'We are in a war,' Paran said. 'Oddly enough, there was something one of my sisters once said to me, when we were young, pitching toy armies against each other. To win a war you must come to know all the players. All of them. Living ones, who will face you across the field.
Dead ones, whose legends are wielded like weapons, or held like eternally beating hearts. Hidden players, inanimate players – the land itself, or the sea, if you will. Forests, hills, mountains, rivers.
Currents both seen and unseen – no, Tavore didn't say all that; she was far more succinct, but it's taken me a long time to fully understand. It's not "know your enemy". That's simplistic and facile.
No, it's "know your enemies". There's a big difference, Apsalar, because one of your enemies could be the face in the silver mirror.'
'Yet now you call them players, rather than enemies,' she said. '
Suggesting to me a certain shift in perspective – what comes, yes, of being the Master of the Deck of Dragons?'
'Huh, I hadn't thought about that. Players. Enemies. Is there a difference?'
'The former implies… manipulation.'
'And you would understand that well.'
'Yes.'
'Does Cotillion haunt you still?'
'Yes, but not as… intimately.'
'And now you are one of his chosen servants, an agent of Shadow. An assassin, just like the assassin you once were.'
She levelled her gaze on him. 'What is your point?'
'I'm not sure. I'm just trying to find my feet, regarding you, and whatever mission you are on right now.'
'If you want details of that, best speak with Cotillion yourself.'
'I am considering it.'
'Is that why you have crossed an ocean, Ganoes Paran?'
'No. As I said, we are at war. I was not idle in Darujhistan, or in the weeks before Coral. I was discovering the players… and among them, true enemies.'
'Of you?'
'Of peace.'
'I trust you will kill them all.'
He seemed to wince, looked down at the wine in his glass. 'For a short time, Apsalar, you were innocent. Naive, even.'
'Between the possession of a god and my awakening to certain memories.'
'I was wondering, who created in you such cynicism?'
'Cynicism? You speak of peace, yet twice you have told me we are at war. You have spent months learning the lie of the battle to come. But I suspect that even you do not comprehend the vastness of the coming conflict, the conflict we are in right now.'
'You are right. Which is why I wanted to speak with you.'
'It may be we are on different sides, Ganoes Paran.'
'Maybe, but I don't think so.'
She said nothing.
Paran refilled their glasses. 'The pantheon is splitting asunder. The Crippled God is finding allies.'
'Why?'
'What? Well… I don't really know. Compassion?'
'And is that something the Crippled God has earned?'
'I don't know that, either.'
'Months of study?' Her brows rose.
He laughed, a response that greatly relieved her.
'You are likely correct,' she said. 'We are not enemies.'
'By "we" I take it you include Shadowthrone and Cotillion.'
'As much as is possible, which isn't as much as I would like. None can fathom Shadowthrone's mind. Not even Cotillion, I suspect. Certainly not me. But he has shown… restraint.'
'Yes, he has. Quite surprising, if you think about it.'
'For Shadowthrone, the pondering of the field of battle has consumed years, maybe decades.'
He grunted, a sour expression on his face. 'Good point.'
'What role do you possess, Paran? What role are you seeking to play?'
'I have sanctioned the Crippled God. A place in the Deck of Dragons. A House of Chains.'
She considered for a time, then nodded. 'I can see the reason in that.
All right, what has brought you to Seven Cities?'
He stared at her, then shook his head. 'A decision I chewed on for what seemed forever, and you grasp my motives in an instant. Fine. I am here to counter an enemy. To remove a threat. Only, I am afraid I will not get there in time, in which case I will clean up the mess as best I can, before moving on-'
'To Quon Tali.'
'How – how did you know that?'
She reached for the brick of cheese, produced a knife from her sleeve and sliced off a piece. 'Ganoes Paran, we are going to have a rather long conversation now. But first, where do you plan to make landfall?'