To his amazement, he saw a man that looked just like Raistlin-golden-colored metallic skin, red robes, and all- being lifted up off the stairs and carried inside the library. But by the time the excited kender ran across the street, grabbed Flint, and hauled the grumbling dwarf back again, the group was gone.
Tasslehoff even ran up to the door, banging on it and demanding entrance. But the Aesthetic who answered appeared so horrified at the thought of a kender coming into the great library that the scandalized dwarf hustled Tas off before the monk could open his mouth.
Promises being very nebulous things to kenders, Tas considered telling Laurana anyway, but then he thought of the elf-maid’s face as it had appeared lately, wan and drawn from grief, worry, and lack of sleep, and the soft-hearted kender decided maybe Flint was right. If it was Raistlin, he was probably here on some secret business of his own and wouldn’t thank them for dropping in on him uninvited. Still-
Heaving a sigh, the kender walked on, kicking stones with his feet and looking around the city once more. Palanthas was well worth the look. The city had been fabled even during the Age of Might for its beauty and grace. There was no other city on Krynn that could compare to it-at least to human thought. Built on a circular pattern like a wheel, the center was, literally, the hub of the city. All the major official buildings were located here, and the great sweeping staircases and graceful columns were breathtaking in their grandeur. From this central circle, wide avenues led off in the directions of the eight major compass points. Paved with fitted stone (dwarven work, of course) and lined with trees whose leaves were like golden lace year-round, these avenues led to the seaport on the north and to the seven gates of the Old City Wall.
Even these gates were masterpieces of architecture, each one guarded by twin minarets whose graceful towers rose over three hundred feet into the air. The Old Wall itself was carved with intricate designs, telling the story of Palanthas during the Age of Dreams. Beyond Old City Wall lay New City. Carefully planned to conform to the original design, New City extended from Old City Wall in the same circular pattern with the same wide, tree-lined avenues. There were, however, no walls around New City. The Palanthians didn’t particularly like walls, (walls ruined the over-all design) and nothing in either Old or New City was ever built these days without first consulting the overall design, both within and without. Palanthas’s silhouette upon the horizon in the evening was as lovely to the eye as the city itself-with one exception.
Tas’s thoughts were rudely interrupted by a poke in the back from Flint.
“What is the matter with you?” the kender demanded, facing the dwarf.
“Where are we?” Flint asked surlily, hands on his hips.
“Well, we’re . . .” Tas looked around. “Uh . . .that is, I think we’re . . . then again, perhaps we’re not.” He fixed Flint with a cold stare. “How did you get us lost?”
“ME!” The dwarf exploded. “You’re the guide! You’re the map-reader. You’re the kender who knows this city like he knows his own house!”
“But I was thinking,” Tas said loftily.
“What with?” Flint roared.
“I was thinking deep thoughts,” Tas said in wounded tones.
“I-oh, never mind,” Flint grumbled and began to peer up and down the street. He didn’t quite like the looks of things.
“This certainly does seem strange,” Tas said cheerfully, echoing the dwarf’s thoughts. “It’s so empty-not at all like the other streets of Palanthas.” He stared longingly down the rows of silent empty buildings. “I wonder-”
“No,” said Flint. “Absolutely not. We’re going back the way we came-”
“Oh, come on!” Tas said, heading down the deserted street.
“Just a little ways, to see what’s down here. You know Laurana told us to look around, inspect the forti-forta-the whatch-ma-call-its.”
“Fortifications,” muttered Flint, stumping reluctantly along after the kender. “And there aren’t any around here, you doorknob. This is the center of the city! She meant the walls around the outside of the city.”
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