The Stratigos of Dark Magic

Ganzaya nocked the arrow on his bow. Theotokos rode forward, getting between him and Tabahn Khan. Demetrius stayed back. His hand was outstretched, and his book was open.

"Why are you getting in front of that barbarian? I could easily stop his arrows with a magical shield," Demetrius thought.

"I can't let you kill him," Theotokos said.

Ganzaya narrowed his eyes.

"And why not?" he asked.

"Because Tabahn Khan is the leader of the Baikals. It's one thing to let you Ulvs take revenge on his warriors, but we're not letting you kill him," Theotokos answered.

Ganzaya nodded. He put his arrow back in its quiver. Shock coated Demetrius.

"What is that barbarian doing? Is he giving up, just like that? I didn't think a warrior of the Steppe would give in so easily, especially the apparent greatest warrior of the Ulvs," the boy thought.

"Look in your records, Remen," Ganzaya said. "I agreed to fight for you without pay."

"Do you think that's enough to convince us to let you kill Tabahn Khan?" Theotokos questioned.

Ganzaya shook his head.

"Not at all. But if I can't kill him, perhaps there's something else you could let me do?" he asked.

A revelation flashed through Demetrius.

"I get what he's doing. This barbarian started with a ridiculous demand so his next request wouldn't seem so bad," the boy thought.

"What do you want?" Theotokos wondered.

Ganzaya turned back toward the town.

"We can talk about that later. Right now, you need to make sure that Tabahn Khan makes it to your prison safely. I'm not the only Ulv that wants him dead," he said.

The horseman started riding back. Theotokos sighed.

"We'll have to put more guards around his prison than I thought," the Tourmarchēs stated.

Demetrius rode over to him.

"Yes. Get onto that as soon as we get the Khan in his prison," he said.

Theotokos nodded.

Tabahn Khan's men carried him into the town on foot. They were surrounded by Remen cavalry all the way. The Baikals shivered as they passed by the burnt remains of the battering ram and the charred corpses surrounding it.

The group entered the town. They trudged through the melting spring snow and mud it left in its wake. On their sides were whitewashed wooden houses, their residents gazing outside at the warriors.

Demetrius looked at their faces. Some had looks of relief that the battle was over. Others gazed at Tabahn Khan with pure rage in their eyes. A few even focused on the Remen soldiers, smiles on their faces.

"You showed those barbarians the might of the Remen Empire!" an old man called out. "It makes me nostalgic for my old army days."

"Those barbarians made a mistake when they messed with us!" a baker grinned.

"The gods shine upon the Remen Empire!" a woman declared.

Several children watched the warriors with wide eyes.

"When I grow up, I'm gonna be a theme warrior," one of them bragged. "Just like my daddy! I'll protect you all from barbarians!"

Tabahn Khan grimaced, glaring at the people cheering on the soldiers.

"So, this is what it feels like to be on the other end of this," he said. "To be the captured instead of the capturer, to be the conquered instead of the conqueror."

Theotokos scoffed.

"The Remen Empire has no interest in your worthless tracts of grassland. You don't need to worry about us conquering you," he stated.

Tabahn Khan chuckled.

"That is quite noble of you," his voice dripped with mockery. "Quite idealistic. It is quite admirable to see the best in people, especially people who want to take your head."

Demetrius' status screen came up.

Named Entities that Fear You: 179.

"It looks like Tabahn Khan isn't afraid of me anymore. I will fix that later," he thought.

Theotokos glared at the Khan, anger pulsing through the Reman.

"You should watch your tongue, Tabahn Khan. You are at our mercy," he said.

"What did I say? I just pointed out that your naive way of thinking is no doubt admirable. It would get you killed on the Steppe, but perhaps it's one of the comforts you get from hiding behind your tall walls? Some might think of refraining from conquest as cowardice, but I assure you that there are others who don't," Tabahn Khan replied, a smug smirk on his face.

Theotokos kept his glare on the Baikal leader, but he held his tongue. Demetrius did the same.

"This barbarian really knows nothing about us. He thinks that our mercy is a sign of weakness. He'll come to regret his words. If he kept his mouth shut, we might have just let him go after we got a ransom," Demetrius thought.

The group arrived at a tall tower in the center of the village. They took Tabahn Khan up to the tallest part of the building, which was as opulent a room as you could get in this frontier.

There was a chair and a table made of fine wood. A chest was in the corner of the room. Next to the wall was a fine feather bed covered in a great blanket, a stand holding the piece of furniture up. This bed was big enough for the Khan and his heavy cavalry. People rarely slept alone in this world. Most lords slept in the same bed with their wife, their children, and their retainers.

"This is a fine place," Tabahn Khan's eyes were wide. "I'm impressed."

"In Kostaspolis, even poor people have better bedrooms than this," Demetrius thought.

Theotokos gave the Khan a polite nod.

"This is where visiting aristocrats stay. Why, the Basilius himself slept here when he was a prince. You might be our prisoner and a mere barbarian, but you're still a Khan. You will be treated as any leader should," Theotokos said.

"Then will you feed me well?" Tabahn Khan questioned.

"Of course, we will. We'll also have the best doctor in town treat your wounds. You are a king, so we'll treat you as a king."

Tabahn Khan nodded, his smug smirk rising.

"I heard that you Remens treated captured enemies well, but I didn't expect it to be this well. Even if we captured a khan, we'd never treat him that well before sending him to his death or ransom. It baffles me how your Empire still stands when it spends so much resources on its enemies," he declared.

Theotokos shrugged.

"So it does," he said.

The Tourmarchēs left the room, some men staying on guard duty after taking whatever weapons Tabahn Khan's men had left. Demetrius stayed in the room with a smug smirk on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Tabahn Khan asked.

"I just want to make sure you know that you will never conquer the Remen Empire. I will crush your army every time you try. For the sake of your people, I would advise against going after us again," Demetrius answered.

Tabahn Khan scoffed.

"My people would gladly throw themselves on swords for my sake. And I'm sure that an aristocrat like you understands that commoners only exist to serve us," he said.

Demetrius felt like throwing up.

"He's just like corrupt aristocrats here. Thank the gods we don't have Feudalism here in the Remen Empire. Otherwise, men like Tabahn Khan would destroy the Empire. Of course, the Steppe barbarians don't have Feudalism either. But I can't say their warring clan government is much better," Demetrius thought.

He turned around and left the room. When Demetrius reached the bottom of the tower, he saw that Ganzaya had just entered. Theotokos was talking to several men who were standing next to the fireplace. All eyes turned to the Ulv, who surveyed the room with his hawk-like eyes.

"So, you're finally here," Theotokos said.

"Yes," Ganzaya replied. "First, I must thank you and the sorcerer. Because of you, the Ulvs are being avenged."

Guilt pulsed through Demetrius' heart.

"I'm sorry. You might be a barbarian, but you probably don't deserve what I'm going to say," he thought.

The boy gave Ganzaya a grimace.

"Don't thank us, barbarian. We defeated the Baikals to defend ourselves. Your pathetic little tribe had nothing to do with it," Demetrius said.

Shock pulsed through Demetrius when Ganzaya burst out laughing.

"True enough, Reman! But you must at least admit that if it wasn't for my arrow, Tabahn Khan would have escaped," the Ulv pointed out.

Theotokos stepped forward, moving between Ganzaya and Demetrius.

"That's true enough," the Tourmarchēs stated. "But I must advise that you choose your words with care around Stratigos Demetrius. He is the highest-ranking official here."

Ganzaya nodded.

"It is impressive how a boy like him managed to become a general," he admitted.

"I'm not a boy," Demetrius pointed to his face. "I don't know what you barbarians do, but in the Remen Empire, you're a man when you can grow a full beard."

The Ulv gave him a polite bow.

"I apologize if I offended you," Ganzaya said.

Demetrius' body moved on its own. He put his hands up in a placating gesture.

"It's fine. You didn't offend me. I just ha..." Demetrius started.

He stopped himself. Thetokos' jaw had dropped to the ground. The theme warriors in the room gazed on in sheer shock.

"Damnations 1,000 fold! I have to salvage this somehow," Demetrius thought fast before laughing. "How pathetic! The men of this garrison are truly fools, letting simple words surprise them! I can't believe you actually thought I meant them!"

The shocked faces faded.

"I should have known as much," Theotokos sighed.

Demetrius kept up his laugh. Ganzaya hadn't changed his expression. Then, Demetrius gave Ganzaya a dismissive wave.

"Alright. Tell us what you want, barbarian. I'm sure we can give you a few rats to eat as a reward," Demetrius said.

Ganzaya's face turned deadly serious.

"I want to interrogate Tabahn Khan," he stated.

"You mean, you want to kill him?" Demetrius asked with a glare.

"Of course, he doesn't want to do that. If this barbarian did, he'd have shot Tabahn Khan with an arrow and fled into the Steppe," the Reman thought.

Ganzaya shook his head.

"I would like to see Tabahn Khan dead, yes, but it isn't my place to kill him. He surrendered to you. He is your prisoner, not mine. I might be the one who shot the arrow that led to you capturing him, but I did it as your mercenary," he said.

Theotokos scratched his beard.

"Ganzaya, that's your name, right?" he asked.

"It is," the Ulv answered.

"I'm going to tell you this right now: we are treating Tabahn Khan as a king should be treated. While he's our prisoner, he will live in whatever luxury we can give up," Theotokos said.

A flash of anger crossed Ganzaya's face. Everyone, even Demetrius, jumped back. Then, the anger faded.

"I would rather have Tabahn Khan thrown into a pigsty, but that is not my decision to make. I only ask that I may interrogate him," Ganzaya stated.

Demetrius walked around Theotokos. The boy stepped right up to Ganzaya. There was a cold look on Demetrius' face.

"And what do you want Tabahn Khan to tell you?" he asked.

"I want him to tell me where my wife is," Ganzaya answered.

The room turned silent. Ganzaya took a deep breath. His expression became that of a man driven by the guilt of failure.

"I've seen that look before," Demetrius thought. "It's the look my father has whenever he's drinking. I...I hope Ganzaya hasn't fallen into despair like he has."

It took all of Demetrius' willpower to hide the pangs of sympathy he was feeling.

Ganzaya breathed deeply once more.

"When we Ulvs were attacked, Tabahn Khan personally kidnapped my wife. I have no doubt that he forced her to marry him or one of his top men. This sort of thing is not uncommon among the Steppe peoples. My cousin kidnapped his wife. But I did not kidnap mine. I grew up with Khaliun, and I was the happiest man in the world when her father agreed to let me marry her. She is the mother of my daughter. And if I can't stop another man from kidnapping and marrying her, I'm a failure of a husband. I will not fail my wife," he said.

"Kidnapping women and forcing them to be their wives? And these people wonder why we call them barbarians? Still, Ganzaya didn't kidnap his wife, and he clearly loves her," Demetrius thought.

A look of complete understanding crossed Theotokos' face.

"Alright, Ganzaya, you can interrogate Tabahn Khan," he stated. "I'm not going to keep a man from saving his wife."

"Thank you," the Ulv gave him a smile.

He started to move towards the stairs with Theotokos accompanying him, but Demetrius stepped in his way.

"Ganzaya, we Remens don't kill captured enemies," the boy said.

"I'm not going to kill Tabahn Khan," Ganzaya promised.

Demetrius nodded.

"I believe that you will try to let him live, but he is badly injured. Interrogations involve torture, and I'm worried that Tabahn Khan will die from the torture. It would make us look bad if we let a barbarian torture one of our prisoners to death, you understand."

Ganzaya nodded.

"Yes, I do," he said.

Demetrius kept a stoic face.

"You can interrogate Tabahn Khan, but only after he's recovered enough to ride a horse," the boy stated.

"We're going to release him after he's recovered that much, so if he's injured when Ganzaya's torturing him, that just means we'll have him with us for a bit longer," Demetrius thought.

Theotokos nodded.

"That shouldn't take more than a few days, considering how good our doctor is and how good you people are at riding horses," he said.

Ganzaya took another bow.

"Thank you, brave commanders of the Remen Empire. I will see you in a few days when Tabahn Khan's well enough to survive an interrogation."