Mincer

Mincer was the very elusive captain of the sappers in Fist Coltaine's 7th Army.

He was squat, hairless, and "immeasurably ugly". His eyes were thin slashes and his nose was "a flattened spread of angles and crooks". The sapper wore fragments of armour salvaged off the battlefield from a dead commander of the army of Apocalypse and an antique helmet from Darujhistan. He carried the remnants of a battered bronze shield along with a large, blackened crossbow camouflaged with branches and twigs.

Mincer also carried a bag of rocks, with which he could hit anything but the lapdog Roach.

In Deadhouse Gates

When the Whirlwind rebellion drove the 7th Army out of Hissar, he became one of Coltaine's Chain of Dogs. While on the march, Mincer never bothered to attend command meetings with the other officers, preferring to get his "beauty sleep", which by all accounts could not hurt given his rather ugly mug. He was also allegedly able to sleep while marching.

After the disastrous Battle of Vathar Crossing, Coltaine commended the courageous work of the sappers, and deemed one particular sapper's leadership and valour so noteworthy that he promoted the man to sergeant on the spot. Since Mincer had never actually been seen by the commanders of the 7th, none realized Coltaine had just mistakenly 'demoted' him. Only too happy to shed the tiresome burden of command, Mincer then recommended that the Fist promote his former sergeant, Bungle, to captain and Coltaine complied. His error explained to him, Coltaine ordered Mincer to advise Bungle as needed.

In House of Chains

Temul recalled Mincer's presence in the final days of the Chain of Dogs. The sapper had been among those Coltaine brought together to discuss what to do with the refugees. Mincer and the others agreed to place the refugees under the command of Duiker, the historian, while the remaining soldiers continued to fight.

In The Bonehunters

It was revealed that Mincer had fallen at the Battle of Barrow outside Aren with Coltaine and the others. He was among the named heroes of the Chain of Dogs for whom the natives of Seven Cities had built shrines across the subcontinent. It was said some residents of Aren had searched the hill for his and the others' bones without success.

Trivia

Mincer's failure to appear at Coltaine's command meetings in Deadhouse Gates came about because author Steven Erikson forgot to include him when writing the first meeting. Rather than rewrite the scene, he continued it on as a running gag, making Mincer miss every meeting. His only regret was that the character had one of his favourite names, but he never got to use him. Erikson felt "great regret for his ultimate fate because he became a favourite character."

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