Baudin grunted. 'Surprised you can see anything at all,' he said.
She made no reply. The flesh around her eyes had swollen until only slits remained. Her ears felt like slabs of meat, heavy and huge, and the flesh inside her mouth had closed around her teeth. She was having difficulty breathing, constantly clearing her throat without effect. The discomforts left her feeling dislocated, as if she had no vanity left to sting, bringing an almost amused relief.
Surviving this is all that counts. Let Tavore see all the scars she's given me, the day we come face to face. I need say nothing, then, to justify my revenge.
'The opening is under the surface,' Heboric said. 'We need to puncture these bladders and swim down. Baudin will go first, with a rope tied to his waist. Hold on to that rope, lass, else you'll be pulled to the bottom.'
Baudin handed her a dagger, then laid the rope over the bobbing pack. A moment later he pushed himself towards the cliff wall and vanished beneath the lake's surface.
Felisin snatched at the rope, gripping it hard as she watched the coils play out. 'How far down?'
'Seven, eight feet,' Heboric said. 'Then about fifteen feet through the cave until you'll find your next breath. Can you manage it, lass?'
I will have to.
Faint screams drifted across the lake. The burning town's last, pitiful cries. It had happened so swiftly, almost quietly — a single night to bring Skullcup to a bloody end. It didn't seem real.
She felt a tug on the rope.
'Your turn,' Heboric said. 'Puncture the bladder, let it sink away from you, then follow the rope.'
She reversed her grip on the dagger and stabbed down. A gust of air whistled, the pack sagging. Like hands, the water pulled her down. She snatched a frantic breath before slipping under. In a moment the rope no longer led down, but up. She came up against the slick face of the cliff. The dagger fell away as she clutched the rope with both hands and pulled herself along.
The cave mouth was a deeper blackness, the water bitter cold. Already her lungs screamed for air. She felt herself blacking out, but savagely pushed the feeling away. A glimmer of reflected light showed ahead. Kicking out as her mouth filled with water, she clawed her way towards it.
Hands reached down to grip her tunic's hemmed collar and pulled her effortlessly up into air, into light. She lay on hard, cold stone, racked with coughs. An oil-wick lantern glowed beside her head. Beyond it, leaning against the wall, were two wood-framed travel packs and bladders swollen with water.
'You lost my damned knife, didn't you?'
'Hood take you, Baudin.'
He grunted his laugh, then focused his attention on reeling in the rope. Heboric's head broke the black surface moments later. Baudin pulled the ex-priest onto the rock shelf.
'Must be trouble up top,' the big man said. 'Our supplies were brought down here.'
'So I see.' Heboric sat up, gasping as he recovered his breath.
'Best you two stay here while I scout,' Baudin said.
'Aye. Off with you, then.'
As Baudin disappeared up the reach, Felisin sat up. 'What kind of trouble?'
Heboric shrugged.
'No,' she said. 'You've suspicions.'
He grimaced. 'Sawark said, "Look south."'
'So?'
'So just that, lass. Let's wait for Baudin, shall we?'
'I'm cold.'
'We spared no room for extra clothing. Food and water, a few weapons, a fire kit. There's blankets but best keep them dry.'
'They'll dry out soon enough,' she snapped, crawling over to one of the packs.
Baudin returned a few minutes later and crouched down beside Heboric. Shivering under a blanket, Felisin watched the two men. 'No, Baudin,' she said as he prepared to whisper something to the ex-priest, 'loud enough for all of us.'
The big man glanced at Heboric, who shrugged.
'Dosin Pali is thirty leagues away,' Baudin said. 'Yet you can see its glow.'
Heboric frowned. 'Even a firestorm wouldn't be visible at such a distance, Baudin.'
'True enough, and it's no firestorm. It's sorcery, old man. A mage battle.'
'Hood's breath,' Heboric muttered. 'Some battle!'
'It's come,' Baudin growled.
'What has?' Felisin asked.
'Seven Cities has risen, lass. Dryjhna. The Whirlwind's come.'
The hogg boat was all of thirteen feet in length. Duiker paused a long moment before clambering down into it. Six inches of water sloshed beneath the two flat boards that formed the craft's deck. Rags stoppered a score of minor leaks in the hull, with various degrees of efficacy. The smell of rotting fish was almost overwhelming.
Wrapped in his army-issue raincape, Kulp had not moved from where he stood on the dock. 'And what,' he asked tonelessly, 'did you pay for this … boat?'
The historian sighed, glancing up at the mage. 'Can you not repair it? What was your warren again, Kulp?'
'Boat repair,' the man answered.
'Very well,' Duiker said, climbing back onto the dock. 'I take your point. To cross the Strait you will need something more seaworthy than this. The man who sold me this craft seems to have exaggerated its qualities.'
'A haral's prerogative. Better had you hired a craft.'
Duiker grunted. 'Who could I trust?'
'Now what?'
The historian shrugged. 'Back to the inn. This requires a new plan.'
They made their way up the rickety dock and entered the dirt track that passed for the village's main thoroughfare. The fisher shacks on either side displayed a paucity of pride common to small communities in the shadow of a large city. Dusk had fallen, and apart from a pack of three scrawny dogs taking turns rolling on the carcass of a fish, there was no-one about. Heavy curtains blotted out most of the light coming from the shacks. The air was hot, an inland wind holding at bay the sea breeze.
The village inn stood on stilts, a sprawling, single-storey structure of bleached wood frame, burlap walls and thatched roof. Crabs scuttled in the sand beneath it. Opposite the inn was the stone blockhouse of a Malazan Coastal Guard detachment — four sailors from Cawn and two marines whose appearance betrayed nothing of their origins. For them, the old national allegiances no longer held any relevance. The new Imperial breed, Duiker mused as he and Kulp entered the inn and returned to the table they'd occupied earlier. The Malazan Guards were crowded around another, close to the back wall where the burlap had been pulled aside, revealing the tranquil scene of withered grasses, white sand and glittering sea. Duiker envied the soldiers the fresh air that no doubt drifted in to where they sat.
They'd yet to approach, but the historian knew it was only a matter of time. In this village travellers would be rare, and one wearing the field cape of a soldier even rarer. Thus far, however, translating curiosity into action had proved too great an effort.
Kulp gestured to the barman for a jug of ale, then leaned close to Duiker. 'There's going to be questions. Soon. That's one problem. We don't have a boat. That's another. I'm a poor excuse for a sailor, that's a third-'
'All right, all right,' the historian hissed. 'Hood's breath, let me think in peace!'
His expression sour, Kulp leaned back.
Moths danced clumsily between the sputtering lanterns in the room. There were no villagers present, and the lone barman's attention seemed close to obsessive on the Malazan soldiers, holding his thin, dark eyes on them even as he set down the ale jug in front of Kulp.
Watching the barman leave, the mage grunted. 'This night's passing strange, Duiker.'
'Aye.' Where is everyone?
The scrape of a chair drew their attention to the ranking Malazan, a corporal by the sigil on his surcoat, who'd risen and now approached. Beneath the dull tin sigil was a larger stain, where the surcoat's dye was unweathered — the man had once been a sergeant.