---External POV---

The first thing the boy felt was pain, searing pain shooting through his body and the burning of his wounded side. Every inhale and exhale caused a burning pain in his ribs, which forced the boy to take shallow breaths.

He felt the heat pouring of his body and knew instantly that he had a fever, a bad one too. His mind jumped from one thought to another, remembering how Mercer had stabbed him in the back and left him to die in the desert, bounded and gagged.

A cool breeze ruffled his hair before he let out a shocked groan when something tilted his head back gently and cool liquid trickled over his parted lips. Without opening his eyes, he drank greedily without caring that some of the water drizzled down his cheeks to dampen his chest.

He hadn't had a drink of water since he had resisted Mercer's command to bow down and service one of his allies. And that had been two days before he was dragged into the desert. When he felt a damp rag placed on his brows, he fought to open his eyes and managed to focus on his surroundings.

"Shh. Lay down and rest, you aren't well." The woman beside him hushed soothingly as she turned back to the sanded wooden bucket and dipped the spoon back in its contents before holding the mouthful of water against his lips.

He accepted the drink and allowed himself to relax, his hands clutching at his wound before the woman gently pried his hands away, lifting his bloodied shirt to show him the bandaged wound. Now that he focused, he recognized the slight swaying motion underneath him of a cart being pulled, probably by some cattle.

At his questioning gaze, the woman smiled reassuringly and settled back, gently rubbing over her swollen stomach. "My tribe was going to the healer when we stumbled upon you.  Do not fear, us Nomads don't condone the very idea of slavery. "

"What is your name?" The pregnant woman asked softly after a few seconds of silence, listening to the calves bleating for their mothers and their reassuring calls back to them. He barely managed to open his green eyes, which had glazed over with his fever before he could whisper that one name that his family had given him, a name he hasn't heard for eleven years.

"Nadir. My name is Nadir."

The woman hummed and washed the rag out before placing it back on my face, gently covering my eyes. "Sleep well Nadir, we're taking you with us to the healer. Help is on the way." She added softly, looking down at the wounded boy with compassion in her brown eyes.

With that, the boy sighed in relief and allowed his wounds to drag him back into soothing unconsciousness. He had heard of the illusive Nomadic tribes residing in the desert and he knew they could be trusted.

For now, all he had to do was rest, and pray he would get through this whole ordeal.

Five years later

---Carson's POV---

The night was cool outside, the wind barely ruffling my hair as I looked over our camp. The men were laughing; some of them already drunk as they staggered back to their tents. A wry smile slipped on my lips as I stared at them but chose to let it pass. Our last job had been successful after all.

My eyes scanned the desert again, feeling that something wasn't right. The soft sounds of footsteps approaching resounded but I kept scanning our surroundings, curious to who would be stupid enough to come at us, especially at night.

"Carson." Without looking back at my right hand, I took the jug of mead from him and savored the taste of our own brewed drink, a waft of honey and spices rising up from the beverage. "We seem to have a few guests." I murmured as I nodded my head at him, thanking him for the mead.

He smiled broadly, flashing his white teeth against the tan of his dark brown skin as he chuckled deeply. "Well, I'll go and flush the rabbits out of their holes then. It better be more exiting than our last job." He threw over his shoulder before circling around my own luxurious tent.

I uttered a small laugh before taking another sip, watching how the dark liquid swirled in the jug before I heard a scuffle accompanied with a squeak, and then Mord'u walked into the light of the torch, dragging a terrified man with him, his horse hesitantly following the duo.

My men perked up at the promise of some entertainment and chuckled roughly when the man dug his heels in the floor, a desperate attempt to stop Mord'u from dragging him closer. The giant merely rolled his eyes and lifted the man clean of his feet before setting him down in front of me, patting the man in a reassuring way on the shoulder before he stepped back.

"What's your business in out camp?" I asked softly, not even looking at the messenger anymore. From first glance, I had already seen that he was simply here to give information, not to fight us. Judging from his lack of weapons, bulging eyes and shaking form, he didn't have a clue what he was getting himself into when accepting this job.

"M-my Lord, I-I didn't mean t-t-to intrude..." He stuttered heavily, which forced a soft sigh from my lips as the men laughed at his cost, jesting amongst each other, which caused the man to flush and shoot a look at them. The catcalls that followed was soon accompanied with boisterous laughter as the messenger fumed silently but paled when Mord'u stepped a bit closer.

As soon as one of his black eyebrows rose up, the messenger gulped softly, as if remembering exactly where he was or rather, with who he was. He fidgeted on the spot before turning his pale brown eyes back on me.

"I was sent here by my Lord Seamus, in the hopes of persuading your group to work for him." Looking around nervously as he spoke. Knowing smiles started to appear on the faces around us and I let a small smirk slip on my lips.

Of course his master had heard of us, we are the best of the best, if I said so myself. Our group considered of rogues, assassins, mercenaries and some of the best fighters I had seen. Every single one of us had a past and they had all stumbled into me, one way or another. Things evolved from that and now we were a notorious band known to accept any job, unless it involved women, children and slaves.

"Uhm..." The soft clearing of a throat allowed me to focus back on the present, where the messenger boy was still waiting for my reaction as he held a small pouch ready. When he knew he had our attention, he tugged at the rope with a flourish, allowing the pouch to drop open and reveal the shimmering gemstones in the palm of his hand.

His relieved sigh was muted by the appreciative exclamations and grunts from my men as they drew closer, clasping each other on their backs before they fell back in line after one glance from me. 

Idiots.

I allowed the amusement to rise up on my face, chuckling as I reached forward and picked the largest gem in the bunch, which was barely as large as the tip of my little finger. The light of the fires behind the stone made it shine even brighter as I inspected it, interested though these were amongst the smallest stones I've ever seen.

"You managed to catch my interest but as you can see, " I said before showing him my necklace holding an emerald the size of a medium rock,  " You'll need to work a bit harder to convince us. After all, we're rather tired from our last job, right boys?"

Laughter and approving cheers greeted me as the messenger flushed with embarrassment, glancing at my men as they stood up and rose their jugs, downing the contents before preparing to bed, acting as they didn't care that we still had the man to deal with.

The pale brown eyes of the messenger narrowed as he chewed on his lip before nodding to himself. "This is a token of trust, an advanced payment if you'd like. Accept our offer and Seamus will grant you access to the halls of Thûrvin, where you can pick whatever you choose." 

I barely managed to keep my expressions in check, though I didn't need to bother; my brothers in arms were quite clear with their awed gasps and with the way they all rushed closer, hanging from every word the messenger spoke, it was quite clear that he had them where he wanted.

But still...If I didn't like what he was offering us, they would stand behind me without questions, so the decision still rested in my hands. I walked closer to the messenger and nearly rolled my eyes with the way the man jerked backwards before straightening up again.

"You had my interest, now you have my full attention. Explain before I reconsider this offer and escort you back to your master, empty-handed." As I folded my arms, the man quickly recounted the words of his master as I paced from side to side, the silence only disturbed by my footsteps on the sand, the cracking wood in the fire and the voice of the messenger.

The story he told he was quite interesting; the mission seemed nothing more than to find out why Seamus' market collapsed as potential clients all backed out of their deals, demanding refunds of previous purchases. Rumors were spread out of Seamus making and selling fake gemstones, making sure that none of his gems were sold. And what was more curious, several personal items of Seamus has gone missing.

"So...we gain access to the fabled halls of Thûrvin, rumored to have gems bigger than a man's head and we get to pick whatever we like, all of us?" Mord'u asked, disbelief clearly on his face as the huge African male scowled, rubbing a hand over his shaved head. "All this to find out where some guy's stuff went?"

The messenger nodded, pale brown eyes flickering over each of my men. "And stop whoever is spreading these false rumors." The light-haired man nodded, smiling slightly as I shared a meaningful look with Mord'u before I produced a shrill whistle.

"Break up camp and saddle up!" The statement was quickly followed with a flurry of movements as everyone rushed to do what was told, the sober men diving into the tents of their intoxicated brethren to wake them up and clear their heads. Everyone was eager for the rewards of this mission.

Several hours later, the sun was slowly making its way back into the world, breaking the pitch-black sky with several hues of blue and purple, a ribbon of pink dancing between the clouds. The light of day was reflected of the rooftops, revealing the City of Emraldis, source of riches and fortune.

I had seen the city a few times in the past, mostly during a mission or in pursuit of prey so I never had the change to truly look at the city. Several fig trees rustled in the wind, showing glimpses of their fruits hidden in the lush green while the smaller Date trees contrasted sharply against them.

The neighs of our horses and the sound of hooves kicking against sand was broken by the distant hoot of a desert owl, probably flying back to its burrow to rest during the day. Without looking backwards, I signaled for my men to dismount and set up camp. The messenger reigned in his horse with a questioning look before he drove back to where I was still staring at the city.

"M-my lord? Seamus has excellent chambers m-made ready for you in his p-private quarters. Surely you and your men prefer such luxury over sleeping out-outside?" He ended his question with a flinch as I slowly had turned my head at him.

"We set up camp here and address your master's problem in the morning." I said in a voice that didn't leave room for anymore questions or second guessing my plans. He obviously realized this and lowered his head. "Of course. Forgive me for questioning you my Lord." He said before riding off towards the town, peeking over his shoulder a few times.

I could sense Mord'u creeping up behind me as I stared at the city with a slight frown on my face. His large frame stood beside me in the darkness as he overlooked the buzzing activity of my men setting up camp before he glanced back at the city.

"Your orders?"

My eyes remained on the city walls for a few more seconds, or rather on the guards patrolling beside them with torches in their hands. "I want constant awareness of what is happening in and out of the city. Nobody talks about us without me knowing it." Mord'u nodded sharply as I added, "Three teams to keep watch at night, make sure they're being relieved every once in a while. I don't need those slick citizens to sneak into our camp. I don't trust this Seamus for a heartbeat."

Mord'u chuckled deeply; his broad chest vibrating with his amusement while the morning sun gleamed of his white teeth. "The mission sounds too easy and good to be true, huh?" The man mused, taking a deep breath of the fresh air before he took a step back.

"Glad to see you're still on your toes Carson."

I didn't react on his teasing jab, except the small roll of my eyes as I glanced back at the camp. The messenger obviously thought we'd be so stupid to lock ourselves in his master's domain. By choosing to stay outside, I had already pointed out that I was in charge here, not Seamus. That and I wouldn't have to sleep with one eye open to avoid getting stabbed in the back.

Poles swayed in the air as the tents were slowly taking shape, the leather swaying softly in the wind and adding to the chatter of my men and the neighing horses. I checked to make sure every tent was placed firmly into the sand and that each man was caring his own weight, aiding the group in the process.

I wasn't afraid to dirty my hands and helped several of them when they struggled with the wooden beams to support their tents before I ordered them to start the cooking fires and make sure the horses were secured and provided with food and water.

When the morning sun finally illuminated the waking city, my men were prepared and ready for this mission. Looking around the group, I gestured for three of my stealthiest men to come forwards.

"You all heard the messenger and what our mission would be. I need eyes and ears in the city and you three are perfect for the job. Disappear in the crowd, get us some supplies and keep an ear out for any rumors and who starts them." They nodded and gathered a few of their friends to help them carry everything before they set of to town.

I let out a sigh as I watched the city bustle to life, caravans departing the city walls as the guards opened up the gates. "Let's go talk to the nobility, shall we?" I stated out loud before selecting a few of my mine to accompany me. Mord'u volunteered with a smirk, "Someone has to curb your tongue Carson. I know how you hate those slick rich folks."

Without denying his claim, I punched his shoulder, not even fazing the man before we all ventured out to the city. If we were to receive diamonds and precious jewels just to stop someone from running their mouths, I suspected that Seamus had things he desperately tried to hide.

And I was going to find out what it was.