Avatak had heard nothing of his people since leaving Coldland with Pyxeas, nothing of uncle Suko and his sister Nona, and Uuna his betrothed who, he was sure, was still waiting for him. Yes, they would be prospering, even if they had had to abandon their old grounds and followed the edge of the spreading ice to the sea.

Crimm said now, ‘There is so much we can learn from you. We have done our best, to build a way of living in the unending winter – but you, you have your ancestors’ knowledge, their old wisdom.’

Avatak remembered Pyxeas predicting that it would be his wisdom, of the ice and sea, that would be in demand in the future, not the scholar’s learning. He felt embarrassed. ‘I was pretty young when Pyxeas took me away from home, and I have been travelling since. I have probably forgotten much of what I know.’

‘I think you’re too modest. Well, I hope you are. Take a look at this, for instance.’

Crimm led him to a scaffold on which hung the flensed body of a seal, dripping blood onto the frozen ground. The eyeballs drooped, ugly and exposed. The black flippers, the only bit of skin left on the body, looked oddly like gloves. At the base of the scaffold was the evidence of a previous kill, a heap of purplish guts, tangled up.

Avatak asked, ‘Where do you get the wood for the scaffold?’

‘Some driftwood, at first. A lot of it scorched from big fires burning somewhere, overseas. Not so much this year; I guess the gathering ice is seeing to that. But there’s always the Wall, like a great mine, crammed with stuff. All you have to do is haul it out. We know how to salt fish; we’ve done that for generations. What do you think of how we’ve handled the seal?’

‘You can use more of it.’ Avatak picked up a length of gut, and ran his fingers along the ropy stuff. ‘Squeeze out the blood like this, and boil it up. The liver is considered a treat, by the way, for the hunter who brings the animal in. There are ways to treat the hide so it’s easy to wear – you dry it, rub it to keep it supple. I will show you. Oh, and the eyes . . .’ He plucked an eye from its nerve stalk, popped it into his mouth, and chewed hard; it burst with a crackle, and cold fluid filled his mouth. ‘Mm,’ he said around the mouthful. ‘Delicious. A treat for the kids.’

Crimm stared. ‘Ha! Well, I must try it myself. Look, Avatak – would you help with something else? We have sickness here.’

‘I saw your wife.’

‘We all suffer to some extent. But especially my wife’s little niece. Please.’