Part 14 (1/2)
Katon gave it up One could not make the blind see, nor the deaf hear
This barbarian would lose his sry lion!
Tharn, seeking to change the subject, said, ”I saw that this man, Urim, hates you, Katon Is it because of him that you are here?”
There was a ist to Katon's lips ”Urireat friends I came to Sephar from Huxla, a city of A here, I entered Uri trip, I saved hiratitude he put ht after by Sepharian nobles
”And then I hter of a noble ere in love”
Katon seeotten Tharn's presence His speech was slow, his words toneless and deliberate The cave- as he recounted a painful chapter of his life
”As it turned out,” Katon continued, ”Uri to make her Sephar's queen When he learned that she loved ht I was taken from my bed and put here”
His voice took on a deeper note ”The next irl to Urim They found her on the floor of her room, dead, a knife driven into her heart She had taken her own life”
The two men talked on, while the tiion as accepted by the Sepharians Tharn found his friend's explanation difficult to understand; a creed that allowed a single God both to threaten and defend his worshi+ppers was far beyond his si
One part of Katon's reion did interest him, however This concerned the friction between Urih priest in Sephar of the God-Whose-Name-May-Not-Be-Spoken-Aloud Of this, Katon offered the following:
”Pryak is as cruel and tyrannical as Urim is kind and just Many rites and cere that he has banned their practice--athe rift between the two men
”Twice, I am told, they have quarreled openly; but Urim's warriors and followers so outnumber those of Pryak, that the priest dares not persist By doing so he e the entire city into civil war; for much of Sephar would flock to Pryak's side, since he is the true representative of our God
”Each passing day, however, brings the tension nearer a breaking point
Pryak is crafty and wise and very proud Some day he will seek to overthrow Urim and put a more friendly ruler in his place Even Pryak, himself, may take the throne It would not be the first ti!”
The entrance of the balance of the prisoners ended their conversation at this point After the noon meal was eaten the men lay down on their beds to rest
Tharn found sleep hard to find Flat on his back he lay, eyes fixed unseeingly on the grill-work far above him, while his mind reviewed the remarkable adventures that had befallen hieance
How long ago it seemed, now, since he had taken up the trail of those who had attacked his people! And noas a prisoner of a race whose very existence had been undreairl who had been so abruptly thrust into his life, bringing with her the beauty and pangs of love
Dylara! Where was she now? Did she believe hiiven up all hope of ever seeing again her father and the caves of Majok, to accept ta known her only for a short tihty pride of a born princess in her to submit tamely to such a fate Given the chance she would brave the perils of jungle and plain in an effort to locate her own tribe
As he lay there,overhead, the resolve grew strong within hie place and its stranger inhabitants
They had him now--but it would take more than a few doors and walls to keep him