Necropolis

Necropolis, Xina Marie Uhl, XC Publishing, 2000

This fantasy story takes place in the desert land of Eretria, which has just finished a war with Cyra, its neighbor. The uneasy truce is to be solidified by an exchange of official hostages. The hostage going to Eretria, a young priest named Dru, never reaches the Eretrian palace. Instead, he is imprisoned and severely beaten. He is saved by another of the inmates, an ex-Eretrian councilman named Gilas. Being able to leave the prison at any time with the help of sorcery, Gilas gives Dru to Conyr, a war veteran and prison guard. Gilas tells Conyr that it would really be in Conyr's best interests to nurse Dru back to health.

With unintended help from Jesra, owner of a local wine shop, who Conyr has had his eye on for some time, and her daughter, Val, Conyr nurses Dru back to health. Dru's official absence causes much political concern. Various factions who would like the truce to completely collapse send assassins, both human and non-human, to take care of Dru, once and for all. As Dru begins to regain his memory, which is why he went missing in the first place, it becomes clear that the answer to everything lies in an ancient, underground part of the city, the sort of place no one visits willingly, a place that very much lives up to its name of Necropolis.

I really liked this story. It may be a little on the "quiet" side, but this is still a strong, well done, you-won't-go-wrong sort of novel.