TtH - Chapter Twenty Three - No Spoilers

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

Chapter Twenty Three Discussion thread

[Sumant]

We again switch to ox pov

Here we again switch to the ox pov we see that he is frightened out of his pants, but once he starts seeing his daily chores he settles again into his role of dragging the cart.What is eriksson actually trying to tell us from his pov?As far as I am concerned I think the ox represent us normal guys who get frightened when we destruction or death but it is our daily chores like going to work etc which keep us sane.

Iskaral pust marches on his mule

We have our favorite shadow priest gathering up the reins and marching on with his army of bhokarala.

Baran hound of shadow and pallid hound of light fight it on

We saw few chapters back how annoyed baran was with lock , now looks like it is venting its anger on pallid and as the two fight everything start blowing up wherever they land, and in their fight they enter the cell where Barathol is locked up.

Pallid attacks barathol

Looks like barathol just coughing some dust made pallid mad and it attacks barathol, but chaur knocks pallid of barathol's path and saves him.chaur then throws the battle axe to barathol and picks up a stone to fight with pallid which he hits the hound of light with precision but the momentum of charge drives chaur in a stone wall where in he goes unconscious.Pallid runs away as baran gets free.

Barathol and antsy along with ox go for baruk

Is antsy losing it ? The way he is babbling to himself they put the body of chaur on the ox cart and leave for baruk's place.

We are back on lady verada's estate

The two cousins see the moon splintered into many pieces.also they wonder about some atmospheric pressure has to be there which was driving down the fires I guess it is rake miraculously the two renegade seguleh are dead and scorch and leff are alive and they are now patrolling outside of the estate.

Also the moon shards are moving towards another moon which is tiny.So there actually two moons in malazan world i think.

Also rallik advises torvald to stay at the estate and says he will be safe over here as vorcan has put her wards over the estate.Torvald worries about tissera but rallick tells him that she is clever enough to take care of herself.

Vorcan and rallick go to baruk.

Scorch and Leff think of hunting a hound

Leff wants a necklace of fangs and paw for his belt.They also want to make a boat out of the skull of a hound and call it sea hound lol.I think baran pursuing pallid comes over there and seeing they have crossbows and state it is with its fight with pallid gets the hell out of there.

Pov switches back to crokus and challice

Looks like crokus has till not got over apsalar and he rides on not fearful of hounds.Challice goes to her estate top and seeing the moon getting shattered to pieces I think she is reminded of her own life of how shattered she is inside.Cutter thinks of going to challice estate and telling her that he did not murder her husband due to her.He also reminisces how apsalar and challice has damaged him from inside.Challice throws herself off the top and she cannot take it any more.

Kruppe thinks about rake

Kruppe sees what a toll the dragnipur has take on rake but still he won't give up, also he says how a pact was sealed between rake and hood.Then he says about temptations and later in the chapter we come to know what is that temptation we will come on it later.Kruppe rides to rake.

Antsy and barathol reach baruk's estate

Antsy asks baruk to help chaur but he flatly refuses them and says to them he has more important things to look into.antsy then proposes that they head to azath house.

Antsy and barathol reach azath house

Antsy knocks azath door and raest opens it and he is in joking mood as always, antsy gives his a dead cat and raest its tufty, and agrees to keep chaur in azath house where time stands still one more info about the azath to file away i guess.Also raest tells them he had a visitor earlier that is our imass Dev' nad tool who is probably taken by azath and raest does not why the imass was angry with raest ?.

Envy and spite bury their differences

Spite and envy know that the pressure of carrying dragnipur has become too much on rake and with hood now in dragnipur along with his army of dead, that has taken a heavy toll on rake and he cannot fight them now if they coose to attack him.Also while marching on rake they are already thinking of how to stab each other in the back.

Traveller confronts Rake

We have traveller followd by karsa and samar reaching where rake is making a stand,traveller asks rake he can feel hood is now close and asks him where is he?Rake says that he is close as he knows that he is in the sword dragnipur.Cotillion has already warned daseem that he has to overcome rake in order to confront hood but rake says that he cannot stand aside and they face each other and rake recognizes his own sword which he had given his brother Andarist, we also have cult of deembrae gathered over there who are doing some sort of a chant and samar dev comparing rake and dassem to stone and sea.

Karsa is shaken by their battle with first sword of empire going against son of darkness and holder of dragnipur.Both are not yielding a single step two men of indomitable will.looks like dragnipur betrays rake and swings back into his forehead and Anomander rake is dead :( Karsa also sees I think sees how dragnipur betrayed rake and daseem cannot take it.The hounds form a circle arounf anomander rake to protect the sword dragnipur.This was what was hinted in Kruppe's word at the start when he said that temptations are going to be strong so now everyone is going to go for the sword dragnipur.

Anonmander rake dying had me really sad.

Something massive had arrived from blackness of blackness and stuck the moon.

Has this something to do with the crippled god with more jade statues coming.

Hounds of light make for the sword dragnipur

Know we know what the hounds of light are after they are basically after the sword dragnipur.Also we have ten hounds of light.Also who is their master ? Is it osserc?.Also we have tulas shorn our dead dragon observing everything from sky.

Iskaral put finally faces against Kruppe

Looks like Iskaral pust is also going for the sword and we have kruppe who is standing in his way.also looks like hounds of light are afraid to against mule, the mule is someone really powerful.Kruppe and Iskaral actually fight it out with blows and the two mules are spectators of that fight.

Baruk mourns rake

Baruk reminisces about rake and then leaves in carriage with someone.

We have cutter,karsa,samar and traveller vs spite,envy and hounds of light

This is going to get very messy.

spinnock durav loses against kallor

Kallor and spinnock fight out and spinnock fights against kallor but he fights only in defense mode and he actually fights against him from dusk till dawn, kallor also recognizes that and does not kill him, when spinnock tells kallor that rake is dead and then kallor heads for the city and leaves spinnock bleeding.

Orfanthol and korlat rendezvous with spinnock

Korlat saves spinnock by giving him a potion made by endest silann and i think delays his invetiable death and orfanthal snatches kallor in his claws and takes him away, but kallor finally maanges to kill him and again starts walking towards darujistahn.

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

Well how was that for a chapter.

Scorch and Leff lifted their crossbows into vertical positions, and spat on the barbed heads. Then they slowly settled the weapons back down, trained on the Hound.
Nostrils flaring, the beast flinched back. A moment later and it was gone.

Implications here are that Scorch and Leff are way more than they seem. The fact they held off the assassins also leads us to this conclusion.

Anomander Rake's gaze settle briefly on Dassem's sword, and it seemed a sad smile showed itself

Discussing this sword is going to be in Forge of the Darkness spoiler tags (view spoiler)[ Grief/revenge has certainly not been a lucky sword for Rake. From his forging for Andarists wedding to his death (hide spoiler)]

Whilst Anderist is battling Rake , Karsa says :

'Faces in the Rock,' hissed Karsa Orlong.
'Karsa—'
'No. Only a fool would step between these two.'
And the Toblakai sounded... shaken.

I am not sure what that means. Is he saying the equivalent of "Gods above", "Beru fend" or does he mean something else?

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

IT certainly seems that a pact was made between Hood/Rake/Shadowthrone. Rake would kill Hood and have him enter the sword, likely to lead the dead against Chaos. The agreement was that Traveller would kill Rake, preferably Dragnpur, knowing that Traveller was gunning for Hood they set up the confrontation. So timing was essential. Needed to make sure that Traveller didn't arrive until after Hoods death. They had some help here from Tulas Shorn a couple of chapters back. When it stole Traveller and Dev's horses.

'It wanted to slow us down,' Traveller said. 'One of Hood's own, alter all.'

They also knew that Kallor would be coming so they set up delaying him. I assume so that he couldn't have access to the sword, right now it is kind of in a vulnerable place. They still have to defend it from being taken by the Sisters and the Hounds of Light. Speaking of which, back when Tulas Shorn met Shadowthrone and Coltillion he freaked out at seeing two hounds of light. Remember, Tulas feels (or is) he is the true master of the hounds of shadow.

What, you fools, of the Hounds of Death? Manifestations, I said. They will turn - they are telling you that! That is why they exist! The fangs, the fury - all that is implacable in nature - each aspect but a variation, a hue in the maelstrom of destruction!'

Well now there is ten of them, not two.

With Tulas watching from above we get this:

Tulas Shorn was not pleased, even as something flowed sweet as a stream through its mind. A kind of blessing, alighting with faint, lilting notes of wonder.
Tulas Shorn had never known that Hood, Lord of the Slain, could prove so... generous.
Or perhaps it was nothing more than Shorn's damned
cousin's talent for anticipating the worst.

I wonder what this is. What has both Hoods and Rakes death unleashed or freed or..........

[David Sven, Mortal Sword..Meow]

Great summary and thoughts Sumant and Lee. I think I'll take the day off.

Just a couple of comments

How funny was the mule duel between Pust and Kruppe! There's Pust kicking the crap out of Mule charging it towards Kruppe and Kruppe is charging towards Pust - all in slow mo as the mules refuse to go faster than a plod. I couldn't help but think back to the jousts in the movie "Knight's Tale" where the crowd is chanting "We will Rock you!" But in my imagination it's the Bhokarala stamping and singing Queen.

Pust's visions of grandeur cracked me up as well

Mine, yes, mine! And then won’t Shadowthrone grovel and simper! Iskaral Pust, High Priest of Dragnipur! Most feared swordsman in ten thousand worlds! And if you think you’ve seen justice at its most fickle, you just wait!’


And Rallick and Vorcan have a thing eh?

And yes, Torvald comprehended all the subtle layers beneath those gentle words, and he was pleased. Leave it to my cousin to find for himself the most dangerous woman alive.

And when Scorch and Leff spit on their arrows before leveling them the Hound - I wonder if Studious Lock's earlier ministrations have left the two with poisoned spit?

And just so we are all clear - the lance Cutter is carrying came from the Dead Seguleh back in BH - so it is no ordinary lance

Ch22 His lance – the one that dead Seguleh horseman had given him, in that plague-stricken fort in Seven Cities. He recalled seeing it later, strapped to the back of a floating pack amidst wreckage in the waves. He recalled Spite’s casual retrieval. He had since stashed the weapon beneath his bunk

And you are right Lee - it looks like Rake had planned for Dragnipur to take him - I wonder what his arrival will mean for those in the sword?


Also - the moon falling apart is a delayed chain reaction from the initial impact of one of the falling statues - at least that's how I read it

An initial eruption from the impact had briefly showered the moon’s companion world with fragments, but it was the shock-wave that delivered the stricken moon’s death knell, and this took time.

I also notice that Korlat is not so consumed with vengeance that she would ignore Spinnock when Kallor was in reach.

Anyway, it looks like Cutter, Karsa, the Hounds of Shadow, possibly Traveller and possibly Cotillion are there to defend the sword against the Hounds of Light and the two sisters - Envy and Spite.

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

Pust's visions of grandeur cracked me up as well

What about this bit.....oh the irony...

'Misapprehensions abound, but wait, does this slavering fool even understand?'
'What? I wasn't supposed to hear that? But I did! I did, you fat idiot!'

And just so we are all clear - the lance Cutter is carrying came from the Dead Seguleh back in BH - so it is no ordinary lance
The one he found on Spites ship, that was glowing and humming. Me thinks it wants to stab something, perhaps a white hound?

This pact, can you image how that went down?

"okay Rake, so i'll have one of my minions call me through so I can walk the earth again. I'll taunt Daseem so he comes to kill me, but you kill me first and then let him kill you, by your own sword though don't forget. Then we can start on plan B".

Almost forgot in the excitement. Our favourite ex-tyrant.

Just look at the respect he now gets from ex-Bridgeburners.

Antsy shifted from one foot to the other. 'You busy, Raest? We need to make use of the hallway floor behind you—'
'Oh yes, I am very busy.'
The Falari blinked. 'Really?'
'Dust breeds. Cobwebs thicken. Candle wax stains precious surfaces. What do you want?'

[David Sven, Mortal Sword..Meow]

It's comedy and tragedy all rolled into one chapter :)

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

With only the mules being unphased by the events.

[David Sven, Mortal Sword..Meow]

They're war mules.

[Duffy]

Scorch would be an excellent name for a dragon. Just sayin...

I'm still wondering what Paran's role is in the bargain. I'm thinking he must have agreed to refashion the deck in some way. But there's still nothing pointing that way. And since Kruppe has a deck in his head, it makes me wonder.

I liked the confrontation between Kruppe and Pust even more this time.

I'm not sure what's going on with the moon. I loved how Kruppe said that all rules are basically fictions, and that whatever blew apart the moon doesn't care about our idea of rules.

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

LOL at scorch.

I agree, I just posted in the last thread about the deck changing. It has too. There will be no house of death and surely each house will need a Lord of Death now.

[Rob, Quick Ben]

Wow what a great chapter. For an author who refuses to write the quality starts to books I know he is capable, he never seems to disappoint with his endings.


OMG the Kruppe/List meeting exceeded my expectations. I thought my head might explode.

I guess I'm sad about Rake, but he's always felt like a mostly minor character to me. I'm maybe more upset about Chaur, who is even more of a minor character.

I really don't get the whole cheat cry from Karsa. Does he mean because Rake let himself be killed?

I can't wait for Karsa & co vs. the hounds, etc.. Oh man.

And Raest naming his dead cat Tufty. WTF? ROFL..

And this has to be one of my favorite things of the series:

Mine, yes, mine! And then won’t Shadowthrone grovel and simper! Iskaral Pust, High Priest of Dragnipur! Most feared swordsman in ten thousand worlds! And if you think you’ve seen justice at its most fickle, you just wait!

That last line especially.

[David Sven, Mortal Sword..Meow]

Rob wrote: "I really don't get the whole cheat cry from Karsa. Does he mean because Rake let himself be killed?
"

Thinking about it, I'm guessing Traveller wanted to follow Hood into Dragnipur and was trying to provoke Rake into making the killing blow? Maybe. Unless he realised where Hood must be afterwards - either way Dassem was cheated out of his revenge.

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

Lol I loved that bit too. Pust as a swordsman. Mogora would probably be the first to go. Then the bhokarael.

[Sumant]

I really don't get the whole cheat cry from Karsa

I think when their swords clashed at i think in a perpendicular way dragnipur recoiled back and stuck into rake's forehead which i think rake also did not anticipate.That's why karsa called it a cheat.

[Lee, High Priest of Shadow]

which i think rake also did not anticipate

I was under the impression he knew exactly what he was doing. He needed Traveller to kill him so he could enter Dragnpur, so I believed he raised the sword in that fashion so that his sword killed him.

[Duffy]

I agree with Lee, but even so I don't get it. For someone who is really determined, it's not that hard to kill yourself with a sword. (Did Dragnipur not work on suicides? And how is what Rake did any different in the end, which is why Karsa called it a cheat.)

[David Sven, Mortal Sword..Meow]

Rake still needed everyone in place to defend the sword - and it was expected that Dassem/Traveller would help out with that - so timing was also essential. But Karsa has been with Traveller a while now and knew how fixed he was on vengeance. So I still say Dassem is who was "cheated"

[Silvio]

Sure enough, I have to eat my words about the moon from the other thread. I don't know any astrophysics, but surely it can't be realistic for it to take that long to blow apart? Or maybe magic has something to do with it. I think the witch of Tennes from MOI 4 already told us there was more than one moon.

I'm surprised and I guess disappointed about Challice's suicide. She didn't strike me as self-destructive before. I'm confused whether Cutter found out she was dead.

[Lori]

I've gotten the impression throughout the series that there was more than one moon.

[Chris]

I loved everything Kruppe in this chapter. Great relief from the seriousness and drama going on. Favorite line was the MOI shout out to Brood.

If need be, the round man can prove a most blunt barrier.
Just ask the man with the hammer.

Also curious the significance of Raest naming his dead cat Tufty?

[Duffy]

The significance is that there is no significance to it. He's the dreaded Tyrant, and yet his fondest wish is to have a kitty, and he names it Tufty. It's so off-key that it's hilarious and brilliant.

[Matthew]

I get the scorch and left may be Mott irregulars. Their dumb luck and quibbling seem consistent with that group.

[Scott]

Chapter 23.........WOW, HOLY SHIT, WTF?.............TOP 3 Chapter in the series.

The convergence of convergences. Coming off Rake killing Hood we get Daseem killing Rake, Spite and Envy alliance, Crokus and Karsa, Kallor vs Spinnock, Kallor vs Orftantal and last but not least the main event Pust vs Kruppe!!!!!!!

Holy crap I couldn't put that down. Need time to absorb.