Lord Protector Hiam met Overlord Yeull in a pavilion raised to the east of Elri. Wall Marshal Quint accompanied him, as did his aide, Shool. The encampment of the landed Roolian troops sprawled like an instant city down the shore to the very strand. Ships lay anchored off shore. Reports from the regular Korelri guard had made it clear that far more than the agreed-upon ten thousand had disembarked. Arriving, Hiam saw this to be true. It occurred to him that any other ruler would view such a landing as an invasion. But no other ruler had standing behind him the Stormwall and the absolute truth of his indispensability.
Guards opened the heavy cloth flaps and Hiam ducked beneath them. Within, a wall of heat struck him like a fist closing on his chest. Overlord Yeull sat next to a great glowing heap of embers resting on a wide iron bowl. Next to him stood a tall slim man, grey-bearded, in pale creamy robes sashed at the waist. The Overlord stood, straightened a thick fur hide slung over his shoulders, and bowed.
Hiam answered the bow. ‘Welcome, Overlord, to Korel.’
‘Lord Protector. You are most gracious to allow us to land.’
Quint and Shool entered and Hiam introduced them. Overlord Yeull gestured to the man beside him. ‘Ussu, my chief adviser.’
‘I must say,’ Hiam began, ‘I was most surprised to hear that you would be accompanying your troops.’
Yeull sat, held his hands over the embers. The man acted as if he were chilled to the bone despite the crushing heat within the tent, his layers of clothes, his fur cloak, and the sweat dripping from his sallow brow. He nodded his assent to the point. ‘I will not prevaricate, Lord Protector. I am here because the Betrayer, Stonewielder, is coming here.’
Hiam glanced at Quint, who could not keep the scorn from his expression. ‘Really, Overlord? I rather thought you’d come here because the Betrayer had defeated you and you had nowhere else to go.’
The man leapt from his chair, blood darkening his face. ‘How dare you! Here you are, hard pressed, with barely the numbers necessary to defend the wall, and I come offering aid — and this is how you repay me!’
The adviser, Ussu, eased the Overlord back into his seat. He raised his hands to speak. ‘Please. Lords. Let us not quarrel. It seems to me that like any agreement both parties have something to gain and something to give. We pledge ten thousand in support of the wall — our half of a pact of mutual defence. Surely our presence is a welcome boon, yes?’
Hiam inclined his head in acquiescence. ‘Well spoken, sir. You are welcome, Overlord. For so long as you contribute to the defence of the Stormwall, you may remain as guests in our lands.’
‘And should there be Malazan landings here in Korel we will defend the shores,’ said Yeull. ‘Surely, in such an event, you too would fly to the defence of your lands.’
‘Certainly,’ Hiam responded. No matter how unlikely.
Ussu bowed. ‘Very good. Then we are in accord. Our thanks, Lord Protector.’
Overlord Yeull inclined his head a fraction. ‘Agreed.’
‘Agreed,’ supplied Hiam. ‘And now, my apologies, but duties on the wall demand my presence. I really must return.’
‘I understand,’ said Yeull, thinly. ‘Another time, Lord Protector.’
Hiam bowed. ‘Another time.’
Outside the tent, the adviser, Ussu, joined their party as they walked back to their mounts: three of the few horses the Stormguard kept for extremely vital messages. Hiam nodded to him. ‘Adviser Ussu, how may we help you?’
The man walked with hands clasped at his back, head bowed. ‘Lord Protector, a small request.’
‘Yes?’
‘Word has reached me of your current champion of the wall…’
‘Yes?’
‘That he speaks Malazan, that is, Quon Talian, yet is not of the Sixth Army…’
‘Yes. That is so.’ They reached their horses. Roolian troops steadied them while they struggled to mount.
‘I wonder if I may have permission to see him? To speak to him?’
Tightening his reins, Hiam shrugged. ‘I do not see why not. If you wish. Shool, arrange it, won’t you?’
‘Certainly,’ Shool answered as he fought to get his foot into the stirrup.
Ussu helped the aide steady his foot then bowed as they cantered off. Poor riders, these Korelri. I wonder how much support we can count on when Stonewielder arrives. Very little, no doubt. I do not see this man pulling troops from the wall. And this champion. Malazan, yet not Malazan. Bars. An unusual name. Could he be the Bars? Avowed of the Crimson Guard? Practically unkillable, these Avowed. Imagine what I could accomplish with one of them…
Ussu returned to the command tent. He found Yeull bent over the brazier.
‘Lady deliver me,’ the Overlord groaned. ‘This cold is killing me.’
‘M’lord, when can we expect Borun and the Moranth? Soon, I should hope. Greymane may be here any day.’
Yeull sank back into his chair. ‘What’s that? The Moranth? Ussu — no ships have been sent. Nor will they ever be sent.’
Ussu felt as if he’d been slapped. He stared, open-mouthed. So shocked was he that he almost took the man by his collar and shook him. ‘What? I do not see-’
Yeull roused himself, furious once more. ‘See? See? You do not see? Who are the Malazan allies in this, Ussu? Did you not see those reports?’
‘Yes. The Moranth, but-’
‘Yes! The Moranth. Exactly! They cannot be trusted. They are foreign. You cannot trust these foreigners.’
We are foreigners, you fool! The man had just thrown away their greatest advantage! How was he to salvage this? How could he salvage it? Lady — give him strength! Ussu forced himself to move to a table where tea brewed. He took his time preparing a glass. Eventually, he cleared his throat. ‘He will land here, south of Kor?’
‘Yes. Of that I am certain.’
‘How so, may I ask?’
The man’s voice took on a cunning, almost insinuating whisper. ‘The Lady guides me in these things, Ussu. Now go and prepare. We will meet them on the shore and they will drown in the waves.’
Ussu knew not to dispute that tone. He bowed. ‘Very good, m’lord.’
*
As they rode north, Hiam gestured Quint up beside him. The Wall Marshal awkwardly urged his mount into a faster canter. ‘So what do you think?’ Hiam asked. ‘And none of your usual smooth talk.’
Quint spat, hands in a death’s grip on the reins. ‘A lot more than ten thousand arrived, Hiam,’ he pointed out.
The Lord Protector laughed. ‘Is that the closest to an apology I’ll get out of you?’
The man winced, his facial scars twitching. ‘They came all right,’ he admitted. ‘But he came with them.’
Hiam shook his head. Poor Quint — the man apologizes then takes it away with his next breath. ‘Yes, he came. And his men will buy us the time we need till the end of the season. Then, come spring and summer, we will help reinstall him. He will only be on his throne because of us. And our price will be high. Very high. We will keep him there for ten thousand men a year… for the next ten years.’
Quint’s brows rose as he considered this immense number. He nodded his approval. It seemed Hiam would have this ruler squirming beneath the butt of his spear. As it should be. Every ruler from Stygg to Jourilan ought to consider themselves so indebted to us. It was only right.
‘Sir,’ Shool said, speaking up, ‘what of this claim that the Betrayer, Stonewielder, is coming to attack us? His fleet is in Banith.’
Hiam just shook his head. ‘Too much to hope for, I should think. Let him cripple his forces in some disastrous attempt at a landing. Then let the broken remnants limp back to Rool. It will be all that much easier to sweep them away come the spring.’
‘But, Stonewielder…’
Hiam glanced back. Ah, those rumours. Damn the apocalyptic leanings of these mystics of the Lady. I, too, felt their fascination once. There had been much alarm and uncertainty then… and I yielded to Cullel, allowing him to go. How I regret that now! It was… shameful. He cleared his throat. ‘He is only one man, Shool. One man cannot undo the wall.’