Wen led Eldion to a house not too far from the clearing where they appeared. It was a small house made of wood and bamboo with a thatch roof that effectively repelled rainwater while insulating the inside of the house from the heat of the sun. There was plenty of firewood stacked neatly at the side of the house, partly hidden by a small dugout canoe that had not been used for a long time. A wheelbarrow with a broken axle stood neglected along with some garden implements that had long rusted and decayed. There were flower pots that lined the small path to the house, but the flowering plants had been overgrown with weeds and failed to bloom with the season. Wen saw that the door was locked, but she only needed to lift the nearest flowerpot to obtain a rusty key from underneath.When they opened the door, they saw that the house was composed of just two rooms, typical of the houses in Alnoc. The main room that served as the living room was larger and could also serve as a dining

Mira's mind was abuzz with thoughts of how she and Eldion could escape. She knew they could not make a run for it without the Troupe catching up with them. She knew that she could defeat any of Thunka's three dancers in a fight, but to defeat all three would require all her strength plus a lot of luck. Besides, she did not know if Eldion had sufficiently recovered from his ordeal with Enzir."What do we do now?" Wen's voice was full of worry. "What if Thunka finds out that you have the pearl? What if she discovers who Eldion is?""Hush, Wen!" was all that Mira was able to say. She wanted to think clearly.Eldion looked at Mira, but realized that she was probably talking to Wen. Rentha heard Mira and glanced at her from behind. She smiled wickedly and walked on.Thunka's entertainment palace was a short distance from Alnoc's main square. There were few people on the streets and the palace itself looked deserted from the outside. It was a huge octagonal str

Mira hid her bag of diamonds among Casser's clothes. She did not have time to gather her things from Thunka's entertainment palace and she knew that getting them would only attract attention. Since she only kept a few items at Casser's house, the diamonds would come in handy to buy the things that she and Eldion would need for their long journey. Mira just hoped that they could still make it to the caravan. She was hoping that with the confusion of looking at so many travelling merchants and their goods, she and Eldion would have better chances of slipping through the gates unnoticed by the guards. There was just something that had been worrying her as she escaped with Eldion from Thunka. The three members of the troupe were not with the other dancers who were rehearsing. Mira remembered how strict Thunka was with the rehearsals, meting out punishments for dancers who were late or missing. Only dancers who were given permission to go with customers were allowed to miss rehearsals an

"This is hopeless!" remarked Wen, expressing her impatience as the carabao plodded on slowly. "We're never going to reach the north gate in time.""Don't speak that way at Noha. You'll hurt her feelings," said Casser, his own feelings hurt over Wen's nervous remark."We would have made it to the north gate already had we walked." Wen heard Mira's voice and Wen could only agree."Patience, Wen," said Eldion. "Noha's pulling a heavy load. She walks slow, but she's steady and dependable."Noha bawled as if in protest at Wen's impatient remarks. The carabao turned her head sideways as if to look at Wen and flicked her ears to drive off the flies.After what seemed to be an interminable wait for Wen, the north gate came into view. Like the south gate, it was heavily guarded and people who were on the way out of the city had lined up as the guards interviewed each person and examined their belongings. It was unusual that the queue of people and carts goi

Two servants carefully lifted the covered platter and transferred it from the cart to the table in front of Enzir. Enzir wondered what his feisty cook had cooked for him for his lunch and imagined a goose or even a turkey. When the servant finally lifted the silver cover off the platter, Enzir was surprised to see a giant boiled egg the size of a full-grown turkey. Every member of his household gasped when they saw the giant egg and clapped their hands enthusiastically. Enzir did not quite know how to react upon seeing such an odd thing in front of him. At the corner of his eye, he saw his feisty cook peer from the kitchen with a smug on her face. She withdrew inside with an arrogant air after seeing Enzir's expression when the giant boiled egg was uncovered.Enzir was handed a carving knife by his servant and he realized that he was expected to cut the boiled egg in front of everyone. He stood from his chair with the help of his servant and was about to cut into the white su