The Rhazgord didn't have any intelligence units. The only thing that could be called similar was the scout unit. The purpose of this unit, as the name suggests, was to gather information about the enemy, but this information was not very comprehensive. They were responsible for finding out things like the enemy's position, number of troops and defensive fortifications. In short, the men under Corvus' command did not have the skills needed to track down and identify the people who were watching the camp.

Corvus would have liked to have gone at once to Tanar to hold him to account for this, but the situation seemed to be beyond Tanar. The people watching the camp were most likely not from Rhazgord. This suggested that other countries were involved. After Corvus gave orders to take the necessary security measures, he went to bed to relieve the fatigue of the travel. There was nothing else he could do.

Zarqa and the soldiers of the scouts had kept watch during the night and tried to trace the strangers who had been watching the camp. But the information obtained was only a general guess: The enemies had disappeared into the darkness of the city, their numbers were unknown and they were moving very carefully.

In the morning the scouts set out to find the bandits. At best, it would be sunset before the soldiers sent to locate the bandits returned.

With nothing else to do, Corvus started exploring the city of Bahoz. The first thing that caught Corvus' attention was the number of inns and merchants in the city. It made sense that many merchants would be here, but the number of inns seemed excessive. There was an inn every two steps and it only took a glance to realise that most of them were empty. Tanar's uneasiness and the events of the night made Corvus suspicious of even the smallest details.

Corvus realised something else in his conversations with city residents and merchants. Almost all of the merchants came from three specific countries. These three countries were all medium-sized kingdoms close to Rhazgord. Considering the distance, it made sense that the number of merchants from these three countries would be plentiful, but the people of the city said that merchants from other countries were heavily taxed, but those who were citizens of one of these three countries were hardly taxed at all.

Corvus could not control his sense of suspicion, for at every step he encountered more and more interesting facts about the city. There was definitely something going on in the city of Bahoz, but he could not put the pieces together. Finally, he decided to see Tanar. As if Tanar was waiting for Corvus to think about him, he suddenly appeared in front of Corvus.

"I was just coming to report to you!" said Tanar. His voice was full of flattery. Corvus didn't say a word, but his curious and impatient eyes shouted 'speak!'.

"There are about ten bandit groups in the area, two of them large. Some of them are not from Rhazgord..." He had more to say, but he took a step or two backwards because of Corvus' angry gaze. Only yesterday he had told Corvus that bandits were not a big problem, but now he was talking about ten bandit groups. As much as Corvus wanted to address the issue, he preferred to remain silent. "Go on!" he said in a tone that showed his anger.

"We have located the camps of several bandit groups and I have already sent my men. By tomorrow we should know the location of each group."

Corvus nodded at these words. "I don't intend to stick around too long, Tanar. I'll leave as soon as I get the bandits' heads.' he put his hand on Tanar's shoulder and continued, "The more you help me, the faster you'll be free of me."Tanar tried to tell Corvus that he was honoured and happy to have a warrior who had proved his ability at such a young age in Bahoz, but Corvus ignored him. He was hungry and had other things he wanted to talk to Tanar about.

"There are things I need to talk to you about." he looked round. "Shall we talk here, standing up, or at a nice dining table." Tanar moved quickly, trying not to lose the softness in Corvus' voice. A few minutes later, the two were already seated at a sumptuous table in a large dining room.

After a few bites, Corvus interjected. "Look, Tanar. I get it, you're playing with taxes to make some extra money off a few merchants. But you have to do it in balance. As you may have figured out, I'm trying to streamline the Rhazgord trade, and Bahoz is crucial to that. Especially the next few months!"

Tanar knew nothing of Corvus' plans, but he had heard many rumours. Clearly young Corvus wanted to change things, and he had the support of his family. At least until his father returned.

"As you know, Corvus, we Rhazgordians eat a lot, so I've been doing favours for a few merchants to keep my men fed, but if it's a problem for you, I'll cut it off," he said, and sipped his drink without a hint of a smile on his face.

Corvus had a feeling that the reason for the favours to the merchants was not so simple, but pressing Tanar might make things worse. He needed to observe and gather more information.

After dinner, despite Tanar's insistence, Corvus returned to the city to walk around alone. He was walking on one of the crowded streets of the city. Ever since he and Tanar had parted, he had a feeling he was being followed, but he couldn't be sure. Unfortunately, Zarqa, who was very skilled in such matters, was not with him. While Corvus was thinking about how to spot his pursuers, a few small children passed by him quickly. Although Corvus managed not to hit the children thanks to his reflexes, the children hit many people while running. Except one person. Corvus locked eyes with a robed man who was skilfully avoiding the children. This man was standing a few metres behind him and was not from Rhazgord. Before Corvus' bodyguards realised what was happening, Corvus rushed towards the robed man.

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Corvus had just approached the man when suddenly the robed man skilfully dodged to one side, taking advantage of the narrow streets in the city. The man's movements showed that he knew these streets by heart. Corvus was determined not to lose sight of his prey despite this escape. He took a quick glance at his men behind him; they had already fallen back. Corvus, on the other hand, accelerated his steps by keeping his breath even. As Corvus and his men shouted, many tried to stop the robed man, but they only slowed him a little.

The streets of the city of Bahoz were full of wide squares and narrow, maze-like alleys typical of Rhazgord architecture. The city was built with a mixture of stone and wooden structures, and every corner seemed to be specially designed for escape. Houses and shops rose irregularly in the streets, creating obstacles through which the robed man gained time. But these narrow streets only slowed Corvus down instead of stopping him, thanks to his agility and warrior skills.

As the screams of Corvus' men echoed through the streets, some Bahoz residents poked their heads out of their windows to watch what was happening. As the robed man entered a marketplace, several merchants and city dwellers stepped back in surprise. Corvus' keen gaze captured every detail as he watched the man's sudden manoeuvres.

However, a group of local warriors accidentally blocked Corvus' path. Their main aim was to stop the robed man. This allowed him to gain a little more distance. Corvus paused for a moment in anger, but quickly found a side passage and resumed the pursuit. The chase became more challenging as the streets narrowed. Sudden turns between the city's narrow streets, waterways and small passageways placed like traps, seemed to put the robed man one step ahead. But Corvus did not fall for these traps; he strategically calculated each turn as his next move.

As they rounded a corner, an old woman waved her walking stick at the robed man. Once again the man dodged with a nimble move, but this one helped Corvus close the distance. The robed man was now only a few steps ahead. But the obstacles were not over.

The next obstacle was a large flock of sheep travelling through the city. When the robed man entered a narrow passage, Corvus was about to dive in after him when suddenly a shepherd and his sheep appeared in front of him. The sheep covered almost the entire pass, moving slowly. The shepherd panicked, but tried to keep his flock together. Corvus quickly jumped over one sheep, then tried to pass through a few more sheep without trampling them. The sheep made a 'meee' sound and ran left and right.

At last they entered a narrow alley. This was one of the seedy corners of Rhazgord; the shadows of the buildings made the streets dark and eerie. Corvus felt his prey squeezed tightly, and just as he was about to grab it, he felt a trembling in the back of his neck. He felt the urge to kill. He stopped for a moment and turned round quickly, his sword ready. Only for a moment at the beginning of the streets, he saw a figure disappearing in the darkness. Before he realised who it was, he had lost the target of the chase.

Corvus stopped in the centre of the alleyway where he had lost track of the fleeing man, his breaths hardly calming as they rose and fell rapidly in his chest. Anger filled his muscles like a hurricane. He clenched his fists and pounded hard on the stone wall beside him, not even noticing the pain radiating from his knuckles. Small pieces of the stone wall began to fall from the impact of his fists, but this did nothing to quell the rage that had reached boiling point inside him. He had never failed a mission like this before. He felt cheated, trapped.

The man he was chasing was certainly no ordinary man. The agility with which he fled, the extraordinary speed with which he manoeuvred, and his ability to find his way through even the most complicated streets of the city distinguished him from an ordinary street thug. But it was the second man who got on Corvus' nerves the most. The threat of death he felt on his back in that alley. Those cold, calculating eyes. The presence of the second man meant that his prey was part of a much more complex structure. Both men were skilled, that was obvious. Worse, they had consumed Stone of Light, which meant that they were not only dangerous, but also had a solid background. This fact echoed in Corvus' mind, the fact that unknown forces were at large in his country, infuriated Corvus.

As his eyes roamed the shadowy streets around him, it was as if the darkness harboured another threat lurking around every corner. Far from calming his anger, his anxiety grew exponentially. Corvus would have to face not only these two men, but perhaps many more.

There was no point in staying here any longer, not even for a single moment. To be alone on these streets... Seeing how skilful his enemies were and how effective they were in the darkness, just walking around this dark city alone was getting on his nerves. He decided to turn back quickly. Each step echoed with the weight of the failure he had left behind.

On the way back, the sky had already begun to descend and the narrow streets of the city of Bahoz were plunged into a gloomy darkness that rose between the stone buildings. The street lamps cast a weak light, but Corvus' eyes were always alert. As he rounded each corner, he watched his back, waiting for a move from the shadows. His sword was at the ready at his side, but even in this dangerous city, perhaps the unseen was the most dangerous.

As he reached the campsite, the anger in his heart gave way to a deeper worry. For himself and for his men.