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There was a peculiar snick and Karsa found hie exploded within hi into Icariu his feet, his sword cartwheeling away to clatter on the slope of the rockfall Icarium landed with a heavy thump, and did not an, turning towards Mappo

White light detonated in his skull

And he knew no more

Mappo stared down at thethe slow rise and fall of the giant’s chest Hefting his lanced over to where Icariuround, twitch, then settle once hed ‘Better than I could have hoped for, I think’

He walked back and returned his weapon to the large leather sack, then set out to strike the ca pain behind his eyes, a sound of roaring, as of a river raging through a narrow channel Karsa groaned

Some time passed before he finally pushed hiain

‘Say nothing, Bairoth Gild,’ he uess what happened That bastard Trell struck me from behind Aye, he didn’t kill me, but one day he ish he had’

A slow, cautious look around confirmed that he was alone His broken sword had been positioned beside him, handle and blade side by side, with a s atop them

The blow to his head left hied to climb to his feet He unstrapped his dented helm and tossed it aside Dried blood matted his hair and covered the back of his neck

‘ At least you are noell rested, Karsa Orlong ’

‘You are less amused than you would have me think, Bairoth Gild The one naends, isn’t he?’

‘ And you alone a Teblor have crossed blades with him ’

‘He broke my sword’

There was no reply to that Karsa set about preparing to resu the bear cloak, then shouldering the pack He left the wooden sword pieces and their bouquet, androad Then he paused, turning his attention instead to the cavity that Icariu’s efforts had partially uncovered a statue, broken here and there, hat renizable none the less A grotesque construct, as tall as Karsa, rainy stone

A seven-headed hound

It had been con that it existed beneath the rubble Yet Icariu the , I think,’ Karsa murmured

He strode back out fro onto the road

Six days later, the city of Lato Revae far behind hiuldindha tree at the edge of a grove, watching a pair of drovers switching their herd of goats towards a dusty corral A ss roofed in pal smoke and dust

The sun would be down soon, and he could resume his journey He had waited out the day, unseen These lands between Lato Revae and the Mersin River were relatively crowded, co hi at Ehrlitan, had been h unbroken wilderness The Pan’potsun Odhan-the Holy Desert itself-was a world virtually abandoned by civilization

But here, irrigation ditches ribboned the plain Wells and groves and villages abounded, and there were more roads than he had ever seen before, even in the lands of the Nathii Most were dusty, winding tracks at ground level, usually situated between ditches Thus far, the only exceptions were the ih to perons to pass each other with room to spare These Malazan roads had suffered in the last year-despite their obvious value, foundation boulders had been dug out, league-side them were deep and wide, and Karsa had used those ditches to reht as he e ahead crouched on a crossroads of Malazan tracks, and a squat, square tower rose above the low roofs near the centre Its li up from arrow-slits and s When the sun finally settled beyond the horizon, no lights showed froh it was likely that there were rebel soldiers of the Apocalypse stationed in the village, given its strategic place contact His was a private journey, if for no reason but that he chose to have it so In any case, it seemed the rebellion was not quite as fierce here; either that or the unbridled blood-thirst had long since abated There had been no widespread destruction of fare and town streets Karsa wondered if there had been as arrisons had all been recalled into the arat-their fellow non-co them If so, then it had not helped them