The Phoenix Guards Read Online Free PDF

discussion of the history and character of Sorannah, which occupied the rest of that day’s journey, and continued well into the next day. During the subsequent hours, while they spoke together of many things, as good travelers ought, they never came back to the subject of the candlebud, nor did Hrivaan or Nylissit ever speak of their own history.

Chapter the Third

    In Which, Upon Arriving in Dragaera City ,
We are Introduced To a Notable Personage
In the Imperial Guard

    T HE ACTUAL ARRIVAL OF KHAAVREN, Aerich, and Tazendra in Dragaera City, which occurred early in the morning, was uneventful. They gave courteous farewells to their traveling companions, who, notwithstanding that they seemed to be in a great hurry to be about their business, returned the compliments nearly as well as the Issola they pretended to be.
    The coach stopped on a narrow street, and was surrounded by urchins of the House of the Teckla who begged driver and passengers for coins. On this occasion they were disappointed, as the driver chased them away before any of the travelers could bring forth whatever alms they might have wished. When the urchins and the supposed Issola were gone, Tazendra and Khaavren took a careful look around. On one side of the street were small structures of wood and stone, most of which appeared to be homes for two or three families, save for one that displayed the Nut and Raisin emblem of the grocer. On the other side the buildings were taller and darker, and made of brick, and one of these claimed to be an inn.
    “The Imperial Palace,” said Aerich, “is this way.”
    “Good,” said Khaavren. “Let us adjourn thither, for I tell you plainly that arriving thus, a full week sooner, due to your courtesy, than I had thought to, has only increased my desire to enter the Guard as quickly as possible.”
    Without another word, then, they set off, taking up most of the middle of the street, Khaavren with his arms linked with Aerich to his right and Tazendra to his left. They were nearly marching as they stepped through the long, winding street. On either side of them, inns, shops, and houses appeared, though Khaavren noticed at once a lack of any facilities for horses, which, as he subsequently learned, were forbidden to be stabled near the Imperial Palace, because of the odors they produced and the pests they attracted.
    Most of the structures in this area had been built while the Idyllic School of the House of the Vallista was in fashion, as one could see from the semicircular archways, the wide, enclosed courtyards, and the impossibility of determining what was a carefully hidden support as opposed to a decoration. Furthermore, as they came closer to the areas of the city dominated
by the Imperial Palace, they began to notice that there were no wooden buildings to be seen, but rather, everything was of carefully wrought stone. Khaavren looked around in wonder until, while passing a large, white building which proclaimed itself The Campaigner, he felt his arm grasped by Aerich, which he took as a signal to halt, and which signal he simultaneously passed on to Tazendra.
    “Yes?” he said to Aerich.
    The Lyorn made a gesture, then asked Tazendra, “Is that he?”
    She leaned forward. “Kieron’s Boots, I think it is.”
    “Who?” asked Khaavren. “The small fellow holding a gold cloak, and speaking to the Chreotha?”
    “The very one,” said Tazendra.
    “Well?” asked Aerich.
    “Let us hail him,” said Tazendra.
    “Yes, indeed,” said Khaavren.
    “Very well,” said Aerich.
    They quickly approached him. But, as they came near, he happened to turn away, so he didn’t see them. When they were close by, they could hear him speaking in a firm but pleasant voice. “My dear lady,” he was saying to the Chreotha, “regulation cut is all very well, to be sure, but I have no doubt that you perceive that a half-cloak, coming only to the tops of my thighs, would but ill suit my physique. Now, I beg of you, make