Aldahab was a humongous walled city. It was one of the four largest and most prosperous in the empire, after all. And naturally, this meant there was an appropriate amount of people to populate the contents of its circular stone barriers.

There was the primary district, which surrounded the oasis directly, belonging to the rich and powerful. These men and women were, more often than not, a part of giant clans and businesses that influences spanned the entire desert.

To accommodate these people, the city had paved the entirety of the place with sandstone, allowing for easier, more comfortable travel. Then, there were the multiple high-class establishments that were situated in the district itself, bringing in a diverse set of cultures, diets and eccentricities to the desert city; furthermore, prisoners of the city were offered jobs to serve the travelling rich in exchange for drastically reduced sentences(It was up to the prison's discretion and was largely based on how well-behaved they were).

The secondary district was given to the middle class, and while they were a way away from the main source of drinkable water, they managed to make good for themselves. Comforts such as personal servants and paved roads were impossible, of course, but they got away with benefits like having easier times getting loans, good food and on special occasions, they can freely travel to the primary district to splurge and enjoy its luxuries.

Finally, the last and poorest area: the tertiary district belonged to manual labourers, thieves, low-class prostitutes and their ilk. The place was rife with disease, starvation, and the smell of death. However, even when some of its inhabitants managed to scrounge up enough money to move for the secondary district, they seldom leave.

Why, you ask?

The complete answer, like all the others, is complex. But if you boiled it down to its bare basics, it was the sole presence of a single man...

Don—

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"—Khai!" Sima exclaimed to his friends as they neared the entrance of the city. Even from hundreds of meters away, the wall easily towered everything in the vicinity...

Connor silently studied the ginormous constructs of stone as he idly listened to Sima's tales of Don Khai.

"—Was the father of every whore, thief and scoundrel out in the third district!" Sima giddily explained, "I guarantee you anyone who stays in that shitty hellhole willingly do it cause they respect the guy!"

"Sounds like a guy I knew once," Mariya fondly reminisced, "He took care of me while I was still in the slums,"

Everyone was surprised at the tidbit of info she let out. Mariya was not the kind of woman to spout out her past like it was nothing. Seems the way Don Khai does things had him placed in her good books...

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"I thought he was some war hero; why's he hanging around the bad apples of the city?" Connor croaked out, his throat dry from the lack of water(and probably underuse).

Everyone except Sima nodded. They had known Don Khai to be a fearsome war hero who destroyed entire legions of men with one punch alone.

Logically, he should be living his best life in a mansion somewhere, if not in, near the primary district, surrounded by servants and riches beyond compare. So why is he running a church in the poorest place you can find in the city?

Sima's answer was telling:

"He..." Sima trailed on, his voice quiet and unassuming; the complete antithesis to the boisterous and positive air he usually used, "His body's not what it used to be. And... when the empire found he wasn't useful anymore, they threw him away,"

He gripped the camel's reins hard, belying his soft and almost emotionless voice. It was made awfully clear to the others he was angry.

The others, not wanting to pry lest they anger him even more, stayed silent in the whole ordeal...

Sometimes, what people need is enough silence and space to sort out their own thoughts. Feeling stuffy and uncomfortable in the sticky mire of pity never mixed well with problems, after all...

The group arrived at the entrance of the city and was smoothly let in after paying the toll.

The insides of Aldahab was just as chaotic as his own, if not more so: people milling about, pickpockets and small-time thieves being annoying, and little kids out playing and enjoying their time with one another. It reminded him a lot of his home.

Well, it reminded him a bit too much of home...

'Idiot! Don't think about that! The past is the past; it's time to look into the future!' He shook himself out of his reverie and followed Sima to the stables.

It was a quick and efficient process: all he had to do was hand the reins to the workers(along with some cash, of course), they would give you a tag and then lead it away. The tag was made of lacquered wood; a singular digit scratched roughly onto its flat surface that told him where to pick up his camel should the need ever arise.

While he waited for his friends to finish up, he was left alone with Sima, whose camel was the first to leave. They leaned on the city wall, patiently waiting for Malkov and Mariya.

But damn, did that bit last long...

-Click!-

In the quiet, he heard the iconic click of the lighter before the even more recognizable smell of smoke filled the air. He grimaced; although he learned to enjoy a good smoke after that night, second-hand smoking was where he drew the line.

"Hey," Shifting his head to the side, he was met with an outstretched hand holding... a cigarette?

"You look like the type of guy who likes smoking but hates smelling other people's smoke," Connor wanted to laugh, but he knew all too well these types of people... he was one of them:

This wasn't an invitation to smoke in silence. It was an invitation to talk.

He obliged and put the butt of the cig in his mouth. Lighting it up, he breathed in a puff of tobacco and said:

"So, whaddya want to talk about?"

"..." Connor took in another puff. The boy didn't answer— but that was natural: going in guns-blazing and pressuring him would just close off the boy even more.

"Um... M-Maybe another time; they're coming back," He nudged his chin at the stables, and Connor could hear the repeated footfalls of his friends.

He merely grinned, "No problem. We can continue where we left off tonight; sound good?"

"Mn," He nodded, "C'mon, let's get going,"

After they reunited, Sima left him to talk with Malkov, the two quickly going past Connor and Mariya.

"So... What were you guys talkin' bout?" She questioned almost immediately after their other companions left earshot.

"Nothing..." Was all Connor said, "Nothing at all..."