Tangle in the Dark - Kassidor

uilding beyond the great double doors to the next room.There was music, pounding and heavy, nothing like the panpipes. This was made by drums and gongs or bells. It seemedto be getting closer. There was quite a hubbub outside andthat was getting louder. Their lines were right in front of thedoor to the next room. All the girls were very excited now,she could smell it as well as see it.A big man came with a horn, and spoke to them. Yellelletranslated, he was just telling them to stay in line and not tointeract with the spectators. The girls appeared to calm downand straighten up. The man opened the door in front of themand blew a monumental fanfare and they filed thru. The spacethey entered was open, there was sky above the leaningbalconies, now barely purple with a few stars already out.Right in front of them, nearly a floor below, was a well pavedcourt about a hundred by a hundred and fifty feet withnumerous doorways, stairways and balconies opening onto it.A line of pillars stood along the wall and supported thewooden balconies above. A large square in front of them wasringed with the sturdy railing she had seen workmen puttingup the day before. Around that pen was a large space filledwith all sorts of men, each holding small pieces of parchmentand making a racket. They shouted louder than ever as thegirls walked out. The area the girls walked onto was nearly astory above the floor the men stood on, and was visible fromthe balconies above. There were more important looking menup there, with robes and servant girls bringing wine and441