He turned his body sideways a touch, sliding his hand down out of sight and curling it tight round the grip of a knife. You can never have too many knives, his father had told him, and that was strong advice. He looked around, slow and easy, just to make sure there was no one at his back, but there were only empty trees. So he shifted his feet for a better balance and stayed sitting, trying to look as if nothing worried him, but with every muscle tensed and ready to spring.

'My name's Red Hat.' The man stopped no more than a stride away, still grinning, his left hand slack on the pommel of his sword, the other just hanging.

Logen's mind raced, thinking over all the men he'd wronged, or hurt, or got bound up in a feud with. Those he'd left alive, anyway. Red Hat. He couldn't find a place for it anywhere, but that was no reassurance. Ten men with ten big books couldn't have kept track of all the enemies he'd made, and the friends and the family and the allies of all his enemies. And that was without a man trying to kill him without much of a reason, just to make his own name bigger. 'Can't say I recognise the name.'

Red Hat shrugged. 'No reason you should do. I fought for Old Man Yawl, way back. He was a good man, was Yawl, a man you could respect.'

'Aye,' said Logen, still watching hard for a sudden move.

'But when he went back to the mud I got a place with Littlebone.'

'Never saw eye to eye with Littlebone, even when we were on the same side.'

'Neither did I, being honest. A right bastard. All bloated up with victories that Bethod won for him. Didn't sit well with me. That's why I came over, you know? When I heard Threetrees was here.' He sniffed and looked down at the earth. 'Someone needs to do something about that fucking Feared.'

'So they tell me.' Logen was hearing a lot about this Feared, and none of it good, but it'd take more than a few words in the right direction to get his hand off his knife.

'Still, the Dogman's a good chief, I reckon. One of the best I've had. Knows his business. Careful, like. Thinks about things.'

'Aye. Always thought he would be.'

'You think Bethod's following us?'

Logen didn't take his eyes from Red Hat's. 'Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Don't reckon we'll know 'til we get up in the mountains and hear him knocking at the door.'

'You think the Union'll keep to their end of it?'