The sound of the carriage and the fifty men on horseback with it was almost completely masked by the sound of the storm. Only the barest of rhythmic beats could be heard as each horses hoof struck the muddy road at the same time. The riders of which huddled deeper into their cloaks seeking whatever comfort they could from the miserable conditions around them. Inside the carriage was a different story the single man within leaned back on his seat and sipped a glass of fine red wine, one of the mans favourite vintages to be exact.

Ashkante drew in a deep breath and let out a contented sigh. How far he had come in the years since he was kicked out of his house by his father. His pleasant smile briefly twisting into a grimace before he forced his thoughts onward. Now he was the head of his house and he he had taken it to greater heights than it had ever been. Even at the height of it's power in history it was still not as high as he had taken it these past twenty years. Going from barely having 10 soldiers and a pathetic ruin to over a thousand and a magnificent castle that made all who saw it jealous. He shook his head, clearing the thoughts of the past from his mind. He needed to think he had officially been given a task by his queen to overlook the new shipment of slaves and unofficially he was to see if he could bring some more order to this land quickly and quietly. 

A knock on the front of the carriage was heard and he stepped out using his airmancy to keep the rain and mud off him as he left the carriage and gazed ahead of him. The outpost loomed before him a symbol to the great might that Ferros had once commanded and would command again once this latest plot of the queen came into fruition. He could not help the smile that came to his face at the thought of it. It was genius, it would work brilliantly and Ashkante knew he would also make a great deal of money and gain a great deal of power once the full workings of the deal came to light. 

Ashkante strode through the entrance to the outpost the captain stationed there waited at the entrance and bowed as he approached. "So Captain show me to these slaves."