Distant horns sounded. 'All right, everyone,' Strings said from the road. 'Let's move.'
Groaning wagon wheels, clacking and thumping on the uneven cobbles, rocking in the ruts, the lowing of oxen, thousands of soldiers lurching into motion, the sounds a rising clatter and roar, the first dust swirling into the air.
Koryk fell in alongside Bottle. 'They won't do it,' he said.
'Do what? Kill the captain?'
'I got a long look at her,' he said. 'She's not just from Korelri.
She's from the Stormwall.'
Bottle squinted at the burly warrior. 'How do you know that?'
'There's a silver tracing on her scabbard. She was a section commander.'
'That's ridiculous, Koryk. First, standing the Wall isn't something you can just resign from, if what I've heard is true. Besides, this woman's a captain, in the least-prepared Malazan army in the entire empire. If she'd commanded a section against the Stormriders, she'd rank as Fist at the very least.'
'Only if she told people, Bottle, but that tracing tells another story.'
Two strides ahead of them, Strings turned his head to regard them. '
So, you saw it too, Koryk.'
Bottle swung round to Smiles and Cuttle. 'You two hearing this?'
'So?' Smiles demanded.
'We heard,' Cuttle said, his expression sour. 'Maybe she just looted that scabbard from somewhere… but I don't think that's likely.
Smiles, lass, we'd best put our plans on a pyre and strike a spark.'
'Why?' she demanded. 'What's this Stormwall mean, anyway? And how come Koryk thinks he knows so much? He doesn't know anything, except maybe the back end of a horse and that only in the dark. Look at all your faces – I'm saddled with a bunch of cowards!'
'Who plan on staying alive,' Cuttle said.
'Smiles grew up playing in the sand with farm boys,' Koryk said, shaking his head. 'Woman, listen to me. The Stormwall is leagues long, on the north coast of Korelri. It stands as the only barricade between the island continent and the Stormriders, those demonic warriors of the seas between Malaz Island and Korelri – you must have heard of them?'
'Old fishers' tales.'
'No, all too real,' Cuttle said. 'I seen them myself, plying those waters. Their horses are the waves. They wield lances of ice. We slit the throats of six goats to paint the water in appeasement.'
'And it worked?' Bottle asked, surprised.
'No, but tossing the cabin boy over the side did.'
'Anyway,' Koryk said after a moment of silence, 'only chosen warriors are given the task of standing the Wall. Fighting those eerie hordes.
It's an endless war, or at least it was…'
'It's over?'
The Seti shrugged.
'So,' Smiles said, 'what's she doing here? Bottle's right, it doesn't make sense.'
'You could ask her,' Koryk replied, 'assuming you survive this day's march.'
'This isn't so bad,' she sniffed.
'We've gone a hundred paces, soldier,' Strings called back. 'So best save your breath.'
Bottle hesitated, then said to Smiles. 'Here, give me that – that captain ain't nowhere about, is she?'
'I never noticed nothing,' Strings said without turning round.
'I can do this-'
'We'll spell each other.'
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, then she shrugged. 'If you like.'
He took the second pack from her.
'Thanks, Bottle. At least someone in this squad's nice to me.'
Koryk laughed. 'He just doesn't want a knife in his leg.'
'We got to stick together,' Bottle said, 'now that we got ourselves a tyrant officer over us.'
'Smart lad,' Strings said.
'Still,' Smiles said, 'thanks, Bottle.'
He smiled sweetly at her.
'They've stopped moving,' Kalam muttered. 'Now why would that be?'
'No idea,' Quick Ben said at his side.
They were lying flat on the summit of a low ridge. Eleven Moon's Spawns hovered in an even row above another rise of hills two thousand paces distant. 'So,' the assassin asked, 'what passes for night in this warren?'
'It's on its way, and it isn't much.'
Kalam twisted round and studied the squad of soldiers sprawled in the dust of the slope behind them. 'And your plan, Quick?'
'We make use of it, of course. Sneak up under one-'
'Sneak up? There's no cover, there's nothing to even throw shadows!'
'That's what makes it so brilliant, Kalam.'
The assassin reached out and cuffed Quick Ben.
'Ow. All right, so the plan stinks. You got a better one?'
'First off, we send this squad behind us back to the Fourteenth. Two people sneaking up is a lot better than eight. Besides, I've no doubt they can fight but that won't be much use with a thousand K'Chain Che'
Malle charging down on us. Another thing – they're so cheery it's a struggle to keep from dancing.'
At that, Sergeant Gesler threw him a kiss.
Kalam rolled back round and glared at the stationary fortresses.
Quick Ben sighed. Scratched his smooth-shaven jaw. 'The Adjunct's orders…'
'Forget that. This is a tactical decision, it's in our purview.'
Gesler called up from below, 'She don't like us around either, Kalam.'
'Oh? And why's that?'
'She keeps cracking up in our company. I don't know. We was on the Silanda, you know. We went through walls of fire on that ship.'
'We've all led hard lives, Gesler…'
'Our purview?' Quick Ben asked. 'I like that. You can try it on her, later.'
'Let's send them back.'
'Gesler?'
'Fine with us. I wouldn't follow you two into a latrine, begging your sirs' pardon.'
Stormy added, 'Just hurry up about it, wizard. I'm getting grey waiting.'
'That would be the dust, Corporal.'
'So you say.'
Kalam considered, then said, 'We could take the hairy Falari with us, maybe. Care to come along, Corporal? As rearguard?'
'Rearguard? Hey, Gesler, you were right. They are going into a latrine. All right, assuming my sergeant here won't miss me too much.'
'Miss you?' Gesler sneered. 'Now at least I'll get women to talk to me.'
'It's the beard puts them off,' Stormy said, 'but I ain't changing for nobody.'
'It's not the beard, it's what lives in the beard.'
'Hood take us,' Kalam breathed, 'send them away, Quick Ben, please.'
