| abstract
| - Tehol and Bugg set out to find Shurq who has taken up residence in a brothel. Shurq’s body refurbishment has left her with an appetite that needs regular feeding. They leave a weeping Ublala Pung behind. He is miserable at being the plaything of the three women, Shand, Rissarh and Hejan and longs to find someone to love him. Tehol manages to persuade Shurq to leave the brothel and meet Ublala Pung at Tehol’s dwelling at midnight. Bugg and Tehol go their separate ways, and Tehol heads to the Azath house. He meets Kettle for the first time and thanks her for removing the people who are spying on him. Kettle tells him about the people buried in the grounds of the Azath, of the one who will help her if he can get free and of the “bad ones”, who will kill them all if they escape. Kettle also speaks of a woman in one of the Azath barrows who promises to make her an Empress and give her treats. Tehol tells Kettle not to trust the woman. As he leaves, Kettle asks him if he dreams of dragons. Brys Beddict is putting some of his students through counter-attack exercises, watched by Turudal Brizad, who has come to request Brys to attend the Chancellor, Triban Gnol. During their brief conversation he mentions there is a feud between the Ceda and the Chancellor. Brys calls on the Ceda, and finds him dangling by ropes from the ceiling studying a map on the floor. The Ceda mentions four small moons circling the world. They discuss Turudal Brizad briefly whom the Ceda describes as an “errant, troubled lad”, and the feud between the Ceda and the Chancellor. The Ceda requests that Brys find out all about it for him. Brys calls on The Chancellor who wishes to know the readiness of the military. Brys outlines their situation as being ready and capable of war, and the Chancellor moves on to discuss Brys’ brothers. They exchange words and as Brys leaves he muses that he has been added to the Chancellor’s list of enemies. Tehol and Bugg have just finished one of their unusual meals when the three women, Shand, Rissarh and Hejun arrive. He gives them a list of names and directions to purchase shares in their enterprises in order to gain controlling interest and sends them on their way. Tehol ascends to the roof where Ublala Pung is waiting for him, when Shurq arrives and talks about the bottom of the canal and the huge number of bodies lying on the bottom. She wishes to know who killed all those people. Shurq then tells Ublala that she’s going to rob Gerum Ebericts estate and persuades Ublala to help her. Brys decides to pay Tehol a visit and ask his advice on his predicament with the factions within the palace. He is surprised by Tehol’s knowledge of what those factions are. Tehol advises Brys to treat it like a duel. They move on to discussing Hull and his desire to take as much of Lether down with him as he can. Brys is told that to remain loyal to the king , and that he, Tehol, will avenge Hull’s death when it occurs. Before he leaves Tehol, Brys is asked to find out discreetly, annual numbers of people who go missing in Letheras. Shurq and Ublala manage to break into the seemingly impregnable estate of Gerun Eberict. There is another undead inside, guarding Ebericts rooms, his brother Harlest who had an ‘accident’ ten years ago. Harlest is impressed with Shurq’s appearance, for a corpse, and she promises him a set of fangs and talons if he will help her. He agrees and they proceed to strip his rooms of his official seal, a small box full of diamonds and a stack of writs of holding – which is where Eberict has most of his money invested. Kettle is in the Azath yard and has just fed one of the trees with another body. The bad ones under the ground were killing everything they could come across. Her friend is trapped and can get no closer to the surface, although help was on it’s way, but may not arrive soon enough. Kettle is worried and in need of help because the azath was now dead.
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