Read Dark Sun: Prism Pentad 4 - Obsidian Oracle for Free Online

stadium, the workshops
     of the artisans, and the chamberhouses where most of the city's population lived. All in
     all, Balic seemed a prosperous and pleasant metropolis, one which Tithian would have been
     glad to call his own.
    One day, he chuckled silently, I might.
    When Maurus did not return for several more minutes, the king allowed his thoughts to
     wander to the man who had been stalking him in the desert. Tithian had first learned of
     his pursuer when his spy, an elven desert runner hired to watch his backtrail, reported
     that a Tyrian noble of Agis's description had been asking about him at an oasis. Despite
     the reasonable fee the elf had quoted for murdering the noble, the king's heart had sunk.
     Of all the men who might have come after him, Agis was the only one he could not bring
     himself to kill.
    It was a flaw in his character Tithian did not under- stand. He made many excuses for his
     weakness, telling himself it would be foolish to assassinate such a valuable statesman.
     When that did not seem enough, the king reminded himself of Agis's superior knowledge of
     agriculture, which made Tyr's farms more productive than those of any other Athasian city.
     Other times, he thought of the riots that would be caused by the noble's death, or of any
     of a dozen other equally valid reasons for leaving Agis alone.
    Still, Tithian knew he was lying to himself. Agis had incited the Council of Advisors to
     defy the king in a hundred matters, from letting paupers drink free at city wells to
     converting royal lands into charity farms. Such insolence would have cost anyone else his
     life, but Tithian had always stopped short of murdering his old friend.
    Even now, when Agis's meddling endangered the most important endeavor Tithian had ever
     undertaken, the king could not bring himself to kill the noble. Instead of telling Fylo,
     whom Tithian had found seeking employment as a caravan cargo bearer, to kill Agis, the
     king had merely asked the oaf to detain the noble.
    Tithian hoped he would not regret the decision. Agis had demonstrated many times that he
     could be as resourceful as he was determined, and even a giant might not hold the noble
     for long.
    Given that possibility, the king thought it might not be such a bad thing if Fylo ignored
     his instructions and killed Agis. Then, at least his friend's blood would not be on
     Tithian's hands.
    He banished the hope from his mind as quickly as it came. Such an accident hardly seemed a
     fitting end for a king's only friend. Agis had not always been a political enemy, and
     there had been times that the noble had stood by Tithian when nobody else would. If the
     time came when his friend had to die, Tithian decided, it would be by the king's own hand.
    Agis deserved that much.
    The chamberlain's officious footsteps echoed down the hall, putting the king's concerns
     about his friend out of his mind. When he turned away from the window, Tithian found a
     smug grin on Maurus's narrow lips.
    “King Andropinis normally addresses the Chamber of Patricians at this time,” the
     chamberlain said, a malicious glint flashing in his eyes. “He asks that you meet him
     there.”
    Maurus and the guards led Tithian down a corridor lined by the lifelike statues of ancient
     statesmen, then across a broad courtyard to the White Palace's marble-faced assembly hall.
     The building was perfectly square, with a colonnade of fluted pillars supporting an ornate
     entablature. Without awaiting an invitation, Tithian marched up the stairs, but before he
     could enter the building, the chamberlain scrambled past and blocked his way.
    “Allow me to hold that for you,” said Maurus. Being careful not to touch his guest, he
     motioned at the satchel on Tithian's shoulder.
    Tithian opened the sack and displayed its interior. “As you can see, ifs empty,” he
     replied. “No reason for concern.”
    Maurus did not move. “Nevertheless, I must