The Bonehunters/Chapter 13

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== Seven Cities ==
After escaping the Nascent, Ganoes Paran, Ganath and the occupants of the badly damaged Trygalle Trade Guild wagon find themselves in a valley in Seven Cities. The air is unusually humid, and Ganath notes that this comes from the "rebirth of the inland sea". Ganath points their location as east of Raraku, and west of G'danisban. Ganath decides to leave Paran and head west to the site of the K'Chain Che'Malle skykeep that she had imprisoned in ice.
Paran talks to Karpolan Demesand and gives him the Otataral sword as payment for passage with the Trade Guild. Karpolan makes him keep the sword wrapped so that the Otataral does not interfere with sorcery currently being used to heal him. Karpolan makes one of the shareholders smash Lorn's sword with a hammer until it is reduced to small shards. Paran collects a shard the length of his finger and puts it in his belt. The Trade Guild packs up and heads into a warren.
Paran says his goodbyes to Ganath and rides east towards G'danisban. Along the way he encounters a deserted hovel that has been burned due to the plague. As Paran continues on, it begins raining so heavily that it becomes hard to see and Paran pulls up the hood on his Malazan military rain-cape. As he draws nearer to the city, two soldiers surprise him and assume that Ganoes is a deserter. They arrest Paran and take him to the commanding officer revealing that they are members of Onearm's Host. Paran realizes that Onearm is not laying siege to the city, and all the companies are leaving at least 400 paces between their camps and the city walls.
Paran is taken to an officers tent where a female captain is in charge. She orders Paran thrown in the stockade before his execution as a deserter. Ganoes decides he's done following the rules, and breaks a guard's nose and knocks out the captain. He ties them up and then heads back out into the rain drenched camp to look for High Fist Dujek. Finding the Fist's tent he notices one of the guards outside was a member of Caladan Brood's army at Coral. The soldier, Hurlochel remembers Paran, but is shocked to find that he is alive. Hurlochel explains that the city is consumed with plague, and Dujek decided to attack the temple of Poliel, but the goddess herself was there and afflicted the attackers with the plague. Dujek and the other veterans are being kept alive by healers, but are currently incapacitated. 
Hurlochel explains that Paran is now the longest tenured Captain in this army, and asks him to take command. Paran agrees, but doesn't want anyone to know he's alive, so he agrees to pretend to be Captain Kindly who's reputation is known by the soldiers, but none of them would have met him. Hurlochel informs Paran that the Captain he knocked out was Sweetcreek, a Falari princess, and Ganoes wonders why he always has issues with royalty.
== Sotka Road ==
Lostara Yil leaves the hidden temple of Rashan where Cotillion sent her to save her from death in the conflagration of Y'Ghatan. She rejoins Faradan Sort and the survivors who had been trapped under the city, who are marching to rejoin the 14th Army. Faradan explained the aftermath of the battle and that Fist Tene Baralta is near death after his oil-slicked beard caught fire. Sort explains her theory that the only thing that matters in battle is not skill, but Oponn's favor.
Kalam, Quick Ben, and Fiddler are reminiscing while marching. Quick Ben asks Kalam why he never killed Pearl for stabbing him, but Kalam says he's had bigger things to worry about. They try and figure out what Adjunct Tavore is planning, and Kalam wonders why the Empress still has Pearl watching Tavore, and surmises that Laseen is worried about Tavore and the 14th. Quick Ben notes that a war is starting among the gods, and he isn't sure which side the Empress is on. Apsalar was eavesdropping on the conversation and announces that she and Paran had talked about the war, and the others express shock that Ganoes is in Seven Cities. Apsalar advises Quick and Kalam to be cautious as they don't fully comprehend the stakes of the coming war. Quick Ben offers to help Kalam kill Pearl.
Fiddler talks with Corabb and offers to attach him to his squad. Corabb tells Fiddler about Leoman's lover Dunsparrow and Fiddler realizes he knows her. He quickly goes to Quick Ben and Kalam to tell them that Whiskeyjack's sister is now with Leoman. They express shock but doubt it means anything. Fiddler explains that Dunsparrow's mother died giving birth and that the baby should have died inside. The townspeople gave her up to Hood's temple. Fiddler and Whiskeyjack broke into the temple and stole her back, but she had already been consecrated and blessed in Hood's name.
Apsalar overhears this, and thinks back about what she knows about Whiskeyjack. She remembers that Dassem Ultor had been the Mortal Sword of Hood, and that Laseen as Clawmaster had murdered him because the Malazan army does not take patronage with the gods. She doubts that Whiskeyjack was part of Dassem's cult. She doubts the Queen of Dreams would accept an avatar of Hood in her realm unless the two were allied. She thinks it more likely that Dunsparrow is an unwitting player and not working for Hood. She notes that Telorast and Curdle are still following her and wonders at how everyone has secret purposes.
Hellian is going through withdrawals from lack of alcohol and feels like worms are crawling under her skin. Gesler notices that everyone other than himself is getting badly burned from the desert sun, and that the group all need new clothes and water otherwise they'll never catch the 14th. Gesler proposes sending Apsalar ahead to send supplies back from the 14th, but Captain Sort realizes they need to send someone the army actually knows riding Apsalar's horse. Fiddler tells them that Masan Gilani is the best rider in the group. Gilani agrees to go, and accepts a Kethra knife from Apsalar promising to return it when she gets back.
== Yadeth Garath ==
Dejim Nebrahl returns to the site of the first human city, Yadeth Garath. After barely escaping from Iskaral Pust he's been wandering through plague filled lands, and is starving. Unable to think coherently he has instinctually returned to the cities he once used to feed at. Yadeth Garath is long gone and Nebrahl is unable to eat. A faint scent reaches him. It is Masan Gilani and her horse. The T'rolbarahl sets off after them.
== Sotka Road ==
Masan thinks back on her early life among the Dal Honese, and the two children she left behind for family to raise while she became a wanderer. Apsalar's horse shies and Gilani grabs the borrowed knife as Dejim Nebrahl attacks. She rolls off the back of the horse, and slashes the legs of one of the D'ivers. It falls, and she leaps on its back and stabs the base of its neck, killing it. While four of the Dejim's demons kill her horse, she runs off into the darkness. One of the demons pursues her and leaps at her. She dives under it, badly slashing one of its legs, and then throws her knife at it. The knife bounces off her target and lands up a slope of loose rocks. The demon slashes her as she attempts to climb and find the knife again. While climbing she cuts her hand badly on the loose knife, but is still able to reach the top of the slope. The injured D'ivers attempts to follow, but keeps sliding back down with the loose stone. Gilani runs blindly in the dark, and hears deafening howls and throws herself to the ground. She hears and then sees what looks like a giant wolf, as big as a horse, close by. The beast notices her, but then takes off in pursuit of Dejim Nebrahl.
Nebrahl is running from the hounds. Three of his remaining D'ivers are running it full speed while the fourth limps along behind them. He realizes that the hounds could easily catch his fourth, but instead are quietly hunting and toying with him. His D'ivers notice that the scent of his pursuers has faded, and thinking that they have given up the hunt he slows up.
Quick Ben senses something out in the desert, and Apsalar orders the entire group off the road. Bottle has sensed the creatures as well, and believes everyone should just lie low and let them pass.
Dejim Nebrahl is headed towards the Malazans and finally catches their scent. Blind with hunger he surges forward, before spying a Deragoth blocking the road. The three healthy D'ivers charge the lone Deragoth. Four more Deragoth attack, and all three D'ivers are torn to pieces and killed. Nebrahl's last wounded kin is far to the west, and cowering in fear when the Hounds of Shadow attack. Nebrahl turns to face them, then is picked up from behind in the jaws of another hound who carries Nebrahl south into the wastes. He realizes that unlike the Deragoth, the Hounds have a master who wants him alive.
== Near Kokakal Sea ==
Lieutenant Pores is remembering how he had been badly injured by bandits a few days after the 14th had left Y'ghatan. Captain Kindly appears and forces him out of the healers wagons and puts him back to work before he was fully recovered. While they walk to Pores' new posting, they come across the Adjunct meeting with Nil, Nether, the healthy Fists, Warleader Gall and Ruthan Gudd. Gudd is relating a story of when the T'lan Imass had long ago broken Jaghut sorcery resulting in sea level rise and the collapse of an island. Pores realizes he wants to kill Captain Kindly.
Fist Keneb is eager to get off the continent and return to his home in Quon Tali. He notices how the former rebels have embraced the memory of Coltaine and the Chain of Dogs, and is disgusted by it. Fist Blistig is worried that the transport fleet will need to land elsewhere, but Tavore refuses to move the 14th.
== Sotka Road ==
The survivors of Y'ghatan come upon Apsalar's dead horse being eaten by Telorast and Curdle, and find Masan Gilani bleeding badly, but still alive. Faradan Sort orders Deadsmell to heal Gilani. While watching him work, Bottle realizes that Deadsmell is a necromancer. Fiddler asks Bottle what type of ghosts are possessing the two skeletal lizards. Reluctantly, Bottle tells him that Telorast and Curdle were once dragons.
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