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The open courtyard, though small, served its purpose in filling the rooms of the cozy house with sunlight and a fresh breeze. It was spacious enough and pleasant, but it was not lost on Abelardus that this particular house was void of windows or balconies facing the outside streets. While this was not a particularly rare architectural decision in many houses within the larger cities, it was a reminder to him that his rest in the Capital was a luxurious form of imprisonment.
His presence and his encounter with Zenobia and the tribes made him an odd piece in a very abstract puzzle, one that he did not completely understand. He could only hope that he had a more useful role to play than a troublesome one, at least as far as the Emperor was concerned. He feared the latter might mean being
