[Khellendros]

So I'm currently re-reading Deadhouse Gates in preparation for the release of you know what, and I've come across s couple of things that don't really make sense to me. It's after Felisin, Heboric and Baudin have found the finger of jade and Heboric's touched it. He later collapses from exhaustion, and then Baudin places one of Heboric's stumps on the Fener symbol tattoo, which signals bad news for the Boar God. After the drama with Fener being dragged to the mortal realm, Heboric feels better, and talks for a bit to Felisin. Baudin has already shouldered his pack and moved on. The very last line of this section, before the action switches to Mappo and Icarium, on p.292 of my Bantam paperback is:

Quote

Up ahead, Baudin gave a shout of surprise

The next scenes are with Mappo and Icarium, then Fiddler, Apsalar and Crokus, and finally Duiker before coming back to Felisin and co. But hold on...they've reached the coast. And there's nothing there to be surprised at, unless crabs on beaches are surprising. And Baudin wasn't eliciting surprise at finding the coast over the next hill, because just before they'd called down Fener, he'd stated that:

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We're at least four days from the coast and getting weaker by the hour

Moreover, Felisin muses at the coast, on p.308, that,

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The last fresh water was eleven hours behind them

, also intimating that they've moved on some distance since we last saw them.


So what was Baudin surprised at? Am I missing something, is my book missing something, or did Erikson forget something?

This post has been edited by Khellendros: 22 May 2009 - 09:30 PM

[Illuyankas]

Hang on. Baudin stated they were four days away from the coast, Heboric tells Felisin he can smell water, then Baudin shouts in surprise. Seems pretty straightforward to me, in a 'SUDDENLY WATER IS PRESENT UNEXPECTEDLY' fashion.

EDIT: A reread tells me he could smell fresh water, so it seems Baudin was startled by the presence of the fresh water Felisin mentions on page 308.

This post has been edited by Illuyankas: 22 May 2009 - 09:33 PM

[Khellendros]

Well, I'm inclined to go with the first thing you said, though it's not intimated directly that it's that (but then this is Erikson). However, the thing you put in your edit I disagree with, it can't be the same patch of water they're talking about because according to Baudin they were still 4 days away from the coast, and Felisin is simply talking about the very last waterhole they got to before the coast, so unless they REALLY upped their pace and made up 4 days in 11 hours....

[Illuyankas]

Or Baudin was mistaken, hence the surprise...

[Khellendros]

Meh, it's the kind of thing I think even Erikson would have developed on...I suspect he just plain forgot about it. The only thing it might be, as you say, is that Baudin suddenly found some water where he thought none would be.

And Baudin doesn't strike me as the type to get distances so utterly wrong as that.

[Bent]

I know, I don't belong here....but I read that as "4 days from the coast and its been forever since we last had water....we're screwed!"


Gasp!

"The coast is here!"

Could have something to do with the tide moving in (insert Shake thing here)


that is all, back to the inn.

[Khellendros]

Well, that's what I thought at first too, but then Felisin's musing at the beach that they had travelled eleven hours from the last waterhole means that it can't be that, because it suggests that they walked at least eleven hours more after Baudin's shout of surprise before reaching the coast.

[D'rek]

I was thinkin' maybe it was them seeing Dosin Pali burn or mage storms to the south, but I re-read some and don't think either of those check out well. Oh well, I guess it's just SE planning something he never ended up writing in...