The Return of Daud by Adam Christopher

Author:Adam Christopher
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, pdf
Publisher: Titan

The interior of the castle was as impressive as the exterior, but clearly little of it was original to the time of Finlay Morgengaard. Instead, Daud found himself in a modern mansion, the double-wide corridors lit with gently humming electric lighting, the floors laid with plush red carpet, making their footfalls silent as Norcross led Daud on a tour of his collection.

And it was, Daud had to admit, impressive. Morgengaard Castle was huge, and Norcross had managed to fill just about every available space with objects, art, and treasure. The collector led Daud through five long galleries of arms and armor, explaining how his collection included artifacts from every part of the Empire. As they walked, Daud looked over strange, twisted spears and highly decorated shields from far-flung islands, articulated suits of armor from Morley and Gristol, heavy, all-weather gear fit for the tundra of Tyvia, lightweight boiled-leather armor from Karnaca. The armory galleries were arranged chronologically, and as they approached the end, Daud was surprised to see modern equipment on display, with complete uniforms from each of the main military units of the Isles from every country in the Empire on display—the Dunwall City Watch, the Grand Serkonan Guard, the Wynnedown Constabulary. There were even Overseer uniforms, complete with silver, gold, and black masks and, Daud noted, among the guns, swords, daggers and batons, a chest-mounted music box. Next to the Overseer cabinets was a full-length, life-size portrait of someone Daud recognized instantly, without needing to read the accompanying plaque: Thaddeus Campbell, the High Overseer who led the Abbey of the Everyman at the time of the Rat Plague. Seeing his stern features awoke memories that Daud would rather had stayed asleep.

Next came galleries of art, sculpture, gems, and meticulously catalogued cabinets of minerals and rocks. Most impressive were two huge halls with high, vaulted ceilings, from which hung the gigantic, complete skeletons of a whole pod of whales. Daud couldn’t even begin to guess the value of Norcross’s collection, but he doubted whether all the institutions in all of Gristol—no, in all of the Empire itself—could compete with the grandeur and sheer scale of the castle’s contents.

Norcross chatted away as they walked, apparently happy to continue his commentary even though Daud gave no indication he was listening. What Daud was actually doing was trying to map their progress in his head, while counting the guards. After an hour he was surprised that his tally had only reached eighteen. Of course, the castle itself was its own protection—Norcross had spent ten years and who knew how much money relocating and rebuilding it to his own particular specifications, and located as it was in the moorland valley miles away from the nearest settlement, it presented a formidable challenge to any would-be thief.

Another half hour, another five rooms of treasure, and Daud’s tally reached twenty-one. It was a lot, but he didn’t think they would give him any particular trouble, especially considering how spread out they were. One thing bothered him, however.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.