With the hotel room in shambles, Sin and his companions were moved to the next room over. They offered to pay for the damages the Fog Troop caused. Ja'far had spent a lot of time running around, tying up loose ends. Masrur was to keep an eye on Sin; he may have consciously let Sin slip out to drink for a bit, but at least Sindria's king was coherent enough to return before Ja'far would notice his absence.

Upon returning, Ja'far explained his findings to Sin and Masrur. "Looking at historical records, the attack Cassim used was one known to belong to the 72nd djinn, Andromalius."

Sin scratched his chin. "Really? There must be another dungeon conqueror around…pity I don't have my vessels, it would be easier to find the other King's Candidate."

"And whose fault is that?" Ja'far sighed, "You really should stop drinking."

"It can't be helped. Drinking is something adults do, Ja'far. Did you find out who conquered that dungeon?"

"I did…a warrior queen named Zenobia. To the north and west of here is a country formerly controlled by Reim. When Caesar Aurelian Caluades came into power, Zenobia used that confusion to break away and reestablish her Kingdom of Pamira. Since then, she has been steadily increasing that kingdom into an empire of her own."

"So…we can assume Kou isn't the only power with its sights on Balbadd."

"It looks that way. Speaking of Kou, Ahbmad's fiancee has arrived and the wedding is to take place in two days. I also learned that Ahbmad is planning to sign the rights of the citizens to Kou at that time. He intends to turn Balbadd into a slave exporting nation. What's more..." Ja'far took a deep breath, "Judar is also staying at the palace."

"Judar?! What's he doing there?"

"Apparently, he's Kou's priest. He's probably working with Balbadd the way he worked with Parthevia back when…" Ja'far did not need to finish his sentence. They knew. How could they forget? Death and destruction as far as the eye could see. Nearly every citizen in their new country wiped out thanks to a trap Judar had set up. Recalling how their friends fell in battle even made the normally steadfast Masrur shiver a bit.

Sinbad continued, "Well, we definitely don't want that wedding to take place, and if Judar is here, I'd wager he won't make stopping it easy."

There was a knock on the door. Masrur, who was already standing, went over to open it, revealing a welcoming face.

"I finally found you," Zenobia's voice rang as she entered with a blond boy behind her. She was empty handed, which didn't raise any suspicions since that was how they were used to seeing her. Before arriving, she had previously hidden the treasures she got from the bandits and informed Alibaba that they knew her as Neela. "What happened? The room you used to be in is a disaster!"

Sin greeted, "Ah, Neela, you're back! Yeah, it seems as though the Fog Troop reassembled. They attacked us and wouldn't listen to reason. Seems as though they're growing stronger too."

"They what!?" Zenobia bursted out a little bit louder than expected. She breathed deeply to calm her anger as the others stared at her in confusion. "I'm sorry to hear that. I should take responsibility for not handling the situation properly."

"We all make mistakes. Best thing to do is keep moving forward." Sinbad cocked his head to see a new person standing behind Zenobia. "I take it your search was fruitful?"

Zenobia took a step to the side to more fully reveal the boy. "Ah yes. May I present the Third Prince of Balbadd, Alibaba Saluja. And Alibaba, this here is the King of Sindria, Sin-"

"Sinbad!" Alibaba shouted with excitement. " You mean THE Sinbad? As in Adventures of Sinbad?! Conqueror of the seven seas Sinbad?! Master of seven djinn Sinbad?! Oh man! I love reading all the stories about you!"

Sin crossed his arms in front of his puffed chest and smiled at the recognition. When the praise was done, he looked over the boy, admiring how much he resembled his father.

"Well Alibaba, sounds like you've arrived just in time! We better get an audience with the king before the citizens of Balbadd are turned into slaves!"

An audience with the king was set up for the following day, giving some time to prepare.

Under the cover of darkness, Zenobia took Alibaba to the abandoned lighthouse that the Fog Troop was based in. It brought back childhood memories for Alibaba to see his friends from the slums. Once in Cassim's quarters, Zenobia wasted no time in threatening him with a sword to his throat.

"What's this I hear about you attacking the hotel?" she growled.

Cassim scoffed, "Sinbad's a threat, I rather take him out before he gets us."

Her sword dropped a little as she fumed with tried patience, "Theoretically, I should be proud of you taking the initiative, but I am using him right now."

"Well how was I supposed to know that? You said he was conspiring with the government!"

"Which is why I need him! So we have a way to get into the palace and get you two running things around here."

At the mention of "you two" he looked past her and it was as if for the first time, Cassim noticed Alibaba standing there. "Ali...baba…? She really did find you, huh?"

Zenobia sheathed her sword as Cassim walked around her. He clenched a fist like he wanted to punch his old friend but refrained and put on a more pleasant face to greet him. Surprising though, the blond haired boy that had been equally cheerful up until then also had clenched his fist.

"Hey Alibaba! What's up…?" Cassim's preppy greeting was cut short as Alibaba punched him square in the jaw.

"That is for ransacking the palace," the blond huffed.

Cassim stood back up straight and rubbed his jaw. "Good to see you too. You know if they hadn't left us destitute, we wouldn't have needed to steal!"

"My father DIED thanks to your raid!"

"So who cares about that old creep? It's not like he loved you like your mom did. Throwing her out to the slums and then taxing the slums to death! He's just as responsible for her death as I am for his!"

Alibaba teared up. "I-it wasn't like that, Cassim!" The prince had a unique position of living on both sides of the situation. When brought to the palace from the slums, he had learned finances and economics. Throughout, he never forgot the hardships it created for the lower class. In his travels after running away from Balbadd, he kept an eye open for how other communities would help the poor. "If you're going to be helping me save Balbadd and restoring it to a thriving nation...I need you to get that!"

"Oh yeah? Well tell that to Mariam!"

"Where is she anyway?"

"Dead," Cassim stated flatly with a lifeless look in his eyes. "There was an outbreak and the government closed us off from the rest of the city and care. That's why when we ran into each other years ago in the old slum neighborhood it was cleared out."

Alibaba took a step back in shock. "Why...why didn't you tell me that before?"

Cassim sighed and pulled out a box of cigars and lit one for himself. He offered one to Zenobia, who politely declined. She excused herself, uttering how she hated smoke as she strode outside. Cassim then offered the second one to Alibaba. He accepted and lit it, sitting down casually. He tried to look cool as he inhaled deeply, but got caught with a coughing fit instead. Cassim gave his back a rough pat as the two of them sat by each other. He gave a sour chuckle to himself over the innocence of his reunited companion.

"How could I tell you?" Cassim continued after taking a deep drag. "You looked so stupidly happy when we ran into each other."

Alibaba held his cigar limply while leaning forward. "I'm not some naive idiot, Cassim." As the reality of the loss of his adopted sister sunk in, tears fell from his face. "You don't have to try to protect me from harsh realities. There's plenty of them out there. But...you and I are still friends and we can get through this together."

Cassim rubbed his cheek to catch a tear before Alibaba could spot it. "Friends, huh?" He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Yeah, we'll be working together to take back Balbadd…"

"...and save it," Alibaba insisted, leaning into Cassim with a soft fist to his arm.

"Right." Cassim ruffled the blond hair next to him to hide his mellow tone. "...and save it."

After the two youth worked things out and finished their smoke, they joined Zenobia outside to let her know they were ready. Cassim was instructed to have the troop ready near the palace as backup while Alibaba would confront his brothers.