The soldiers cleared the Balkans in their numbers seeing as they harboured no such treasure that king Gaius sought. The travelling merchants were set in motion again as the gate to the city was unsealed. Gradually, the travellers trooped out beyond the city's gate on their horses and chariots which were laden with bulk cargoes and consignments of large volume. Bojan could heave a sigh of relief, feeling at ease with the fact that he had been able to fool the soldiers back in the city, thanks to his magical wits. He could feel the tensed atmosphere drastically subdued the moment he and his entourage were declared free and clear to leave the city. Somehow, he felt his confidence on the rise upon achieving the new feat of aiding Limah and her new-born to escape the city. For Bojan, it was a sheer privilege as much as honour to have aided the famous priestess of temple Nuh in such a time of difficulty. He wouldn't baulk at the chance to repeat the feat over and over for Limah's sake. Bojan had known Limah as the venerable priestess of temple Nuh from way back in the small religious city of Kinsas. He had often worshipped at her temple and offered rituals and veneration to the gods once in every moon until the sacred city was captured by king Gaius and razed to ruins. However, Bojan would remain indebted to the erstwhile priestess of the sacred temple Nuh for her soothsaying and speaking the message of unseen forces upon his trade ventures. As much as he attributed his booming ventures and fortunes to the gods, he deemed it appropriate--albeit religiously driven--to appreciate the mouthpiece of the gods in Limah. The feeling of relief was mutual between Limah who sat comfortable and relieved within the chariot and Bojan together with his entourage as they propelled their chariots away from the city's gate. In this moment, Limah pulled her hood aside to reveal her face as she lifted the baby from the basket up above her head. She flashed a soothing smile at the little one and brought him down upon her lap gingerly. She placed two fingers upon his fontanelle and murmured some words of prayer upon the baby. It was a moment of both relief and anxiety for Limah. She stroked her baby's cheeks with motherly affection and tossed his playfully in her arms. They were finally free from the reach of king Gaius and his army, she thought and assured herself as they headed away from the city of Athena in Bejan's chariots. Out of the blue, a defeaning blow of trumpet cut through the stream of travellers. The trumpet was loud and reverberating as the horses neighed and snorted violently. The travellers' attention was was drawn in utter curiosity. Even Limah had her feeling of relief cut short, but the baby suddenly had an outburst of tears and and uneasy whimpers amidst the chaos that threatened to shake the crowd.
The little one in Limah's arms cried in fits and starts at the trumpet high-pitched sound which cut through the travellers in their numbers. The travellers were suddenly brought to a halt seeing as the trumpet sound from the city's gate commanded attention. A wave of murmurs spread across the crowd in reaction while everyone of the travellers looked back at the city's gate of Athena only to discover a small troop approaching on their horses. The troop, however, had the inclusion of an arrogant-looking horse--typical of royalty--spearheading them. Of course, it was none but General Bastian.
Bastian was supposedly not content with Ganicus and his squad's search exercise. He had received news of futile attempts to apprehend Limah from the West Gate and different homes within the city. However, the general was hell bent on retrieving Limah and her infant in a bid to deliver the duo to king Gaius.
The Army's General rode slowly on his black stallion--an elegant horse of Friesian breed with majestic gaits--advancing towards the crowd of travellers. His presence commanded attention and an absolute quiet as the Army's General of the city of Athena sliced through the crowd of travellers addressing them for the last time. Bastian bawled at the top of his voice, dishing out a caveat to the crowd, ''this city cherishes kind acts, magnanimity and honesty, as much as we have given you travellers, merchants, tourists and visitors.''
Meanwhile, Bojan and his entourage fretted in their chariots at the prospect of being discovered by the army. We thought we had achieved freedom from the snare of King Gaius, but here, the freedom was slipping out of hands, thought Bojan. They could hear Bastian's punchy words spreading across the crowd, hitting their eardrums with a tone of threat. Bojan's face was engulfed in a mass of sweat, dreading the worst even as he watched Limah struggle to calm her infant who had stopped sobbing. The troubled mother had improvised by frantically pressing her infant's face against the cleavage of her breasts in a bid to drown out sobs and moans that could draw the soldiers' attention towards her.
''It would not be too much to ask of you to repay the legendary king of this city, the slayer of many kingdoms and the bringer of human freedom, would it?'' Bojan asked, examining the reaction of the crowd around him. ''Yes. It's high time you repaid the king by simply returning his missing treasures.''
Bastian's words caused another wave of murmurs and side talks across the crowd. The travellers were obviously displeased by the delay and suspicion they had been subjected to. It didn't particularly sit quite well with the travellers that they had to be subjected to another bout of search; hence the murmurs and waves of grumbles that ran across the crowd in a moment of uniformity.
Bastian continued, addressing the crowd, ''the great king means no harm towards you but goodwill and absolute clemency towards the holder of his missing treasures.''