abstract
| - As they travel, Karsa and Torvald hear rumors of a rebellion mounting among the Seven Cities against the Malazan. When they walk through a village, they sense something is amiss and fear they are walking into an ambush. They are soon caught by a small army of Arak tribesmen armed with crossbows. Seeing as they are unarmored, the two men realize they stand no chance against the crossbowmen. Instead of fighting to the death, as he would have done in the past, Karsa unslings his bloodsword and surrenders. They are shackled by the Araks, and Karsa's shackles are so tight, they cut off the circulation to his hands and feet. Silgar appears, leading the men and promises to get repayment from Karsa for losing his men and being arrested for slavery by the Malazans. The Araks make camp that night with their prisoners, when Torvald stuffs his and Karsa's clothes with dry grass and kicks them into a nearby campfire, sending up flames that can be spotted for miles around. The Arak's quickly try to quench the fire, muttering the word, "Gral" with fear. As one Arak cuts Torvald's throat as punishment for the fire, a group of Gral attacks the camp. Damisk and Silgar escape with Karsa through a warren, leaving Torvald writhing on the ground.
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