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Thursday, September 30th, 2010

    Time Event
    12:54a
    "Now take me to Danoleon The porter wiped...
    "Now take me to Danoleon
    The porter wiped quickly at his eyesHe straightened his shoulders"Where do you think we are going?" he snapped, almost managing his earlier tone againHe spun on his heel and strode up the path
    "Good," Alessan murmured to the priest, from behind"Very good, my friend Trailing them both, Devin saw Torre's head lift at the wordsHe glanced at Erlein but this time the wizard, his expression thoughtful, did not return the look
    They passed the kitchens and then the outer school where Savandi's charges, children of noblemen or wealthy merchants, sent here to be educated, would study and sleepAll across the Palm such teaching was a part of the role of the clergy, and a source of a goodly portion of their wealthThe Sanctuaries vied with each other to draw student boarders, and their fathers' money
    It was silent within the large building nowIf the dozen or so boys on the games-field with Savandi were all the students in the complex, then Eanna's louis vuitton purses Sanctuary in Lower Corte was not doing very well
    On the other hand, Devin thought, who of those left in Lower Corte could afford Sanctuary schooling for their children now? And what shrewd businessman from Corte or Chiara, having bought up cheap land here in the south, would not send his son home to be educated? Lower Corte was a place where a clever man from elsewhere could make money out of the ruin of the inhabitants, but it was not a place to put down rootsWho wanted to be rooted in the soil of Brandin's hate?
    Torre led them up the steps of a covered portico and then through the open doorway of the High Priest's houseAll doors seemed to be open to the spring sunshine, after the shuttered holiness of the Ember Days just past
    They stood in a large, handsome, high-ceilinged sitting-roomA huge fireplace dominated the southwestern end and a number of comfortable chairs and small tables were arranged on a deep-piled carpetCrystal decanters on a sideboard held a variety chanel black handbags of winesDevin saw two bookcases on the southern wall but no booksThe cases had been left to stand, disconcertingly emptyThe books of Tigana had been burnedHe had been told about that
    Arched doorways in both the eastern and western walls led out to porches where the sunlight could be caught in the morning and at eve
    On the far side of the room there was a closed door, almost certainly leading to the bedchamberThere were four cleverly designed, square recesses in the walls and another smaller one above the fire where statues would once have stoodOnly the ubiquitous silver stars of Eanna served for painted decoration on the walls
    The door to the bedroom opened and two priests came out
    They seemed surprised, but not unduly so, to see the porter waiting with three visitorsOne man was of medium height and middle years, with a sharp face and close-cropped salt-and-pepper hairHe carried a physician's tray of herbs and powders in front of him, supported on a thong about his omega olympic watch neck
    It was at the other man that Devin stared, thoughIt was the other man who carried the High Priest's staff of officeHe would have commanded attention even without it, Devin thought, gazing at the figure of what had to be Danoleon
    The High Priest was an enormous man, broad-shouldered with a chest like a barrel, straight-backed despite his yearsHis long hair and the beard that covered half his chest were both white as new snow, even against the whiteness of his robeThick straight eyebrows met in the middle of a serene brow and above eyes as clear and blue as a child'sThe hand he wrapped about the massive staff of office held it as if it were no more than a cowherd's hazel switch
    If they were like this, Devin thought, awed, looking up at the man who had been High Priest of Eanna in Tigana when the Ygrathens came, if the leaders were all like this then there were truly great men here before the fall
    They couldn't have been so different from today; he knew that knock off chanel earrings rationallyIt was only twenty years ago, however much might have changed and fallen awayBut even so, it was hard not to feel daunted in the commanding presence of this manHe turned from Danoleon to Alessan: slight, unprepossessing, with his disorderly, prematurely silvered hair and cool, watchful eyes, and the nondescript, dusty, road-stained riding clothes he wore
    But when he turned back to the High Priest he saw that Danoleon was squeezing his own eyes tightly shut as he drew a ragged breathAnd in that moment Devin realized, with a thrill that was oddly akin to pain, where, despite all appearances, the truth of power lay between these menIt was Danoleon, he remembered, who had taken the boy Alessan, the last prince of Tigana, south and away in hiding across the mountains all those years ago
    And would not have seen him again since that timeThere was grey in the hair of the tired man who stood before the High Priest nowDanoleon would be seeing that, trying to deal with replica miu miu
    1:50a
    "But Brother Yan, fun is fun and serious is...
    "But Brother Yan, fun is fun and serious is seriousDon't think about Xibao too much or you might find someone has stolen that red knapsack off your backIt's not important if lose your head or not, but the agency's reputation has to be maintained

    "Don't worry," Yan replied angrily"If those Muslims try stealing it back, I'll soon put an end to their nonsenseI am one of the Six Guandong Devils and I got where I am with real kung fu, not like some of the weaklings in the bodyguard agencies these days who can do nothing but eat and fart!"

    Lu looked at the red knapsack on Yan's back: it wasn't big, and from the look of it, whatever was inside was very light

    "It's true that the Six Devils of Guandong are famous," Tong said"It's a pity that Brother Jiao was done inWe don't even know who the murderer was

    Yan banged the table"Who says we don't know? It has to be the Red chanel jumbo bag Flower Society!"

    That's strange, Lu thought, I killed JiaoWhat is this Red Flower Society? He walked slowly around the courtyard inspecting the flowers, moving closer to the group of lead escorts

    Tong would not let the matter drop"It's a pity," he said"If I wasn't such a weakling, I would have settled things with the Red Flower Society long ago

    Yan shook with angerOne of the other lead escorts broke in to mediate: "Anyway, the Red Flower Society's leader died last month," he said"They've lost their man in command, so who is there to settle with? And another thing, where is the proof that Jiao was murdered by the Red Flower Society? When you find them and they deny the charge, what are you going to do?"

    "Yes," said Tong changing his tack"We daren't provoke them, but surely we've got enough guts to bully a few MuslimsThis little toy we've snatched is as precious to them buy chanel bags as life itselfIn the future, if General Zhao ever wants money from them, or cattle and sheep, do you think they'd dare to refuse? I tell you Yan, stop thinking about that little Xibao of yoursWhen we get back to Beijing, you should ask General Zhao to give you a little Muslim girl to be your mistress

    Before he could finish, a piece of mud brick flew out of nowhere and lodged itself in his mouthTwo of the other lead escorts snatched up their weapons and rushed outside while Yan picked up his Five Element Wheels and looked warily aroundHis younger brother came running in, and both stood together, not daring to move for fear of falling into some trapTong spat out the piece of mud and began swearing

    The two other lead escorts, Tai and Qian, rushed in through the door"The little bastard's gone," one of them said"There's no sign of him

    Lu had observed the whole incident and quilted chanel bag laughed inwardly at the helpless expression on Tong's faceThen he saw a shadow darting across the rafters in a corner of the dining hall, and went slowly outsideIt was already growing dark, but he spotted a figure leap off the corner of the roof, land noiselessly, and speed off eastwards

    Lu wanted to know who had treated Tong to a mouthful of mud and, making use of Lightness Kung Fu * (* a type of kung fu that makes extra-fast running and super-human leaps possible, he followed, the teacup still in his handThe pace was fast, but the person he was following was not aware of his presence

    Lu's quarry had a slim figure and moved daintily, almost like a girlThey crossed a hill and an ink-black forest loomed aheadThe person ahead slipped into the trees with Lu close behindUnderneath, the ground was covered with dead leaves and twigs which crackled as he stepped on themAfraid of louis vuitton travel bags giving himself away, he slowed downJust then, the moon broke through the clouds and a shaft of clear light shone down through the branches, covering the earth with jumbled ghostly shadowsIn the distance he saw the flash of a yellow gown, and his quarry moved out of the forest

    He followed to the edge of the treesBeyond was a large expanse of grass on which were pitched eight or nine tentsHis curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to go and have a lookHe waited until two guards had turned away, then jumped across with a 'Swallow Gliding Over Water' leap and landed among the tentsCrouching low, he ran to the back of the largest tent, pitched in the centreInside, he could hear people talking agitatedly in the Muslim languageHe had lived in the border areas for many years, and understood some of what was saidCarefully, he lifted up the corner of the canvas and looked prada fairy insid

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