The Ivory Star

Chapter 21

"Tejun!" Capian cried over the whistling of the wind. "The Jewel of Alhaqra."

The glittering carpet of twinkling gems sprinkled the land to the horizon, shining in the twilight.

"Finally!" Darius exclaimed.

Eric too breathed a sigh of relief. The journey across the Alhaqri Steppes had been a long five days. Even with winter in full swing in the north, the sun here had been so hot they took shelter during the day in the niches and crevices of the tall, rocky bluffs that spotted the hot, arid wasteland. For five nights of travel the Key had led them to Tejun, the largest city in Alhaqra, and home of Lord Erastus. Tejun was a great trading city, huge and sprawling, nestled in the green valley along the coast, spindly limbs of the city stretching out into the neighboring hills and lush valleys, up the Saxon River basin. The city straddled the wide, muddy river as it emptied into the moon-splashed southern ocean far off to their left.

Before they reached the outskirts of the city, they hid the eagles in a copse of trees about a league upriver. The night had fallen completely before they reached the outskirts of Tejun. A warm salt breeze whispered in from the sea, pushing against the reluctant, moisture-thick air. The Eagle Knights moved like wind-blown smoke through the dark alleys and streets of the city, among the sallow, stuccoed buildings. The slums on the outskirts stank of old urine, excrement, and other garbage, tempered by the sting of wood smoke in the heavy air. They followed the wide, brown river among the scattered hovels toward the center of the city. Streets and alleys meandered about, haphazardly strewn among the buildings and houses, with sewer gutters carrying away their fetid streams of human filth to the ocean. The dark streets provided ample cover to three black-swathed Eagle Knights. As they neared the center of the city, the buildings became more and more closely spaced, affording them easy cover. They passed into an older section of the city where the streets became so narrow they were scarcely more than alleys themselves. The buildings were packed together in tight masses. As the three warriors ghosted like thieves down the narrow alleys, their shoulders scraped mouldering stucco from the darkly stained walls.

The alley they now traversed ended in a wide, brightly lit thoroughfare. Lights shone from open windows and doorways, even at this hour. Smells of filth and garbage and smoke filled the air, laced with undercurrents of food and spirits. Boisterous voices burst from doorways sharply defined in the night. Weathered wooden signs, garishly painted with scenes and pictures hung above open entrances. The Dragon's Claw. The Lord's Gullet. The Serpent. The Full Tankard. The Soft Woman. A bawdy song echoed from the open doorway of an establishment named Wine, Women, and Song. A drunken sot staggered from one of the doors to vomit and collapse in a convenient alley. A gang of swarthy neighborhood toughs lounged near a lamp post, surveying their territory, keeping an eye on a band of staggering, singing sailors swaying drunkenly down the street. Scantily clad, bauble-bedecked whores hung expectantly in doorways, waiting for customers for whom to flaunt their wares. A brawl exploded somewhere, shouts of anger and pain echoing hollowly down the street. Erotic voices and equally self-explanatory sounds drifted from open windows above their heads.

Capian pointed upward. Metal glinted in his palm. With a cat-like leap he was halfway up the soft wall. And there he stuck like a great black spider. With quick, precise movements he scaled the smooth surface using the hand and foot claws designed for just that purpose.

Eric and Darius followed him as he disappeared over the edge of the wall. The sharp, curved claws dug easily into the soft stucco as they scaled the wall, quickly gaining the roof. From rooftop to rooftop they traveled swiftly and silently.

The Key pointed them toward roughly the center of the city, more specifically, to a massively walled palace that stood above the surrounding city like a swan among chickens, tall and magnificent. It shone like a beacon in the darkness. Nets filled with glowcrystals encrusted the exterior, and its spires towered above the rest of the city, stretched like glittering needles toward the sky.