''When, Fadl?'' ''Only a few hours, Ghazi.'' The three horsemen made quite a contrast against the white snow that seemed to cover everything. The horses were knee deep in the unending white, steadily moving forward. Korkud watched his horse's lathery sweat drip on the snow and melt out small puddles thanks to its warmth. They were exhausted after hours of galloping. The mountain pass had probably brought some relief to them, since their current slow pace was as fast as they could possibly move, much to Korkud's chagrin. He was fully aware that being angry at a horse of all things was pointless - but that did not help quench his anger. He wanted to be at Voltas as soon as possible, and learn two things - how, and why, they learned that he was still alive. [i]''I should've taken the information out of that courier,''[/i] he thought to himself. ''Beyond that pass and you can see Voltas, Ghazi.'' Sometimes Fadl was too fast for even him to handle. He wasn't even facing him, let alone asking a question, yet somehow he gave an appropriate answer to Korkud's emotions. They really were close now. Fadl was getting too dangerous. But he was probably aware of that as well. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead onto his mail aventail. [i]''The smallest detail, you let go of the smallest detail, and everything falls apart. For want of a nail..''[/i] Somehow, somewhere, he had botched something. Somehow, someone who knew that Ghazi Isfendiyar Bayqara Korkud was alive had left the Akha Mountain Range, and this someone was someone that was related to the tribes deep enough to know he was still alive, yet somehow not aware of the fact that he was running a very tight ship. And somehow, this man had either went to Voltas himself and informed some noble, or maybe talked to someone in the towns near the Akha Mountain Range, somehow off his grid. For this fact to have reached Voltas, either there was a spy amongst his group, or he was just extremely unlucky. Both options didn't give a satisfying answer. [i]''Who would send a spy to search for a man who has been dead for a decade? Or maybe this spy was with me from the very beginning.''[/i] Fadl. [i]''Can't be Fadl.''[/i] Somewhere, somehow, he knew that Fadl wasn't the one. [i]''Ashradar?''[/i] The lad was with him since he was, what, sixteen? Impossible. Nobody would have orchestrated a conspiracy this large about the youngest prince of a Sarife town of minimal strategic importance. [i]''Something is off.''[/i] The horses slowly moved up the snowy slope. His horse shook its head to the sides, waving its mane. The road was narrower now. He heard Fadl's horse stop. Slowly moving beyond the pass, he found himself facing an entirely new landscape. He could see a city in the distance, by the sea, with a lone ship sailing towards it from wherever. [i]''Voltas.'[/i] In front of him were wide fields - they looked quite fertile, but were in complete disrepair and disarray. The villages around the city looked like aborted offspring. From the moment he saw it, Korkud somehow knew that whatever he was going to find in Voltas was going to be corrupt. [i]''This will not do,''[/i] he thought to himself. [i]''The way this is going - this will not do.''[/i] - [i]''A good life is a monarch's debt to his people. He owes all of his people a good life, for without his people, a monarch is nothing.'' The woman was almost like a mother in her guidance. Having known Korkud since he was a child, she knew how to explain things to him the best way. He was a good student. He was a good person too. ''But what does one do, Ghazi Darya, in case that we cannot apply the same standard of living to everyone?'' She smiled weakly, brought his head to her chest, and gently kissed the top of his head. ''Lower the standards until everyone has the same share, Korkud. A nation without equality is a nation that's doomed to fail.''[/i] - [i]''I take no personal pleasure in doing this. I truly do not. I did not choose this. But this is where fate has led me. And I have nothing to do but to play the part fate gave me the best I can.''[/i] The horses were exhausted, just like the men. They had been riding all night. There had been no pause, not a break. But they had reached their current goal. They were at Voltas. Korkud's expectations were validated from what they had seen so far - starving people roaming the streets and fighting each other over rotten pieces of meat, people huddling themselves amongst corpses to stay heated, women and boys selling themselves. He clenched his teeth. ''The inn, Fadl.'' Upon hearing Korkud's command, the frontiersman took a hard right into a small alleyway. The incredibly narrow alleyway made one feel crushed underneath the weight of the wooden, rotten houses. Thanks to humidity, the houses had bent from the foundations and leaned on top of each other, creating an odd, surreal appearance. The shirts hung on the clotheslines were flopping like flags thanks to the air stream. A group of people were huddled next to one particular house climbing on each other's shoulders, trying to reach fish left to dry on the top floor. The bald kid on top of them all managed to grab one of the fish, but promptly lost balance and fell headfirst onto the ground, and broke his neck with a loud crack. The people let out a cry of victory and started fighting for the fish. After most of the crowd dispersed running after a deft man who managed to grab the piece of fish, the more resourceful ones dragged the kid's corpse to their domain. Korkud could feel something in his ear. He twitched his head. ''Here, Ghazi.'' The three horsemen stopped in front of a rather large barn. After a moment of surprise, Korkud deduced that the first floor was for the horses, while the upper floors were for the guests. The trio dismounted and guided their horses inside the barn. With the help of the innkeeper, a smart looking, fat man, Korkud removed his horse's saddle and the snaplock, and then hitched it to the post inside. Ordering Fadl and Ashradar to do the same, he put his horse's equipment next to the small counter set by the ladder to the upper floor, possibly the only place in this floor that wasn't made for the horses. ''One room, three beds. Feed the horses.'' The innkeeper raised his head. ''Three beds?'' Facing Korkud's glare, he quickly backed down. Korkud watched the light reflect off the man's bald head. ''Alright, three beds. One man's two coins, plus the big room is four, so.. ten coins. Daily. Plus food for horses... fifteen coins. I'll put down another bed for you in the room and you'll be set.'' ''Fadl, Ashradar, I'm at the room. For today, we stay here. Eat if you want. Don't drink. Remove the equipment from the horses.'' Carrying his equipment up the ladder, Korkud moved after the innkeeper to the room. It was the largest of four rooms on this floor, next to a window facing what seemed to be a warehouse. After the innkeeper's leave, Korkud moved his bed to the most tactically sound place in the room, the corner of the wall with the window, so that he could face both intruders from the window and from the door with ease. He put down the saddle next to his bed and put the snaplock musket on top of it. Unslinging his miquelet carbine, he placed it on the ground, just in front of the saddle. Shutting down the window, he was set for a few hours' worth of sleep.