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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2001 - 2007 All Rights Reserved
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409
Miller's Crossing is not a large town, but the security of its high walls has meant that it has become a crowded place; littered with narrow alleys, dark corners, and squalid-looking three storey buildings that block out any natural light from above. Luckily you have spent considerable time wandering these streets and know them very well. As you draw Pallenten into the nearest alleyway you believe it will be easy to navigate a path that leads you away from the crowds and towards the south gate.
Pallenten finds the narrow alleys and backstreets a less comfortable way however. Her broad back and high shoulders makes finding a route through the constricted lanes of Miller's Crossing somewhat more difficult. Keeping away from the regular town patrols is no problem, the horse's bulk however, forces you to take a maze of alleys that lead you deep into the squalor of the town's poorest quarter.
Here, within the close tenements of Miller's Crossing you are as much at home as you could be anywhere else in Arborell. The long years of your childhood after leaving the Temple had been spent struggling for a bare living, and it was amongst these decrepit buildings that you had learned your trade as a thief. Even now you know that you could meld once again into the underworld of the town and never be found by the Kalboreans, but that would not be your fate. The metal collar at your neck would ensure that you would not live long enough to boast to any of your escape from execution. With your hand firmly on Pallenten's reins you take her southwards.
Apart from the time needed to make your way south the detour does work to your advantage. Rarely do guards venture down any of these alleys for they are more likely to be showered with the contents of a chamber pot than find any overt sign of criminal activity here. Because of this you find that your passage through the shadowed lanes remains anonymous and unnoticed. The cobbled streets are wet and slippery from recent rain and Pallenten's hooves make a curiously muffled clacking sound as you pass through the jumble of interconnecting lanes and footways. Carefully you find your way to a point just short of the south gate.
With Pallenten at your side you look out from a small alley at the steady stream of humanity that passes from the gate up to the town square. From where you stand you can see that the southern exit is guarded by a number of uniformed Kalboreans, but they seem most interested with those entering the town. People leaving are given nothing more than a cursory glance and then allowed to pass through. Perhaps it will prove easier than expected to get out of Millers Crossing.
As you stand in the shadows of the alley you feel Pallenten at your side nudging your shoulder. At first you take little notice, then you hear the sound of a soft footfall on the cobbles behind you. Glancing to the side of the alley you can see in the reflection of a slightly opened window that there is a dark shape creeping up behind you.
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This book, and its associated books and other documents in the Chronicles of Arborell series are the intellectual property of the author, Wayne F Densley, and all rights are reserved by him. Windhammer is best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution. Any questions regarding the Chronicles of Arborell can be answered by emailing the author at densleyw@shoal.net.au
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Windhammer, Copyright Wayne Densley 2001 - 2007 All Rights Reserved
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