Chapter 15: The Flying Horse
The travelers awoke the next morning as they had gone to sleep the night before, sobered by the thought that they were walking in the footsteps of the legendary King Khaled. The stark silence of the palace, the thick dust that lay everywhere around them and the story of the accursed bats that had once filled the skies of this city all contributed to the somber atmosphere. They spoke in quiet tones, as though afraid to waken the faces on the walls outside.
After breakfast they discussed what their next step should be.
“Ali Maimun’s journal is quite clear on the subject,” said Jafar al-Sharif. “He needed a skilled swordsman with an enchanted sword to defeat the varaggi at the mouth of the entrance to Mount Denavan’s tunnels. Ahmad may well be as good a swordsm
