A Quick Sun Rises by Thomas Rath Page B

buildings were made from a similar cut stone as that of the wall and the street and rose up to three, and sometimes four, stories high. The fronts were also crisscrossed with wood planks mortared into the stone and each story stuck further into the street covering the road in shade. As in the previous section, the lower levels were for business while the stories above held more merchandise and housing. Pubs and inns were found quite frequently and a larger mixture of people and classes seemed to mingle together along the road. It was obvious who was of the higher class as they were carted around in coaches or chairs on wheels that were pulled about by servants. The streets were laid out in a more uniform fashion here, crisscrossed with large avenues at many intersections leading to other parts of the city in such a standardized fashion as to make it appear rather easy to find ones way around with the proper guide or directions.
    Though it was still early, the bustle on the streets had increased significantly. It was obvious that this was where the upper end shops and merchants were and that those from the higher class condescended to do their business with them. Although many sent servants to do their dealing there were still a good number of people, women especially, who jaunted about with their entourage of helpers picking through shops and flaunting their wealth. The merchants wore innumerable types of clothing to match the seeming countless goods they hocked on the streets or in their storefronts. Women with too much face paint, large satin dresses that flared out at the bottom and large wigs of all sorts of sizes, shapes, and colors bustled about like peacocks trying to outdo one another in their snooty gaudiness.
    The group didn’t have much difficulty pressing through the crowd as most looked down their noses at them like so much trash blowing through their streets. The women pulled scented handkerchiefs from pockets placing them with a look of disgust to their nostrils as the companions passed by. Jne’s smile only broadened finding the whole scene pathetically humorous. It quickly became obvious to Thane that these people had never seen a Tjal-Dihn before and would not recognize one if they were skewered by one’s sword. There was not the same respect, awe, or fear that typically followed the Tjal whenever encountered. To the self important upper class of Calandra, they were all just mere bugs—filthy distractions that were to be quickly shooed away. If they only knew what awaited them. No amount of perfume sprayed on a cloth would extinguish the awful scent that would soon be at their gates.
    Thane almost laughed at the looks on Teek’s and Domis’ faces. Domis had lived in Haykon and was no stranger to city life but nothing in his experiences could compare to this. His familiarity was more akin to that part of the city they had just recently left. And Teek, well this was all new to him. Thane suddenly realized that this was all very new to him as well, but he was familiar with the type of people that flocked about. He had seen the same in his own village. Those who thought themselves above everyone else who tried, in his case, to kill that which may be different or threaten what they felt their station should be. It was a sad comedy indeed.
    He sighed audibly when they finally reached another wall and gate. This time the wall was built of smooth mortar covering six feet thick large cut stone blocks with a cap of polished wood running along the very top. The height was not as grand as the previous wall but was reduced to approximately twice Thane’s height. He reasoned that the upper class that most likely lived behind these walls were not so afraid that the merchants, the people with whom they were so free with their money, were apt to attempt to break in. The two gates, both extremely ornate and polished but lacking any real strength, were both closed with two guards posted in small cylindrical rooms on