Felisin opened her eyes on a motionless mist of dust, describing a sphere in the midst of the Whirlwind. A large, vague shape was tottering towards them through the haze. The air was redolent with citrus perfume. She struggled until Heboric set her down.

Four pale men in rags were carrying a palanquin on which sat, beneath an umbrella, a vast, corpulent figure wearing voluminous silks in a splash of discordant colours. Slitted eyes peered out from sweat-beaded folds of flesh. The man raised one bloated hand and the bearers halted.

‘Perilous!’ he squealed. ‘Join me, strangers, and take leave of yon dangers – a desert filled with beasts of most unpleasant disposition. I offer humble sanctuary through artful sorcery invested into this chair at great personal expense. Do you hunger? Do you thirst? Ahh, but look at the wounds upon the frail lass! I possess healing unguents, I would see such a delectable morsel with skin smoothed once again into youthful perfection. Tell me, is she perchance a slave? Might I make an offer?’

‘I am not a slave,’ Felisin said. And I am no longer for sale.

‘The reek of lemon is making my blind eyes water,’ Heboric whispered. ‘I sense greed but no ill will. . .’

‘Nor I,’ Kulp said beside them. ‘Only ... his porters are undead, not to mention strangely ... chewed.’

‘I see you hesitate and I applaud caution at all times. Aye, my servants have seen better days, but they are harmless, I assure you,’

‘How is it,’ Kulp called out, ‘you oppose the Whirlwind?’

‘Not oppose, sir! I am a true believer and most humble. The goddess grants me ease of passage, for which I make constant propitiation! I am naught but a merchant, my trade is select merchandise – of the magical kind, that is. I am making my return journey to Pan’potsun, you see, after a lucrative venture to Sha’ik’s rebel camp.’ The man smiled. ‘Aye, I know you as Malazans and no doubt enemies of the great cause. But cruel retribution finds no root in my soil, I assure you. And truth to tell, I would enjoy your company, for these dread servants are obsessed with their own deaths and there is no end to their complaints.’

At a gesture, the four bearers set the sedan chair down. Two of them immediately began removing camp gear from the storage rack behind the seat, their movements careless and loose, while the other pair set to levering their master onto his feet.