"I am sorry for your loss, my friend." Bhallar patted the hunter on the back.
Behest unknown to the ex-firsthand, Philitis's heart sank a little at being addressed to as the light-eyed man's friend.

"It's alright...it happened months ago; I don't even miss her anymore."

"You are lying. I can tell from experience that the pain of losing a sibling never goes away." Bhallar's eyes swam with tears, but he didn't let them pass their threshold, "Regardless, it doesn't explain why you want to help me or how you know the Siyari."

"When Seben was taken away from us, I started looking for ways to rescue her from Tutuamen's clutches. One day, I heard that every year the best warriors were chosen by Amten to serve Tutuamen; I was determined to join their ranks. I honed my skills, wanting to be the best. It was the only way to guarantee my induction into the royal guards: the ones in charge of Tutuamen's security." The hunter brushed a wayward tear off his cheek; forcing a tight-lipped smile, he continued, "Unfortunately, she was poisoned and died with her son, Sab, on the same night."

As Sharre's firsthand, Bhallar had heard all about it and was aware that Tutuamen had instigated an investigation to catch the culprit, and it had turned out to be a high-ranking soldier: Nexeu.

"After being abandoned by our father, my mother, a born Siyari, returned to her roots; Seben and I spent our childhood with the Siyari."

'That explains Philitis's carefree attitude with them. The Siyari are like his family.' Bhallar concluded, but...

"We left the sect once again when I reached adolescence as I couldn't continue to stay there..." Philitis didn't elaborate further; he cleared his throat, "We didn't stray far though and settled in Vatada, where mama worked as a procurer of weapons for the Siyari. That's how I got acquainted with-"

"Hondo!" The novice bounty hunter exclaimed.

After being tipped off by the blacksmith about Mayeen's whereabouts, Bhallar had wondered why the stranger had been so helpful. The uncertainty in the green-eyed man's voice told him that he was about to receive his answer now. 

"Yes," Averting his eyes, the hunter gawked at his lips before adding, "I told the blacksmith to point you in the right direction," Philitis confessed, "You must have already realized that he specializes in women's armor and weapons."

Yes, Bhallar had realized it- after all, the chest area was a little too large compared to the rest of the armour- but it didn't do anything for his bruised ego.

Heat flooded his cheeks despite the grim situation he had found himself in; the healer coughed to make it sound as genuine as he could, "Yes, I have already figured that out." He muttered under his breath, cursing his unmanly physique for the umpteenth time.

"You looked worried when you saw the poster, and there was concern itched on your face." Philitis shook his head, "You reminded me of...me; to know more about you, and asked around...I stole your purse too, just so-"

Bhallar threw his palm out, interrupting the bounty hunter mid-confession, "You. Stole. MY. Purse!"

Philitis shrugged, "I wanted to get in your good books; I didn't have any other choice."

The ex-physician huffed, "Unbelievable!" and threw his hands up. "Philitis, tell me that you understand that what you did was wrong."

"Your sister- Fuck!" The bounty hunter exclaimed, dismounting from his camel; tugging on the latter's forearm forcefully as he went down, he pulled Bhallar with him. 

The duo hit the sand with a thump.
Without giving the former firsthand any explanation, Philitis took the reins of the two camels in his hand and led them off course; making sure that the camels were hidden, he turned to Bhallar, "I think I saw Khaff and his gang up ahead." He pinched the bridge of his nose and guessed, "The blacksmith must have babbled. Okay...here is what we will do: you go and save your sister, and I will distract them."

Bhallar cocked his head, "And how are you planning to do that?"

"I will lead them elsewhere, obviously. I don't know what Nuru told you, but use that and rescue sister Mayeen." Philitis's green orbs searched Bhallar's light ones, "I just need to know one thing."

"What?" Bhallar raised his brow before narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Can you make it to your sister on your own?"

Bhallar bobbed his head without hesitation, "Yes. I do. I know where she is and what needs to be done to get there."

The answer made Philitis smile brightly, "That settles it then; I will distract these ruffians, and if I can get away without getting myself killed, we might just meet again, beautiful."

With that, Philitis winked at the confounded-looking man next to him, pinched his cheek playfully, and rose to his feet; mounting his camel, he called over his shoulder, "Think of me fondly if I die trying to save your gorgeous bottom from harm, alright? Zeaiker, my love." And not giving the latter a chance to take offense, he rode towards Khaff and his ferocious-looking gang.

Philitis looked a tiny version of himself by the time Bhallar's mind stopped reeling, and his eyes sought the shameless hunter who had abruptly left him like a husband going off to war, leaving his loving wife to fend for herself in his absence.
He waited till the gang, along with Philitis, completely disappeared from his line of sight before mounting his camel and riding off towards Ra's temple.

Alone again, he thought back to what Nuru had told him about the circumstances that had led to his sister's escape from the golden cage: the inner palace.

'So far, none of Tutuamen's women, except Mistress Seben, has been able to carry a child to term. Upon entering the palace, I heard a rumor about Tutuamen's birth; it speaks of the pharaoh living a cursed life before dying childless.'

'What do you mean?'

'You see, he shouldn't have lived past his teens, but when he turned nineteen, he took the throne after his father died unexpectedly.'

'Tutuamen is twenty-nine now.'

'Exactly. Yet, he has no heirs.'

'How come no one has heard about this curse?'

'Because no one who hears it is allowed to set foot outside the palace till their death.'

'Then how did you-'

'Mistress Mayeen urged the royal physician to concoct a potion that would stop my heart for a short period to make it look like she had murdered me and escaped. She was worried about you, and not wanting to put you at risk, she decided to take shelter in almighty Ra's temple.  Alas, someone saw her exit the palace and reported it before she could disappear. The next thing we knew, she had become the target of every bounty hunter in the new kingdom.'

'You told me that she wanted to give me something; do you know anything about it?'

'No, I don't, but I think it might have something to do with the curse.'

Earlier, when Nuru had mentioned the forbidden path, it had jogged Bhallar's memory; slapping his forehead, he reprimanded himself, "How could I have forgotten about it?"
The former firsthand thought it strange that even after arriving at the tunnel earlier that day, he had not remembered that there was indeed another route that led to Ra's temple.

The mysterious memory revival continued to surprise him when along with the titbit about the forbidden path, he recalled everything that his father had told and shown Mayeen and him during their visit to the temple all those years ago.

'How is it that she remembers, but I forgot?' Bhallar, who prided himself on his excellent memory, chided his failure to remember such a critical point: 'If only I had remembered earlier, I would probably have reunited with Mayeen already.'

The novice bounty hunter glanced at the milestone and smiled; he couldn't believe how much faster he had reached the entry that led to the forbidden path now that he had followed the direction his father had asked him to commit to memory.
Ignoring the fatigue nibbling away at his rarely used muscles and pushing his limbs to do his bidding for a while longer, Bhallar increased his pace, keeping his senses open to sounds and sights that could sabotage his mission.
From memory, he could tell that he was very close to his destination, but none of what met his eyes looked the same as it had done on his first and last visit there.

Where once stood a ginormous archway with doors made of gold now stood a battered, destroyed rumble. Bhallar wondered if the coconut grove on the other side had met the same fate.

Dismounting his camel, Bhallar led it past the remains of the once magnificent entrance; he breathed a sigh of relief when the grove: the sacred place where the descendants of almighty Ra came to worship him, came into his line of sight.

Luckily, whoever had destroyed the archway had left the sacred garden alone.

Bhallar couldn't phantom the reason for it; he harked back to what his father had told him about the birthplace of river Aari as he sensed it flowing a few feet under him.

'Bhallar, not only is Aari the sole source of drinking water for the new kingdom, but at the point where it erupts, it is in its purest form and can heal all wounds... cure all diseases; it's a pity that no one has ever been able to find it.'

'Baba, I will find it, I promise.'

'You can't do it alone, Bhallar. Mayeen is the key.'

'I don't understand, baba.'

'You will, son, but only when the time is right.'

'And when will that be?'

'When the almighty Ra blesses the blood of the cursed that has found its way into his sanctuary.'

'Oh.'

'But remember, son, the blessed one must carry it there, and only after the blood of the unwilling joins it will you be shown the way to the healing spring.'

Bhallar's heart plummeted to his knees. 'What did father mean by that? How can Mayeen be the key? Is the rumored curse the truth of Tutuamen's continued existence?' He pondered, securing his travel companion, who was so much better than any he had had the pleasure of riding to a lush coconut tree.

"Stay here; I will be back soon." He instructed the animal and patted his stomach, "Hopefully, I will not be alone when I return; pray to almighty Ra for our safe return, alright?" He whispered to it and set off towards the forbidden path on foot.

[Chapter word count: 1779;
Word count so far: 24492]