successfully stated our views to them, and they still outnumber us two to one.”
Pel, Tazendra and the two Guardsmen who had been summoned argued briefly, but, largely because Aerich agreed with Khaavren, prudence won on this occasion, and, upon gaining the street, they hastened to join up with another pair of Guardsmen who, when informed of the situation, went off to rouse several more. The soldiers, content with having driven the enemy from their encampment, made no pursuit. In a short time, there were some twenty-eight or thirty Guardsmen gathered together at a klava hole several doors down from the Hammerhead, where they made plans to assail the arrogant warriors when they made their appearance.
However, and it is probably fortunate that it was so, they took to consuming great quantities of wine while they waited, so that Khaavren eventually realized that the only battle that would be fought that evening would be against the ground, which promised to strike the imbibers as they attempted to return home when the revelries finally broke up. Khaavren mentioned this to Aerich, who agreed with his assessment, and passed it on to Pel and Tazendra.
And so the four friends quietly slipped away and returned to their home, where they spent several anxious days waiting to see if there would be repercussions either from the Army of the Thorny Rose or from Captain G’aereth, but at length it appeared that they had escaped the consequences of the disturbance.
“Well,” said Khaavren, “I have learned, at any rate, that one ought to be careful with whom one gambles.”
Pel, whose face and shoulder had been almost entirely healed, remarked, “I have learned that Dragonlords are not pleased when their diction is brought under scrutiny.”
“And I,” said Tazendra, “have learned that tables have more uses than I should have dreamed.”
“All in all,” said Aerich, picking up his crochet hook, “a most educational experience.”
Chapter the Ninth
In Whick Certain Persons Attempt to Hold a Private Discussion, And the Results Thereof
T HE DAYS BECAME WEEKS, AS they will when allowed to heap themselves upon one another unattended, and these weeks, likewise, turned themselves into months of seventeen days with no regard for the hours and minutes they used up in doing so. Khaavren, when duty did not take him into what was called “the City,” which meant any part of Dragaera that was out of sight of the Palace, industriously explored, first the Dragon Wing, then portions of the rest of the Palace. The uniform of the Phoenix Guards was as good as a password or Imperial seal for a great deal of the Palace, and Khaavren had resolved to use this freedom to learn what he could of the geography of the institution to which so much of his life was now committed.
It was on such an occasion, then, that he happened to be in an area where a short but wide corridor, sloping down and gently curving to the right, connected the second floor of the Dragon Wing to the third floor of the Imperial section. He passed below an arch and noticed a small, unmarked passage jutting off at an angle. Since it is axiomatic that such corridors lead to more interesting places than large, well-trampled ones, he resolved at once to see where it led, and this decision was no sooner reached then acted upon.
After twenty paces, the passage abruptly turned, then equally abruptly ended in a plain wooden door, before which was planted a Guardsman Khaavren had not seen before, but whose insignia indicated he was part of Lanmarea’s company. Khaavren noted at once that he was carrying, not only a sword, but a pike, which weapon indicated that he was performing a function associated with the security of the Empire.
“Name and business,” said the Guardsman brusquely.
“My name? It is Khaavren, good sir. But my business, in truth, I think is my own.”
“And yet, since you are here at my station, and clearly desire to pass, it is necessary that I
Pel, Tazendra and the two Guardsmen who had been summoned argued briefly, but, largely because Aerich agreed with Khaavren, prudence won on this occasion, and, upon gaining the street, they hastened to join up with another pair of Guardsmen who, when informed of the situation, went off to rouse several more. The soldiers, content with having driven the enemy from their encampment, made no pursuit. In a short time, there were some twenty-eight or thirty Guardsmen gathered together at a klava hole several doors down from the Hammerhead, where they made plans to assail the arrogant warriors when they made their appearance.
However, and it is probably fortunate that it was so, they took to consuming great quantities of wine while they waited, so that Khaavren eventually realized that the only battle that would be fought that evening would be against the ground, which promised to strike the imbibers as they attempted to return home when the revelries finally broke up. Khaavren mentioned this to Aerich, who agreed with his assessment, and passed it on to Pel and Tazendra.
And so the four friends quietly slipped away and returned to their home, where they spent several anxious days waiting to see if there would be repercussions either from the Army of the Thorny Rose or from Captain G’aereth, but at length it appeared that they had escaped the consequences of the disturbance.
“Well,” said Khaavren, “I have learned, at any rate, that one ought to be careful with whom one gambles.”
Pel, whose face and shoulder had been almost entirely healed, remarked, “I have learned that Dragonlords are not pleased when their diction is brought under scrutiny.”
“And I,” said Tazendra, “have learned that tables have more uses than I should have dreamed.”
“All in all,” said Aerich, picking up his crochet hook, “a most educational experience.”
Chapter the Ninth
In Whick Certain Persons Attempt to Hold a Private Discussion, And the Results Thereof
T HE DAYS BECAME WEEKS, AS they will when allowed to heap themselves upon one another unattended, and these weeks, likewise, turned themselves into months of seventeen days with no regard for the hours and minutes they used up in doing so. Khaavren, when duty did not take him into what was called “the City,” which meant any part of Dragaera that was out of sight of the Palace, industriously explored, first the Dragon Wing, then portions of the rest of the Palace. The uniform of the Phoenix Guards was as good as a password or Imperial seal for a great deal of the Palace, and Khaavren had resolved to use this freedom to learn what he could of the geography of the institution to which so much of his life was now committed.
It was on such an occasion, then, that he happened to be in an area where a short but wide corridor, sloping down and gently curving to the right, connected the second floor of the Dragon Wing to the third floor of the Imperial section. He passed below an arch and noticed a small, unmarked passage jutting off at an angle. Since it is axiomatic that such corridors lead to more interesting places than large, well-trampled ones, he resolved at once to see where it led, and this decision was no sooner reached then acted upon.
After twenty paces, the passage abruptly turned, then equally abruptly ended in a plain wooden door, before which was planted a Guardsman Khaavren had not seen before, but whose insignia indicated he was part of Lanmarea’s company. Khaavren noted at once that he was carrying, not only a sword, but a pike, which weapon indicated that he was performing a function associated with the security of the Empire.
“Name and business,” said the Guardsman brusquely.
“My name? It is Khaavren, good sir. But my business, in truth, I think is my own.”
“And yet, since you are here at my station, and clearly desire to pass, it is necessary that I
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