''Fadl is to be put on a horse and brought here.'' The men playing dice were somewhat scared by Korkud's sudden appearance on horseback with full equipment. One of them wanted to say something about which Fadl he meant, but seeing that one hand of Korkud's was nestled on the pistols stuck his large holster, he decided to keep quiet. One of the smarter ones realized just whom Korkud was asking about, and quickly huddled away to bring the guide. Seeing his order put in action, Korkud slowly moved towards the exit. The gamblers wiped cold sweat from their brows and then took a sip of gratitude from their drinks to instill them with joy again. Korkud was a respected man - but never liked. Neither the tribesmen nor the guards had ever seen him laugh, or cry. On his face was an erudite frown, somewhat mangled because of the scar that fissured through his face. He was not a physically intimidating man - he was not particularly tall, and, while quite stout, did not have prodigious bulk. Perhaps whatever forces that formed him had decided that his personality was too martial and brutish to bear the need to be reinforced with such looks.

In only a few minutes, a somewhat thin, meek looking, concave faced, bearded man outfitted with the equipment of a frontiersman appeared on a horse. This man was Fadl - one of the few men that Korkud admired. Originally a tracker and a poacher, he was also an Akbari like Ghazi Dilawar and Korkud, but since he hadn't taken an oath of submission to another, he did not have the title of Ghazi. Despite this, Fadl was immensely devout to the Akbari faith. He was also possibly the only man who could outmatch Korkud in theoretical and practical implementations of guerilla warfare. Korkud trusted him, because he knew that Fadl could understand him. It was a mutual understanding, one that neither spoke of. ''Where to, Ghazi?'' Fadl asked. ''Voltas. Quick.'' Fadl replied with a nod.

About ten minutes later, Ashradar appeared, sitting uncomfortably on his saddle. Korkud knew him well - he was only fifteen or sixteen when they had first met. Korkud could say that he watched him grow up. Like his father, he was an archer, and a quite talented one at that. Korkud knew his father - he had rewarded him in an archery contest. Korkud had respect for archery, but believed it to be an outdated concept. The future was going to be dominated by gunpowder. A blacksmith of Ghazi Dilawar had forged a musket with helical grooves inside the barrel, which allowed the ball to spin and gain considerable accuracy. He later learned that it was called rifling. Another innovation that blacksmith had made was that he had forged conical, hollow 'balls' to ease the reloading of rifled barrels. Originally smaller than the bore, said 'ball' would expand when the musket was fired, and fit into the rifling. It was harder to make, compared to smoothbores. All his personal muskets were refitted with such barrels - a gift from Ghazi Dilawar. He had also ordered his men to gradually replace their smoothbores with such barrels as well. He had techniques about different reloading types in his mind as well, but he was no engineer and did not have the time to distract himself. He had ordered a few engineers to start theorizing, however.

Ashradar trodded closer. ''What is the planned route?'' Korkud turned to Fadl for an answer. ''We'll follow the mountain roads until we make it to Ha-Jani. After the pass, we'll take the plains. We won't be disturbed much there.'' The utterance of Ha-Jani sent a shiver down Korkud's spine, alongside a feeling of nostalgia and regret. It was there where he had passed the point of no return. He still remembered the battle against the forces of Abbas-Quli vividly. Two hundred men versus a thousand. They had suffered almost no losses. The pillar of severed heads he had ordered his men to make near the pass was no longer there - it was an effective warning to pompous nobles about the price of betrayal. Last he remembered, the eyeless head of Abbas-Quli was still on top of the pillar, placed inside his gilded helmet, which was put upside down to act as a bowl. His teeth clenched as he thought of him.

''We go now. Fadl, you lead the way.''