Miami Days and Truscan Read Online Free PDF

the roars. “They mean Dalph’s home. He’s Trusca.”
    I looked about me as we rode through the streets. I’d expected dirt, but they were cobblestone for the most part. Some of the buildings were shops, some were houses. Many sported signs which I couldn’t yet read, but I intended to remedy that problem as soon as possible. The streets were open markets, full of food venders. I saw produce that looked close to corn, potatoes, apples. Large kegs sporting taps obviously held beverages. There were goods of all sorts, bolts of material, furs, farming implements, cooking pots and crockery.
    And the people! Johnny was right, the Truscans were good-looking people. All the men seemed tall and broad-shouldered. Most were clean-shaven, though I saw a few short beards. They were all dressed in trousers and shirts somewhat like tunics. Their colorings seemed as varied as you would see any day at any shopping mall; brunettes, blonds, an occasional red-head.
    And the women! I was going to feel like a midget. I was five-six myself, a good height for an up and coming American businesswoman. Not too short, not too tall. But here! All the women seemed to be at least five-nine, five-ten, and I saw many that were undoubtedly six feet tall. Decidedly feminine, most were slender, with long hair predominately worn in braids. They were dressed in pretty but practical and comfortable one-piece sheath-like garments of varying hues. They had a simple round neckline with no definite shoulder seams, flowing to the ankles, with the waist defined by belts of various sizes and widths in contrasting material or soft leather.
    “How pretty!” I exclaimed in delight.
    Dalph said something over his shoulder to Johnny, but I could make no guess as to what.
    Johnny nodded his head. “Dalph says to be sure and get you some dresses in dark green,” he said. “The word here is kirsons.”
    I started. Dalph was concerned about my wardrobe?
    “Surprised?” Johnny asked.
    “Well, yeah. I am.”
    “Shouldn’t be. Dalph’s brain runs in constant gear in fifty different directions. And he’s quite taken with your eyes. Thinks your name is perfect.”
    “Why?”
    “You got some of the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. And guess what the word is for green here?”
    “What?”
    “Tessra.”
    I sat in silence, watching the streets and people as we moved past, the horses moving at a swift walk.
    The horses swept into a Courtyard and the patrol riders veered off to the left, I presumed toward the stables, leaving Dalph and Johnny near the entrance. They both dismounted and Dalph reached up to lift me down. Two young lads of about twelve or thirteen hurried to take Johnny’s horse and Dalph’s falton and led them off.
    Dalph took my hand and stepped forward. He spoke a short sentence, and Johnny translated for me.
    “He says welcome to his world.”
    We stepped through a massive, oval-shaped wooden door into a huge room. Two women hurried up, clucking over us and taking the fur skins from Dalph and Johnny’s shoulders. It was the first time I’d seen Dalph without the fur trappings and was surprised to see how slender he actually was. His shoulders were still massive, but now he seemed more elegant, more graceful.
    The interior walls of the castle were of the same white stone as the exterior, hung with tapestries of forest scenes and riders on horseback. The stone floor was scattered with carpets of thick material. Simple furniture with clean, graceful lines contrasted with occasional massive pieces of dark, glowing wood. A fireplace took up half one wall and though no fire burned at that moment, it was fully laid and ready to be lit.
    A man stood near the fireplace, dressed much as the men whom I’d observed as we rode through town to the Rata. The material of his clothes had a higher gleam though, as though it was of a better quality. He was dressed entirely in black and white, which combined with his coloring to create a striking appearance. His