Blood of the Emperor Read Online Free PDF Page B

Octia. These warriors had been destroyed utterly before they had a chance to be deployed. The forward elements of the Army of the Prophet had breached three of the five city gates quickly which had allowed them opportunity to get the fires in the center of the town under control before the entire village—and its precious food stores—had been utterly destroyed.
    The town and its buildings were unimportant. The food stores were everything in this raid.
    However, Urulani found it difficult to think of food’s importance at this moment. She had been a Captain of the Forgotten and as such had been a seasoned participant of many raids along the shores of Thetis Bay. Death had always been a part of her world but the stench from the still smoldering corpses in the plaza was almost overwhelming, even for her.
    She spotted a human male hovering at the edge of the charred ruins, reluctant to help with the dreadful work at hand. His face seemed unusually pale even in the evening light.
    Urulani approached him. “Pardon my question…”
    The man turned, his scowl shifting at once into surprise. He fell to the ground in front of her, his arms stretched out before him as his face pressed toward the ground. “My Great Lady of the Dragon! Speak that I may serve you!”
    “Oh, get up,” Urulani urged, gripping the man by his arms and dragging him to his feet.
    “Yes, My Great Lady of the Dragon,” the man sputtered.
    “What is your name?” she asked.
    “Bartolem, my Lady,” the man blurted out.
    “I’m looking for Braun.” Urulani dispensed with pleasantries. She knew diplomacy was not entirely her strong suit and when confronted with anything that made her feel awkward, she often reverted to being the commanding captain.
    The man stared blankly at her.
    “The Aether Master,” Urulani insisted.
    “The human wizard?” Bartolem asked.
    “Yes! He asked to see me.” That part was not entirely true. Braun had asked for Drakis but he was nowhere to be found so she had come in his stead. “Where is he?”
    Bartolem gestured to his left. “This way, my Lady. I saw him on the fold platform by the eastern gate.”
    “The fold platform?” Urulani said with surprise as she eyed the narrow street to the north the man had indicated. “I thought Port Glorious had no folds.”
    “It doesn’t,” Bartolem confirmed, gesturing again to the narrow street. “Here, let me show you.”
    Urulani followed Bartolem as he made his way up the narrow, winding street, lined with watchful troops. Each saluted as she passed, their expressions conveying their pride and their support for her.
    It’s embarrassing,
she thought grimly.
    She followed the man between the buildings and across a small courtyard with a broken, dry fountain in its center. There were several exiting alleyways and Urulani hesitated for a moment but Bartolem urged her quietly to follow him into an alley on the opposite side. Within less than a dozen steps the narrow, winding canyon between the buildings on either hand opened onto the corner of what had beenthe main market square. The stalls were gone, replaced by a number of tents occupied by the field commanders of the army. There was a constant bustling through this area of manticores, humans, gnomes, and goblins relaying commands and results from the various units now operating throughout the occupied town. On her right hand rose what remained of the Emperor’s Gate, its shattered doors laid askew. Gnome workmen were already busy rebuilding and shoring up the gates despite Belag’s admonition not to bother with it. The army would not be here long enough to complete the job, let alone make use of the completed gates.
    On the northern side rose a rectangular temple, which ran the length of the marketplace from east to west. Rows of statues stood along the outer temple wall.
    “Elven gods?” Urulani asked.
    “Yes, dedicated originally to Kiris,” Bartolem mused aloud.
    Urulani raised her eyebrows at the