Malazan Empire: Wood Spice - Malazan Empire

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Wood Spice

#1 User is offline   Khanna 

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 12:36 AM

Hey everyone. I have two questions:



1) Here is a dialogue in Book #2:

"Is it just me," Keneb growled behind them, "or is there a new smell to this Hood-rotted air?"
"Like wood spice," Minala agree.

What is wood spice? Is it something real, or a made-up thing?



2) Right after that there's this paragraph:


“That particular smell’s one you’re familiar with, isn’t it? And not from rifling some merchant’s bolt-chest, either. What should we be on the lookout for, Corporal?”


What the heck is a bolt-chest? Does that have something to do with wood spice?
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#2 User is offline   Aptorian 

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 01:25 AM

It would help if you posted a page number or, if you're reading an ebook, copy pasted more than the single paragraph.
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#3 User is offline   ArchieVist 

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 03:30 AM

I agree, it would be easier with a larger quote or chapter reference. I did find it in chapter 12 using http://searchofthefallen.com/. Kalam, Minala, Keneb, and company are travelling through the Imperial Warren.

Quote

"Is it just me," Keneb growled behind them, "or is there a new smell to this Hood-rotted air?"


"Like wood spice," Minala agreed.


Hackles rising, Kalam freed his crossbow from its binding on the saddle, cranked the claw back until it locked, then slid a quarrel into the slot. He felt Minala's eyes on him throughout and was not surprised when she spoke.

"That particular smell's one you're familiar with, isn't it? And not from rifling some merchant's bolt-chest, either. What should we be on the lookout for, Corporal?"


"Anything," he said, kicking his horse into a walk.


I'm assuming wood spice is something like cedar, which they are smelling as a telltale sign of Soletaken or D'ivers. I'm guessing bolt-chest might be something that a merchant stores their bolts of cloth in, which they would keep fresh using something like cedar chips.
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#4 User is offline   Whisperzzzzzzz 

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 04:03 AM

I'm not up to this scene, though I'm close. Could it be that they're getting a whiff of Pearl's fancy silk clothing (which may have been kept in a cedar chest)?
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#5 User is offline   Traveller 

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 08:19 AM

You can just post DGs questions in the DG book thread, instead of starting a new thread for each question?

A bolt chest - a box with bolts of cloth, presumably.

Wood spice - something slightly exotic from 7C. We know Soletaken have a spicy smell, this is what Kalams referring to in this case as they're all over the place on the Path of Hands. Minalas closest approximation is wood spice as she's not yet met a soletaken.

(A lot of authors use spices/silk etc to evoke images of desert markets, places like Morocco where there was a lot of trade between East and West. It just adds colour to Seven Cities in a few words.)

This post has been edited by Traveller: 21 February 2020 - 08:31 AM

So that's the story. And what was the real lesson? Don't leave things in the fridge.
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#6 User is offline   Khanna 

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 09:50 AM

View PostTraveller, on 21 February 2020 - 08:19 AM, said:

You can just post DGs questions in the DG book thread, instead of starting a new thread for each question?

A bolt chest - a box with bolts of cloth, presumably.

Wood spice - something slightly exotic from 7C. We know Soletaken have a spicy smell, this is what Kalams referring to in this case as they're all over the place on the Path of Hands. Minalas closest approximation is wood spice as she's not yet met a soletaken.

(A lot of authors use spices/silk etc to evoke images of desert markets, places like Morocco where there was a lot of trade between East and West. It just adds colour to Seven Cities in a few words.)


I don't understand. I posted this under Deathhouse Gates section, since my questions are about that particular book. Is there a problem? Also, thank you for the answer.

This post has been edited by Khanna: 21 February 2020 - 09:51 AM

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#7 User is offline   champ 

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 10:11 AM

View PostKhanna, on 21 February 2020 - 09:50 AM, said:

View PostTraveller, on 21 February 2020 - 08:19 AM, said:

You can just post DGs questions in the DG book thread, instead of starting a new thread for each question?

A bolt chest - a box with bolts of cloth, presumably.

Wood spice - something slightly exotic from 7C. We know Soletaken have a spicy smell, this is what Kalams referring to in this case as they're all over the place on the Path of Hands. Minalas closest approximation is wood spice as she's not yet met a soletaken.

(A lot of authors use spices/silk etc to evoke images of desert markets, places like Morocco where there was a lot of trade between East and West. It just adds colour to Seven Cities in a few words.)


I don't understand. I posted this under Deathhouse Gates section, since my questions are about that particular book. Is there a problem? Also, thank you for the answer.



Traveller was meaning use one thread to post your translation questions rather than creating multiple threads for each translation question.

Tehol said:

'Yet my heart breaks for a naked hen.'
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#8 User is offline   Aptorian 

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Posted 21 February 2020 - 12:35 PM

Eh, more threads, more traffic. It's okay to make threads for specific questions IMO.
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