Chapter 1: A Day's Work

Previously in the Prologue (click on older posts to read it if you are trying to start here!)...

Dalan Hafid escaped the assassins who were sent after him to kill him for deserting his unit in the Al-Mahid Army. He arrived in Gabradia where he tried to rob a young girl named Gil Regalia, but was too weak to do so. Gil, for reasons unknown to Dalan, healed his wounds and fed him, nursing him back to health. She told him about the island of Amaurea to the north, which was inhabited by half elves who would provide him asylum from the assassins. Dalan set out for Amaurea in hopes that he could escape his assailants.

Ch1: A Day's Work

10 Years Later....

“Today is the day that the Saif Border Mercenaries make a name for themselves in Centra. Alright men, lets move it! ” A voice echoed through the dimly lit tunnel over the sound of water dripping. A short brown skinned man, his black hair curly and unruly, slid down the curved pipe shaped wall on which he rested and landed with a splash in the clear shallow water which gurgled and flowed around his brown boots. He turned to face the twenty men standing in the ankle deep water. “We've got a job to finish,” he said, turning and looking down the long pipe-like corridor, which slanted down into darkness. He turned around and walked down the wide tunnel, his two bodyguards, one a giant, muscular, exceptionally dark skinned Mora and the other a lean, wiry shirtless Centran with neck length blond hair and stubble around his chin, walked up to flank him on either side. The long corridor was lit only periodically by sconces on the wall, most of which appeared to have burnt themselves out months ago. The short man gripped a torch in his left hand, and a long gold hilted scimitar in the other. Its sheath hung next to his khaki colored cargo pants, which were soaked. He turned to a slightly taller skinny young man who was no older than nineteen. Unlike the majority of the company, who were either Mora or Al-Mahidi, his skin was light, perhaps a shade darker than that of a Centran, although he could easily pass as a Centran, or a citizen of a nation from further east. His thick black hair, usually neatly parted and combed to the side, was currently matted and wet from splashing through the tunnels.
“Tobias, how deep underground are we?” Tobias reached down into the brown leather utility belt tied around his waist and pulled out a golden watch-like device.
“I’d say about five meters.” He replied. “Why do you ask, Guilder Ibrahim?”
“I'm just wondering how far into this godforsaken place we have to go before we reach our goal. And Tobias, just call me Murad.” He said looking at the new recruit and smiling. “I know you are new here, but my guildership only matters when I'm sitting in a cushy mansion bickering with the Council of Guilds. Down here, we've all got each others backs.”
“Alright, Murad,” Tobias answered.
“Are you going to hurry up or what?” A voice called from further down the tunnel. “I'm falling asleep waiting for you guys.”
“Pipe down old Dal,” The rough looking Centran said, smiling. “We're on our way, mate.”
“You'd better be,” The voice replied, with a hint of playfulness. As the company drew closer, the man from whom the voice came stood up from the flight of metal stairs that he was sitting on and stepped down into the light of the torches. “Right through here.” Dalan signaled, pointing up the stairs, which led into darkness. “How did I get the nickname 'Old Dal' anyways? Thats horrible. I just turned thirty a couple years ago, you know.”
“Well, let’s see. Maybe it’s because you've been through more in your life than most people have read in adventure novels?” The Centran man said, acting as if he were deep in though. “You survived on the front lines of a war of which Al-Mahid eventually lost.”
“Deserted, Lourrdes.” Dalan corrected. Lourrdes, however, continued.
“You escaped Al-Mahid without using any porters, without a piece of gold to your name and legendary assassins intent upon killing you. You disappear for five years, show up again and become the most famous treasure hunter in all of Centra and Al-Mahid and still evade capture despite the bounty on your head. Am I missing anything?” Lourrdes asked.
“I think that pretty much covers it. Don't embarrass me anymore though, or I'll make fun of your girly name again” Dalan said, smiling.
“Shaddup, will ya?” Lourrdes said, blushing slightly. “That joke got old about a hundred years ago. Besides, hardly anyone else in this unit has spent enough time in Centra to know that it is a girl's name. If you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have had to suffer so much,” Dalan’s expression showed mock sympathy.
“Sorry, m'lad,” He said, imitating Lourrdes gruff Centran countryside accent. “Got ter keep the new recruits amused,”
“Funny man, this one.” Lourrdes addressed the rest of the company, who chuckled. “Which reminds me, the new guy is fascinated by that weapon you always have slung over your back. Ever since you asked him to teach you to make yer some ammo.” Lourrdes gestured to Tobias, who shrugged. “That doesn't look like Hume technology. Rumor has it that you got it when you went into hiding in Elvaan territory.”
“Its called a repeating crossbow.” Dalan replied. “As for the rumors of me hiding in Elvaan territory, those are just absurd. You know how they feel about us Humes. Barbaric, the lot of us.”
“Ain't it true,” Lourrdes mused.
“Where did you get that weapon from then?” Tobias pleaded, but Dalan smiled and ignored him.
“What are we up against here, Dal?” Murad said, walking up and leaning against the railing of the ascending stairwell.
“Oh, not much, just a bunch of nasty insects. Blatta. Dalan said, referring to the large, cockroach-like insects. “If we take out the queen bug, the Centrans shouldn't have any more problems for a long while. The Centran Chivalry posted this hunt because they have had several problems with it. Hard to clean out the city's water works when you have a bunch of man eating bugs here. The knights that they sent in probably couldn't handle the job and their better knights probably felt bug crushing to be below them. Also, lately, some of the blatta are getting out and causing a bit of trouble outside the city gates, attacking travelers and all.”
“And why do we want to help the Centrans again?” The large bald bodyguard asked, his deep booming voice echoing off the curved iron walls.
“Because, Mustafa,” Dalan replied. “There is a one million gold reward. A small fortune for each of us involved to be sure. I tried to do this by myself, but this was definitely a job for twenty people, not one. Barely made it out of here alive. Also, there is something of interest in it for Tobias.”
“Dalan, the king of suspense and mystery,” Tobias replied sarcastically.
“What can I say?” Dalan threw his hands up in concession. “Come on, let’s go.” He turned and walked up the stairs into the darkness above. Dalan stepped out onto dry stone, shaking the water off of his shoes. The vast, sparsely lit room was just as he remembered it. Vast stone platforms, divided by narrow streams of water, flowing around and between them, separating them into large rectangular stone islands. Small metallic bridges connected many of these platforms to one another, forming a labyrinthine network of walkways. The heat from a torch above the wall that he rested against warmed his body, which was soaked from head to toe. He signaled to the others, who were just walking up the stairs, to sit around him.
“So here’s how it goes.” Dalan began. “When you attack the queen, the drones will be alerted. We will probably get swarmed by at least ten of them. I'd say we should have ten decent fighters on drone duty, ready to take care of them as they come. Five or so should be there to drag the injured out of the battle. The drones will probably be more interested in protecting the queen than they are in feeding on Hume flesh. Finally, the rest of us should focus on bringing the queen down. She is quick as hell. If we need to escape, the strongest fighters will cover the rear. If we break and run for it, no telling how many of us will die.”
“Is that all you've got?” Murad asked, standing up.
“Yeah, guess so,” Dalan replied.
“Alright,” Murad said, standing up and beginning to pace back and forth. “Ali, Shariq, Tobias, Jabari, Shahid. You guys make sure that none of our guys are seriously hurt. Get them out of there and tend to their wounds if needed.” Tobias sighed and Murad looked at him knowingly, walked over and sat next to him. “I know you want to be in the middle of things, but you will have enough on your hands with the job you have. You are a new recruit, not even twenty years old for Sharah's sake. You are bright and resourceful. We don't want to lose you just yet.” Murad smiled and stood up once more. He pointed out eleven other men and called their names, telling them that they were to ward off the drones. “...and I'll go for the queen. Mustafa, Lourrdes.” he said motioning to his bodyguards. “You two cover me as always. Dalan, you are with us as well.”
“Murad, I think I'd be better situated helping to fight off the drones.” Dalan said.
“But you are one of our better fighters. We need you up front with us.” Murad replied. Dalan slung the crossbow's leather strap from over his back, resting it against his arm, at the ready.
“You've never seen me use this before, have you?” He asked Murad.
“No, can't say I have. Always wondered why you had it strapped to your back. Maybe for decoration?” Murad quipped.
“Well, if you let me take on the drones, perhaps, you'll get to see what it does.” Dalan replied, knowing Murad's curiosity would get the better of him.
“Fine, whatever suits you. Thought you'd want to be in the middle of the action. Kussa!” Murad called, pointing at an older gray haired man with a battle worn face who was sitting at the back of the crowd polishing his machete. “You'll attack the queen with me, then.” The man nodded. “Alright, let’s move out! The queen could be anywhere. If you see something big and ugly, point it out so we can kill it. Let’s go!” Dalan stood up and slung his crossbow over his back once more. He waited till the rest of the group had walked ahead of him and followed in the rear. Over the murmuring of the crowd, he heard the dripping and gurgling of rushing water and occasional high pitched squeaking noises. Drones. Dalan thought as the group walked across a small metal bridge and onto another stone platform. A skittering noise and a subsequent scream issued from the front of the crowd and Dalan promptly drew his sword. A squishing noise was heard and the screeching became more frequent and finally died out. “Whoa! Wotcher, mate!” a distinctively Centran voice issued from the front of the crowd, reprimanding a fellow soldier. The crowd began to move again. Dalan looked down and stepped over the dead drone, a brown insectoid creature about the size of a man's torso, with sharp mandibles and beady black eyes. It was on its back, twitching, and a green fluid that Dalan assumed to be blood, flowed out of a large gash from Lourrdes' longsword. More skittering and screeching could be heard through the darkness.
“Merde! Looks like I've done it now!” Lourrdes cursed, looking sheepish. Dalan squinted and peered as far down the platform as he could see. Nothing he thought. His thoughts were interrupted by Lourrdes' yell.
“HERE THEY COME!” Dalan wheeled around and saw a mass of drones, at least the same size as the first, rushing at the group from the front. Twenty. No, at least forty. Dalan thought, alarmed. In the midst of the drones, he saw a large black insect, about three feet tall. Its incandescent wings flitted in and out from under its opaque black shell. The group of men had already engaged in battle, the ten assigned to the drones hacking their way through the creatures with their swords and knives.
“That’s it! The queen!” Dalan shouted. Murad shouted out orders as he ran at the mass of insects.
“Lourrdes, Mustafa, cover me! Kussa, we're on!” A drone flew at Dalan, its mandibles clicking anxiously. Dalan sidestepped and the creature flew past him. He drew his sword and stepped back on his right foot, into a fighting stance, his new bronze hilted Centran-crafted two-edged sword held straight in front of him with his left hand, its silver blade gleaming in the sparse torch light. The drone flew at him again, aiming for his face. Dalan rushed at it, shifting his weight onto his left foot at the last moment and at the same time swinging his sword. The blade split the drone clean in half and green blood spattered his leather coat. Another drone lunged at him from behind, but hearing the assault, Dalan stepped aside and swung his blade down forcefully, slicing through its back. He looked up to survey the battlefield and saw more drones appearing on the scene by the second. Seven drones stood between Murad and the queen, but he, Lourrdes and Mustafa were handling them. Murad dodged a drone's attack by shifting his weight onto one hand and hand standing as it lunged past him. Another drone attacked and he spun effortlessly, as if dancing, his foot impacting the insect and sending it crashing into a nearby stream of water. In the same fluid motion, he brought his sword around and using the momentum of the spin, cleaved two more attackers, which dropped dead in front of him. Dalan turned to Tobias, who was helping two other men to pull a screaming comrade out from under a pile of drones. “Tobias, watch out!” Dalan shouted as a drone flew at the young recruits face, mandibles clicking greedily. At the moment, however, there were more pressing matters. A dozen more drones had joined the fray and swarmed at Lourrdes, Murad, Mustafa and Kussa as they attempted to fight their way to the queen. Tobias. It’s up to you, kid. Don't die on us.
“Oi! A lil bit of help 'ere would be much appreciated!” Lourrdes said as he stabbed his massive sword into a drone's back. Dalan slung the crossbow down from his back and rested it under his armpit. He looked down the middle, lining it up with the crowd of drones engulfing Murad's group and squeezed the trigger. Crossbow bolts whistled through the air, one after another, three lodging themselves in a drone which had jumped at Murad, spinning it around in midair as it missed its target and skidded to the floor dead. pfft. pfft pfft. Another two drones dropped to the ground, bolts sticking out of their small head, their black eyes lifeless and dull. The bolts continued to zing through the air, hitting their targets with deadly precision.
“Haha!” Murad laughed gleefully as crossbow bolts soared around him, striking their targets with deadly precision. “Old Dal strikes again!” Murad jumped over the corpses of the drones that Dalan had felled and sprinted toward the now exposed queen. Dalan pulled a string of bolts from a clip at his belt and began to reload the crossbow. Tobias! He thought, remembering the drone that attacked the recruit. He turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. Tobias stood with the others assigned to retrieval duty, tending to the man that he had pulled out of the pile of drones. His knife, covered in green blood, was gripped tightly in his right hand. Two dead drones lay nearby and the others assigned to retrieval were looking up at Tobias with admiration.
“Way to go kid!” Dalan shouted over the sound of the battle as he strapped his crossbow across his back and drew his sword, following Murad into the last dozen or so drones that were guarding the queen. Dalan swung his sword in large sweeping strokes in front of him, slashing through three drones in the process. Two jumped on his back and he could hear their shrill screeching in his ears. Suddenly, the wind was knocked of him as he stumbled forward from the force of two massive blows from behind. He felt his back where the two drones had been. Gone. He thought. Damn, I'm going to have to clean this coat. Behind him, Mustafa stood, examining the green fluid his hands with disgust.
“Hey, big guy,” Dalan coughed. “Try not to break my back next time, alright?” He said, joking, but Mustafa rushed past him. Dalan surveyed the room, noticing that all the drones lay on the floor, twitching or dead. Murad and Lourrdes were engaged in battle with the queen and Mustafa bounded toward them with uncanny speed for a man two heads taller than the rest of the company. Mustafa, drawing his four foot long scimitar from its sheath, rammed straight into the queen, sending Lourrdes staggering back and Murad flipping out of the way. The queen and Mustafa continued to roll as the giant man plunged his sword into the soft undersection of the queen who let out a shrill hissing noise and attempted to free itself from Mustafa's sword, mandibles clicking at the large man's sweat drenched face.
“Sweet Lord Archos, thing won't die!” Lourrdes said, running over to where Mustafa and the queen struggled. pfft. pfft. More crossbow bolts flew through the air, lodging themselves into the queen's face. The large insect reared back. That was six shots. Dalan thought. Six left. Dalan gritted his teeth. pfft, pfft, pfft. Six more soared through the air. The queen jumped off of Mustafa, his sword still lodged in its body, staggered weakly and charged at Dalan with the last of its strength. Dalan's eyes instinctively squinted shut and he reached for his knife, as the queen let out a bloodcurdling screech. Silence. Dalan thought. He opened his eyes to see Murad atop the queen, his scimitar halfway into the insect's head. Dalan looked up and surveyed the scene. Five of the twenty men lay injured, Tobias and the other two uninjured men assigned to healing duty tending to them. Good, no casualties. Dalan thought. He looked abruptly up as he heard a popping noise echoing through the large chamber. It grew to a deafening roar and Dalan realized that the entire company was clapping. Tobias let out a whooping cheer, followed by a few others.
“Hey, Mustafa. Lop a bit of that exoskeleton off for me, will ya? We might need it a bit later,” Dalan said. Murad slid off the insects back and walked over to Mustafa, who had gotten to his feet and was carving a portion of the insect's exoskeleton off with his massive sword, which he had withdrawn from the body of the queen blatta. He shot an inquisitive look at Dalan who smiled knowingly. "Its for the Centrans. Don't worry. You will soon learn what I mean by that,"
“Mustafa... You rushed... you are one crazy bastard.” Murad said sternly, but his mock anger broke into a smile. “That is why I'm glad you are on our side." Mustafa, never one to show much emotion, looked quite indifferent. “I've spent a few hours too many in this dank place. Ready to head out? Oh and nice shooting Dal.” Murad said as he walked back toward the stairs. Dalan put his knife back in his belt and followed. Mustafa picked up two of the more injured men and slung them over his back, Lourrdes helping one to stand.
“Nice one old Dal.” one of the new recruits said, clapping him on the back. “Just like the legends say!” Dalan smiled.
“Legends don't mean merde, kid. It's hard work.” With that, he turned on his heel and hurried to catch up with Murad. Need to discuss our compensation after all. He thought.

. . .

“Pretty quaint for a recruiting office.” Murad said, looking up at the large two story white stone building in front of him. The rest of the company gathered around him, whispering to each other and admiring the architecture of the capital city of Centra, the pearl white cobblestones of the road shone in the bright sunlight. Tall buildings, some of white stone, others with white painted walls lined the streets. Trees grew out neat small square patches of vividly green grass, lining the streets and casting their shadows on those who walked under them. Well manicured flowers sprung out of the neatly clipped grass on either side of the road on which they walked. “I guess the Chivalry is their military after all. All of this is probably funded by the state.”
“I wonder what kind of weapons and armor you get when you get knighted.” Lourrdes mused. “Always wanted to be a knight as a kid.”
“And then you killed the lord of your village.” Murad replied, sighing.
“He asked for it. Tried to sleep with my wife without the courtesy of even trying to be discreet about it.”
“Beheading a noble just might be an offense punishable by death.” Dalan said sarcastically. He could have sworn that he heard Lourrdes mutter “...cut something else off first.”
“Makes me wonder why we are set up in that crumbing old lighthouse.” Tobias whispered to Dalan, staring up in awe at the manse that housed the Chivalry recruiting office.
“What was that?” Murad retorted, wheeling around and looking at Tobias. “I'll kick your little scrawny behind out of the guild. Hand you over to the authorities back home.” Murad muttered. “I'm sure they'd like to get a hold of another member of the Fraternary.”
“Well, if we kick Tobias out, I'm sure we'll miss his inventions.” Dalan replied. “After all, he did teach me to craft the bolts that I use for my crossbow after simply examining one of the old ones that I gave him. Besides, how many other chances are you going to get to actually talk to a member of The Fraternary? They are pretty much the only real thinkers and scientists left in our country and they virtually cut contact with outsiders since the darkening a thousand years ago.”
“Well, maybe if Al-Mahid would stop killing their greatest minds, they'd resurface, ya think?” Lourrdes said sarcastically.
“Hmph, can't argue with that,” Murad said as he pushed the door of the Centran Chivalry's recruiting office open and walked into the softly lit room. “Alright, boys, lets collect our gold!” Two knights stood behind a counter in the right corner of the room. They looked at each other as twenty men, most of them Mora, filed into the small entryway. Murad walked up to the counter, Lourrdes and Mustafa at his side. One of the knights involuntarily stepped back at the imposing sight of Mustafa towering over them.
“I heard you were offering a million gold to whoever took care of the little insect problem in your waterways,” Murad said matter of factly
“Yeah, you here to sign up, Mora?” The braver of the two knights said. “Famous treasure hunter by the name of Dalan Hafid. Sound familiar? The best of your kind, most decent if you ask me. He tried and failed. What makes you think that you could even come close?”
“That definitely wasn't a solo job,” Dalan said calmly, stepping forward. The knights were startled. “I heard you talking to a couple of Centrans who wanted to try at the job. Told them that they'd need a huge company if they even hoped to get out alive. Didn't tell me that, though. It’s almost as if you wanted to get rid of me. Don't like the idea of a Mora treasure hunter outdoing your best knights, I suppose.” The knights were silent and Dalan continued. “No matter, I brought some friends along for it the second time.”
“That old Dal. No one can seem to kill him properly. Anyways, are we here to sign up, boys?” Murad asked his men, who were gathered behind him. Loud rambunctious laughter issued from their ranks. “See, they like you.” Murad said, smiling at the knight who was speaking. “No, we're here to collect,” He said, holding his hand out.
“Not so fast, boy,” The knight said, looking down his nose at Murad. “We need proof. How do we know that you aren't just saying that you got rid of the bug problem? My mum always told me, never trust a Mora, or a Roma, for that matter.” Upon the knight's mention of the Roma, Tobias started. Dalan put a firm hand on his shoulder, holding him back. Tobias' face flushed red with anger.
“As you wish,” Murad shrugged, signaling to Mustafa, who withdrew the piece of the queen's exoskeleton from a bag slung across his back and slammed it on the table, which quivered under the force of the blow.
“Pay up,” Mustafa's voice boomed. One of the knights staggered back and fell, scrambling onto his feet again with much clanking of armor.
“A million gold,” Murad continued. “Bet we could have a hell of a party on that, eh Lourrdes?” The knight talking to Murad turned to Lourrdes.
“So I see you are with them. You are no better than those dirty savages.” he said, fixing Lourrdes with a patronizing look.
“Only because your kind kiss up to the nobles and walk over us peasant folk,” Lourrdes said casually. The knight looked at him thoughtfully.
“You... I know you... You're that Barrett guy. Yeah, Lourrdes Barrett! The peasant with a bounty on his head! Hah, would you believe our luck, Sir Alastor?” the braver of the two knights said. “The guy we posted the bounty for just walked in the door!”
“Whoa, hold up there,” Murad said, holding his hand up. “If you mess with one of us, you mess with the lot of us,” A murmur of agreement came from the company and a few put their hands on their swords.
“I say we cut em into little bits and feed em to the desert snakes. We don't let em mock Murad and Lourrdes and get away with it.” Someone in the crowd whispered loudly.
“Anyways, I don't want any trouble. Can't say that for all of my men, though. I suggest you just give us our fair share and we'll continue on our merry way.” Murad said. The knights, both visibly shaken by the threat of force, both disappeared into a room to the right of the counter. When they returned, Sir Alastor was holding a large bag. He put it on a large balance, to show the weight of the bag of coins. Murad nodded approvingly. The knight then picked up the bag of gold, which he shoved into Murad's hands.
“Heres your pay, Mora. Now get out of here.” He said resentfully
“But you are too kind” Murad said, smiling. “Oh, and that is Guilder Ibrahim to you. I assume you don't want me to tell your captain about your disrespectful attitude at the next council of the guilds, Sir Alastor. Alright, let’s move out!” he commanded as he walked to the door.

. . .

“So that is forty five thousand for each of us?” Dalan asked.
“That looks like what it comes out to after the guild dues are taken out. Probably a few thousand more for the long time members.” Murad replied. The group of men walked down the tree shaded, sun dappled streets of the uptown. The well dressed men and women who walked by gave the group a wide berth. A few, however, looked at Dalan and whispered, pointing excitedly.
“We had to walk through the Middleton district, didn't we? Home of the rich and famous, place to hear all the juicy gossip about certain Mora treasure hunters and such. I just hope no one asks me if I fought off a battalion of orcs while riding a wyvern.” Dalan sighed, looking at Murad.
“What about the rumors that you have a nice cushy mansion on an island off the Sung continent? Are those true?” Murad replied. Dalan let out a hearty laugh. “What is it?” Murad said, looking confused.
“I'm sure you heard the one where me and two half elves defended all of Amaurea from a Centran invasion, right?” Dalan asked.
“Well, yeah, but,” Murad was at a loss for words. Dalan smiled and continued to walk. Tobias came up beside him.
“Forty five thousand, Dalan? What am I going to do with all of that money?” He asked, looking at the bag slung over Murad's back.
“Whatever the hell you want to do with it I suppose. Oh, there's a porter. Lo, porter!” Dalan called out to a diminutive elf standing against a wall. He wore the signature white robes of the porter's association.
“How may I help you?” The elf responded, bowing.
“There are twenty of us. We need a port to Akhmet, the Al-Mahid capital.” Murad said, stepping forward. The porter counted the men standing in front of him.
“Twenty? That will cost you,” The porter said, his brow furrowed.
“I'm well aware of that. But I don't think that my men want to walk home through the desert.” he replied, his face showing that he didn't quite fancy the idea himself.
“All right, that will be twenty four thousand gold.” He calculated. “Twelve hundred for each person.” Murad set down the bag of coins and fished out two handfuls of coins, which he counted and handed to the porter, who stared at the money, his mouth agape.
“Twenty two... twenty three... twenty four thousand. There you go,” Murad said as he handed the last of the gold coins to the elf, who stuffed them in his pocket.
“Very well. Have a good trip,” A white glow surrounded the man as he held his hands out. He closed his eyes and a pillar of blinding white light appeared in front of him. Murad and the other men stepped into the light and Dalan followed. For a few seconds, Dalan felt dizzy and disoriented, as if his body was being pulled forward at an uncontrollable speed. He could see nothing except for a blinding white light, against which he shut his eyes. When he opened his eyes once more, he was standing in the middle of a sandy road. The evening desert heat bore down on him. Getting his bearings, Dalan looked around at the various rugsellers' tents and the large crowd of bickering auctioneers not too far away.
“Dalan, over here!” Murad called. Dalan turned and saw the mercenaries milling at a small artificial stream which encircled a palatial sandstone building, which was built on ground higher than the rest of the city. The Dey's palace. Dalan thought as he walked over to Murad, who had removed shoes and was swishing his feet in the water. Many of the other men sat under the arches of sandstone, built around the stream to complement the dusty desert beauty of the palace. Murad pulled a small pouch out of his pocket and put three handfuls of coins from the large bag into it.
“There you go, Dal. Forty five thousand gold.” Murad said. “Good fighting out there,” Dalan nodded his thanks. “We're going to head back to headquarters in a few minutes. Get some drinks, you know? Wanna join us?”
“Nah,” Dalan replied. “Not sure I'm up for such a long walk. Think I'm going to stay the night in the city. I'd rather have some good kebab at Amadhi's, not the burnt meat and strong grog you guys cook up over there,”
“Amadhi?” Lourrdes said, walking up to Dalan. “Classy. Isn't he the Dey's cook as well? With all of this money that you supposedly have, why are you here working with us? We love to have ya here, but it obviously isn't for the money. What is it then? And why do you always stay at the inn, despite the fact that you are a world famous treasure hunter? Shouldn't you have a house or something?”
“I've never had a peaceful life. Guess I'm too used to it to settle down now,” Dalan lied. I would love to settle down. He thought. But if that old man was right, time is running out. Lourrdes laughed.
“Well, see ya mate. Will you be dropping by headquarters tomorrow?” He asked Dalan.
“That’s the plan. I'm going to get some rest. “Salaam, everyone,” Dalan said, addressing the crowd. He turned and walked back to the road his feet sinking into the soft, warm sand on the roadside.