‘Into what could be called the Hold of the Dead.’
‘There is no Hold of the Dead.’
‘Which is what has been so… unusual. There should have been. All along. Those of Kolanse, for example, include in their worship a Lord of Death. You will find something similar in the Bolkando kingdom-’
‘The Bolkando kingdom? Bugg, nobody knows anything about the Bolkando kingdom. Nobody wants to. You are starting to alarm me, my dear manservant, with the breadth of your knowledge. Unless, of course, you are making it all up.’
‘Precisely, master. To continue. There was no Hold of the Dead. It once existed. That is, the original Tiles of the Hold from the First Empire contained one. As well as a number of other Holds, all of which have been discarded by and by. It would be nice, indeed, were a scholar to address this strange diminishment. The passage of time in a culture invites elaboration, not simplification, unless some terrible collapse triggers a fall of sorts, but the only trauma Lether has suffered came with the original fall of the First Empire and the subsequent isolation of these colonies. There was, at that time, some degradation, leading to a short period of independent city-states. And then there were wars with the tribes south and east of Kryn, and with the atavistic Andii remnants of Bluerose. But none of that was culturally disturbing. Possibly because the Hold of the Dead could not manifest itself here. In any case, the closing of the pathways for the dead was already a fact, frozen in the very earth of this region. Worse yet, it was all an accident-’
‘Hold on, Bugg. Now I do have some pertinent questions.’
‘Your questions are always pertinent, master.’
‘I know, but these are particularly pertinent.’
‘More so than usual?’
‘Are you suggesting that my normal pertinence is less than particular, Bugg?’
‘Of course not, master. Now, where was I? Oh yes, the accident. In the earliest texts – those that came with the Letherii from the First Empire – there is the occasional mention made of a race called the Jaghut-’
‘There is? You are speaking to a man whose head was filled to bursting with classical education, Bugg. I’ve never heard of these Jaghut.’
‘All right, they were mentioned once, and not specifically by name.’
‘Hah, I knew it. Don’t try any sleight of hand with me.’
‘Sorry, master. In any case, in the most proper sense, the Jaghut are represented by those poorly rendered, stylized images you will find on tiles of the Hold of Ice-’
‘Those frog-like midgets?’
‘Only the green skin survived, alas. The Jaghut were in fact quite tall and not in the least frog-like. The point is, they manifested their sorcery with ice, and cold. It remains common to this day to consider only four principal elements in nature. Air, Earth, Fire and Water. Absolute nonsense, of course.’
‘Of course.’
‘There is Light, Dark, Shadow, Life, Death and Ice. There might even be more, but why quibble? The point I am making, master, is that, long ago, a Jaghut did something to this land. Sealed it, in a manner of speaking. Using its aspected sorcery. The effect was profound.’
‘Making the pathways of the dead snowbound, like a mountain pass in winter?’
‘Something like that, yes.’
‘So the dead loiter in Lether. Ghosts, shades, and people like Shurq Elalle and Kettle.’
‘Indeed. But that is all changing.’
Tehol ceased his pacing and faced Bugg. ‘It is?’
‘Alas, yes, master. The sorcery is… thawing. A Hold of the Dead is manifesting itself. The situation is unravelling. Quickly.’
‘Does this mean Shurq is in trouble?’
‘No. I suspect the curse on her will remain. But the initial efficacy of that curse derives from the fact of the Hold’s having been non-existent in the first place.’
‘All right. It’s all unravelling. Have you visited Kettle lately?’
‘Interesting you should ask, master, for it is at the site of the now-dead Azath tower that the Hold of the Dead is manifesting itself. From that, one might conclude that Kettle is somehow connected with the entire event, but she isn’t. In fact, she’s no longer dead. Not as dead as she was, that is. It is now clear that her purpose is… otherwise. As you know, there’s trouble coming from the barrows.’
‘What’s that smoke? Over there.’
Bugg squinted. ‘Another riot, I think. Counters’ Quarter.’
‘Well, they’ve been a little skittish ever since the ghosts stormed the Tolls Repository. Besides which, the Tolls themselves have been tumbling with all the bad news from the north. In fact, I’m surprised it’s taken this long.’