A faint chill rippled through Cutter. ‘Who was its maker?’

‘My brother.’ He sheathed the sword, slipped his arms through the chain harness. Then he reached for the gauntlets. ‘Before he found one ... more suited to his nature.’ Darist turned, his gaze travelling the length of Cutter, head to toe, then back again. ‘Do you have skill with those knives hidden about your person?’

‘Some, though I draw no pleasure from spilling blood.’

‘What else are they for?’ the Tiste Andii asked as he donned the helm.

Cutter shrugged, wishing he had an answer to that question.

‘Do you intend to fight the Edur?’

‘Since they are seeking the throne, yes.’

Darist slowly cocked his head. ‘Yet this is not your battle. Why would you choose to borrow this cause?’

‘On Genabackis – my homeland – Anomander Rake and his followers chose to fight against the Malazan Empire. It wasn’t their battle, but they have now made it so.’

He was surprised to see a wry smile twist the Tiste Andii’s weathered features beneath the crooked iron fingers of the guards.

‘That is interesting. Very well, Cutter, join me – though I tell you now it will prove your final fight.’

‘I hope not.’

Darist led him from the room, out into the broad hallway once more, then through a narrow, black-wood-framed archway. The passage within appeared to be a tunnel through a single piece of wood, like the hollowed core of a massive, toppled tree trunk. It stretched on into the gloom, inclining slightly upward.

Cutter walked behind the Tiste Andii, the sound of the man’s armour soft as the hiss of rain on a beach. The tunnel ended abruptly with an upward turn, the ceiling opening to reveal a vertical shaft. A rough ladder of roots climbed towards a small, pale disc of light.

Darist’s ascent was slow and measured, Cutter impatient on the rungs directly beneath until the thought that he might soon die struck him, at which point a dull lassitude settled into his muscles, and it became a struggle to keep up with the ancient Tiste Andii.

They eventually emerged onto a leaf-cluttered floor of flagstones. Sunlight speared shafts of dust from slitted windows and gaps in the roof overhead – the storm seemed to have missed this place entirely. One wall had mostly collapsed and it was towards this that Darist strode.

Cutter followed. ‘Some sort of upkeep might well have made this defensible,’ he muttered.

‘These surface structures are not Andii – they are Edur, and were in ruin when we first arrived.’

‘How close are they?’

‘They range through the forest, working inland. Cautious. They know they are not alone.’

‘How many can you sense?’

‘This first party numbers perhaps a score. We shall meet them in the courtyard, permitting us sufficient room for swordplay yet allowing us a wall to which we can set our backs in the last few moments.’