Read Legends of Dimmingwood 02:Betrayal of Thieves for Free Online

walked, strains of muted conversation and laughter fell upon my ears from beyond the hedgerows.
    My path led me to a small roofed porch with no walls but a circular row of stone columns, half covered in creeping vines. Here, tiny moonkisses fell among the spray of greenery, their pale petals glistening like dewdrops in the waning light. A pair of lovers huddled on the stone bench within, and seeing they would not welcome my interruption, I let my feet turn onto one of the narrower side paths. The singing of the crickets in the hedges reminded me time was slipping by and I had yet to accomplish what I came for.
    The old man at the wine shop had instructed me to look for the statue of Queen Tamliess, but I must have passed a hundred statues already. Reasoning the likeness of a legendary queen should be large and prominently placed, I quickened my steps, hurrying up one path and down the next, until at length I broke into an open area.
    Here was a wide cobbled yard with carved benches lined in tight rows to form a half circle, as though folk occasionally came to hear a lecture or view some sort of performance. The yard was empty now but for a handful of citizens out for an evening stroll, and I would have hurried on had not my attention been caught by a flash of color at the far side of the yard. A paradin pen. I paused for only a second to watch the enormous strutting birds fanning their colorful tailfeathers, but in that brief glance, I caught sight of a towering statue beyond the pens. I ran to the spot and stood looking up at Queen Tamliess’s image raised atop a wide pedestal, her famous winged crown nestled atop her head.
    I put her to my back, as instructed, and hurried the opposite direction. Evening was fast overtaking me and as the light from the sky faded, the glimmer-stones beneath my feet began to glow. They would radiate soft light until the last of the day’s heat had seeped from the stone. The gathering darkness reminded me how little time I had left to accomplish my objective and make my way back to any kind of shelter for the night before I would be violating city law. I certainly didn’t care to be caught out after curfew if it would earn me the animosity of the city guard. But I decided I had just a few more minutes to spare, if I was quick.
    I saw what could be the cemetery I’d been told to watch for at the end of the gardens and I set off in that direction, moving at a good clip. Hurdling over a low hedge, I hoped no citizens or city guardsmen were around to observe my suspicious haste. I barely checked my speed in time to avoid slamming into a stone wall on the far side of the hedge. I skidded to a halt. On the other side of this wall should lie the city’s burial grounds and from there, if I had been informed correctly, I would see the temple.
    I trotted along the wall until I found a low back entrance, but on ducking through the archway, my heart sank in disappointment. I didn’t know what this place was, but it was surely no cemetery. The ground was paved with great squares of stone, and stretching on a great distance to either side of me was an immense flat pool of water, obviously manmade. Walkways skimmed the dark water and pond lilies rested motionless on the surface.
    I walked past benches and great urns overflowing with sweet smelling flowers but no longer felt I was in any sort of garden, for this atmosphere was solemn and eerie. I stepped to the edge of the shadowy pool, but the water was too dark for me to make out the bottom. Carved hunks of granite and statuary rose to break the surface of the black waters and in the failing light, I made out words and dates inscribed upon them. I wondered what sort of monuments these were and the possible answer unsettled me. Hadn’t Jem said the city’s inhabitants held to strange old customs? If I looked down on these waters in the light of day, perhaps I would see row upon row of stone coffins resting beneath the surface.
    My gaze settled on a