Read Online The Huntsman's Amulet by Duncan M. Hamilton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Duncan M. Hamilton
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since encountering the drones, Soren sat on the wall surrounding the pool, allowing himself a moment’s rest. The water was utterly still, the surface like glass. He dragged himself away with reluctance when the ache in his legs subsided to a bearable level.
There were four large and ornately carved archways equally spaced around the room, one of which he had entered through. Each archway contained a pair of chestnut coloured wooden doors. Soren walked toward the nearest pair and pushed them open. He was not sure what to expect, and his hand hovered over the hilt of his sword. As the door swung open his heart was in his throat and he wondered what would be on the other side. Would it be another architectural marvel to rival the one he had just been in, or would it be a drone brandishing savage weapons?
It proved to be neither. There was only a long straight corridor on the other side that ran parallel with the front of the building. One side was lined with windows, each pane of which was intact, while the other side was lined with more modest doors, which one would expect to have offices behind them. The floor was of highly polished wood that also appeared to have received its last buffing only hours before. It made him wonder once again if there were people hiding from him. It seemed unlikely, but no more unlikely than the condition the building was in if it had lain empty for so long.
The library was what he was looking for and it didn’t seem likely that it was to be found behind any of these doors, so he returned to the domed room. He took the next exit, that opposite the doors he had first entered through. It led outside to a large, cloistered quadrangle, enclosed by four story buildings. A path leading away from the doorway and on to the buildings on the opposite side divided the quadrangle. There were two towers on the opposite side of the square, on either side of the path.
Soren walked toward the marble monument in the centre of the square. The two towers were the tallest buildings there, half as high again as the surrounding buildings and at least as tall as the campanile he had climbed, perhaps taller. On either side of the path there was the same dead, grey soil that he had noticed as he had neared the walls of the city. It appeared that they had once been lawns or gardens, but now were devoid of life, much like the city and the island.
The monument proved to be a circular fountain with a statue of a heroically stylised mage at its centre. Any water had long since dried up but there was a stain along the inside showing where it had once been. Walking around the fountain, he made his way toward the opposite side of the quadrangle. The towers did not appear to have any entrance until he had passed them. Covered bridges, two stories up and similar in style to the quadrangle’s arcades, connected each tower to the building closing off the quadrangle’s far side. The bridges curved gracefully through the air and appeared to be the only means of access. Ahead of him, an arch passed underneath the building giving access to another quadrangle on the other side.
A large hall dominated the centre of the next quadrangle, jutting out from the opposite side. It made the quad seem more like three connected courtyards forming a ‘u’ around the hall. There was a door on the narrow side facing him. In his mind there was only one purpose this building could serve. He approached the doors and pushed them open, to be greeted by a familiar sight.
Chapter 11
The Library
T he library of the College of Mages was similar to the libraries in the academies in Ostenheim and Auracia. The only real difference was the scale. The library in Ostenheim where Soren had studied would have easily fit into this one four or five times over. Additionally, where there had been great gaps along the shelves there, the consequences of the purge, here, the shelves were packed to capacity. He felt a shiver run along his spine. So
There were four large and ornately carved archways equally spaced around the room, one of which he had entered through. Each archway contained a pair of chestnut coloured wooden doors. Soren walked toward the nearest pair and pushed them open. He was not sure what to expect, and his hand hovered over the hilt of his sword. As the door swung open his heart was in his throat and he wondered what would be on the other side. Would it be another architectural marvel to rival the one he had just been in, or would it be a drone brandishing savage weapons?
It proved to be neither. There was only a long straight corridor on the other side that ran parallel with the front of the building. One side was lined with windows, each pane of which was intact, while the other side was lined with more modest doors, which one would expect to have offices behind them. The floor was of highly polished wood that also appeared to have received its last buffing only hours before. It made him wonder once again if there were people hiding from him. It seemed unlikely, but no more unlikely than the condition the building was in if it had lain empty for so long.
The library was what he was looking for and it didn’t seem likely that it was to be found behind any of these doors, so he returned to the domed room. He took the next exit, that opposite the doors he had first entered through. It led outside to a large, cloistered quadrangle, enclosed by four story buildings. A path leading away from the doorway and on to the buildings on the opposite side divided the quadrangle. There were two towers on the opposite side of the square, on either side of the path.
Soren walked toward the marble monument in the centre of the square. The two towers were the tallest buildings there, half as high again as the surrounding buildings and at least as tall as the campanile he had climbed, perhaps taller. On either side of the path there was the same dead, grey soil that he had noticed as he had neared the walls of the city. It appeared that they had once been lawns or gardens, but now were devoid of life, much like the city and the island.
The monument proved to be a circular fountain with a statue of a heroically stylised mage at its centre. Any water had long since dried up but there was a stain along the inside showing where it had once been. Walking around the fountain, he made his way toward the opposite side of the quadrangle. The towers did not appear to have any entrance until he had passed them. Covered bridges, two stories up and similar in style to the quadrangle’s arcades, connected each tower to the building closing off the quadrangle’s far side. The bridges curved gracefully through the air and appeared to be the only means of access. Ahead of him, an arch passed underneath the building giving access to another quadrangle on the other side.
A large hall dominated the centre of the next quadrangle, jutting out from the opposite side. It made the quad seem more like three connected courtyards forming a ‘u’ around the hall. There was a door on the narrow side facing him. In his mind there was only one purpose this building could serve. He approached the doors and pushed them open, to be greeted by a familiar sight.
Chapter 11
The Library
T he library of the College of Mages was similar to the libraries in the academies in Ostenheim and Auracia. The only real difference was the scale. The library in Ostenheim where Soren had studied would have easily fit into this one four or five times over. Additionally, where there had been great gaps along the shelves there, the consequences of the purge, here, the shelves were packed to capacity. He felt a shiver run along his spine. So
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