Addled? No, my mind is clear. Perfectly clear, now. Finally. They’re all too young for this. It’s Laseen’s war – let her fight it. Tavore – she was a child, once. But then the Empress murdered that child. Murdered her. I must tell the Adjunct...

Fiddler settled wearily beside the now dead hearth. He set his crossbow down and wiped the sweat and grime from his eyes. Cuttle eased down beside him. ‘Koryk’s head still aches,’ the sapper muttered, ‘but it don’t look like anything’s broken that wasn’t already broken.’

‘Except his helm,’ Fiddler replied.

‘Aye, except that. The only real scrap of the night for our squad, barring a few dozen quarrels loosed. And we didn’t even kill the bastard.’

‘You got too cute, Cuttle.’

The man sighed. ‘Aye, I did. Must be getting old.’

‘That’s what I concluded. Next time, just stab a pigsticker in the bastard.’

‘Amazed he survived it in any case.’

The pursuit by the Khundryl had taken the Burned Tears far beyond the ridge, and what had begun as a raid against a Malazan army was now a tribal war. Two bells remained before dawn. Infantry had moved out into the basin to collect wounded, retrieve quarrels, and strip down the Malazan corpses – leaving nothing for the enemy to use. The grim, ugly conclusion to every battle, the only mercy the cover of darkness.

Sergeant Gesler appeared out of the gloom and joined them at the lifeless hearth. He drew off his gauntlets and dropped them into the dust, then rubbed at his face.

Cuttle spoke. ‘Heard a position was overrun.’

‘Aye. We’d had it in hand, at least to start. Closing in fast. Most of the poor bastards could have walked away from that barrow. As it is, only four did.’

Fiddler looked up. ‘Out of three squads?’

Gesler nodded, then spat into the ashes.

Silence.

Then Cuttle grunted. ‘Something always goes wrong.’

Gesler sighed, collected his gauntlets and rose. ‘Could have been worse.’

Fiddler and Cuttle watched the man wander off.

‘What happened, do you think?’

Fiddler shrugged. ‘I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. Now, find Corporal Tarr and get him to gather the rest. I need to explain all the things we did wrong tonight.’

‘Starting with you leading us up the slope?’

Fiddler grimaced. ‘Starting with that, aye.’

‘Mind you, if you hadn’t,’ Cuttle mused, ‘more of those raiders could have followed down to the overrun barrow through the breach. Your lobbed cusser did its work – distracted them. Long enough for the Khundryl to arrive and keep them busy.’

‘Even so,’ the sergeant conceded. ‘But if we’d been alongside Gesler, maybe we could have saved a few more marines.’

‘Or messed it up worse, Fid. You know better than to think like that.’

‘I guess you’re right. Now, gather them up.’

‘Aye.’