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    Appointment With The Spider King
    Appointment With The Spider King
    Appointment With The Spider King
    Ebook43 pages43 minutes

    Appointment With The Spider King

    By Ross Dupree

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    About this ebook

    A Tales Of Correndrum Short Story (12,000 words) -

    Rickard considers himself to be the most daring thief in Correndrum, and he lives up to his own opinion by executing his heists with confidence and panache. So far he's managed to survive even his wildest schemes through a mix of careful preparation and blind luck. But more than once he's found himself in situations where his best hope was to follow his personal motto, "The only way out is forward."

    When he executes the boldest robbery of his career at the mansion of the wealthiest merchant in the city, Rickard learns a secret that threatens some of the most powerful men in the kingdom. He'll need more than his own wits and luck to save his hide this time!.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRoss Dupree
    Release dateMay 30, 2013
    ISBN9781301113804
    Appointment With The Spider King

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      Book preview

      Appointment With The Spider King - Ross Dupree

      Appointment With The Spider King

      Published by Rams Rampant Press at Smashwords

      Copyright 2013 Ross Dupree

      This fog would kill him yet, Rickard thought as his foot slipped again. He was grateful for the cover it offered, but it also made the baked clay tiles of the roof almost too slick for him to walk on. The soft leather soles on his shoes provided the same mixture of blessing and curse. They kept his steps quiet as he padded along the roofline, but one wrong step and he'd be clattering down the sloped tiles and onto the stone city streets three stories below. He didn't think that would go so quietly.

      The fog was thinning, but it still blocked the sky and so visibility remained low. His leap from inside the palace fortifications out to the chimney of the house had been completely blind. He made the jump purely on faith, though after his hours of reconnaissance he had known exactly how far across and exactly how far down the leap would take him. Still, it had been a harrowing distance, plunging into a gray cloud of fog. Not that there had been much choice. His plan had gotten him up the palace wall, but there was no provision for getting back down it. The only way out had been forward through the steps of his plan. Most of Rickard's plans seemed to work like that.

      The wall was mostly empty tonight, which was one reason he had finally made the leap and put this ambitious plan into action. The guards were almost entirely all on station in the various courtyards of the palace, serving as human decorations in their bright blue dress tunics. This was the largest party at the palace in some time, at least as far as Rickard knew. Not that he was ever on the invitation list, not like Arundel, the owner of this house. From the little he'd seen while creeping along the wall, it looked like several parties happening at once, each with their own hierarchy and protocol. He had heard it was all related to a visiting diplomatic mission, but King Vion and his court never had been much for informing the populace what was happening inside the palace grounds.

      Whatever was going on in there, it had presented him with the perfect opportunity he had been waiting for. Or at least removed any further excuses for delay. The city's guards all preoccupied, the owner of the house away. The owner's entire entourage was at the gala as well, which was a stroke of very rare luck. The building should be quite nearly empty.

      He finally came to the roof's edge, feeling the void beyond his feet. This time at least he could see where he'd be jumping to. The balcony was only a dozen feet or so below, so he scanned it carefully to see if there were any obstacles he hadn't been able to spot from the streets. The edges were lined with exotic plants. To Rickard's frustration they had shielded the balcony from ground-level viewing, though their main purpose was likely to show off Arundel's wealth and reach. Arundel was the best connected merchant in the city, and he had contacts in lands so far away that Rickard did not even know their names. He certainly couldn't identify all the plants. Which would be a good reason not to touch any of them. You never knew what the wealthy might find amusing as a form of home protection.

      When

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