But there are no Claw agents, are there? No scroll scribblers, either. We don't control the black market. We can't even manage the above-board economy, much less run a civil administration. Yet we continue to proceed as if imperial support is imminent, when it most decidedly is not. I don't understand this at all.
Without the Darujhistan gold, Dujek's army would be starving right now. Desertions would have begun, as soldier after soldier left with the hope of returning to the imperial embrace, or seeking to join mercenary companies or caravanserai. Onearm's army would vanish before his very eyes. Loyalty never survives a pinched stomach.
After some confusion, the stablers found Paran another mount. He wearily swung himself into the saddle and guided the animal out of the compound. The afternoon sun had begun to throw cooling shadows onto the city's bleached streets. Pale's denizens began emerging, though few lingered anywhere near the Malazan headquarters. The guards held a finely honed sense of suspicion for anyone who hovered overlong, and the assault-issue heavy crossbows cradled in their arms were kept locked back.
Blood had been spilled at the headquarters entrance, and within the building itself. A Hound of Shadow had attacked, not so long ago, leaving a score dead. Paran's memories of that event were still fragmentary. The beast had been driven off by Tattersail… and the captain himself. For the soldiers on guard at the headquarters, however, a peaceful posting had turned into a nightmare. They'd been caught woefully unprepared, a carelessness that would not be repeated. Such a Hound would still scythe through them almost effortlessly, but at least they would go down fighting, not staring slack-jawed.
Paran found Quick Ben, Mallet and Spindle awaiting him astride their own horses. Of the three, the captain knew Spindle the least. The short, bald man's skills ranged from sorcery to sapping, or so he'd been told. His eternally sour disposition did not invite conversation, nor did the foul-smelling thigh-length black and grey hairshirt he wore — woven from his dead mother's hair, if the rumour held any truth. As Paran pulled in alongside the man, he glanced at that shirt. Hood's breath, that could be an old woman's hair! The realization made him even more nauseous.
'Take point, Spindle.'
'Aye, Captain — we'll have a real crush to push through when we hit North Market Round.'
'So find us a way round the place.'
'Them alleys ain't safe, sir-'
'Access your warren, then, and let it bleed enough to make hairs stand on end. You can do that, can't you?'
Spindle glanced at Quick Ben. 'Uh, sir, my warren. triggers things.'
'Serious things?'
'Well, not really-'
'Proceed, soldier.'
'Aye, Captain.'
Expressionless, Quick Ben took rear position, whilst an equally silent Mallet rode alongside Paran.
'Any idea what's going on at Brood's camp, Healer?' the captain asked.
'Not specifically, sir,' Mallet replied. 'Just… sensations.' He continued after an enquiring glance from Paran. 'A real brew of powers over there, sir. Not just Brood and the Tiste Andii — I'm familiar with those. And Kallor's, too, for that matter. No, there's something else. Another presence. Old, yet new. Hints of T'lan Imass, maybe …'
'T'lan Imass?'
'Maybe — I'm just not sure, truth to tell, Captain. It's overpowering everyone else, though.'
Paran's head turned at that.
A cat yowled nearby, followed by a flash of grey as the creature darted along a garden wall then vanished from sight. More yowls sounded, this time from the other side of the narrow street.
A shiver danced up Paran's spine. He shook himself. 'The last thing we need is a new player. The situation's tense enough as it is-'
Two dogs locked in a vicious fight tumbled from an alley mouth just ahead. A panicked cat zigzagged around the snarling, snapping beasts. As one, the horses shied, ears flattening. In the drain gutter to their right the captain saw — with widening eyes — a score of rats scampering parallel to them.
'What in Hood's name-'
'Spindle!' Quick Ben called from behind them. The lead sorcerer twisted in his saddle, a miserable expression on his weathered face.
'Ease off some,' Quick Ben instructed, not unkindly.
Spindle nodded, turned back.
Paran waved buzzing flies from his face. 'Mallet, what warren does Spindle call upon?' he asked quietly.
'It's not his warren that's the problem, sir, it's how he channels it. This has been mild so far, all things considered.'