
The fall was high, the ground was hard; they
made no more sound on impact than the
pattering of rain.
Comparison of the sound of their landing to
the pattering of rain  emphasize how lightly
they landed  no suspicion of intrusion

Their robes flittered at their backs,
fragmenting their shadows into wisps and
traces.
Imagery  fragmentation of their shadows
suggests to the reader how they are almost
invisible

What could be seen? Nothing but leaves
shifting in the breeze. What could be heard?
Nothing but the wind sighing among the
palm fronds.
Rhetorical questions  sets up the
surroundings as seemingly empty
Repetition of “Nothing but…”  no sign of the
assassins that are infiltrating the area 
emphasizes how they are pro
Personification of the wind  allows the reader
to imagine the scene as well as how the
assassins cannot be heard

No sight, no noise. A crocodile djinni,
standing sentry at the sacred pool, was
undisturbed though they passed within a
scale’s breadth of his tail.
“scale’s breadth”  emphasis of how close they
were to touching the crocodile djinni  area
is very heavily guarded
Irony as there is “no sight, no noise” but the
assassins are in the vicinity  false sense of
security in the area

Above the palace a cold round moon shone
down, slathering silver across the roofs and
courtyards.
“cold round moon”  assonance  roundness
of the moon  “cold” suggests the
atmosphere
“slathering silver”  alliteration  sinister “s”
sound  possible foreshadowing of the
killing/bad events to come

the great city murmured in the night: wheels
on dirt roads, distant laughter from the
pleasure district along the quay, the tide
lapping at its stones
Personification of the city  contrast from the
palace, which is black, silent, dead.
Sensory imagery (specifically sound)  also
contrast to the scene in the palace as the
sounds emphasize life, where as there is
“death” in the palace

The palace gates were locked by triple bolts,
each thicker than a man.
“triple”  emphasis on number  heavily
fortified
“each thicker than a man”  emphasis on size
Imagery  highlights the security of the area

…death came calling, secret as a scorpion, on
four pairs of silent feet.
Personification of death (four pairs of silent
feet)  suggests how they do not fail (always
succeed in assassinating their target)
Simile  scorpion emphasizes the description
of death  lethal