails. An occupant had been eviscerated. Where was the rest of the poor victim? She perched herself on the carriage and scanned the area.
There. Half of him, anyway. The upper half.
And then she saw tracks, the ground scuffed, three or four paths converging to form a broader one, and that one led away from the wreckage, eastward. Survivors. But they must have been on the run, else they would have done more for their dead. Still, a few made it . . . for a little while longer, anyway.
She descended from the carriage and mounted the horse. ‘Sorry, friend, but it looks like you’re the last.’ Swinging the horse round, she rode back to the others.
‘How many bodies?’ Cartographer asked when she arrived.
‘Three for certain. Tracks lead away.’
‘Three, you say?’
‘That I saw. Two on the ground, one in the carriage—or, rather, bits of him left in the carriage.’
‘A man? A man in the carriage?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh, dear. That is very bad indeed.’
Returning to the wreckage, Cartographer moved to stand over each victim, shaking his head and muttering in low tones—possibly a prayer—Setoc wasn’t close enough to hear his words. He rejoined her once they were past.
‘I find myself in some conflict,’ he said. ‘On the one hand, I wish I’d been here to witness that dread clash, to see Trake’s Mortal Sword truly awakened. To see the Trell’s rage rise from the deepness of his soul. On the other hand, witnessing the gruesome deaths of those I had come to know as friends, well, that would have been terrible. As much as it grieves me to say, there are times when getting what one wants yields nothing but confusion. It turns out that what one wants is in fact not at all what one wants. Worse is when you simply don’t know what you want. You’d think death would discard such trials. If only it did.’
‘There’s blood on this trail,’ said Setoc.
‘I wish that surprised me. Still, they must have succeeded in driving the demon away, in itself an extraordinary feat.’
‘How long ago did all this happen?’
‘Not long. I was lying on the ground from midmorning. I imagine we’ll find them—’
‘We already have,’ she said. ‘They’ve camped.’
She could see the faint glow of a small fire, and now figures straightening, turning to study them. The sun was almost down behind Setoc and her companions, so she knew the strangers were seeing little more than silhouettes. She raised a hand in greeting, urging her mount forward with a gentle tap of her heels.
Two of the figures were imposing: one broad and bestial, his skin the hue of burnished mahogany, his black braided hair hanging in greasy coils. He was holding a two-handed mace. The other was taller, his skin tattooed in the stripes of a tiger, and as Setoc drew closer, she saw a feline cast to his features, including amber eyes bisected by vertical pupils. The two heavy-bladed swords in his hands matched the barbed patterns of his skin.
Three others were visible, two women and a tall, young man. He was long-jawed and long-necked, with blood-matted hair. A knotted frown marred his high forehead, above dark, angry eyes. He stood slightly apart from all the others.
Setoc’s eyes returned to the two women. Both short and plump, neither one much older than Setoc herself. But their eyes looked aged: bleak, dulled with shock.
Two more survivors were lying close to the fire, asleep or unconscious.
The bestial man was the first to speak, addressing Cartographer but not in a language that Setoc recognized. The undead man replied in the same tongue, and then turned to Setoc.
‘Mappo Runt welcomes you with a warning. They are being hunted.’
‘I know,’ she said. ‘Cartographer, you seem to have a talent for languages—’
‘Hood’s gift, for the tasks he set upon me. Mappo addresses me in a Daru dialect, a trader’s cant. He does so to enable his companions to understand his words, as they are Genabackan, while he is not.’
‘What is he, then?’
‘Trell, Setoc—’
‘And the striped one—what manner of creature is he?’
‘Trake’s Mortal Sword—’
‘Meaning what?’
‘Ah. Trake is the Tiger of Summer, a foreign god. Gruntle is the god’s chosen mortal weapon.’
The one Cartographer had named Gruntle now spoke, his eerie eyes fixed upon Setoc. She noted that he had not sheathed his swords, whilst the Trell had set down his mace.
‘Setoc,’ said Cartographer after Gruntle had finally finished, ‘the Mortal Sword names you Destriant of Fanderay and Togg, the Wolves of Winter. You are, in a sense, kin. Another servant of war. Yet, though Trake may view you and your Lady and Lord as mortal enemies, Gruntle does not. Indeed, he says, he holds his own god in no high esteem, nor is he pleased with . . . er, well, he calls it a curse. Accordingly, you are welcome and need not fear him. Conversely,’ Cartographer then added, ‘if you seek violence then he will oblige your wish.’
Setoc found her heart was pounding hard and rapid in her chest. Her mouth was suddenly dry. Destriant. Have I heard that word before? Did Toc so name me? Or was it someone else? ‘I am not interested in violence,’ she said.
When Cartographer relayed her reply, Gruntle glanced once at the undead wolf standing between the twins—Baaljagg’s bristled back was unmistakable—and then the Mortal Sword momentarily bared impressive fangs, before nodding once and sheathing his weapons. And then he froze, as the twins’ brother toddled forward, seemingly heading straight for Gruntle.
‘Klavklavklavklav!’
Setoc saw the Trell start at that, turning to study the boy who now stood directly in front of Gruntle with arms outspread.
‘He wants Gruntle to pick him up,’ Setoc said.
‘I’m sure Gruntle can see that,’ said Cartographer. ‘A most fearless child. The word he seeks is Imass. I did not think such things even existed. Imass children, I mean.’
Gruntle snatched up the boy, who yelped in delight, filling the night air with laughter.
Setoc heard Baaljagg’s low growl and glanced over. Although the undead beast made no move, the black pits of its eyes were fixed—as much as could be determined—upon the Mortal Sword and the child he held. ‘Getting killed once wasn’t enough?’ she asked the giant wolf. ‘The pup needs no help.’
The twins had edged closer to Setoc, who now dismounted. ‘It’s all right,’ she said to them.
‘Mother said cats were teeth and claws without brains,’ said Storii. She pointed at Gruntle. ‘He looks like his mother slept with a cat.’
‘Your brother isn’t afraid.’
‘Too stupid to be scared,’ said Stavi.
‘These ones,’ said Setoc, ‘fought off the sky demon, but they didn’t kill it, else we would have found the carcass. Would we be safer with or without them?’
‘I wish Toc was here.’
‘So do I, Storii.’
‘Where were they going, anyway? There’s nothing in the Wastelands.’
At Storii’s question Setoc shrugged. ‘I can’t quite get an answer to that yet, but I will keep trying.’
The two women had returned to tending their wounded companions. The tall young man remained off to one side, looking agitated. Setoc stepped closer to Cartographer. ‘What is wrong with that man?’
‘It is, I am told, ever a misjudgement to view a Bole of the Mott Irregulars with contempt. Amby is angry and that anger is slow to fade. His brother is sorely wounded, near death, in fact.’
‘Does he blame Gruntle or Mappo for that?’
‘Hardly. Oh, I gather that both of those you speak of fought valiantly against the sky demon—certainly, the Mortal Sword is made for such encounters. But neither Gruntle nor Mappo succeeded in driving the creature away. The Boles despise such things as demons and the like. And once awakened to anger, they prove deadly against such foes. Precious Thimble calls it a fever. But Master Quell suggested that the Boles themselves are the spawn of sorcery, perhaps a Jaghut creation gone awry. Would that explain the Boles’ extravagant hatred for Jaghut? Possibly. In any case, it was Amby and Jula Bole who sent the demon fleeing. But the residue of that fury remains in Amby, suggesting that he maintains his readiness should the demon be foolish enough to return.’
Setoc studied the man with renewed interest, and more than a little disbelief. What did he do to it, bite it with those huge front teeth?
Cartographer then said, ‘Earlier, you mentioned Toc. We here all know him. Indeed, it was Toc who guided us from the realm of Dragnipur. And Gruntle, why, he once got drunk with Toc Anaster—that would be before Toc got himself killed, one presumes.’
The twins were listening to this, and Setoc saw relief in their eyes. More friends of Toc. Will that do, girls? Seemed it would.
‘Cartographer, what is a Destriant?’
‘Ah. Well. A Destriant is one who is chosen from among all mortals to wear the skin of a god.’
‘The—the skin?’
‘Too poetic? Let me think, then. Look into the eyes of a thousand priests. If there is a Destriant among that thousand, you will find him or her. How? The truth is in their eyes, for you shall, in looking into those eyes, find yourself looking upon the god’s own.’
‘Toc bears a wolf’s eye.’
‘Because he is the Herald of War.’
The title chilled her. ‘Then why is his other eye not a wolf’s eye, too?’
‘It was human, I’m sure.’
‘Exactly. Why?’
Cartographer made the mistake of scratching his temple, and came away with a swath of crinkled skin impaled on his fingernails. He fluttered his fingers to send it drifting away into the night. ‘Because, I imagine, humans are the true heralds of war, don’t you think?’
‘Maybe.’ But she wasn’t so sure. ‘Toc was leading us into the east. If he’s the Herald of War, as you say, then . . .’
Cartographer nodded. ‘I should think so, Setoc. He was leading you to a place and a time where you will be needed.’
As Destriant to the Wolves of Winter. To gods of war. She looked over to where Baaljagg stood, just beyond the firelight. Deathly and deathly still, the huge teeth for ever bared, the eyes for ever empty.
The skin of war.
And I am to wear it. Her attention snapped over to Gruntle. ‘Cartographer.’
‘Yes?’
‘He said he holds his god in no high esteem. He said he calls what he is a curse.’
‘That is true.’
‘I need to talk to him.’
‘Of course, Setoc.’
The Mortal Sword had sat down by the fire, with the boy perched on one bouncing knee. The barbed tattoos seemed to have inexplicably faded, as had the feline traits of his features. The man looked almost human now, barring the eyes. There was quiet pleasure in the face.
What would Onos Toolan have made of this? Toc, were you bringing us to these ones? She sighed. The skin of war. The Wolves want me to wear it.
