Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7134049" data-attributes="member: 20323">[SECTION][align=left]http://i.imgur.com/rNCBfLQ.jpg[/align]"I have," replies Derafsh slowly in the tone of a man concerned about incriminating himself in the eyes of the law...and perhaps the gods. Turning around to partly face Amina, his brows furrowed, Derafsh tests the repaired saddlebag strap. "Sheikh Hanjar al-Haqara knows much of the trade that occurs amongst raiders, because much of it is raided by the House of Uqab. Few would admit to being defeated by such a small tribe, and yet they hover like vultures in the deserts of the Pearl Cities. He is a cunning leader, al-Haqara, not the sort of man you'd wish as an adversary." Squinting for a moment at the afternoon sun, he regards Amina quizzically, still unable to decipher the handmaiden's true purpose. "At least, such were the tales of the tribe as I knew them. These days, those Uqabis I've crossed paths with say Sheikh al-Haqara is smitten by the arrow of love for a woman - an enchantress, so go the tales - whom he rescued from the desert. As his desire for this desert rose increases, his thirst for riches and mind for strategy diminishes. Some even laugh at the name Uqab, when once it inspired a dread respect. The Uqabis resort to crafting wild tales of their exploits." Here Derafsh pauses and glances at Amina with a puzzled expression, trying to gauge whether she has learned what she sought."Had my brethren and I not been fated to enter the Sultan's employ, we may very well have considered joining the House of Uqad...our special skills would have earned us a place of honor..." Glancing toward Fereshte, who though she is by Nimar's side, has trained her eye in the direction of Amina, Derafsh's voice trails off cautiously.[/SECTION]</blockquote>

Verification