The Emir
As Draco's convoy was led into the city, he was able to get a better look at it.
The roads in the city were paved with loose stones, and his first impression was that the city was impoverished.
The city's buildings were all arranged unevenly, and they extended inwards in disorganized rows.
The city was also built on a hill, for the inner buildings stood above the buildings on the outer edge.
The center of the city held a large building that stood out from the rest of the city. It was a small palace of sorts, and it was made of white stone surrounded by circular towers.
These towers were all adorned with bronze tops, and they had tall trees planted around their base.
The guards led them towards this small palace, and as Draco's convoy traveled he saw the city's residents stop what they were doing to watch them with interest.
The citizens of Sabha all wore loose fitting white robes, and had headwraps on their heads to protect them from the sun.
There were also many people that looked quite famished panhandling on the streets, and Draco didn't want to imagine being homeless in such intense heat.
It wasn't a large city, and it took their group only around ten minutes to travel through its zig-zagging streets.
The guards leading their convoy stopped in front of the palace's walls, and they got out of their vehicles to present identification to the guards stationed there.
The guards then opened a metal gate and instructed only Draco's vehicle to pass through.
Draco left the other vehicles behind as they went into the palace's courtyard.
Several armed guards within the walls followed their car with their eyes as Draco drove to the front of the palace.
Stopping in front of the courtyard, Draco tried to wake Snow up to tell her that they were getting out.
However, Snow was a deep sleeper, and no amount of pushing or prodding was able to wake her up.
Draco decided it was best to just leave her there, for he didn't have time to bother with waking her.
Draco and Amber then got out of the car and proceeded up the courtyard, flanked by a group of armed guards.
The palace had a large metal door in the front, and it took two guards to open it.
The interior of the palace reminded Draco of Amira's residence back in the Khalid Dynasty, only it was less lavish.
It had a wide staircase in the middle of the palace, and a number of hallways and corridors on the sides that led to unknown areas.
The majority of the guards within were normal humans, but Draco spotted a few powered soldiers patrolling the hallways.
As Draco traveled up a staircase in the center of the floor, he wondered if the leader of this place was powered as well.
The staircase led to a wide hallway, and they passed several closed doors before being led to a large room on the side.
This room was evidently a waiting area of sorts, and it had a small table in the middle with comfortable looking couches surrounding it.
One of the guards said something in Arabic, and Amber told Draco that they would have to wait here to speak with "The Emir."
"Emir means Governor in Arabic, he's the man in charge of the city." Amber explained to Draco, who was clearly confused.
Draco didn't understand why the soldiers in Khalifa Haftars compound spoke a seemingly different language.
They were also darker-skinned than the people Draco had seen in the city, so Draco asked Amber why that was.
"Khalifa Haftar is an African warlord, but he's not from here. He came to Libya from Sudan almost four years ago. He brought his army with him, and they set up his compound far south of here." Amber said.
This made sense to Draco, but he still wasn't clear about one thing.
"So how did you and the other researchers get taken from here?" Draco asked.
Amber sighed, "We were studying the skeletal remains of an ancient progenitor a few miles away from the city's walls."
A forlorn looked crossed her eyes, "A squad of Khalifa Haftar's soldiers came across us in the desert, and once they found out what we were researching they captured us. The rest is history." she said.
After Amber said this they waited in silence for a few minutes until the door opened back up.
A tall man entered the room, followed closely by two guards.
The man was so tall that he had to duck his head to enter through the doorway, and Draco guessed that he was well over 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall.
The man was oozing with power, and Draco imagined that he was comparable to Amira or Muhammed in strength.
He was wearing flowing white robes and a tight head wrap, but the loose clothing did little to hide his muscular build.
The man also had a long, bushy beard, and a scar across his left eye.
Draco surmised that this was, 'The Emir' Amber had mentioned earlier.
His two guards were also powered, but Draco couldn't tell if he was stronger than them.
They were certainly stronger than Khalifa Haftars guards, but that wasn't saying much Draco thought with a smirk.
The guards carried wicked looking sabers with long handles. They emanated a distinct purple aura, and Draco could tell that they were strong artifacts just by looking at them.
As the man's power was being appraised by Draco, he did the same thing.
He was shocked though, for this man who he had heard was an "arms dealer." was actually a strong powered individual.
His strength was apparent, and the man thought that his aura had a primal edge to it. It rippled with an unstable energy, and it almost reminded him of certain soldiers from a neighboring country.
'It can't be though, for his aura is much too unstable to have trained there.' he thought, his face placid.
After the man entered the room with his two guards he introduced himself, "Greetings, my name is Saalim Khalid. I am responsible for governing these lands." he said, a thick Arabic accent in his words.
Hearing the man's surname, Draco was shocked.
'He must be a descendant from the Khalid royal line, but I wonder how he ended up all the way out here.' Draco wondered.
After all, Sahba was a city in Libya. Saudi Arabia was a country that was almost two thousand miles away.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, you can call me Draco." Draco said, getting up to shake Saalim Khalid's hand.
The two shook hands, and Saalim took a seat across from Draco.
"So tell me, Draco. What brings you to these parts? My guards told me some things already, but I'd like to hear it from you yourself." Saalim said.
Draco didn't know what relationship this Saalim Khalid had with the Dynasty, but he didn't want the man to find out the truth about why he was there.
"I'm sure that by now you've heard about the earlier attack on Khalifa Haftar's compound." Draco said before pausing for dramatic effect.
"I just escaped from there with my life. But I'll have you know I have no relation with that warlord, for I was only there on strict business matters." Draco continued, waiting to see Saalim Khalid's reaction.
The man frowned, "I understand business better than most, I bear no ill will against Haftar. What happened to his forces was a tragedy, for we had a symbiotic relationship of sorts."
When Draco heard this, he wondered if the man was really telling the truth. After all, if he was, that meant that his relationship with the Khalid Dynasty wasn't too close.
For starters, if the man was still in contact with the Dynasty, then surely they would've warned him about the attack.
He also likely wouldn't be calling what happened a tragedy, either.
Draco was now almost certain that the man had no way to know who he actually was, so he smiled broadly.
"I heard you were having some trouble with 'desert bandits', if that's the case, then I imagine with Khalifa Haftar gone you will be needing extra muscle." Draco said, taking the initiative in the conversation.
Saalim pulled on his beard's hair, seemingly lost in thought.
"You are astute. I'm sure you know that we would occasionally enlist Haftar's forces as mercenaries." he said.
The tall man sighed, "With him gone, we'll be forced to take everything we can get."
Draco nodded his head when heard this, "I'd be happy to assist. But of course, as someone who knows business as well as yourself, I'm sure you know that nothing is free."
Saalim Khalid showed Draco a sly smile, "Of course, Draco. Once the threat of bandits has been eliminated, you will have your choice of treasure from my coffers."
Draco smiled again, "Then my services are yours."