'Like the parent of all scabs,' muttered Longfoot, peering at his shoulder.

'Does it smell alright?'

'You want me to smell you?'

'Just tell me if it stinks.'

The Navigator leaned forwards and sniffed daintily at Logen's shoulder. 'A marked odour of sweat, but that might be your armpit. I fear that my remarkable talents do not encompass medicine. One wound smells much like another to me.' And he pushed the pin back through the bandage.

Logen worked his shirt on. 'You'd know if it was rotten, believe me. Reeks like old graves, and once the rot gets in you there's no getting rid of it but with a blade. Bad way to go.' And he shuddered and pressed his palm gently against his throbbing shoulder.

'Yes, well,' said Longfoot, already striding off down the near-deserted street. 'Lucky for you that we have the woman Maljinn with us. Her talent for conversation is most extremely limited, but when it comes to wounds, well, I saw the whole business and don't object to telling you, she can stitch skin as calm and even as a master cobbler stitches leather. She can indeed! She pulls a needle as nimble and neat as a queen's dressmaker. A useful talent to have in these parts. I would not be the least surprised if we need that talent again before we're done.'

'It's a dangerous journey?' asked Logen, still trying to struggle back into his coat.

'Huh. The North has always been wild and lawless, heavy with bloody feuds and merciless brigands. Every man goes armed to the teeth, and ready to kill at a moment's notice. In Gurkhul foreign travellers stay free only on the whim of the local governor, at risk of being taken as a slave at any moment. Styrian cities sport thugs and cutpurses on every corner, if you can even get through their gates without being robbed by the authorities. The waters of the Thousand Isles are thick with pirates, one for each merchant, it sometimes seems, while in distant Suljuk they fear and despise outsiders, and likely as not will hang you by your feet and cut your throat as soon as give you directions. The Circle of the World is full of dangers, my nine-fingered friend, but if all that is not enough for you, and you yearn for more severe peril, I suggest that you visit the Old Empire.'

Logen got the feeling that Brother Longfoot was enjoying himself. 'That bad?'

'Worse, oh yes, indeed! Especially if, rather than simply visiting, one undertakes to cross the breadth of the country from one side to the other.'

Logen winced. 'And that's the plan?'