The Army's General paused, this time, looking round the crowd from face to face. Then he picked up from where he left, ''I repeat, for the last time, whoever had Limah and her infant in their custody should own up now!'' Bastian warned, with his voice reflecting steel and threat this moment.
The steel and reverberation in Bastian's voice could only heat up the tension and send pangs of fear down Bojan's spine. In a moment of impulse, he was was forced to consider giving up Limah and her infant at the rare chance of clemency. The fear of the King Gaius and his army overwhelmed him to bits, but then, it was Limah he had harboured in his chariot; the priestess of Temple Nuh who had been a major character behind his commercial fortunes from the heart of Balkan Peninsula to the rest of the kingdoms. He could only consider himself ungrateful to harbour such malicious thought. Without ado, Bojan stood his ground to keep Limah and her infant, damning the consequences.
''And if any one of you filthy Balkans is found guilty of harbouring what belongs to lroyalty,'' said Bastian, slicing deeper through the crowd along with his troop, ''the king would not hesitate to make a meal of you dumbhead. Your Balkan dumbheads will roll and your blood will be feasted upon! No escaping.''
Bastian's resort to using vulgar words against the Balkans and their identity did not sit very well with the Balkan travellers and merchants. That singular tactless act caused a wave of suppressed murmurs of dissatisfaction across the crowd, except for a bitter Balkan traveller who dared to voice out his displeasure in the shape of an attack at Bastian's tactless approach.
''Damn you and your king, you fucking cunt!'' One of the bitter Balkans cursed out loud. ''Your royalty has nothing of worth for the Balkans!''
As exprcted, the aggrieved Balkan drew attention of the crowd to himself as his bitter voice sliced through the heated quiet and mass of hushed murmurs. But it was not long before Ganicus advanced recklessly through the crowd, riding on a galloping horse out of the blue and struck his sword at the neck of the vocal Balkan. The sword sliced right through his neck leaving splashes of blood on the faces of his fellow travellers. Looks of shock and astonishment rushed to the faces of the Balkan travellers. The panic heated up amongst the travellers as much as the uproar that followed.
''Quiet!'' Ganicus bawled in an arrogant attempt to shush the commotion amidst the noisy crowd. He brandished his sword conspicuously around amidst the crowd. ''How many more rebels are there amongst you?! Come forth or forever hold your peace!''
The murmurs were instantly suppressed at the voice of authority and power as Ganicus picked up the head of his subject and dangled it in the presence of the crowd while he rode around on his horse parading the blood-stained head in a bid to strike fear in the hearts of others.
The moment was palpably tensed as Bastian commanded his soldiers to ransack the travellers; this time, in a rigorous and aggressive way. But as fate would have it for Limah who clung her infant between her breasts to maintain quiet amidst the commotion and tensed moment, she soon lost control of the situation by a little lapse in concentration as she accidentally let her baby let out uneasy shriek and whimpers in a moment of discomfort. Limah's infant screeched letting out a high-pitched cry which brought the soldiers to a halt to switch focus on Bojan's chariots. The pitch of the baby's cry was high and had been borne out of sheer discomfort.
At hearing the shriek, Bojan snatched the infant from Limah who struggled to shush the noise. Of course, the soldiers were drawn towards Bojan's chariots as Bastian and his troop readied to siege the chariots to sate their curiosity. As they advanced towards Bojan's chariots, the clever Balkan merchant instantly made a little fire tilted the flames towards the woolen curtain in one of the side entrances. Bojan cradled the child in his arms and stealthily escaped through the other side entrance while leaving Limah behind.
''Seize that chariot and bring everyone to proper check!'' Bastian ordered his soldiers even as they advanced towards Bojan's chariot where the noise had emanated from.
It was not long, however, before the little fire raged and waxed stronger as the flames spread up across the curtain. This inferno came within the soldiers' eyeshot and made them advance really fast towards the burning chariots.
However, the growing flames and aggressive marching of the soldiers towards the chariots scared the horses as the beasts neighed aggressively and consequently launched into a frantic gallop amidst the crowd of travellers. The horses went wild as the inferno raged stronger behind the two beasts pulling the chariots, leaving Limah trapped within the flames and fire in the chariot. This sudden outburst caused a fatal uproar and commotion amidst the crowd of travellers as all travellers got on the loose away from the city's gate on impulse.
Panic was in play and the burning chariot were on the loose. The travellers wouldn't cease in their tracks as they deemed this the best chance to run free from the soldiers' oppression. Of course, the soldiers equally doubled up on their chase and went right after the fleeing travellers.
Bojan had wrapped the baby up in a dusty cashmere material. He cradled the baby still in his arms as he rode on a different horse in a bid to match the speed of the crazy horses and burning chariots which had Limah trapped within.
The inferno within the chariot waxed stronger and stronger and Bojan intensified effort to catch up and ride closer to the burning chariots in a bid to salvage Limah from the fire.
''Venerable priestess!'' Bojan shouted while keeping pace with the burning chariot and panicking horses. He sighted Limah all covered up in her black veil amidst the flames. ''Come on, let me have your hand. I will catch you, trust me!''