Red Magic - Jean Rabe [66]
As the trio crested the first low rise, they saw the walls of Amruthar in the distance. The city sat at the base of three squat hills. Their slopes were covered with small farms and were a brilliant green from the riot of well-watered crops growing there.
Ahead of them on the road, perhaps a mile distant, Galvin noticed a small wagon pulled by a pair of workhorses. The wagon, which must have been from a local farm, was filled with some type of crop.
"We're too far away to see them clearly," Galvin began, "but the walls look massive."
"And it's patrolled by lots of guards," the centaur surmised, continuing to lead the procession closer to the city. He explained that the larger cities in Thay, such as Amruthar, had high, thick stone walls held together with mortar. Smaller cities usually had wooden walls, although some had stone walls if the residents were wealthy and influential. Even the smallest of Thayvian communities had at least a spike-filled ditch surrounding it, and all of them had a guard force. The resident wizards wanted their homes well protected.
"A few walls have spells on them. Eltabar's did when I visited it," the centaur continued. He reminisced about that dark city's invisible, domelike shield. "I was with my father. He said he wanted me to see the city. He had other reasons for going, of course, most notably slave-trading. I had heard about the dome, and I just had to test it out. I picked up a rock and tried to throw it over the brick wall. It bounced right back at me, and I knew the stories were true. My father was angry and never took me there again."
"Fortunate for you," Galvin observed as he sidestepped a deep rut in the road.
"Why are all the cities walled?" Brenna asked, looking ahead at Amruthar. "They can't possibly be afraid of Aglarond or Mulhorand this far into Thay, and Rashemen, the land of the witches, won't bother them."
"The wizards are afraid of each other, so they build walls," Wynter said. "Funny. I doubt any wall could stand up to a Red Wizard. But at least they keep out the undead." His pace was faster now.
The trio grew silent as they neared an august tower on the western side of Amruthar. It sat a few hundred yards south of the road they traveled on, and they gave it a wide berth because of the numerous guards milling around outside it. Several slaves tended herb gardens outside the tower's front doors. One looked up and stared at the Harpers and Brenna as they passed by and entered Amruthar through the main gates.
The gates were guarded by a quintet of heavily armed and armored men on top of the barbicon. Wynter surmised there were additional unseen guards and other defenses. The men watched the centaur and humans enter but said nothing. The Harpers tried not to look back and were pleased that their appearances had gotten them through without question.
It was late afternoon, and the city teemed with activity. The road led to a merchants' district, where the sites and sounds overwhelmed the druid. Stalls-some looking like permanent parts of the city and others appearing to have been carried in today-lined the street.
The nearest stall had rows of dried peppers hanging from strings, so many that little of the stall's wood showed through. On the ledge, peppers were piled high-long, thin green ones, pear-shaped yellow varieties, red peppers of many shapes and sizes, and purple ones that were large and bulbous and inviting. The vendor was a bald, hawk-nosed man with a ruddy complexion. He noticed the Harpers watching him and beckoned them closer.
"Hot chili peppers! Sweet bells! Mild wax peppers!" he barked. "The best in Amruthar!" His voice was scratchy and deep and had an irritating quality that cut through the noise of the crowd. Galvin and Wynter ignored him and