Reaper's Gate & Toll the Hounds - By Steven Erikson Page 0,117

things have to be set?'

'Because the beads tell a story.'

'What story?'

'Different stories, depending on the pattern, which is assured by the song. The story is not lost, not corrupted, because the song never changes.'

'For Hood's sake,' the foreigner muttered. 'What's wrong with words?'

'With words,' said Redmask, turning away, 'meanings change.'

'Well,' Anaster Toc said, following as Redmask made his way back to his army's camp, 'that is precisely the point. That's their value – their ability to adapt—'

'Grow corrupt, you mean. The Letherii are masters at corrupting words, their meanings. They call war peace, they call tyranny liberty. On which side of the shadow you stand decides a word's meaning. Words are the weapons used by those who see others with contempt. A contempt which only deepens when they see how those others are deceived and made into fools because they chose to believe. Because in their naivety they thought the meaning of a word was fixed, immune to abuse.'

'Togg's teats, Redmask, that's a long speech coming from you.'

'I hold words in contempt, Anaster Toc. What do you mean when you say "Togg's teats"?'

'Togg's a god.'

'Not a goddess?'

'No.'

'Then its teats are—'

'Useless. Precisely.'

'What of the others? "Hood's Breath"?'

'Hood is the Lord of Death.'

'Thus . . . no breath.'

'Correct.'

'Beru's mercy?'

'She has no mercy.'

'Mowri fend?'

'The Lady of the Poor fends off nothing.'

Redmask regarded the foreigner. 'Your people have a strange relationship with your gods.'

'I suppose we do. Some decry it as cynical and they may have a point. It's all to do with power, Redmask, and what it does to those who possess it. Gods not excepted.'

'If they are so unhelpful, why do you worship them?'

'Imagine how much more unhelpful they'd be if we didn't.' At whatever Anaster Toc saw in Redmask's eyes, he then laughed.

Annoyed, Redmask said, 'You fought as an army devoted to the Lord and Lady of the Wolves.'

'And see where it got us.'

'The reason your force was slaughtered is because my people betrayed you. Such betrayal did not come from your wolf gods.'

'True, I suppose. We accepted the contract. We assumed we shared the meaning of the words we had exchanged with our employers—' At that he offered Redmask a wry smile. 'We marched to war believing in honour. So. Togg and Fanderay are not responsible – especially for the stupidity of their followers.'

'Are you now godless, Anaster Toc?'

'Oh, I heard their sorrowful howls every now and then, or at least I imagined I did.'

'Wolves came to the place of slaughter and took the hearts of the fallen.'

'What? What do you mean?'

'They broke open the chests of your comrades and ate their hearts, leaving everything else.'

'Well, I didn't know that.'

'Why did you not die with them?' Redmask asked. 'Did you flee?'

'I was the best rider among the Grey Swords. Accordingly, I was acting to maintain contact between our forces. I was, unfortunately, with the Awl when the decision was made to flee. They dragged me down from my horse and beat me senseless. I don't know why they didn't kill me there and then. Or just leave me for the Letherii.'

'There are levels to betrayal, Anaster Toc; limits to what even the Awl can stomach. They could run from the battle, but they could not draw a blade across your throat.'

'Well, that's a comforting relief. Apologies. I have always been prone to facetious commentary. I suppose I should be thankful, but I'm not.'

'Of course you're not,' Redmask said. They were approaching the broad hide awning protecting the rodaraskin maps the war leader had drawn – mostly from what he could recall of Letherii military maps he had seen. These new maps had been stretched out on the ground, pegged down, arrayed like pieces of a puzzle to create a single rendition of a vast area – one that included the south border kingdoms. 'But you are a soldier, Anaster Toc, and I have need of soldiers.'

'So, you seek an agreement between us.'

'I do.'

'A binding of words.'

'Yes.'

'And what if I choose to leave? To walk away?'

'You will be permitted and given a horse and supplies. You may ride east or southeast or indeed north, although there is nothing to be found to the north. But not west, not southwest.'

'Not to the Lether Empire, in other words.'

'Correct. I do not know what vengeance you hold close to your wounded soul. I do not know if you would betray the Awl – to answer their betrayal of you. For which I would not blame you in the least. I have no desire to