Dujek frowned. 'And what so amuses your master, bird?'
'Bird?' the Great Raven shrieked. 'I am Crone, the unchallenged matriarch of Moon's Spawn's cacophonous, vast murder of kin!'
Whiskeyjack grunted. 'Matriarch to the Great Ravens? You speak for them all, do you? I'd accept that — Hood knows you're loud enough.'
'Upstart! Dujek Onearm, my master's amusement is beyond explanation-'
'Meaning you don't know,' the renegade High Fist interjected.
'Outrageous audacity — show respect, mortal, else I choose your carcass to feed on when the day comes!'
'You'd likely break your beak on my hide, Crone, but you're welcome to it when that moment arrives.'
Brood growled, 'Do you still have that beak-strap, Hurlochel?'
'I do, sir.'
The Great Raven hissed, ducking her head and half raising her vast wings. 'Don't you dare, ox! Repeat that affront at your peril!'
'Then hold your tongue.' Brood faced the others and waved them to the entrance. Crone, perched over everyone, bobbed her head as each soldier strode beneath her. When it was the Mhybe's turn the Great Raven chuckled. 'The child in your hand is about to surprise us all, old woman.'
The Rhivi paused. 'What do you sense, old crow?'
Crone laughed in silence before replying, 'Immanence, dearest clay pot, and naught else. Greetings, child Silverfox.'
The girl studied the Great Raven for a moment, then said, 'Hello, Crone. I had not before realized that your kind were born in the rotting flesh of a-'
'Silence!' Crone shrieked. 'Such knowledge should never be spoken! You must learn to remain silent, child — for your own safety-'
'For yours, you mean,' Silverfox said, smiling.
'In this instance, aye, I'll not deny it. Yet listen to this wise old creature before stepping into this tent, child. There are those waiting within who will view the extent of your awareness — should you be foolish enough to reveal it — as the deadliest threat. Revelations could mean your death. And know this: you are not yet able to protect yourself. Nor can the Mhybe, whom I cherish and love, hope to defend you — hers is not a violent power. You will both need protectors, do you understand?'
Her smile unperturbed, Silverfox nodded.
The Mhybe's hand tightened instinctively around her daughter's, even as a tumult of emotions assailed her. She was not blind to the threats to Silverfox and herself, nor was she unaware of the powers burgeoning within the child. But I sense no power within me, violent or otherwise. Though spoken with affection, Crone named me 'clay pot' in truth, and all that it once protected is no longer within me, but standing here, exposed and vulnerable, at my side. She glanced up at the Great Raven one last time as Silverfox led her inside. She met Crone's black, glittering eyes. Love and cherish me, do you, crow? Bless you for that.
The command tent's central chamber was dominated by a large map table of rough-hewn wood, warped and misshapen as if cobbled together by a drunken carpenter. As the Mhybe and Silverfox entered, the veteran Whiskeyjack — helmet unstrapped and under one arm — was laughing, his eyes fixed upon the table.
'You bastard, Warlord,' he said, shaking his head.
Brood was frowning at the object of Whiskeyjack's attention. 'Aye, I'll grant you it's not pretty-'
'That's because Fiddler and Hedge made the damned thing,' the Malazan said. 'In Mott Wood-'
'Who are Fiddler and Hedge?'
'My two sappers, when I was commanding the Ninth Squad. They'd organized one of their notorious card games, using the Deck of Dragons, and needed a surface on which to play it. A hundred fellow Bridgeburners had gathered for the game, despite the fact that we were under constant attack, not to mention bogged down in the middle of a swamp. The game was interrupted by a pitched battle — we were overrun, then driven back, then we retook the position, all of which consumed maybe a bell — and lo, someone had walked off with a two hundred pound table in the meantime! You should have heard the sappers cursing…'
Caladan Brood crossed his arms, still frowning at the table. After a few moments he grunted. 'A donation from the Mott Irregulars. It has served me well — my, uh, compliments to your sappers. I can have it returned-'
'No need, Warlord …' It seemed the Malazan was about to say something more, something important, but then he simply shook his head.
A soft gasp from Silverfox startled the Mhybe. She looked down, brows raised questioningly, but the girl's attention was swinging from the table to Whiskeyjack, then back again, a small smile on her lips. 'Uncle Whiskeyjack,' she said suddenly.