The Moon, in his first quarter, was only a fine inlay
of silver against a sky of lapis lazuli, which fused
into the dreamy serenity of the stream by which I
gradually felt impregnated... I would have liked to
have communicated with the wild nature surrounding
us, to listen to her dark language and understand
her, to become like the simple people of this country.
And so I lost myself in dreams that floated from one
bank to the other, until a far away voice tore me from
my solitude.
In Jacuruku
Saeng[]
Saeng wakes to find that her arrow wound has been healed by Pon-lor. She tells him about her vision that the Visitor will soon arrive and devastate the region, and claims it is part of a plan by the highest-ranking Thaumaturg mages, the Circle of Nine. Pon-lor does not believe her. They fight briefly, then she and Hanu depart to search for the Great Temple of Light. Pon-lor follows their trail.
The Disavowed[]
The Shattered God's priest has returned to Skinner and demanded he retrieves the fragment carried by the Malazans. He transports them near to it and they attack, but are detected by Murk and Sour who first hide the fragment and then transport it into the Shadow warren. However the priest can still sense the fragment and follows. Edgewalker, the warren's guardian, prevents Skinner taking the fragment and expels his party from Shadow.
Murk and Sour[]
Murk speaks again to Celeste and explains that the priest can sense her. She decides to investigate the complex entity that she has perceived; while she is doing so she should be hard to locate.
When Murk and Sour report back, the mercenaries realise that Skinner will continue to hunt them, and so change direction towards his enemy, Ardata.
T'riss[]
The ship carrying T'riss, the Queen of Dreams, and Ina, her Seguleh bodyguard, has finally arrived in Jacuruku. They set out in search of Ardata, who T'riss names as her sister.
Thaumaturg Army[]
Most of the Thaumaturg army has now crossed the river, by raft or by swimming alongside ropes. Later the chief army surgeon requests that Golan sees a labourer who is succumbing to a new sickness: he is being devoured from within by parasitic worms caught from contact with the river water. Soon after screams are heard throughout the camp as adult worms eat their way out of many labourers and soldiers.
Deadhouse Malaz City[]
Osserc continues his attempt to out-wait Gothos, their silences being occasionally broken by brief philosophical exchanges. They hear a noise from outside: one of the beings trapped beneath the Deadhouse has managed to claw his way to the surface and is escaping. Osserc sees that it is the Disavowed mage Cowl. Gothos states that the House cannot hold him because he has already been claimed.