Toc’s lone eye slowly widened. ‘He parried you with half-drawn blades?’

‘The first two attacks, yes, but not the third. I need only to study the eldest’s movements, the lightness of his steps on the earth – his grace – to sense the full measure of his skill. Senu and Thurule both acknowledge him as their master. Clearly you believe, by virtue of his mask, that he is highly ranked among his own kind.’

‘Third, I think. Third highest. There’s supposed to be a legendary Seguleh with an unmarked mask. White porcelain. Not that anyone has ever seen him, except the Seguleh themselves, I suppose. They are a warrior caste. Ruled by the champion.’ Toc turned to study the two distant warriors, then glanced over a shoulder at Senu, who still knelt over the antelope not ten paces away. ‘So what has brought them to the mainland, I wonder?’

‘You might ask the youngest, Toc.’

The scout grinned at Tool. ‘Meaning you’re as curious as I am. Well, I am afraid I can’t do your dirty work for you, since I rank below him. He may choose to speak with me, but I cannot initiate. If you want answers, it is up to you to ask the questions.’

Tool set down the antler and blank, then rose to his feet in a muted clack of bones. He strode towards Senu. Toc followed.

‘Warrior,’ the T’lan Imass said.

The Seguleh paused in his butchering, dipped his head slightly.

‘What has driven you to leave your homeland? What has brought you and your brothers to this place?’

Senu’s reply was a dialect of Daru, slightly archaic to Toc’s ears. ‘Master Stoneblade, we are the punitive army of the Seguleh.’

Had anyone other than a Seguleh made such a claim, Toc would have laughed outright. As it was, he clamped his jaw tight.

Tool seemed as taken aback as was the scout, for it was a long moment before he spoke again. ‘Punitive. Whom does the Seguleh seek to punish?’

‘Invaders to our island. We kill all that come, yet the flow does not cease. The task is left to our Blackmasks – the First Level Initiates in the schooling of weapons – for the enemy comes unarmed and so are not worthy of duelling. But such slaughter disrupts the discipline of training, stains the mind and so damages the rigours of mindfulness. It was decided to travel to the homeland of these invaders, to slay the one who sends his people to our island. I have given you answer, Master Stoneblade.’

‘Do you know the name of these people? The name by which they call themselves?’