Free A Quick Sun Rises by Thomas Rath Page A

approached. Though the city proper was all that it claimed, and certainly more to those, like Thane, who hailed from simple circumstances, the outreaches of the city had grown into a type of slum area where the poorest, and possibly the roughest sort resided. The homes, if they could be called such, were mere shacks and hollows held up with whatever could be scavenged. And because they did not approach the city from an actual road, they had to pick their way through those dwellings like walking through a giant maze. More than once, Ranse had to turn them around and retrace their steps when they came to a abode that had been placed right in their path.
    They didn’t run into many people as most were still in their hovels escaping the harsh realities of their world in the blessed dreams of the night. On the occasion a person did appear, most merely turned about and disappeared again into their shelter or scurried away as if in fear.
    They stayed as far from the center of the path as possible as that seemed the designated spot for refuse and human waste. Steam drifted into the air from where the debris had been cast creating a pungent fog that ran through the streets like a vaporous wraith ready to catch the unwary. The smell, at times was almost too much to bear as they moved along as fast as they were able. No one spoke as each contemplated what was likely to happen to these people outside the walls of the city. Thane realized with heavy heart that the people of Haykon, who they had been able to save and bring this far, would likely be forced to remain where they were and expected carve out what life they could with the other poor who lived like outcasts from the city proper. He tried not to think about what that meant when Zadok’s army reached the area.
    Finally reaching the north road, their pace quickened as they approached the city’s northern gate. The city wall was made from rough rock that at its greatest height was possibly twice as tall as Thane and stretched out to either side for as far as he could see. An archway supported a double gate made of plank wood that would probably only cause a slight pause to an invading army. He could hear Jne’s snort of derision as they neared. It didn’t take a great general to realize that this was not a fortress.
    Two guards were posted at the open gates but neither said a word as the group approached and then passed silently into the city. The mud of the previous road was now replaced by rough cobblestones that had been haphazardly placed into the dirt and packed down over time to create a rough surface that was only slightly better than the dirt road. The buildings were also an improvement, however slight, from those that were left outside. Rough stone structures marked, like the road, a step up in class and income from those forced to live outside the city gates.
    Though the street remained straight, a web of pathways and small avenues fingered out on either side into a maze of stone structures that mimicked the disorder of the outside city in its seeming chaotic creation. Most of the buildings were one story in size although an occasional anomaly existed in a second story as if to proclaim its inhabitants were that much above the rest of the people with whom they were forced to share space.
    A few people came in and out of the buildings, beginning what would be another backbreaking day as they struggled to feed themselves and their families. No one talked to the group as they passed, in fact, most scampered away at their approach like beaten dogs accustomed to the sting of the master’s boot. Those they did see were dressed similar to that of their buildings; rough clothes made from canvas that were put together to be as hardy as possible with obvious signs of constant repair. The clothing lacked any color other than gray and dirty gray and seemed just sufficient to protect the wearer from the outside elements.
    An occasional doorstep displayed the body of a sunken figure