After resting for about an hour, Corvus entered the meeting tent with stiff steps. Inside, the atmosphere was heavy; every face was shadowed with worry. Zarqa, Kragan, Baldrek and the two old warriors were already in their places, waiting. When they had set out, they had thought they would eliminate a few bandits, but now they had complex issues to resolve.

As soon as Corvus sat quietly in his chair, Zarqa laid the large leather map on the table. "These are the locations of the major bandit groups," he said, his eyes fixed on Corvus's, pointing with his finger at the marked points on the map. His fingers ran over the map, as if pointing to the graves of the bandits. It had become quiet enough to hear every breath inside the tent. "If you give the order, we will clear them all before tomorrow evening. But we must attack at the same time. Otherwise they'll realise we've come to clear out the bandits and run away."

One of the old warriors leaned forward, his brow furrowed. His voice carried the weight of years. "Do they know we are here?"

Zarqa nodded with her eyes and took a short breath. "Yes, they know. But I don't think they realise what we're up to. It's to our advantage that no one has ever taken these bandits so seriously before."

Corvus asked in a low voice, running his gaze over the map. "What about small groups? How do we deal with them?"

Zarqa's face crumpled. "They change location all the time. Trying to catch them will take too much time. And if we try to catch them, they'll keep setting up ambushes."

Kragan interjected, his voice strong and full, his words echoing in the room. "If we wipe out the larger groups, the smaller ones will become frightened and scatter. It may take time to wipe out what's left, but we'll get them eventually."

Everyone in the tent silently acknowledged the truth of Kragan's words. Still, there was a tension in their hearts; one wrong step could ruin everything. Zarqa turned back to Corvus, looking urgent. "What shall we do, move in the morning? The troops are ready."

Corvus's eyes travelled over the map again. Slowly he shook his head from side to side, thoughts fighting each other in his head. "No," he said in a heavy voice, "I want to see what Tanar will do. If I have nothing concrete by tomorrow evening, we will move. But in any case, it will be more effective to attack at night. We'll catch them unprepared." His voice intensified the tense atmosphere inside the tent. "What do you all think?"

Everyone in the meeting understood Corvus' patient approach, but waiting for Tanar's soldiers to move was risky. Still, they respected Corvus' plan. Haste might complicate the plans, but if Tanar did not act, they would finish the job themselves. After minor adjustments, they approved Corvus.

Corvus turned his gaze to Baldrek, his voice commanding. "Go to see Tanar early in the morning. Share with him all the information we have. If he hasn't found anything by now, he should at least act on our information."

Baldrek bowed his head, his strong hands clenched on the hilt of his sword. "Yes, sir."

After a moment of silence, Corvus spoke. He kept his voice as low as possible. He did this because he did not want what he had to say to be heard outside under any circumstances.

"Someone was following me today."

Corvus' words caused everyone in the room to frown. Watching the camp and following Corvus directly were two different things. They were all men who were loyal and cared for Corvus. They were also deeply loyal to the Tiamats and Sanguinar.

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"Did you kill him?" asked one of the old warriors. He knew Corvus' abilities well, and there were not many in Rhazgord who could escape from Corvus. The old man was surprised when Corvus bowed his head and shook his head from side to side.

"I was about to catch him when another one appeared and distracted me. I missed them both."

Everyone in the room knew what that meant. These men were obviously well trained in the art of espionage. Which meant they were foreigners. It could not be a good sign that foreigners would send such skilful men to Rhazgord.

"We must send a message to the Rhazgord! Sanguinar is not here and he has half the army with him! These men could be gathering information for war!" said Baldrek. He liked to make a big deal out of things.

"Are you afraid of war?" countered Kragan. The two men were joined in their quarrel by two of the older warriors in the room, and all went to chaos. Until Corvus slammed his fist on the table.

"Shut up!" Corvus' voice drowned out every sound in the room. Everyone was on edge, and the last thing Corvus needed right now was his trusted men fighting with each other. After telling everyone in the room about all the strange things he had noticed in the city earlier, he asked everyone for their opinions.

Many ideas were put forward, but none of them seemed to be enough for Corvus. Zarqa was silent from the beginning. He sighed deeply as if he wanted to show that he wanted to talk. When everyone turned their eyes to him, he began to speak.

"First of all, although the roads are safer than in other regions, it is strange that there are so many merchants here.On top of that, almost all of these merchants come from the same countries and Tanar gives them a special favour."

Everyone in the room already knew what Zarqa was saying. Zarqa continued after a moment of silence.

"Although the city is full of merchants, I have not seen any different products being sold. Most of them are local products. Moreover, the merchants do not fill their carriages when they leave the city. They come full and leave empty, but there are no goods."

These words struck everyone in the room like lightning. Everyone in the room started to scan their memories. Where were the goods brought by the merchants? Everyone was looking for an answer to this question when Baldrek's voice gave the answer.

"Inns! They must be bringing goods for the inns!"

"Is there anyone staying at the inns? Why would they bring so many goods!" replied Kragan. This was also a legitimate question. There were an abnormal number of inns in the city, but almost all of them were empty. Only merchants were staying in the inns, and their numbers did not even fill half of them.

"Check the inns and merchants before noon tomorrow! Even if you can't find out what the merchants are bringing, find out where the goods are being taken. Whatever is happening in this city! Let's find out what these merchants are up to. At least find out if they're related to the men who followed me. If nothing else, it'll take one less question off our minds."

It was time for the last topic, the one no one wanted to talk about. Corvus interjected to end the unrest in the room. "Gather everyone tomorrow morning." He told this to Zarqa. "We will decide what will happen to the Bandit. Now get some rest."

Corvus' words brought the meeting to an end. In a few hours the sun would rise again, and the new day brought with it many things to do.