Sanctuary — Lynn Abbey

"It is long after the days of Jubal, Shadowspawn, and their contemporaries, and there is barely more than a single survivor who remembers the city's full history. Molin Torch-holder, the survivor at hand, has assassins on his trail (some things never change in Sanctuary). To guard the city's secrets he must recruit successors, and he enlists a veteran, Cauvin, and a boy, Bec, as new repositories of Sanctuary's past, present, and future. Interspersed with the contemporary action and intrigues are enough vignettes of Sanctuary history to fill in the backstory for Thieves' World neophytes and pave the way for a full blown revival of the place. Coming from Abbey's capable pen, this is good news for all heroic fantasy fans." --Booklist