| abstract
| - Antsy has been dreaming of the Northern campaigns, when he and his squad took out a contingent leader of the Free cities army with a Moranth munition. He wakes up when Orchid shakes him as she wants to take care of his neck, which is bleeding. She notices his Bridgeburners tattoo and thinks that she saw it glowing and the flames moving. Orchid guesses that Anty's panniers contain Moranth Munitions. She reminisces about her childhood when the Malazans came to conquer the Free cities and she used to live there. Corien returns with a lot of bits and pieces to build a fire. He and Antsy leave the room to give Orchid some privacy while she dries her clothes. Corien tells Antsy that the Lim family has lost their fortune through reckless spending of is uncles, but he intends to remedy that by riches from Moon's Spawn. Antsy, not wanting to give his real reason for coming, says he just wants something to enable him to retire and hopefully start a family. Malakai appears, informing them that there are no lamps. Sometime later, Antsy and Corien dry their clothes and oil their weapons, then they and Orchid move on. Malakai is lurking in a doorway, but Orchid spots him since she can see just fine in the dark. He informs them that there is pick-up point and that there are people up ahead. They move on, Orchid guiding them, until they get close to the group Malakai spotted. Malakai and Antsy agree that there are too many people up ahead for them to challenge the group. They decide to parley for information. Antsy and Corien will go straight to them and ask, while Malakai stays in the shadows and Orchid stays out of sight. Antsy and Corien introduce themselves to the strangers and a man from the other side introduces himself as Panar. Panar tells them that Moon's Spawn has been completely looted and there is nothing for them to fight for. After some more talking, Antsy and Corien deduce that Panar is lying to them. As they are about to retreat, they are attacked by a horde of men and women armed with rudimentary weapons. Despite being overwhelmed, Antsy manages to free his dirk and clear a path to a small room that has a very narrow entrance, a position where he can defend himself easily. He is surprised to find that Corien is alive too. Malakai tells Antsy to join him at a certain room, meanwhile keeping the others busy by snuffing out the lights and causing general mayhem. Antsy joins Corien and Orchid, and the girl leads them away. Corien reveals that he has incurred a serious injury. Orchid leads them to a room which can be easily defended where they wait for Malakai to join them. He does soon after along with Panar, whom he has captured. Questioning Panar, they find out that he was one of the first on Moon's Spawn, but he got stuck there as he couldn't ransom his way back to the shore. The people who were to take him back simply asked him to bring more loot, leaving him stranded. They also hear a long wail, and Panar tells them he believes it is a demon of the Spawn. When Malakai reveals that he is searching for the Gardens of the Moon, Orchid gives a gasp of recognition. The group then moves on, leaving Panar behind.
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