The Stratigos of Dark Magic

Stratigos Demetrius sat in his tent with Adriadne, Tourmarchēs Khalid, and Tourmarchēs Rukn. The Stratigos was scratching his beard with a contemplative look on his face.

"You said a third of the samurai joined us?" he asked.

"Roughly that," Rukn answered. "It is a bit more than a third of their total numbers if you count the women, servants, and lower-ranking soldiers that joined us too."

"And what of the rest of them?" Demetrius wondered.

"A messenger from the others said they are taking one more day to decide," the Tourmarchēs explained.

Demetrius nodded.

"Send a messenger over," he instructed. "Tell the samurai we will wait for two days at most and no longer."

Tourmarchēs Rukn nodded.

"I will carry out your orders, despotēs," the commander said.

"You had better. I don't expect much of you, but you should at least be able to do that much," Demetrius replied.

Adriadne then spoke up.

"Demetrius, perhaps we could give the samurai some more incentive to join us?" she suggested.

"No. That would not be a good decision," Demetrius said. "We already made an ultimatum. If we give this random band of warriors who fled their homeland anything more than what we offered, it will make us look weak."

Tourmarchēs Rukn then nodded.

"Also, another contingent of reinforcements arrives tomorrow. When it gets here, our numbers advantage will get even bigger," he stated.

"Yes. Also, make sure to post more patrols tonight and tomorrow night. The samurai who didn't join us might try something, and I doubt we should trust the samurai who joined us either," Demetrius said.

"I will do as commanded," Tourmarchēs Rukn replied.

"Good. Now, this meeting is over."

The two Tourmarchēs left the room, but Demetrius stayed. Adriadne didn't leave either. A sense of awkwardness flowed through Demetrius.

"Why is Adriadne still here? She hates me. Does she have some other questions?" he thought before speaking. "Is there something you need, Adriadne?"

She shrugged.

"I don't have anything to do right now, so I thought I would stay here with you," the girl said.

"Why?" Demetrius thought.

Before he could say anything, Ganzaya walked into the tent. He was followed by a familiar onna bugeisha, who had checked her weapons at the entrypoint to the tent. Demetrius' eyes lit up for a split second when he saw the girl.

"Despotēs, this Tomoe woman claims she wants to fight you to the death. Should I deal with her for you?" Ganzaya asked.

"No, no, I can handle this myself," Demetrius answered with swiftness and then changed the topic. "How goes your search for your wife?"

"Poorly. She almost certainly is not in this camp or anywhere near here," the Ulv said. "I haven't searched the samurai camp, but I doubt they're buying slaves from anyone in the region.

A look of sadness crossed his face. Still, Ganzaya buried it under a cowl of determination.

"But I not give up, no matter what," he promised.

"Good. With luck, when we get back to Kostaspolis, your wife will be waiting for you there," Demetrius replied.

"Yes," Ganzaya nodded.

He then looked between Demetrius and Tomoe.

"I don't doubt that Demetrius is more than a match for this woman, especially with his magic, but she wants him dead. Who knows what she'll try?" the Ulv thought before speaking. "I will stay in this tent for now. I am still your bodyguard, and I have confirmed that Khaliun is not here."

Demetrius nodded.

"Go ahead," he said.

Ganzaya stood nearby Demetrius. He kept his hand near his sword. Tomoe then approached the Stratigos. There was a look of determination on her face, and she kept a stoic posture.

"Fight me till die," her words had no emotion.

"No," Demetrius replied before thinking. "She learned some new words."

"Fight me till die."

"No."

"Fight me till die."

"No."

"Fight me till die."

"No."

"Fight me till die."

"No."

Adriadne spoke up.

"Well, Tomoe, was it?" she asked.

"Yes," the onna bugeisha answered.

"I do not think my brother has any interest in dueling you," Adriadne said.

Inside, her mind was racing.

"If she can't get Demetrius to kill her, Tomoe might leave. I can't let that happen. I need to say something that'll get her to stay while convincing her to not challenge Demetrius again. But I don't even know why she wants to die."

"Maybe the two of us could have some girl talk together?" Adriadne suggested.

Pure panic flashed through Demetrius.

"Dammit! If Adriadne gets Tomoe alone with her, she'll turn Tomoe against me permanently! I might be able to find some way to get Tomoe to forgive me if I talk to her. But if Adriadne gets in the way...I should let her. I don't deserve...but I can't just give up! I never found a woman attractive before Tomoe! I...I don't deserve...but I want..."

The Stratigos' mind raced. He turned pale from the internal struggle. His self-hatred came in like a storm against a castle. But Demetrius' desire fought back with the world's biggest artillery. In the end, Demetrius came to a decision.

"I don't want Tomoe to end up like Mother. No woman should have to be the wife of a Dark Magician. I'm not sure how I'll get an heir, but I can at least spare Tomoe from this fate," Demetrius thought before speaking. "Go ahead. Have whatever talk you want."

Adriadne gave him a nod.

"We'll be back soon enough, Demetrius," she promised.

Grabbing Tomoe, Adriadne dragged her out of the tent. The onna bugeisha did not resist. However, Adriadne felt Tomoe's arm muscles as they moved. An unsettling feeling crossed her mind.

"Tomoe's stronger than any woman should be. What can Demetrius see in a brute like her?" Adriadne thought.

She shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. I want to support Demetrius. We've been estranged for far too long."

Adriadne took Tomoe to an isolated corner of the camp. There were still people in the area, but there weren't many. And most of the people were busy with something or other.

"So, Tomoe, have you learned enough words to tell me why you want to die?" Adriadne asked.

"No," the onna bugeisha answered.

"Time to change tactics," the witch thought before speaking. "I understand that your barbarian homeland must be violent if women without magic carry weapons there. But the Remen Empire is not like that. You won't have to fight yourself. You can let men do that for you. You can just hang up your weapons and be safe."

While Tomoe did not understand a lot of what Adriadne said, she got the general idea of it.

"But like fight. Like weapons," Tomoe stated.

Adriadne forced a smile, but something broke inside of her.

"What is wrong with this woman? She actually likes things like that? Only men are supposed to like fighting. She reminds me of that ice Stratigos woman. But at least she has magic, so it isn't unnatural when she fights. What could Demetrius possibly like about Tomoe?" the witch thought before speaking. "Well, you clearly don't actually want to die. If you did, you'd just kill yourself, wouldn't you?"

Tomoe shook her head.

"Die fight," she said.

Adriadne's eye twitched. She jabbed a finger at the other girl's chest.

"Listen, Tomoe, going out in a blaze of glory is for men. It's unnatural when women do it unless they can use magic. And even when men do it, it's stupid. You are far more useful alive then dead. So, why throw your life away?"

Tomoe tilted her head. A look of confusion crossed her face.

"Don't know words," she stated.

"Which words?" Adriadne asked.

"Listen. Blaze. Glory. Unnatural. Do. Stupid. Far. More. Throw..." Tomoe started.

"Never mind," the witch interrupted her. "I get it. I won't be able to talk to you properly until you learn more Grekken. So, I will do my utmost to teach you Grekken."

Tomoe shook her head.

"No. Need. Onmyoji kill me," she said.

"My brother is not killing you, and I doubt anyone other than Father, Caesar Basil, or the Basileus himself could make him," Adriadne spoke before thinking. "I have any idea why Tomoe doesn't just attack Demetrius. Maybe she has some barbarian's sense of honor about this?"

Then, Adriadne folded her arms.

"But if you really want to get Demetrius to kill you, don't you think you'd be able to better convince him if you knew more Grekken?" she asked.

Tomoe tilted her head. An expression of confusion crossed her face. For a moment, Adriadne throught Tomoe couldn't figure out what she said again. Then, the onna bugeisha spoke.

"Why care?" Tomoe asked.

"Are you asking why I care?" Adriadne pointed at herself. "Or why you should care?"

She pointed at Tomoe. The onna bugeisha pointed at her.

"Why you care," she said.

"You don't know enough words for me to explain that," Adriadne replied.

Tomoe nodded, as if accepting this. Then, Adriadne motioned her to follow.

"Come with me. I have my own tent that I can teach you in," the witch stated.

While Adriadne had never taught anyone a new language before, she certainly hoped that she could give Tomoe a good enough education on Grekken.