Ontin went straight to the fishermen, who sat around a table looking slightly out of place. Aranx held out his hand, wrapped clumsily in a strip of cloth. ‘Got it wet, didn’t I? Another lad fell in a lead, through a crack in the ice. Didn’t notice it was wrong, it got so cold I couldn’t feel it anyhow.’

Ontin carefully peeled back the bandage, to reveal swollen, broken flesh. A stink of corruption filled the room.

‘Sorry, doctor.’

‘Don’t apologise. It sounds as if you were a brave man.’ Ontin took a scalpel from a deep pocket, and began to probe at the damaged flesh.

‘Don’t know about brave. We got old Tabilox out of the water all right, but he didn’t make it back.’

Ayto said evenly, ‘The bravest thing you did, mate, was to go tell his widow when you got back. And his kids.’

‘We miss our boats, that’s the truth. We’re rubbish out on the ice, cutting holes and that. We’ll never be Coldlanders.’

Ywa said, ‘All of Northland appreciates what you are trying to do for us. And you’ve managed to bring home more than a bit of fish.’

Xree smiled. ‘We were talking about you earlier. Of your marvellous return from the dead, so to speak, a couple of months back, when the Sabet went down. I was actually there on the Wall when you showed up. Walking out of the cold, dragging that improvised sled with your injured crewmate and the carcass of that seal, and your families waiting for you at the dock. Remarkable.’

Crimm sounded embarrassed. ‘We didn’t do anything but live through it.’

‘Oh, believe me,’ Ywa said, ‘you did more than that. You brought back a bit of good news, for once, and you’ve no idea how rare that has been over the last year.’

‘But I didn’t bring back my ship,’ he said heavily. ‘Or one of my crew. Or any of the catch, save the little bit we’d been eating ourselves. What kind of achievement is that?’

Thaxa saw Ywa flinch. Crimm backed off, reddening. There was an awkward silence.

And for the first time Thaxa saw there was some kind of connection between the two of them, the Annid of Annids and the weather-beaten fisherman. Well, whatever it was they were entitled to it, and he suppressed his curiosity.

Crimm said gruffly, ‘Anyhow, you’re here to talk about the future, not the past.’

Xree sighed. ‘True enough. The problem’s simple to state. We have to get through the winter.’

‘The issue being—’

‘The issue being too many people, and too little food . . .’