A small band trudged slowly toward Lion's Den, their steps heavy.
Their clothes were ragged, and every face bore the ashen exhaustion of people drained of every last scrap of strength.
Lushen rode on horseback, narrowing his eyes. He had assumed they were refugees from somewhere who had somehow wandered here, and was about to question them when the figure at the front stumbled to his knees, nearly falling.
He raised his head, revealing a face worn haggard by fatigue beneath the sunlight.
Lushen's pupils contracted sharply. Stunned and overjoyed, he roared, "Bana?!"
He then leaped from his horse and rushed over in great strides, catching the swaying Bana the Beggar.
Inside Lion's Den's council hall, Suleiman used a slender wooden stick to outline town plans on a sand table while Evelyn stood beside him, listening intently.
Just then, the guards pushed the doors open from outside.
Supporting someone half by the shoulder, Lushen entered as he called out, "Lord Suleiman!"
Suleiman looked up, his gaze falling upon the man who radiated an air of decay and seemed little more than skin and bones.
He paused slightly, then set down the wooden stick. He had already considered the worst possible outcome for Bana the Beggar.
Natural disasters on the road, bandits robbing him... the possibility of returning alive had already been reduced to its lowest point in Suleiman's mind.
Rather than asking about the mission first, Suleiman turned to Evelyn. "Go. Bring my financial officer water, food, and clothes. Make them hot."
Evelyn said nothing and withdrew respectfully.
Suleiman walked over to Bana. Looking at his cracked lips and sunken eye sockets, he spoke slowly. "Welcome home, Bana."
"Have some water, eat something, change into clean clothes, then tell me everything slowly."
Those simple words were like a key, instantly