# TtH 16-18

## Chapter 16

Kallor wakes up to a dragon hovering nearby. It speaks to him in his mind and seems to be seeking out a master, which is unusual for its kind. The dragon delivers some Jaghut history: the only time they broke peace, gathered an army, and marched was an unwinnable war against death. Kallor is shocked and moved to tears.

> ‘All of you, damned fools.’ *Bless you, bless you all*.

Though he also wonders why this dead eleint seeks the CG to be its master.

___

Endest gets a POV about the nature of sorcery. Different aspects seem to stand alone as if they are unrelated islands, but surely it wasn't so in the beginning. Maybe time was the enemy that forced them away from one another. He has doubts about the concept of purity as a virtue. Was Kharkanas really the first city, did Darkness really precede everything else? etc. He concludes that the Age of Purity is a myth, though he remembers the Coming of Light, birth of a sun over his city. Flashback view of seeing Andarist staggering with blood on his hands, horror in his eyes; Endest rails against Anomander for leaving his brother, but then he was not to blame. He then sees Scabandari and Silchas Ruin who seemed to know what was about to happen and only sought to spare an immediate death to his followers. All these years, Anomander has been standing alone.

I'm not entirely sure why, but there is a tangent on how breaking shadow released it into every other world. I have a few quotes, because I'm not sure what to do with them [ed.: my stylistic choices are leaking]:

> Shadow was an argument and the argument alone was sufficient to assert its existence.

> Shadow is, and Shadow is not, and to dwell within it is to be neither of one thing nor of any other.

The scene ends with him deciding to trust his master; he can also hear the temple priestesses singing.

___

Apsal'ara is dragged out from her perch by Draconus. All he wants to know is if she would be strong enough to fight when the time comes. Since Chaos can be fought only with willpower, he wants to know if she would still fight. Drac is apparently collecting such strong-willed people to form a core to resist chaos, hoping to make it to the other side of the unknown. She snarls that there is no other side and goes back to her place on the wheel. She wonders if their sacrifice to chaos would be a mercy and thinks only Rake has the capacity to let the sword go lifeless in his hands, not even Draconus. (I am going to go on a stretch and say this means that she is impressed that he has stopped killing people so that the ones inside Dragnipur may fall to chaos and thus be released from their torment.)

Ditch is woken up by Kadaspala trying to tattoo his eye to finish his multi-body tattoo on the top of the wagon. One side of his body has already been tattooed. He tries to escape from the face tattooing but Drac has been summoned by Kadaspala. Draconus simply breaks the wizard's neck and positions him in his place. Ditch starts shouting curses at Drac who tells him to shut up. Soon, Kadaspala begins tattooing. Ditch realises he has lost, but maybe he still has his dignity, calm resignation in his steady eyes, the courage of no choice. Have you started noticing Kruppe leaking through here?

___

Switch to Rake's spawn, who are following Clip in their journey. They pass a little village where Clip hasn't stopped. Nim decides they need the rest and stop. The village is abandoned and they look around for supplies. Kedeviss tells Nim she is going to confront Clip, and if she fails to get answers then they can confront him as a group.

Clip watches the gang roaming about. He can feel Rake's power holding him back, so they have to walk. He thinks the Liosan had it right: that justice was unequivocal and mercy was a flaw. He has some grand plans to answer Anomander's true betrayal.

___

The High Priestess has just finished dinner and is about to have tea when an old woman arrives from outside Darkness. She is a witch of the Redeemer's cult and is here to ask help for the sake of Salind, their High Priestess. She suggests that Saemankelyk might spread to the Andii too and so they must intervene. The Andii High Priestess takes her to a chamber of Dark, where the old witch is cleansed by Kurald Galain. Without this intervention, this trip would have been her last, a fate the old woman had known and accepted. The HP clarifies that the Andiii don't bargain. They can be asked for help, and they are free to say yes or no. The witch asks them to help Salind and is refused. Their assessment of the situation tells them there is no need for their help, yet. If they choose to act it would be only to pre-empt Silanah. They return to drink tea.

___

Karsa returns to camp without a word. He and Samar banter/bicker/flirt. She complains at the lack of civilised facilities like soap and pet birds; he counters that such soap is made by indentured workers and the caged bird sings of imprisonment. Thankfully, a dragon flies towards them. Neither Karsa nor Traveller are particularly bothered about it. In exasperation, Samar decides she is not an ant and will just sit there in the camp. The dragon is dead and soon veers into a tall, gaunt figure. He calls himself Tulas Shorn, and greets Samar first. He calls her a priestess of Burn. She does't draw warren magic that forces alien power into this world, so Burn dreams of her.

Once they realise that it is an Edur and Hood's own agent, both Karsa and Traveller draw their swords. Samar scolds them and offers Tulas guest rights. The warriors step down; Tulas seems only to be looking for company. He asks Samar if Burn can dream him alive again. She says yes; Traveller says no. They discuss the fact that Burn is being poisoned by the Crippled God and wonder if his pain can be healed. Tulas thinks that seeing a strangers pain is a great act of courage.

In the morning, both the regular horses are missing and so is Tulas Shorn. Samar is a little hurt by his betrayal. Traveller guesses this was done to slow them down for some reason, probably at Hood's behest. Samar regrets not letting them chop the dead guy, but Karsa assures her that goodwill is not something to apologise for. They start walking towards Darujhistan. Karsa offers to ride out and look for the horses.

A few leagues away, Tulas flies after dropping the horses within sight of another herd. He knows the value of life, including animals, and wouldn't casually kill the beasts. As he flies, he senses something ancient in the air and feels anticipation. He wonders if the Hounds of Shadow would remember their first master, the one who took them in half-wild and taught them the vast power of a faith with no betrayal.

> *My Hounds of Shadow.*

___

Gruntle and the TTG ride the foam bridge for days. He is dry heaving and wishes he was dead. They seem to be making straight to a cliff face -- Glanno calls out "Land Ho!" -- but impossibly a wall of water carries them above and deposits them right into the village on the Reach of Woe.

Glanno Tarp is also short sighted but is sure that everyone knows only Reccanto's short-sightedness. He drives by trusting his horses. They crash land in the village, the carriage going in one direction and Glanno being dragged by the horses into a corral in another direction, resulting in broken legs and dislocated shoulders. He notices a tower at the summit. The tower has a tall, bluish skinned, tusked man with plenty of reptilian servants. The servants begin a wail that reaches into a crypt where three women open their eyes and start chittering and shrieking.

The shareholders have been left alone in the tavern. As they start to wonder why the patrons fled to hide in the cellar, they hear a storm that builds in volume until they realise it was actually rage-filled, inhuman voices.

___

## Chapter 17

The epigraph is about dueling. By now you know why.

Kruppe is more Kruppe in this chapter. He starts talking about nasty little shits and this chapter is full of them [ed.: there's a whole analysis worth doing contrasting Snell, Venaz, and Gorlas]. The first one, of course, is Snell, who sees that his parents are going to visit the Temple of Chains. He thinks they are excited because they finally found a god as broken as his Da [ed.: well, he's technically right on that one]. Once they leave, he squeezes the chest of both his little sisters and knocks them out to make them stop crying [ed.: so he can sell them].

Bellam Nom knows something is wrong in the dueling school. He follows Murillio because he notices something strange in his expression.

___

Humble Measure, the one who hired the guild to take down the Malazans, talks to Seba Kafar about a new contract to kill one particular member of the council. Seba thinks it is simple enough but is still wary. He asks for time to plan properly.

___

Councillor Coll is confronted by Hanut Orr, who says the testimony by the Malazans to expand their embassy was inadequate. He tries to accuse Coll of accepting bribes, but Coll points out that an official complaint like that would involve both of them getting audited, and so Hanut Orr withdraws his accusation. Coll is taken to a side room by Estraysian D'Arle. They both agree that the official Malazan reasoning is inadequate but the three young councillors are not privy to the unofficial reasons.

The young councillors have a talk outside. Orr and Lim snipe at each other and Vidikas calls them smaller dogs that were defeated by a big dog. He gets accused of not holding a tight leash on his wife to which Gorlas just smiles. He is about to leave to the Iron mines; the other two are not convinced about his partnership. Gorlas says he is getting very rich but such concerns are probably beneath these two.

___

Seba gets roughed up by Fisher, who buys out the contract against Krul's bar. He takes the money and Fisher thinks their agreement is consummated. Which is probably a mistake and even a man like Fisher is capable of errors in judgment. He is met by Iskaral Pust who tells him, among other things, to meet Kruppe.

___

Bedek, in his wheelchair outside the Temple, has an epiphany: the Crippled God could not really help them in finding Harllo. He wants to leave but Myrla seems to be caught up in a religious fervour and that scares him.

Meanwhile, Snell tries to carry the two toddlers in a sling, presumably to sell them off. Murillio shows up, realises what has happened, and roughs up Snell. The boy confesses that he last left Harllo outside Two-Ox Gate. Bellam too shows up and tells Murillio to follow this clue while he stays and waits for Myrla and Bedek. After Murillio leaves, Bellam bullies Snell. Kruppe observes that a bullies learn nothing from being bullied in turn.

> It is an abject truth, but conscience cannot be shoved down the throat.

___

As Challice surreptitiously returns home, Gorlas waits for her in a secluded passageway. He tells her he is leaving to see the mines and warns her that he doesn't like strangers sleeping with her. He needs to have a sense of the bastard [ed.: phrasing!] and picture his face. When he returns he wants all the details from her, she agrees casually.

___

Murillio hires an old, worn out horse to take him outside the city. He meets the shepherd who sold Snell to the mines and learns the truth. A thousand paces down the line, the horse threw a shoe. He hitches a ride in the ox wagon, though by this time his feet have blistered and boots worn out. They are passed by an ornate carriage on the same road.

___

Snell escapes out of the house while playing. Bellam catches him and places him under some kind of juvenile holding cell facility to terrorise him.

___

Scillara has sought out Barathol's company. Cutter hasn't been seen for a few days. Barathol has been getting some business from the new Malazan garrison, who order longswords (which are made from red iron in the Untan style, usually a rarity). The two somewhat declare their mutual feelings, in a very roundabout way, when they are interrupted by the Guild because this smithy has been improperly disposing wastes, which is a serious offense. His business has to be decommissioned, and both Bara and Chaur are arrested. Scillara promises to find an advocate for him, and tugs the arresting official's braid to be petty on her way out.

Kruppe offers a journey into Chaur's mind. He has love within him, a deep rooted thing. But sometimes when the love is shown pain, then another deep rooted thing opens its eyes: hate. His hate loves blood. As the guards walk him to the gaol, he suddenly lashes out. He takes down four guards and looks happily towards a shocked Barathol.

___

Gorlas meets the foreman at the iron mines who owes him money. They have found a new vein of red iron, which is now in demand and only one smith had the skill to make the longswords. Gorlas wonders if he should go into partnership with the smith.

Murillio limps into the camp with badly blistered feet. Gorlas recognises him as one of the likely conspirators involved in the murder of Turban Orr and suicide of Lady Simtal. Gorlas challenges him to a duel with the shift workers as audience. Gorlas says they can duel to wounding so that Hanut Orr can take care of the rest. Murillio says he knows all about his wife's adultery and questions his manhood. They draw weapons.

___

Krute says he has been called back by Seba for a new contract. Rallick offers to buy his retirement, but Krute refuses. They wish each other well and part. Rallick decides he is back and goes to the Phoenix Inn.

___

Barathol and Chaur can hear alarms searching for them. He sends Chaur to find the ship and go back to Spite. Barathol is soon overwhelmed, beaten senseless, and placed in a cell.

___

At the Phoenix Inn, Kruppe warns Cutter that this is a day of mischance, that they would weep. Cutter is too busy wondering if love is a reward like coin to assassinate someone. Kruppe warns him not to walk some paths, but Cutter leaves to go for a walk. And if you felt Kruppe was bit extra in this chapter, he offers:

> That intent can be so well disguised in majestic plethora of nuance, of rhythm both serious and mocking, of this penchant for self-referential slyness, that the unwitting simply skip on past – imagining their time to be so precious, imagining themselves above all manner of conviction, save that of their own witty perfection. Sigh and sigh again.

___

Bedek and Myrla meet the priest, who tells them their son is beyond salvation. He chooses to not be compassionate and is a living maw. The son is rejected but the parents are blessed by the Crippled God. He blesses them in the name of empty pity. Myrla staggers; Bedek's cart is knocked down. Bedek dies by stampede while Myrla succumbs to sudden gangrene on her forehead where the priest had touched her.

___

Murillio offers money to the foreman to free Harllo, but Gorlas refuses to let him go. The duel begins. Murillio has trouble focusing because of the pain. He is wounded first, but Gorlas doesn't stop the duel. Murillio is killed, his last thought an apology to Harllo.

Gorlas orders the same ox cart to take the body to Phoenix Inn. He wants the boy Harllo and, for good measure, takes the coin that Murillio had offered the foreman.

The ox cart carries back a man who had his heart in the right place and who lacked no courage. But the ox has no place for grieving. Its only sorrow is for itself.

___

## Chapter 18

The Hounds of Shadow and the two new light-coloured hounds have been running for a while now. They seem to be chased by something but they are not overtly worried. Shan doesn't like the new hounds, especially Lock, who simply slips away each time she snaps at him.

___

Cotillion (probably) thinks of the various aspects of the Hounds. If the Deragoth were aspected to Dark then they would claim the shadow hounds. But without the Light hounds, there could be no shadow hounds or Deragoth. If they all come together, maybe they will all annihilate each other. Maybe this tripartite universe doesn't even exist except in the mind that needs simplification.

Shadowthrone and Cotillion wait to intercept the Hounds. ST says he had to use Iskaral Pust to stop things from going awry. Behind them, Tulas Shorn in sembled form walks up. ST says he hates dragons and the chaos of their blood. They talk about the Deragoth, who were probably created by the First Emperor (maybe Dissembelackis) who used seven hounds as repositories of his divided soul. ST claims the new hounds are just albinos and that he summoned them because he mused the need for replacement.

Tulas says his hounds have found new pets. He waits for the hounds to approach but they are wary. He is told that two were killed by Anomander Rake. We learn that Tulas too ruled Shadow for a short time before he died. As they talk, the new light hounds approach and Tulas yells at the gods for not understanding anything, that control is a delusion, that the hounds are manifestations and their presence is a warning to them. Cotillion starts to ask about the three aspects of light, shadow, and dark when he is interrupted by Tulas asking about the other aspects: Life, Death, Fire, etc. All these aspects are a variation of the maelstrom of destruction. Tulas veers and flies away.

___

Kallor is still walking, full of self loathing. He carries the baggage of all the memories of living for millennia. He remembers the time he was the subject of hatred of hundreds of thousands of his subjects. The violence he delivered was only different in scale and no different from the violence of a husband who beats his wife, a bully who beats his victims, a nobleborn ignoring a starving beggar, a thief's avarice, etc.

One of his memories is of his wife (one among many) who committed suicide when he offered her immortality by using Century candles. Another memory is of his dying warhorse, Vaderon, who had sacrificed itself to protect him when the whole battle was Kallor's idea: he had welcomed the slaughter. This particular war had Forkrul Assail, Jheck, Tartheno Toblakai, etc.

He is a symbol of humanity. Pitiful in loss and vengeful in victory.

> I hold forth goodness and see it made vile, and do nothing, voice no complaint, utter no disavowal. The world I make I have made for one single purpose – to chew me up, me and everyone else. Do not believe this bewildered expression. I am bemused only through stupidity, but the clever among me know better, oh, yes they do, even as they lie through my teeth, to you and to themselves.

___

Nenada expresses what we are all thinking by this point: "I want things plain, I don't want to have to work" [ed.: don't get me started on summarizing the last chapters of this book]. He and Skin spar verbally for some time until Nimander tells them to stop. At their campsite, Clip is not seen. Soon, Kedeviss gathers her cloak and sets off into the dark.

___

At Samar's campsite, a huge bear looms near. The two warriors with her draw weapons, but somehow she finds Imass words -- De nek okra -- to whisper, which makes the bear move away. They think that since Fener is dead, the other animalistic gods of war are returning. Worshipers probably chose the most savage of the beasts they knew.

Karsa expands on his ideas here. He will destroy civilisation including every throne, including his own people. He will not claim anything he destroys, and will be as blind as nature's fist. He will prove that ownership is a lie. (too many words anyone? [ed.: never too many words from Karsa. He's fascinating when talking.])

___

Inside Dragnipur, an enkar'al attacks the demon Pearl, who kills it and throws it away. Drac walks alongside it and they talk. Drac thinks they are like a retreating army. Suddenly they hear drums or thunder and looking back they see that chaos has taken shapes in the form of an army, with legions in ranks and weapons etc. They wonder if chaos is the manifestation of the love of destruction that exists in all of them, that maybe Dragnipur splits the two. Pearl says maybe its not the evil in just their souls but all souls of everyone who dies enter chaos. He also says he doesn't want to meet his evil self. And Drac replies 'Who does?'

Ditch has dreams of reshaping everything he sees. He wants the world to be one of justice. He has godly powers in his dreams by which he can teach consequences. He doesn't realise that these dreams are not his own.

Kadaspala has an unhinged internal monologue, the gist of which is that he has created a godling with his tattooing of patterns, and this godling dreams of justice. But we are also told that Kadaspala is mad and his code is the set of laws from which the god will be born. The narrator tells us to consider this in the context of mercy.

___

Salind is on her knees gathering her strength. Segda is told by the Redeemer that her power is growing. But he will still fight her. When asked why, he only says not to ask, because the enemy never questions its motivations. The uncertain always retreat from the self-righteous. Segda wishes he didn't have to fight even after death. He had wanted blissful perfect indifference from death.

___

Monkrat looks around the pilgrim camp which is in disarray. He was born on Malaz Isle and was presumed dead in the Blackdog Wood battle. He thinks he should return there because Gradithan has lost it.

___

The Andiian High Priestess is met by Anomander Rake.

> She raised her arms, ‘Shall I dance?’
>
> ‘Shall I sing?’
>
> ‘Abyss take me, no. Please.’

They have some small talk and then discuss that Mother Dark has been turned away for so long. Rake says he never gathered worship because of his obvious flaws, and she points out that the Andii are not foolish enough to look for perfection in their icons. He says that he rejected worship because sooner or later believers shatter their icons. As they talk, she asks him to look at her instead of staring at her desk. He obliges and she notices something that makes her flinch, that his turning away was only a mercy [ed.: there's so much tied up in this I don't know where to start]. They talk of Endest Silann. Rake says he has tried to give him confidence but hasn't been able to get through to him. She assures him that she will do what she can when the time comes. He calls her his favourite and leaves. His absence is felt by her as sudden. In her mind she tells Mother Dark that she did not understand her son at all, that this was all Draconus's doing.

___

At the Reach of Woe, the bar with the Trygalle is attacked by the three dead/undead women. Gruntle beheads two of them, who give out green sticky blood as they die. Reccanto stabs one through its head by mistake. All he knows is that his rapier is shattered by the stab.

Master Quell finds the barkeep hiding in the cellar and tells them that they have killed the women and that it's safe to come out. They find out that the daughters in the village have been cursed, which comes into effect when they come of age. The curse spares all mothers though. They want to meet the governor and are told to visit the provost at the huge tower.

Gruntle and the Bole bros find Glanno at the corral recounting all the loves of his life. Gruntle also finds Cartographer half-buried in clay.

Precious Thimble, Mappo, and Quell visit the Jaghut tower. On the way they worry the curse might affect the three women in the group. They meet blue-skinned Bedusk Pall Kovuss Agape, also called Jaghut Anap who says his mate was buried in the yard which is now overrun by the sea. They learn the curse is his; he refuses to lift it. They guess his story: that he lost an argument to his wife whom he then buried, out of pity he was elected provost but fell in love with a young girl who spurned him, and he cursed all the young girls in the village. Anap advises that the women could endeavour to get pregnant asap to prevent the curse.

The buried Jaghut wife who was washed into the sea has risen and climbs the cliff through a rocky tunnel. The village used to live by fishing but now they have become wreckers, which is more lucrative.

Precious Thimble scolds all the men she meets and tells them not to try to sleep with her. Gruntle brings Quell to heal Glanno. Quell is not a High Denul practitioner but carries aspected medicines. They meet the Jaghut woman who is in a scrap with the Bole brothers. They call her a swamp witch. Gruntle steps in and stops them. She tells them she is about to destroy the whole village and that once her husband dies, the curse will be lifted. Agape watches the return of his wife and thinks he is in trouble now.

___

Kedeviss meets Clip, who doesn't sleep anymore. She says he has hidden himself well. He says that one day a warren opened over Bastion and a sky carriage machine tumbled out. It had inadvertently carried a child god with it. She realises that they have failed, that the Dying God is not driven out, but only pushed further in. She says they will not travel together and that whatever he knows from Clip's knowledge is false because he was an ignorant barbarian fool. He strangles her to death; she can feel a thick sticky ooze flowing into her mouth which rots her from within. As she dies, he says that Nimander being so guileless will be his shield when he finds a way to Rake. Her last thought is that he is utterly mistaken about Nim being without guile.

Aranatha has sensed Kedeviss's death. She warns Nim that Clip is hiding her body and will come to them with a false tale of her accidental death. Nim must not show his knowledge and they pretend to sleep.

___

Endest is just outside Black Coral where Anomander Rake is about to leave. He plans to walk a little while, till he reaches the tree line. He calls Endest a friend he doesn't deserve and tells him that to live is to take risks. He walks away into the trees.

[ed.: if you won't do it, I will. It's core to the understanding of the rest of this book, if not the rest of the series:

> There is no struggle too vast, no odds too overwhelming, for even should we fail – should we fall – we will know that we have lived.

Enter Book Four.]