[center][h2][b][i][color=00aeef]Qar[/color][/i][/b][/h2][/center]

"Thank you, Vizier." The woman scuttled off, clutching a small herb pouch to her chest as if it were the most precious item she possessed.  It might well have been, for all Qar knew; slaves were not in a position to own things.  The slave's son had grown ill, probably from drinking some dirty water in the slave quarters; often the young were more likely to succumb to such thing as they had yet to build up a resistance to the illness that resided in the water.  Qar sighed, happy to have finished his rounds but concerned at the nature of the illnesses he was treating lately; by and large they were common conditions generally caused by terrible, dirty living conditions or the intake of poisoned or dirty water.  In many ways it was safer to drink wine despite the obvious dangers of excessive consumption of the beverage, at least one would be less likely to contract a disease from it.

[color=00aeef]"Thank you for your patience, Zamonth. I've finished my rounds now."[/color] Qar thanked the large man, pointing with his staff down a path to another part of the city. [color=00aeef]"Come, I saw some food stalls in this direction on my earlier foray into the city which looked quite promising."[/color] He headed off in that direction and perused a few options from a distance before choosing one emitting a particular appetising aroma.  When the stallholder spotted them he made every effort to serve them quickly, presumably having noticed Qar's elaborately carved staff and heard something of the Vizier physician and the small sign of his station that he carried everywhere.  

As their food arrived, Qar took a small drink from a stoneware cup filled with wine.  It did not taste too strongly but he would be unlikely to drink more than one cup; there was something that kept him from relaxing and it wasn't the presence of the hulking foreigner currently sitting opposite him.  It was a base instinct that was warning him to remain alert and Qar, an amateur in the realm of politics, was paranoid about something occurring on the first day of Amen's reign.  To distract himself he tried to make conversation with Zamonth, keen to hear of the man's experiences elsewhere in the world.

[color=00aeef]"So Zamonth, you must have travelled far and wide and seen many different countries and cultures to have come here.  I'm curious, if you're willing could you tell me of some of these places?  I hear nothing but wild imaginings and tall tales from merchants and I'd rather hear the reality from a man who has seen such things with his own eyes."[/color]