'My name is Shabbed al Islik Burai.' The ambassador spoke the common tongue perfectly, in a voice every bit as powerful, as authoritative, as arrogant as his bearing. 'I come as emissary from the rightful ruler of all the South, mighty Emperor of mighty Gurkhul and all the Kantic lands, Uthman-ul-Dosht, loved, feared, and favoured above all other men within the Circle of the World, anointed by God's right hand, the Prophet Khalul himself.'

'Good for you. I would bow, but I strained my back getting out of bed.'

Islik gave a delicate sneer. 'Truly a warrior's injury. I have come to accept your surrender.'

'Is that so?' Glokta dragged out the nearest chair and sank into it. I'm damned if I'm going to stand a moment longer, just for the benefit of this towering oaf. 'I thought it was traditional to make such offers once the fighting is over.'

'If there is to be fighting, it will not last long.' The ambassador swept across the tiles to the window. 'I see five legions, arrayed in battle order upon the peninsula. Twenty thousand spears, and they are but a fraction of what comes. The troops of the Emperor are more numerous than the grains of sand in the desert. To resist us would be as futile as to resist the tide. You all know this.' His eyes swept proudly across the guilty faces of the ruling council and came to rest on Glokta's with a piercing contempt. The look of a man who believes he has already won. No one could blame him much for thinking so. Perhaps he has.

'Only fools or madmen would choose to stand against such odds. You pinks have never belonged here. The Emperor offers you the chance to leave the South with your lives. Open the gates to us and you will be spared. You can leave on your little boats and float back to your little island. Let it never be said that Uthman-ul-Dosht is not generous. God fights beside us. Your cause is lost.'

'Oh, I don't know, we held our own in the last war. I'm sure we all remember the fall of Ulrioch. I know I do. The city burned brightly. The temples especially.' Glokta shrugged. 'God must have been elsewhere that day.'

'That day, yes. But there were other battles. I am sure you also remember a certain engagement, at a certain bridge, where a certain young officer fell into our hands.' The emissary smiled. 'God is everywhere.'