Chapter One
Althalus the thief spent ten days on the road down out of the mountains of
Kagwher to reach the imperial city of Deika. As he was coming out of the
foothills, he passed a limestone quarry where miserable slaves spent their lives
under the whip laboriously sawing building blocks out of the limestone with
heavy bronze saws. Althalus had heard about slavery, of course, but this was the
first time he'd ever actually seen slaves. As he strode on toward the plains of
Equero, he had a little chat with his good luck about the subject, strongly
suggesting to her that if she really loved him, she'd do everything she possibly
could to keep him from ever becoming a slave.
The city of Deika lay at the southern end of a large lake in northern Equero,
and it was even more splendid than the stories had said it was. It was
surrounded by a high stone wall made of squared-off limestone blocks, and all
the buildings inside the walls were also made of stone.
The broad streets of Deika were paved with flagstones, and the public buildings
soared to the sky. Everyone in town who thought he was important wore a splendid
linen mantle, and every private house was identified by a statue of its
owner-usually so idealize ... read full excerpt from: The Redemption of Althalus ebook
