Rhoynar didn't want to admit he was concerned by the words his friend, Ollivar had given him. There wasn't really any possible way to deny his brother's assassination, besides from what his head and heart wanted him to believe. They were a close family: both his parents, his younger brother and younger sister. In this country, they held no alliances, no marriage links, only land and power. It wouldn't keep them alive forever. Maybe Ollivar was truly correct, maybe it was time to head back home. Yet no member of the Daeron household could be seen running with their tail between each knee. If the eastern cities were slowly breaking from the slave trade, their power would eventually run out. It's all their family was.. 

With a sharp kick to the stomach of his horse, the knight reached Illifer's side. He would have to hide whatever fear he had away. This wasn't any of her concern. None of this was. She had no part in his affairs, regardless, he needed her. One extra pair of arms was better than only his own. If anything did happen, the help would have been greatly appreciated. He had plenty to consider on their ride to Astipor. He would leave her in the city and speak to his family before departing. An army could be moved into the city without notice, although a large army would result in a few birds flying home to their owners. They sat in a dangerous seat, one Rhoynar wasn't too sure they would hold any longer. 

"It shouldn't take more than a day to get there." He commented immediately heading out along the grey stone road. The only concern in his mind needed to be whether or not Illifer saw the worry on his face. In his worry, he hadn't even spotted the conversation his companion had held with a drunk. 
[i]'Worry consumes you, we are not a family of worry.'[/i] He'd heard his grandfather say it dozens of times. He'd been the man to build and complete their empire, to cross the ocean and take Astipor from beneath the sleeping heads of it's owners. The people had at first seemed afraid but as the merchants began to flood across the sea, the city became the hub it was to that very moment. He was a man to look up to, a powerful business man and a true military tactician. A sickness had taken him one winter, shortly after his second brother had been born. Paranoia told Rhoynar it wasn't a illness.. He would have been wrong. Things had seemed to shift after his grandfather's death but only now was it noticeable. 

The dark haired man pushed his horse along the stone road, no longer choosing to bare a simple walk. He urged his horse into a slow canter and weaved past an old cart and its owner. He didn't speak to Illifer, he had no reason too. He had to capital, only on visiting did these thoughts come into his head. The open and green landscape outside of the Astipor and its polished ocean, the familiar smell of salt, spices and perfume of the docks and its markets were always a welcome change to the stench of the capital. The sound of gulls and the sounds of a people filled with culture and variety. It stood a world away from the landscape outside the capital. Small villages, heavy poverty and sewage. 

Rhoynar slowed to a walk as they drew close to another cart. From his seat, he could see a fat man arguing with a frail looking women. He glanced back to Illifer and continued closer. The women seemed to have a child in her arms, thrusting the boy in the man's face. The closer he got, the more detail came into view. The women was almost yellow, covered in thick boils and scabs, laced with a sickly ooze. His stomach clenched. There was another man further up the road, heading their way. Rhoynar placed one hand on his sword and continued forwards. The stranger was the same although the illness seemed to have taken his sanity. His clothes were stained with colours Rhoynar dared not to guess and his eyes seemed glazed and lost. Urging his horse past the cart, the screaming woman and her child, the knight forced his mount hard out of the village. He stopped by the outskirts, and turned to look for Illifer. 

"How long has this been here?" He asked her once she was close. The lack of life in the village suggested a small while. "I thought this had gone?" The Jakathra Plague, or the yellow sickness as it was more commonly known had been silent for years, yet now it seemed so close to the Capital. There would be no way the temples could handle that many people if the sickness reached the capital. Regardless, it wasn't their mission. No doubt the village would disappear before the plague reached Eleusis.