Thieves World 01 – Thieves World by Asprin, Robert

passages lead away from here towards the Swamp of Night Secrets, or into

Sanctuary and the governor’s palace itself. Whoever has ruled in Sanctuary has

always sought our cooperation in moving men and arms if a siege is laid.’

She showed the speechless captain catacombs where a sizeable garrison could wait

in complete concealment. He drank water from a deep well whose water had none of

the brackish taste so common in the seacoast town. Above he could hear the

sounds of parties at the Aphrodisia and the other houses. Zaibar’s military eye

took all this in, but his mind saw Myrtis, candle-lit in the black gown, as a

man’s dream come true, and the underground fortress she was revealing to him as

a soldier’s dream come true. The potion worked its way with him. He wanted both

Myrtis and the fortress for his own to protect and control.

‘There is so much about Sanctuary that you Rankans know nothing about. You tax

the Street and cause havoc with trade in the city. You wish to close the Street

and send all of us, including myself, to the slave pens or worse. Your walls

will be breachable ‘then. There are men in Sanctuary who would stop at nothing

to control these passages, and they know the Swamp and the palace better than

you or your children could ever hope to.’

She showed him a wall flickering with runes and magic signs. Zaibar went to

touch it and found his fingers singed for his curiosity.

‘These warding walls keep us safe now, but they will fade if we are not here to

renew them properly. Smugglers and thieves will find the entrances we have kept