A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 2

wait for the time being.'
    Nodding, Gamet glanced around until he spied the lone high-backed chair set against one of the small room's walls. It looked anything but comfortable, which was probably an advantage, given his weariness. Ominous creaks sounded when he settled into the chair and he grimaced. 'No wonder Pormqual didn't send this one off with all the rest,' he muttered.
    'It is my understanding,' Nok said, 'that the transport ship in question sank in the harbour of Malaz City, taking the late High Fist's loot with it.'
    Gamet's wiry brows rose. 'All that way ... just to sink in the harbour? What happened?'
    The admiral shrugged. 'None of the crew reached the shore to tell the tale.'
    None?
    Nok seemed to note his scepticism, for he elaborated, 'Malaz Harbour is well known for its sharks. A number of dories were found, all awash but otherwise empty.'
    The Adjunct had, uncharacteristically, been permitting the exchange to continue, leading Gamet to wonder if Tavore had sensed a hidden significance to the mysterious loss of the transport ship. Now she spoke. 'It remains, then, a peculiar curse – unexplained founderings, empty dories,
lost crews. Malaz Harbour is indeed notorious for its sharks, particularly since they seem uniquely capable of eating victims whole, leaving no remnants whatsoever.'
    'There are sharks that can do just that,' Nok replied. 'I know of at least twelve ships on the muddy bottom of the harbour in question—'
    'Including the Twisted,' the Adjunct drawled, 'the old emperor's flagship, which mysteriously slipped its moorings the night after the assassinations, then promptly plummeted into the deeps, taking its resident demon with it.'
    'Perhaps it likes company,' Nok observed. 'The island's fishermen all swear the harbour's haunted, after all. The frequency with which nets are lost—'
    'Admiral,' Tavore cut in, her eyes resting on the dead hearth, 'there is you, and three others. All who are left.'
    Gamet slowly straightened in his chair. Three others. High Mage Tayschrenn, Dujek Onearm, and Whiskeyjack. Four . . . gods, is that all now? Tattersail, Bellurdan, Nightchill, Duiker . . . so many fallen —
    Admiral Nok was simply studying the Adjunct. He had stood against the wrath of the Empress, first with Cartheron Crust's disappearance, then Urko's and Ameron's. Whatever answers he had given, he had done so long ago.
    'I do not speak for the Empress,' Tavore said after a moment. 'Nor am I interested in ... details. What interests me is ... a matter of personal ... curiosity. I would seek to understand, Admiral, why they abandoned her.'
    There was silence, filling the room, growing towards something like an impasse. Gamet leaned back and closed his eyes. Ah, lass, you ask questions of . . . of loyalty, as would someone who has never experienced it. You reveal to this admiral what can only be construed as a critical flaw. You command the Fourteenth Army, Adjunct, yet you do so in isolation, raising the very barricades you must needs take down if you would truly lead. What does Nok think of this, now? Is it any wonder he does not —
    'The answer to your question,' the admiral said, 'lies in what was both a strength and a flaw of the Emperor's ... family. The family that he gathered to raise an empire. Kellanved began with but one companion – Dancer. The two then hired a handful of locals in Malaz City and set about conquering the criminal element in the city – I should point out, that criminal element happened to rule the entire island. Their target was Mock, Malaz Island's unofficial ruler. A pirate, and a cold-blooded killer.'
    'Who were these first hirelings, Admiral?'
    'Myself, Ameron, Dujek, a woman named Hawl – my wife. I had been First Mate to a corsair that worked the sea lanes around the Napan Isles – which had just been annexed by Unta and were providing a staging point for the Untan king's planned invasion of Kartool. We'd taken a beating and had limped into Malaz Harbour, only to have the ship and its crew arrested by Mock, who was negotiating a trade of prisoners with Unta. Only Ameron and Hawl and I escaped. A lad named Dujek discovered where we were holed up and he delivered us to his new employers. Kellanved and Dancer.'
    'Was this before they were granted entry into the Deadhouse?' Gamet asked.
    'Aye, but only just. Our residency in the Deadhouse rewarded us with – as is now clearly evident – certain gifts. Longevity, immunity to most diseases, and ... other