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Stories from the Verse
In Verse Proportion
Chapter 95: Kondor 206
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Brown 224
Zeke was right: although the layout was different, there wasn’t much that was different about the palace of the Amir of the Southwest to distinguish it from that of the Amir of the Southern River Bend, or even really from that of the Caliph of the Twin Rivers. There were courtyards, some used for weapons practice and military drills. There was a public bath and a family bath. The dining room, the court room, and a few other public areas were available for various purposes, and of course there were towers manned by watchmen. Most seemed to think this a formality--to the southwest were several insignificant countries that had not been annexed by the caliphate mostly because on the other side of them was the land of the Copts. The little countries thus created something of a buffer between what Kondor gathered were the two superpowers. Neither side could attack the other without getting through a bunch of small countries between them.
After dinner, Zeke said good-bye, opened a mist, and vanished into it. Kondor had never seen it from the outside, as it were, but indeed his friend simply vanished in the mist, and then the mist vanished.
“Does he do that often?” Leah asked.
“He’s still new at it. Lauren taught him.”
She nodded, as if that made sense.
“We haven’t bathed since we arrived yesterday,” he said. “If we use the family bath, do we get more privacy?”
She blushed and slapped his chest gently. “You’re bad,” she said.
He pulled her to him, nose to nose, and said, “Yes, but you love it.”
“Since I expect my brother took his bath when he got home yesterday,” she said, “and really there isn’t anyone else who is supposed to use it, I would think we would have privacy there.”
“Good,” he said. “Let’s go enjoy a little privacy,” and he nuzzled her cheekbone.
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with twenty other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #448: Inventive Versers. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
