The Malazan Fallen discussion

Discuss Chapter 4 only. Please make liberal use of spoiler tags when discussing other books/series-wide implications.

Kruppe is the father of twin girls, being raised by Tool. Trying to wrap my brain around that still.

Kalyth uses a drug to induce a trance to try and divine her next step in the search for the KChain Mortal sword and Destriant. In her vision she comes across Heboric digging around the fingers of one of the Jade statues. He’s looking for a weapon – but for what?

A Barghast scouting party have the misfortune to come across the K’Chain expedition. The Shi’gal Assassin takes them all out. The Assassin is able to hide himself using some sort of mind manipulation – maybe Mockra? The assassin is also able to employ a natural form of infra red or heat detection. The assassin doesn’t think to eliminate the dogs, unaware that they are trained to alert the main party of trouble.

We also catch up again with Hetan – who has two twin daughters from her romp with Kruppe. Kruppe as a father – can you imagine it? Except it is Tool who has taken on the role of Father as well as war chief of the Barghast. But Tool’s unwillingness to do violence or go to war against the wrong enemy is losing him support from the heads of the clans. The situation is worsened by his grief for Toc which seems to have crippled him to inaction. Though really, there’s nothing to do until they hook back up with the Malazans – but the Barghast are impatient for an enemy to fight.

We also meet up with Setoc – who was Stayandi – who we first encounter briefly in Reapers Gale (Ch10) – where we read of her being taken in by wolves and then being found by a Barghast. She was part of the first Letherii camp that is attacked by Redmask and his two K’Chain. It appears that she may be some sort of priestess for the wolves of Winter – maybe.

And stick puppet Talamandus is still kicking about. Both he and Setoc warn the Barghast that going after whoever took out their scouting party is not a good idea.

We also encounter Torrent. He and the surviving Awl children have been taken in by the Barghast. Torrent is even seen as an eligible bachelor by the women of the clan that has adopted him.

And on top of starvation and thirst and worms – the Snake also get a dose of flesh eating locusts

Ugh the Snake. It sickens me til I have conflicting emotions, it's so horrible I don't want to read about it.

In her vision she comes across Heboric digging around the fingers of one of the Jade statues

I am not sure this was herboric.

The Shi’gal Assassin takes them all out

The shigal assassin is very formidable i guess, the kind of abilities it has really makes it an formidable killer.also it was nice to discover how the k'chain che malle communicate with each other, also is gunth munch trying to ovethrowing the matron ?.

I don't think she is trying to overthrow the matron yet because she is still obeying her orders, but is certainly keeping her powers under wraps just in case.

I thought it was probably Heboric, there was focus on his hands, and the fur, and he is the one truly involved with the jade, but I can't remember where we left him.

And his tattoos.

I thought it was Heboric as well.

Tattoo's like fur. Hands that were green but our now turning rust from the tempering he is doing. And several references to blindness, even though its clear he has some kind of sight. It was Heboric all right. I don't think that Heboric was looking for a weapon. Rather, I got the impression that his hands are his weapon, and he was trying to temper them.

Does anyone have a list of the characters in these books who are definitely insane, probably insane, and those that are definitely sane?

We are getting introduced to some players, but at this point its really hard to figure out whose side anyone is on.

Duffy wrote: " I don't think that Heboric was looking for a weapon. Rather, I got the impression that his hands are his weapon, and he was trying to temper them."

I like that take on it. And it fits with how Heboric used the Jade hands to draw the jade pieces that were falling in BH. Nice.

Linette wrote: "Kruppe is the father of twin girls, being raised by Tool. Trying to wrap my brain around that still."

This was maybe the only thing I found interesting in this chapter. *yawn*

I also assumed it was Heboric. Let's all gang up on Summant! I had the same take as Duffy about the "weapon". He's using the sand to mold them but they aren't ready yet.

Duffy wrote: "those that are definitely sane."

I think that'd be the shortest list!

So the dragon Icarium and Mappo found spiked in the Short-Tail machine might not be dead after all. That's something I don't remember having any hints of before.

What exactly the purpose of the snake story arch. So far I don't recall them having any significant impact in any story. They seem to just be this isolated story arch of suffering.

They’re the remnant of the Elan, the same tribe that the destriant of the matron is from. I’m guessing she’ll meet them somehow later on, but the snake definitely follows the theme of suffering people groups such as those that were afflicted by saemen kelyk, or the tenescowri from Memories of Ice