Dust of Dreams/Chapter 4

Epigraph

Behold these joyful devourers The land laid out skewered in silver Candlesticks of softest pewter Rolling the logs down cut on end To make roads through the forest That once was-before the logs (Were rolled down cut on end)— We called it stump road and we Called it forest road when Our imaginations starved You can make fans with ribs Of sheep and pouches for baubles By pounding flat the ears Of old women and old men— Older is best for the ear grows For ever it’s said, even when There’s not a scrap anywhere to eat So we carried our wealth In pendulum pouches wrinkled And hairy, diamonds and gems Enough to buy a forest or a road But maybe not both Enough even for slippers of Supplest skin feathered in down Like a baby’s cheek There is a secret we know When nothing else is left And the sky stops its tears A belly can bulge full On diamonds and gems And a forest can make a road Through what once was You just won’t find any shade Pendulums Were Once Toys Badalle of Korbanse Snake

The K'Chain Che'Malle and Kalyth have set out on their quest for a Mortal Sword and Shield Anvil. Kalyth takes a drug that sends her into the Elan prophetic dream-world. While she is unconscious their camp is attacked by scouts of a White Face Barghast clan; the Shi'Gal Assassin has no difficulty in killing them.

Onos Toolan, Warchief of the Barghast, is still grieving over the death of Toc Anaster. The various Barghast clans are restless; their enemy was to have been the Letherii Empire, but this no longer exists. Some clans are defecting, and Tool urgently needs to find them a new enemy.

The youth Torrent is the last of his people, the Awl, and has been adopted into the Gadra, a Barghast clan. He discovers the bodies of the scouts. Back in their camp is the Great Warlock Cafal. He is there to investigate the girl Setoc, who was raised by wolves and remains in mental communication with them. He speculates that she is a priestess of the Wolf God and Goddess, the Lord and Lady of the Beast Throne.

The Snake of child refugees from Kolanse continues to travel slowly westwards. Each day more of the children die.