Khaavren Romances - 03 The Paths of the dead by Steven Brust

Author:Steven Brust [Brust, Steven]
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Vlad Taltos, Khaavren Romances
ISBN: 9780812534177
Publisher: New York : Tor, 2002.
Published: 2003-08-17T08:00:00+00:00

to Adrilankha, and still ran unbroken for portions of this distance, although many of the bridges were now

gone, and very little of the stone paving was still intact, so that it was difficult to make the journey along

much of it during the rainy season.

Ibronka knew the public house, from having visited it in the company of her mother once or twice, but

this was the first time she had gone there with the intention of letting a room—indeed, this would be the

first night she had spent away from home, with the only exceptions being certain occasions she had spent

on the mountain under the sky. The host recognized her at once, and insisted upon giving her the best

room he boasted, which was, we are sorry to admit, nothing to boast of. Nevertheless, the excitement of

the moment more than made up for damp walls, poor straw wrapped in moth-eaten mattress covers, and

a certain amount of unwelcome insect life. In a word, Ibronka was enchanted. Clari, though not excited

the way her mistress was, nevertheless accepted it with only an unexpressed wish that the time would be

short before the caravan arrived. Having thus looked over the sleeping chamber, Ibronka hastened down

to the jug-room, because she was well aware that adventures often began with chance meetings in the

jug-room of a public house, and she was, as the reader has no doubt realized, more than just a little

anxious to begin her adventure.

In this she was disappointed; the jug-room was entirely empty with the exception of a Teckla who was

softly snoring in the corner, and two tradesmen who appeared to be Chreotha who were having a quiet

discussion in another corner. Ibronka procured for herself a glass of wine, and, by the time she had

finished it, had come to the conclusion that nothing of interest was going to happen, and she repaired to

such comforts as her bed could supply, joining the worthy Clari, who was already sound asleep on the

floor. We would not be faithful to our duty as historian if we did not point out that, once she was in bed,

the combination of excitement and the discomfort of the bed prevented her from falling asleep for some

few hours, yet eventually sleep claimed her, and, once asleep, she slept soundly and deeply until the next

morning when she was awakened by a loud clamor that, as far as she could tell, came from the street

directly below her window.

She sprang out of bed in an instant and, looking out of the window, saw at once that the clamor was

caused by nothing less than the ringing of swords, as two men, both of whom appeared to be

Dragonlords, circled each other and enthusiastically endeavored to dismember each other with swords of

very good length, while a crowd, who also appeared to be Dragonlords, stood as near to the conflict as

safety and the narrowness of the street permitted.

"Is it a duel?" said Clari, who had, evidently, been awakened as well.

"I can't tell," said Ibronka over her shoulder. "It is either a duel or simply a brawl.

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