A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 3

before we arrived. A
half-dozen old Crow horse-warriors demanded that they
pursue and ravage the fleeing refugees.'
    'And where are they now?' Keneb asked.
    'Guarding the baggage train, hah!'
    Temul spoke. 'Inform the Adjunct that all gates are
sealed. A trench has been dug at the base of the tel, cutting
through the ramped roads on all sides, to a depth of nearly
a man's height. Yet, this trench is but two paces wide –
clearly the enemy ran out of time.'
    Out of time. Keneb wondered at that. With pressed
workers, Leoman could have had a far broader barrier
excavated within the span of a single day. 'Very well. Did
your scouts report any large weapons mounted on the walls
or on the roofs of the corner towers?'
    'Malazan-built ballistae, an even dozen,' Temul replied,
'ranged about at equal intervals. No sign of concentrations.'
    'Well,' Keneb said with a grunt, 'foolish to suppose that
Leoman would give away his perceived weak-points. And
those walls were manned?'
    'Yes, crowds, all shouting taunts to my warriors.'
    'And showing their naked backsides,' Gall added, turning
to spit.
    Roach trotted over to sniff at the gleaming phlegm, then
licked it up.
    Nauseous, Keneb looked away, loosening the chin-strap
of his helm. 'Fist Temul, have you made judgement as to
our surest approach?'
    Temul glanced over, expressionless. 'I have.'
    'And?'
    'And what, Fist? The Adjunct cares nothing for our
opinions.'
    'Perhaps not, but I would like to hear your thoughts in
any case.'
    'Ignore the gates. Use Moranth munitions and punch
right through a wall midway between tower and gate. Any
side will do. Two sides would be even better.'
    'And how will the sappers survive camping out at the
base of a wall?'
    'We attack at night.'
    'That is a risky thing to do.'
    Temul scowled, and said nothing.
    Gall turned to regard Keneb, his tear-etched face mildly
incredulous. 'We begin a siege, man, not a Hood-damned
fly dance.'
    'I know. But Leoman must have mages, and night will
not hide sappers from them.'
    'They can be countered,' Gall retorted. 'It's what our mages are for. But we waste our breaths with such things.
The Adjunct will do as she chooses.'
    Keneb faced right and studied the vast encampment of
the Fourteenth Army, arrayed to fend off a sortie, should
Leoman prove so foolish. The investiture would be a careful,
measured exercise, conducted over two or three days.
The range of the Malazan ballistae on the walls was well
known, so there would be no surprises there. Even so,
encirclement would stretch their lines appallingly thin.
They would need advance emplacements to keep an eye on
the gates, and Temul's Wickans and Seti, as well as Gall's
Khundryl horse-warriors, divided into companies and
positioned to respond should Leoman surprise them.
    The Fist shook his head. 'This is what I do not understand.
Admiral Nok's fleet is even now sailing for Lothal
with five thousand marines on board, and once Dujek
forces the last city to capitulate he will begin a fast march
to join us. Leoman must know his position is hopeless. He
cannot win, even should he maul us. We will still be able
to keep this noose knotted tight round Y'Ghatan, whilst we
wait for reinforcements. He is finished. So why does he
continue to resist?'
    'Aye,' said Gall. 'He should have carried on riding west,
out into the odhan. We would never have caught him out
there, and he could begin rebuilding, drawing warriors to
his cause.'
    Keneb glanced over. 'So, Warleader, you are as nervous
about this as I am.'
    'He means to bleed us, Keneb. Before he falls, he means
to bleed us.' A rough gesture. 'More barrows to ring this
cursed city. And he will die fighting, and so will become yet
another martyr.'
    'So, the killing of Malazans is sufficient cause to fight.
What have we done to deserve this?'
    'Wounded pride,' Temul said. 'It is one thing to suffer
defeat on a field of battle, it is another to be crushed when
your foe has no need even to draw a sword.'
    'Humiliated in Raraku,' Gall said, nodding. 'The growing
cancer in their souls. This cannot be carved out. The
Malazans must be made to know pain.'
    'That is ridiculous,' Keneb said. 'Was not the Chain of
Dogs glory enough for the bastards?'
    'The first casualty among the defeated is recalling their
own list of crimes, Fist,' Temul said.
    Keneb studied the young man. The foundling Grub was
often in Temul's company, and among the strange lad's
disordered host of peculiar observations, Grub had hinted
of glory, or perhaps