Tangle in the Dark - Kassidor

substantial homes along shady plazas all the way up thegentle side of the inner island, with larger structures high onthat ridge. In many ways the entire island was covered with asingle structure, but there were many open spaces within it.Multistory wings of apartments with balconies graced the topof the ridge.They had to dodge the heavy shipping traffic. A massivepapyrus raft loomed to one side, casting a wake that nearlycapsized them. Fat bellied merchant ships trailed right behindit, while a wide sleek schooner sliced by in the oppositedirection. While Podata fought their way into the channel thatwent thru to the innermost island, Ava continued to gawk atthe spectacle around her.The ridge of the inner ring of islands was about onehundred feet high, but up to half of that was human-built. Itwas roughly a mile in diameter. The innermost islandappeared to be entirely man made, almost perfectly round,and covered by up to fifteen floors of structure, capped by apalace that made the one at Knossos look like a back-countrylodge. She could see three others on the other islands thatwere as big as the one at Knossos.The cliffs of the outermost islands could be seen beyond itall. Ava could see at least eight stairways working their wayup that cliff face, each with a town at the top. Thruout, themost substantial buildings were stuccoed stone with woodenbeams and pillars. There was plenty of landscaping, mostshade was provided by olive and grape. There were more470