The Bonehunters
Chapters - Steven Erikson
Prologue
The Bonehunters opens with scenes establishing the political and spiritual landscape following the fall of Sha'ik. Cotillion visits Shadowthrone in Shadowkeep before heading to a plateau where three chained Eleint dragons are held. He bargains with the dragons for information about the warrens and the The Crippled God's corruption of Emurlahn, learning that the shattered warren is being used to poison K'rul's blood. Edgewalker reveals himself as an Elder God and offers aid in the coming war.
On page: Cotillion, Shadowthrone
The Thousand-Fingered God
Chapter 1
Apsalar arrives in Ehrlitan and takes a room at a tavern, grieving over Cutter. She enters the Shadow Realm and encounters the ancient city within, finding two decaying Tiste Andii bodies whose shades, Telorast and Curdle, beg her to escort them out of the warren. Leoman and his fleeing rebel army cross the Lato Odhan pursued by the 14th Army, with Corabb at his side. Samar Dev, injured beside her broken wagon on the Ugarat Odhan, encounters Karsa who agrees to carry her to Ugarat. Karsa forces his way past the city guards and into Ugarat despite initial resistance. Apsalar agrees to help Telorast and Curdle escape Shadow, then sets out on a mission for Cotillion, finding her target Mebra already killed by a Nameless Ones assassin whom she dispatches.
POV: Apsalar, Leoman, Samar Dev·On page: Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas, Karsa Orlong, Telorast, Curdle·Mentioned: Cotillion
Chapter 2
Iskaral Pust meets with Shadowthrone and Cotillion in Shadowkeep, receiving an unspecified task. Cotillion visits three chained Eleint at a ring of standing stones and bargains for information about the warrens and the The Crippled God's corruption of Emurlahn. Mappo and Icarium explore chasms near the Raraku Sea, discovering a buried skykeep sealed by Jaghut ice magic. Cutter, Greyfrog, Felisin Younger, Heboric, and Scillara travel through the Pan'potsun Odhan where Greyfrog kills four threatening riders. At the 14th Army camp, Bottle reflects on the army's restlessness while the Eres'al haunts his dreams. Fiddler, Kalam, and Quick Ben meet secretly, unable to gauge Tavore's intentions, then are joined by Dujek and Tayschrenn.
POV: Mappo Runt, Bottle·On page: Iskaral Pust, Shadowthrone, Cotillion, Icarium, Crokus Younghand, Greyfrog, Felisin Younger, Heboric Light Touch, Scillara, Fiddler, Kalam Mekhar, Quick Ben, Lostara Yil, Pearl
Chapter 3
Apsalar leaves Ehrlitan via Shadow and reaches a coastal tower where she meets Urko Crust, shaking him up on Cotillion's behalf. Telorast and Curdle each possess small dinosaur skeletons. Taralack Veed continues tracking Dejim Nebrahl, dreaming of gold from the Nameless Ones. Scillara hides her pregnancy-related nausea from the group while attempting to flirt with Cutter. Leoman's rebels reach Y'Ghatan where he kills the Falah'd Vedor and takes command of the city, naming Captain Dunsparrow as his Third. Corabb notes that Dunsparrow is Malazan and begins to have misgivings about Leoman's plans.
POV: Apsalar·On page: Telorast, Curdle, Taralack Veed, Scillara, Crokus Younghand, Leoman, Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas
Chapter 4
Icarium and Mappo explore the buried skykeep and discover the crucified dragon Sorrit, whose aspect was Serc. They realise the pantheon is being made vulnerable. The dragon was crucified on a Blackwood cross with Otataral spikes that arrived through Shadow Realm. Icarium begins to recollect fragments of memory and confronts Mappo, then decides to seek imprisonment from a Jaghut. Apsalar enters the warren of Shadow near Ehrlitan and boards a trader carrack where she meets Paran, now Master of the Deck. They discuss High House Chains, the coming war, and their respective roles. Dejim Nebrahl lies in ambush planning to crush the current ascendancy. Karsa and Samar Dev leave Ugarat heading west over the Jhag Odhan towards Sepik.
POV: Apsalar·On page: Icarium, Mappo Runt, Ganoes Paran, Dejim Nebrahl, Karsa Orlong, Samar Dev
Chapter 5
At Samar Dev's house in Ugarat, Karsa examines her inventions including a spyglass. Samar dissects the corpse of the Nah'ruk that Karsa killed, then returns to find him studying her maps and deciding to head for Sepik. She imprisons spirits drawn to the Toblakai in a belt-knife. Quick Ben, Kalam, and Gesler's squad await the 14th Army outside Y'Ghatan, discussing the siege and reminiscing about Coral and Raraku. They inform Tavore of Leoman's stand at Y'Ghatan and the skykeeps in the Imperial Warren. Keneb finds Grub in his tent who tells him the Adjunct is their last hope. Blistig informs Keneb of officer plans to confront Tavore. Quick Ben, Kalam, and Stormy infiltrate the skykeeps while the rest return to the army. Apsalar travels by warren to Kansu, intercepting the same carrack and meeting Paran again.
POV: Samar Dev·On page: Karsa Orlong, Quick Ben, Kalam Mekhar, Gesler, Stormy, Tavore Paran, Keneb, Blistig, Apsalar, Ganoes Paran
Chapter 6
Corabb broods on Dunsparrow's corrupting influence over Leoman while Leoman seizes olive oil stores and visits the temple of the Queen of Dreams. Icarium and Mappo examine the crucified dragon in the skykeep and realise the pantheon is being weakened. Icarium recalls fragments of memory and confronts Mappo about truth. Keneb, Temul, and Gall observe Y'Ghatan's preparations. Bottle summons animals to spy on a meeting, then is pulled into a vision of the pregnant Eres'al who threatens him into compliance. Her child is the only pure candidate for a new Throne of Shadow. Keneb attends a meeting with Tavore who reveals Dujek's spirit is broken. Paran and Apsalar reach Kansu harbour and part ways. Karsa and Samar Dev debate civilisation while travelling north; Karsa smells a predator nearby.
POV: Bottle·On page: Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas, Leoman, Icarium, Mappo Runt, Keneb, Tavore Paran, Ganoes Paran, Apsalar, Karsa Orlong, Samar Dev
Beneath This Name
Chapter 7
Leoman emerges from the temple of the Queen of Dreams in Y'Ghatan as the Malazan siege begins. Pearl allows Lostara to rejoin the Red Blades. Fists Baralta and Keneb lead the assault while Blistig commands reserves. Cuttle musters sappers and squad mages, and Crump rigs too many charges, blowing a massive hole in the wall. Leoman springs his trap as the marines push deep into the city: buildings filled with olive oil are ignited, trapping nearly three thousand Malazans. Tavore orders mages to help break them out. Faradan Sort encounters Sinn who denies the flames. Fiddler's and Gesler's squads reach the palace gates; Truth sacrifices himself to blow the palace and clear the fire. Leoman, Dunsparrow, and L'oric escape through a gate to the Queen of Dreams, while Corabb refuses and finds abandoned children. Bottle uses a rat to lead survivors through ruins beneath the city. After three days, they emerge and are found by Sinn and Faradan Sort.
POV: Leoman, Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas·On page: Pearl, Lostara Yil, Keneb, Blistig, Cuttle, Fiddler, Gesler, Truth, Bottle, Tavore Paran, Nil, Nether
Chapter 8
Paran travels south towards the Raraku Sea, bypassing plague-devastated settlements. A barrow explodes nearby and the Jaghut Ganath emerges from her prison, needing to repair a shattered ritual. She decides to accompany Paran. Apsalar walks through a plague-struck village and enters Shadow to reach Y'Ghatan quickly, tracking the survivors. In the Imperial Warren, Kalam, Quick Ben, and Stormy find a banquet table waiting for them beneath the skykeeps. They discuss the Tiste Edur, the K'Chain Che'Malle, and the war between gods before deciding to return to the Adjunct. The Y'Ghatan survivors camp outside the ruined city. Fiddler has survived thanks to Corabb's care. The soldiers lack armour, weapons, and clothing and worry about crossing the desert while plague approaches.
POV: Ganoes Paran·On page: Ganath, Apsalar, Kalam Mekhar, Quick Ben, Stormy, Fiddler, Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas, Bottle
Chapter 9
Taralack Veed tends to a gravely wounded Icarium who has forgotten Mappo. Veed convinces Icarium they are long-time companions and readies him for a journey to the coast, telling him he has been chosen by the gods to free the world of evil. Heboric awakens haunted by ghosts and the whispers of those trapped in Otataral Island's green jade. The group nears the dead city of E'napatha N'apur. Samar Dev and Karsa travel across the Jhag Odhan; Karsa kills two bhederin bulls for camp. Dejim Nebrahl, weakened after Mappo killed two of its forms, stalks a slave caravan. Iskaral Pust charges out of Shadow on his mule and drives Dejim Nebrahl into panicked flight with sorcery. Pust finds the gravely injured Mappo pinned in a crevice. Mogora conducts a spider-healing ritual on the Trell. Lostara awakes in a Temple of Rashan where Cotillion tells her he saved her from Y'Ghatan's inferno. He warns she may soon face a choice between the Adjunct and the Empire.
POV: Taralack Veed, Heboric Light Touch, Lostara Yil·On page: Icarium, Scillara, Crokus Younghand, Karsa Orlong, Samar Dev, Dejim Nebrahl, Iskaral Pust, Mappo Runt, Mogora, Cotillion
Chapter 10
Quick Ben, Kalam, and Stormy exit the Imperial Warren at the fire-blasted ruins of Y'Ghatan. Apsalar approaches and recognises them; she argues they all share connections to higher powers now aligning against a common foe. The Y'Ghatan tunnel survivors reorganise under Captain Faradan Sort. Hellian's squad gains new members and Urb is promoted to sergeant. Gesler ponders his four new heavies and avoids thinking about Truth's death. Bottle tends to the rat pups born underground. Fiddler's squad reunites with Quick Ben and the others; Fiddler explains Truth's sacrifice to a grief-stricken Stormy. Paran, the ghost Hedge, and the Jaghut Ganath stand on a bridge in Verdith'anath, the Jaghut underworld. Paran summons the Trygalle Trade Guild carriage. Hedge tells Paran about the ghostly Bridgeburner army being called back into service and raises the possibility of a new Unaligned Soldier card. The carriage is attacked by creatures in the mists.
POV: Ganoes Paran·On page: Quick Ben, Kalam Mekhar, Stormy, Apsalar, Gesler, Fiddler, Hellian, Bottle, Hedge, Ganath
Chapter 11
Cutter rides ahead of Heboric, Felisin Younger, Scillara, and Greyfrog near the Path'apur Mountains. Heboric frets about the souls in the shattered jade giants. Scillara ruminates on Bidithal's cult while Heboric argues the idea came from the The Crippled God. Iskaral Pust inspects Mappo's spider-enshrouded body while squabbling with Mogora. The unconscious Mappo is visited in a dream by an unnamed queen who tells him the Nameless Ones originally made Icarium terrible in power and intend to use the Jhag. She reveals Shadowthrone has shown personal interest in Mappo and Icarium to counter the Nameless Ones. Mappo awakes. Paran and the Trygalle Trade Guild attempt to evade a gigantic beast in the Nascent; Paran traps it in a card. They reach statues of the Deragoth. Paran uses the Deck to call Shadowthrone and strikes a deal: the freed Deragoth will hunt Dejim Nebrahl, and Shadowthrone will send the Hounds of Shadow to Seven Cities. Hedge blows the statues and the Deragoth are released. The Guild carriage barely escapes through the warrens.
POV: Crokus Younghand, Ganoes Paran·On page: Heboric Light Touch, Felisin Younger, Scillara, Greyfrog, Iskaral Pust, Mappo Runt, Mogora, Hedge, Ganath, Shadowthrone, Cotillion·Mentioned: Icarium
Shadows of the King
Chapter 12
Karsa butchers a bhederin when Boatfinder of the Anibar people arrives seeking protection from ship-borne invaders. Karsa agrees to drive them away. Along the way, Boatfinder tells of the Iron Prophet Iskar Jarak who once counselled the Anibar to flee. Taralack Veed and Icarium follow the coast of the Kokakal Sea. Taralack follows the Nameless Ones' instructions to serve as a whetstone for Icarium's dulled blade. Icarium suspects his companion was prepared by someone and Taralack reveals the truth of Icarium's past: his destruction of an Azath House, the burning away of his memory, and the Nameless Ones' purpose. Icarium weeps. Barathol arrives at a massacre site where T'lan Imass Unbound have struck down Heboric's party. Scillara gives birth to a girl. L'oric arrives too late, heals Cutter's wounds, and identifies the attackers as Unbound servants of the The Crippled God. Felisin Younger is taken by the T'lan Imass to an ancient buried city where a man named Kulat declares her Sha'ik Reborn.
POV: Karsa Orlong, Taralack Veed, Barathol Mekhar·On page: Samar Dev, Icarium, Scillara, Crokus Younghand, Heboric Light Touch, Greyfrog, Felisin Younger, Iskaral Pust, Mappo Runt, Cotillion
Chapter 13
After escaping the Nascent, Paran, Ganath, and the Trygalle Trade Guild reach a valley in Seven Cities. Ganath departs west while Paran rides east towards G'danisban. He is arrested by soldiers of Onearm's Host who mistake him for a deserter. After breaking free and knocking out the captain, Paran finds Hurlochel who explains that Dujek attacked Poliel's temple but was afflicted with plague and is now incapacitated. Paran agrees to take command disguised as Captain Kindly. Lostara leaves the Temple of Rashan and rejoins Faradan Sort and the Y'Ghatan survivors marching to rejoin the 14th. Kalam, Quick Ben, and Fiddler reminisce while marching; Apsalar reveals she spoke with Paran in Seven Cities. Fiddler tells them that Whiskeyjack's sister Dunsparrow is with Leoman. Apsalar reflects on Hood's role and Dassem Ultor. Hellian suffers withdrawal. Gesler proposes sending someone ahead; Masan Gilani rides Apsalar's horse towards the 14th. Dejim Nebrahl attacks Gilani but she wounds one of its forms and flees. Deragoth and the Hounds of Shadow hunt down Dejim Nebrahl, tearing apart three forms and capturing the last. Quick Ben senses the creatures passing; the Malazans lie low as the Deragoth kill Nebrahl's healthy forms on the road.
POV: Ganoes Paran, Kalam Mekhar·On page: Ganath, Lostara Yil, Quick Ben, Fiddler, Apsalar, Hellian, Gesler, Dejim Nebrahl, Corabb Bhilan Thenu'alas
Chapter 14
Barathol watches L'oric and villagers argue with Scillara about taking responsibility for her baby. Barathol and Chaur go to disinter Heboric's body and discover that Greyfrog has reformed whole inside its old corpse. Scillara reveals the baby's father is Korbolo Dom. Cutter awakes and enters the realm of the Queen of Dreams where he secretly observes Leoman and Dunsparrow arrive. The Queen freezes them and smiles at Cutter, who awakes. L'oric identifies Barathol as the infamous betrayer of Aren, but Barathol explains the truth: the T'lan Imass massacre began before he supposedly opened the gates. Karsa, Samar Dev, and Boatfinder find a murdered Anibar fishing camp. Karsa spots a giant scaled bear but cannot catch it. Mappo, Iskaral Pust, and Mogora attempt to find Icarium but become lost in a swamp; Mappo suspects Shadowthrone is delaying him. They exit and find Spite, who offers to help pursue Icarium by ship. Felisin Younger remains at Hanar Ara worshipped as Sha'ik Reborn; a plague-carrier boy arrives whom she names Crokus.
POV: Barathol Mekhar, Crokus Younghand·On page: Scillara, Chaur, Greyfrog, Karsa Orlong, Samar Dev, Mappo Runt, Iskaral Pust, Mogora, Spite, Felisin Younger·Mentioned: Korbolo Dom
Chapter 15
Noto Boil tries to stop Paran from entering the plague-filled Field Hospital, but Paran pushes past and visits the dying Dujek. Fist Rythe Bude sees through his Kindly disguise. Paran plans to assault G'danisban with just himself and Noto Boil, exploiting the presence of both Soliel and Poliel in the city. Bottle is dragged by Fiddler to where Quick Ben works dolls connected to his sister Torahaval, now a priestess of Poliel. Apsalar recalls Torahaval's name on assassination lists and shadow-dances away. Paran slashes through the city wall and enters the desolate, plague-ridden streets with Noto Boil. They encounter Soliel herself in the form of a thin young woman. Paran confronts Poliel and destroys her with a sliver of Otataral. Quick Ben appears to rescue Torahaval but is blocked by the Otataral's presence. The Hounds of Shadow race through the city pursued by the Deragoth. Apsalar fights the Hounds to protect Quick Ben. The Deragoth kill both Poliel and the captured Dejim Nebrahl. Paran summons Soliel and demands she begin healing the plague. Quick Ben returns just before Kalam can kill Apsalar in a misunderstanding. Dujek dies, and Paran is proclaimed High Fist.
POV: Ganoes Paran·On page: Noto Boil, Bottle, Fiddler, Quick Ben, Kalam Mekhar, Apsalar, Dejim Nebrahl, Shadowthrone·Mentioned: Cotillion
Chapter 16
Fist Keneb observes the 14th Army loading Admiral Nok's fleet. Nether informs him that she cannot reach G'danisban through plague-infested warrens. Pearl has vanished. Tavore decides to take the westerly route home, resupplying on Sepik. Grub warns Keneb the army must delay one day or everyone will die at sea, then delivers prophecy about their journey. Barathol, Cutter, and Scillara depart the village with Heboric's corpse. Chaur follows them and Barathol gives him his boots. Cutter tells Scillara about Darujhistan and explains they must take Heboric to Otataral Island. Ganath returns to where she froze a skykeep but finds her ritual undone; K'Chain Nah'Ruk attack and kill her. Mappo, Spite, and Iskaral Pust sail on a bhok'arala-crewed caravel. Spite senses Ganath's murder and warns about the war among the gods. Paran dons Dujek's armour and decides not to address the army. He visits Ormulogun to commission a new Deck of Dragons. Karsa finds murdered Anibar and attacks a camp of grey-skinned warriors, slaughtering many. The raiders reveal themselves as Tiste Edur and challenge Karsa to fight their Emperor. Karsa accepts and boards their ship bound for Lether. Fist Keneb watches as Faradan Sort returns with Quick Ben, Kalam, Fiddler, and dozens of other Y'Ghatan survivors. Tavore declares them Bonehunters.
POV: Keneb, Ganoes Paran·On page: Nether, Tavore Paran, Barathol Mekhar, Crokus Younghand, Scillara, Chaur, Ganath, Mappo Runt, Iskaral Pust, Spite, Karsa Orlong, Samar Dev, Quick Ben, Kalam Mekhar, Fiddler, Blistig·Mentioned: Pearl