A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 4

said. 'This warrior has defeated every
barrier surrounding this compound. I am not interested in
his words. Did you not hear the alarms? He fights as would
a Toblakai.'
    'They tried Drowning me too, once,' Ublala said.
    Samar Dev snorted. 'With him around, it truly is a struggle
to remain solemn, never mind dignified. A cure for
pomposity, Karsa Orlong – be sure to keep this one at your
side.'
    'Go.'
    She gestured with sudden contempt. 'Oh, fine, on with
you two, then. Later, Karsa, I will remind you of one thing.'
    'What?'
    She opened the door behind her. 'This oaf couldn't even
find your room.'
    Out in the corridor, Samar Dev heard a stirring from one
of the guards, then a groan and then, distinctly: 'What are
all those lights?'

CHAPTER TWELVE
    I looked to the west and saw a thousand suns setting.
    Sidivar Trelus
    The earthy smell of the dung-fires preceded the first
sighting of the Awl army. Beneath the smudged
light of a dull moon, the Atri-Preda and Brohl
Handar rode with the scout troop to the base of a ridge,
where they dismounted and, leaving one soldier with the
horses, set out on foot up the slope.
    The summit was almost devoid of grasses, knobs of angular
bedrock pushing through where the ceaseless winds had
eroded away the scant soil. Dropping down low, the half-dozen
Letherii and one Tiste Edur edged up between the
outcroppings, filling the spaces in the broken spine of basalt.
    Beyond, perhaps a third of a league distant, burned the
cookfires of the enemy. A sea of fallen, smouldering stars,
spreading out to fill the basin of an entire valley, then up
the far slope, defining its contours.
    'How many do you judge?' Brohl Handar asked the Atri-Preda in a low voice.
    Bivatt sighed. 'Combatants? Maybe ten, eleven
thousand. These armies are more like migrations, Overseer.
Everyone tags along.'
    'Then where are the herds?'
    'Probably the other side of the far valley.'
    'So tomorrow, we ride to battle.'
    'Yes. And again, I advise that you and your bodyguard
remain with the train—'
    'That will not be necessary,' Brohl Handar cut in, repeating
words he had uttered a dozen times in the past three
days and nights. 'There are Edur warriors with you, and
they will be used, yes?'
    'If needed, Overseer. But the fight awaiting us looks to be
no different from all the others we Letherii have had
against these people of the plains. It looks as if Redmask
was not able to sway the elders with any new schemes. It's
the old tactics – the ones that fail them time and again.'
She was silent for a moment, then she continued, 'The
valley behind us is called Bast Fulmar. It has some arcane
significance for the Awl. That is where we will meet.'
    He turned his head and studied her in the gloom. 'You
are content to let them choose the place of battle?'
    She snorted. 'Overseer, if these lands were filled with
defiles, canyons, arroyos or impassable rivers – or forests –
then indeed I would think carefully about engaging the
enemy where they want us to. But not here. Visibility is not
an issue – with our mages the Awl cannot hide in any case.
There are no difficult avenues of retreat, no blinds. The
fight tomorrow will be brutal in its simplicity. Awl ferocity
against Letherii discipline.'
    'And with this Redmask leading them, they will be ferocious
indeed.'
    'Yes. But it will fail in the end.'
    'You are confident, Atri-Preda.'
    He caught her smile. 'Relieved, Overseer. This night, I
see only what I have seen a dozen times before. Do not
imagine, however, that I am dismissing the enemy. It will
be bloody.' With that she gestured, and the group began
withdrawing from the ridgeline.
    As they made their way down to the waiting horses,
Brohl Handar said, 'I saw no pickets, Atri-Preda. Nor
mounted outriders. Does that not seem odd to you?'
    'No. They know we are close. They wanted us to see that
camp.'
    'To achieve what? Some pointless effort to overawe us?'
    'Something like that, yes.'
    You invite me to feel contempt for these Awl. Why? So that you can justify not using the Tiste Edur? The K'risnan? You want this victory on the morrow to be Letherii. You do not want to find yourself beholden to the Edur – not for this grand theft of land and beast, this harvesting of slaves.
    So, I suspect, the Factor instructed. Letur Anict is not one to share the spoils.
    I, Atri-Preda, am not relieved.
    'Stone-tipped arrows – you are truly a fool. They will break
against Letherii armour. I can expect nothing from you. At
least I