A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 3

Catal Sea, which was itself a substantial,
southward-jutting inlet, at the very bottom of which was
the heart of the Nemil Kingdom. But the man had simply
shaken his head, suddenly mute.
    Nether had, moments earlier, suggested that perhaps the
Edur fleet had clashed with these Perish. And suffered in
consequence.
    The Malazan fleet was cutting across the mouth of the
Catal Inlet now – as it was called on the Malazan maps – a
distance the captain had claimed was a journey of four days'
sailing under ideal conditions. The lead ships were already
a fourth of the way across.
    There was more than wind, magic or otherwise – the way
the horizons looked blurry, especially headlands ...
    'The Nemil,' Nil said, 'were not reluctant to speak of the
Edur.'
    'Yet they would say nothing at all of the Perish,' Nether
added.
    'History between them,' Keneb suggested.
    The others turned to him.
    Keneb shrugged. 'Just a thought. The Nemil are clearly
expansionist, and that entails a certain ... arrogance. They
devoured the Trell peoples, providing a reassuring symbol
of Nemil prowess and righteousness. It may be that the
Perish delivered an opposing symbol, something that both
shocked and humbled the Nemil – neither sentiment quite
fitting with their own notions of grandiosity. And so they
will not speak of it.'
    'Your theory makes sense,' the Adjunct said. 'Thank you,
Fist.' She turned and studied the riotous eastern sky.
'Humbled, yes,' she said in a low voice. 'In the writings of
Duiker, he speaks of the manifold scales to be found in war,
from the soldier facing another soldier, to the very gods
themselves locked in mortal combat. At first glance, it
seems an outrage to consider that such extremes can coexist,
yet Duiker then claims that the potential for cause
and effect can proceed in both directions.'
    'It would be comforting to think so,' Keneb said. 'I can
think of a few gods that I'd love to trip up right now.'
    'It may be,' the Adjunct said, 'that someone has preceded
you.'
    Keneb frowned. 'Do you know who, Adjunct?'
    She glanced at him, said nothing.
    Thus ends her momentary loquaciousness. Well. And what
did it tell me? She's well read, but I already knew that. Anything
else?
    No.
     
    Kalam pushed his way forward, slumped once more at
Quick Ben's side. 'It's official,' he said in the gloom of the
musty hold.
    'What is?'
    'We're still alive.'
    'Oh, that's good, Kal. I was sitting on coals down here
waiting for that news.'
    'I prefer that image to the reality, Quick.'
    'What do you mean?'
    'Well, the idea that you were hiding, your loincloth
suddenly baggy and a puddle spreading beneath you.'
    'You don't know anything. I do. I know more than I'd
ever want to—'
    'Impossible. You drink in secrets like Hellian does rum.
The more you know the drunker and more obnoxious you
get.'
    'Oh yeah? Well, I know things you'd want to know, and
I was going to tell you, but now I think I'll change my
mind—'
    'Out with it, wizard, before I go back up and tell the
Adjunct where she can find you.'
    'You can't do that. I need time to think, damn you.'
    'So talk. You can think while you're doing that, since
with you the two activities are clearly distinct and mostly
unrelated.'
    'What's got you so miserable?'
    'You.'
    'Liar.'
    'All right, me.'
    'That's better. Anyway, I know who saved us.'
    'Really?'
    'Well, sort of – he started the big rock rolling, at least.'
    'Who?'
    'Ganoes Paran.'
    Kalam scowled. 'All right, I'm less surprised than I
should be.'
    'Then you're an idiot. He did it by having a conversation
with Hood.'
    'How do you know?'
    'I was there, listening in. At Hood's Gate.'
    'What were you doing hanging around there?'
    'We were all going to die, weren't we?'
    'Oh, so you wanted to beat the rush?'
    'Hilarious, Kalam. No, I was planning on doing some
bargaining, but that's irrelevant now. Ended up, it was
Paran who did the bargaining. Hood said something. He
wants something – by his own damned breath, it shocked
me, let me tell you—'
    'So do that.'
    'No. I need to think.'
    Kalam closed his eyes and leaned back against the bale.
It smelled of oats. 'Ganoes Paran.' A pause, then, 'Do you
think she knows?'
    'Who, Tavore?'
    'Yes, who else?'
    'I have no idea. Wouldn't surprise me. Nothing about her
would surprise me, in fact. She might even be listening in
right now—'
    'Wouldn't you sense that?'
    'Kalam, something's wandering through this fleet tonight,
and it isn't pleasant, whatever it is. I keep feeling it brush
by ...