The Ring of Winter - James Lowder [78]
"The negus is a bara, too?" Artus exclaimed. "Gods. When am I going to meet someone here my own age?"
If Lord Rayburton noticed the tension that had settled between Artus and his daughter, he showed no sign of it as he turned his back to them and started away from the temple. "No time to waste," he said. "The sun will be down soon, and I need to go talk to Ras T'fima about… well, about some old debts " He stopped and looked back over his shoulders. "Lugg and Byrt should come with me, I think."
"What a wonderful idea. Lord Rayburton," the little wombat said. "I think Artus should spend a little recreation time with members of his own species before we three trek back to the coast together."
"I never said I was going back-"
"Good evening, Sanda," Byrt said, doing his best imitation of a courtly bow. He turned his vacant blue eyes on her. "Your charm and discretion are truly the centerpiece of Mezroan society." With that he hurried after Rayburton. Lugg hefted himself sleepily from the ground and trundled after them, shaking his head.
Sanda watched her father and the wombats cross the plaza, then disappear into a crowd that was beginning to gather around the huge amphitheater. "Shall I show you the rest of the city?" she asked.
"Actually," Artus said. "I think I need to find someplace to sit down and rest." He slumped against the side of the temple, careful not to look too closely at the myriad crystal triangles.
Sanda hooked her arm under Artus's. "I know just the spot. There's a park near the schools-did I tell you I teach history at the schools? No?" She tugged the explorer off the wall and guided him into the plaza. "We can go to the park and talk. In fact… I might be able to lay my hands on some Tabaxi primers, if any of the children left them in the classroom."
She has to think I'm a complete boob, Artus decided. Not surprising since she's more than ten times my age. He looked over at the young woman-at least she appeared young. Twenty-five, perhaps. Thirty at the oldest. Sanda caught him studying her and smiled warmly.
"After you've got the rudiments of Tabaxi down," she said, "maybe you can tell me a bit about the Heartlands-you're from Cormyr, right? I only have Father's word to go on for what the North is like, and I think you've already caught on to how cranky and unyielding he can be."
Artus had been caught up in finding some pretext for extricating his arm from hers. But the feeling he had-that he was being led along like a wayward orphan-disappeared in the face of her guileless chatter. "It's a deal," he said, settling his arm against hers. "You give me Tabaxi lessons, and I'll teach you about Cormyr."
Eleven
The dinosaur towered over Artus, its bulk blocking out the sun. It was obviously a carnivore, and a hungry one at that.
On a pair of strong, muscular legs, the monster raised its body to its full height-five times as tall as Artus. The dinosaur's forelimbs were small, more like a pair of bird's claws, and they clutched at the air continuously. Its long tail swished back and forth, stirring up the dust on the barren plain. These details of anatomy fled the explorer's mind when the thing opened its mouth. At their base, its teeth were as wide around as a man's fist, but they tapered to needle points. That's all Artus saw for a moment, those teeth.
"Zara n'tomo, karth?" the dinosaur said in a soft, high voice. It reached down with one of its bird-hands and shook the explorer gently by the shoulder.
Artus started awake and yelped in surprise. The five small children standing around him echoed that shout and leaped back a few steps. They were dressed in white tobes, their schoolbooks in one hand, their sandals in the other. All had their hair shaved close to the scalp, though the girls had cut intricate patterns in the curls they had left.
The oldest child-a girl of ten or so-took a tentative step forward and repeated her question. "Zara n'tomo, karth?"
"Oh, Ka… neb-no, uh-nez…," Artus mumbled, trying his best to remember