Upward they traveled, until they reached the Imperial district, the buildings that surrounded the Emperor’s palace and offices. These were apartments and villas set aside for the functionaries and officers of the court, and all the buildings had been faced with white marble. “Centuries ago, this part of the city was like that below, buildings of stone and wood, but an emperor—his name is lost on me now—decided to make this the most beautiful city in the world, so he started hauling white stone from a massive quarry to the south. Over the years this entire district has been finished to match.” He looked at Amirantha with an expression that communicated that what he said next was for the benefit of whoever eavesdropped on them. “It is said Rodric the Fourth, known as the ‘Mad King,’ was so envious he commanded his city of Rillanon be likewise finished in stone, but because he could have none of this fine white marble, he was forced to settle for a less than satisfactory riot of colors.” The truth, as Pug knew, was exactly the opposite. The palace had always been faced with white marble but it was only after Rodric had begun the beautification of Rillanon, a task mostly completed by his successor, King Lyam, that the Emperor of Queg, by name Jumillis, had gone into a frenzy to likewise beautify all the Imperial district. The only reason he had stopped at the Imperial district is that the quarry ran low on marble, and what was left was harbored against the need for stones to repair weather and other damage.

Pug sat back silently for a moment; remembering King Rodric whom Pug had met on his first visit to Rillanon returned him to a dark and reflective mood he had managed to avoid since being sought out by Jim and Amirantha. Rodric was a sorely troubled but basically good man, driven mad by an illness no one could cure. Only lucid at the end of his life, he had named his cousin Lyam King and saved the nation from a bloody civil war on the heels of twelve years of fighting with the Tsurani.