Lady Envy stood before them, chin propped on one hand as she studied the glyphs. 'How curious. The root of this language is Imari. Genostelian, I suspect.'
Toc rubbed sweaty dust from his brow. 'What do they say? Let me guess. "All who come here shall be torn in two, flayed alive, beheaded and badly beaten.'"
She glanced back at him, a brow raised. 'The one to the right indicates the road to Kel Tor. The one to the left, Bastion. None the less remarkable, for all the mundanity of the messages. Clearly, the Pannion Domin was once a Genostel colony — the Genostelians were distant seafarers, my dear. Alas, their glory waned centuries ago. A measure of their height is evinced by what we see before us, for the Genostel archipelago is halfway across the world from here.'
Grunting, Toc squinted up the heaved road that led to Bastion. 'Well, maybe their cities survived, but by all accounts the Pannions were once hill peoples. Herders. Barbaric. Rivals of the Daru and Gadrobi tribes. Your colony was conquered, Lady Envy.'
'It's always the way, isn't it? A civilization flowers, then a horde of grunting savages with close-set eyes show up and step on it. Malazan Empire take note.'
' "Never ignore the barbarians,"' Toc muttered. 'Emperor Kellanved's words.'
'Surprisingly wise. What happened to him?'
'He was murdered by a woman with close-set eyes. but she was from civilized stock. Napan … if you can call Napans civilized. From the heart of the empire, in any case.'
'Baaljagg looks restless, my dear. We should resume our journey, what with all these undead two-legged lizards on their way.'
'Tool said the nearest ones were still days distant. How far is it to Bastion?'
'We should arrive by dusk tomorrow night, assuming the distance indicated on these milestones remains accurate.'
They set off down the road, the Seguleh trailing with the travois. The cobbles underfoot, though worn deep in places, were now mostly clothed in grasses. There had been few if any travellers this season, and Toc saw no-one on the road as the day wound on. Old carcasses of cattle and sheep in the pastures to either side showed evidence of predation by wolves. No shepherds to tend the flocks, and among all domesticated livestock only goats and horses could survive a return to the wild.
As they paused for a mid-afternoon rest on the outskirts of yet another abandoned hamlet — this one without a temple — Toc checked his weapons one more time, then hissed in frustration and glared at Lady Envy who was sitting across from him. 'This doesn't make sense. The Domin's expanding. Voraciously. Armies need food. So do cities. If the countryside's home to nothing but ghosts, who in Hood's name is supplying them?'
Lady Envy shrugged. 'I am not the one to ask, my love. Questions of materiel and economics leave me deathly bored. Perhaps the answers to your irrelevant concerns will be found in Bastion.'
'Irrelevant?'
'Well, yes. The Domin is expanding. It has armies, and cities. These are facts. Details are for academics, Toc the Younger. Shouldn't you be concerning yourself with more salient matters, such as your survival?'
He stared at her, then slowly blinked. 'Lady Envy, I am already as good as dead. So why think about it?'
'Absurd! I value you too highly to see you simply cut down. You must learn to trust me, darling.'
He looked away. 'Details, Lady, reveal hidden truths. Know your enemy — that's a basic tenet. What you know you can use.' He hesitated, then continued. 'Details can lead one to trust, as well, when it comes to the motives and interests of those who would be allies.'
'Ah, I see. And what is it you wish to know?'
He met her eyes. 'What are you doing here?'
'Why, Toc the Younger, have you forgotten? Your T'lan Imass companion has said that the secrets of the Morn Rent can only be found within the Domin.'
'A convenience, Lady,' he growled. 'You're busy manipulating. All of us. Me, the Seguleh, even Tool himself He gestured. 'Garath, your pup. He could be a Hound of Shadow-'
'He could be indeed,' she smiled. 'I believe, however, that he is reluctant.'
'What does that mean?'
'You are very easily exasperated, my dear. If you're a leaf trembling on a wide, deep river, relax and ride the current. It's always worked for me, I assure you. As for manipulation, do you truly believe I have the power to pull and prod a T'lan Imass? The Seguleh are, uhm, unique — we travel in step, after all, thus the notion of coercion does not arise.'
'Not yet, maybe. But it will, Lady.'