Everyone in the room looked at the map of Dúka and the huge building they were supposed to raid.

"Let me bear the responsibility of accessing the information while you distract them," Ilias said. "The building is tall and has no entrance except for one, which, of course, they'll be guarding. I can turn into a bird so flying over there shouldn't be a problem. Once I go in, there are simpler ways I can use to hide."

Armad looked at him inquisitively. "Can you do it alone?"

Ilias nodded. "Yes, as long as you can take their attention away from me."

Armad looked at Inara and Spoon and said, "Then it's our job to deal with five thousand warriors and five captains. Remember, each captain has at least 1,000 years of pol. There's a possibility that Uznu Ururu is also there. Can we do it?"

Instead of answering with words, Inara bowed his head and put his hand on his sword. The boy wouldn't mind following his teacher anywhere. Whether it was dangerous or not mattered little to him.

Spoon nodded. "I can distract 5,000 soldiers. We don't need to kill them, so it should be easy." The big man had large-scale Bends that were meant for fighting hundreds of people alone. If it was just distraction, then he could surely use them on thousands of people.

Armad nodded and looked at Inara. "You can't stand against a captain yet, so you should stay with Spoon and distract the foot soldiers. I will distract the captains."

Inara looked at Armad with concern and said, "Teacher, what if Uznu is here as well? It may be dangerous for teacher if the commander team up with the five captains. I think we should stay together and protect each other's backs. My father used to say that humans look more intimidating together."

"Yes," Spoon said thoughtfully. "I think I agree with the boy. I can take care of one captain but beyond that, I'm not so sure. There is a possibility that the people of the town will also support them. We may even need to delay the raid if Uznu is here."

Armad looked at Ilias to hear his take. The man nodded in support. "I agree with what they said. Before we do anything, we should find out whether Uznu is here or not."

Armad thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "You're right, but there is still one thing you aren't taking into consideration - time. We have already been away for three days now. We have just four days to return to Sisiya. Also, every hour we spend here is another hour someone is going to find out about us. This town is small and its people are not like us. How long do you think we have before someone reports us to the authority? I have fought with Uznu during the jinzidal. He was the reason Nusi is not here with us. So don't think I didn't prepare for him.

"I say we continue with the raid as planned. Everything depends on you Ilias. Even if Uznu is here, I'll keep him and his captains busy for a while. The faster you go in and find the information we need, the more successful we will be."

Ilias and Spoon looked at each other, debating everything in their minds. After a while, Spoon nodded. "I'll take your word for it then."

Inara nodded as well. "I'll believe in teacher."

Ilias didn't argue. He just stood and got his things. "Shall we start now, or wait until morning?"

Armad smiled at their approval. He, too, was prepared to take the risk. How would he ever know his strength if he didn't try to test it against powerful enemies? He wasn't afraid of the black eyes anymore.

Inara went out and bought some food for Spoon. At midnight, they set out for the mission.

It was late but a few people still roamed the streets. All four of them wore big hats to hide their faces. Armad stood on the right and Ilias on the left, then Spoon and Inara stood at the center. Spoon looked bigger because of the extra load of meat he was carrying beneath his robe. Every few minutes, he would bring it out and spice it up with the packaged pepper soup in his hand before he took a big bite. He looked like a clown and because of that, people took them for granted. Just what they wanted.

When they caught sight of guards blocking their way in the distance, they would move to another way and continue. After walking like this for an hour, they saw the top of their target building in the distance. Armad pulled out the map from his pocket and looked at the buildings in the surrounding. There was still some distance to cover so they kept going.

As they got closer to the building, the security tightened. Armad had to activate his pol sensing to avoid them. Soon they arrived at a crossroads. Armad stopped with a thoughtful expression. He said, "All routes beyond here are blocked. We won't be able to bypass them anymore."

Ilias nodded and said, "Then it's time for me to go. I will try to finish everything within an hour. Distract them until then. When we are done, we will meet in the suburbs as agreed." He turned into a hawk and flew away.

Spoon quickly finished his remaining meal and threw the bones away. Inara drew his sword.

"I believe the captains are inside the building, leaving them there will cause Ilias some problems," Armad said. And after some thought, he added, "Attack the guards at the entrance. I will draw the captains out of the building."

Everyone nodded and took their posts. The operation - operation find out where Nusi is - began.