Legends Never Die: Prices to be Paid (ch. 58) (Patreon)

"Ah, so I'm out of the fight then?" Was Astrid's rather lackluster response to learning that she was pregnant. She looked down at her stomach with an expression of mild annoyance, but didn't exactly seem displeased with the news. "Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time. Honestly, the only shocking thing about this was that it took so long."

"That, and you didn't realize," Morrigan remarked dryly, her arms crossed as she lounged in one of the seats in the room -- in Rome, there were several rooms dedicated to presentation, it felt like. Back home, all business was conducted in the main hall if you wanted to impress someone. It carried an air of authority. If impressing the guest wasn't the goal, then a quiet conversation in a private room or a walk along the shore would be a suitable alternative.

The Roman villa had both a main hall that carried a certain kind of grandeur, while also having rooms that were lavishly decorated for the sake of private conversations. We sat in one such room now, and I had to admit, it was rather nice to be in a room with Morrigan again without her fleeing like a drowned cat. The long couches were soft and arranged around a hearth, the stone walls painted and decorated. Little by little during my stay, I found the rooms filling up with lavish goods -- wines, pottery, and tapestries.

"That too, I guess," Astrid made no apology beyond a lopsided shrug. Despite myself, I chuckled at her attitude. How I found out was less than ideal, but I found myself excited at the prospect. I would be a father. Would it be a boy? A girl?

Would the child be like me? Would the gods take notice of him because of the blood that flowed through his veins? The prospect was exciting and terrifying in equal measures -- before, I would have been certain that the gods favor for my child could only mean good things, but the gods favor brought as much danger as it did rewards. It would be up to me -- Astrid, too -- to shape the child from an infant into a person that could overcome the gods' challenges.

It was different. Very different. I think I understood my father better now. Way back, years ago, when he feared me enough that he brought me to Flemeth, what had been going through his head when he looked at me? The youngest of his sons and by far the oddest of the bunch?

"You will have to sit out the invasion of Crete," I confirmed, earning a heaving sigh but no protest. Not even Astrid was hard headed enough to fight while carrying a child. My child. My first born. The thought sent a shiver down my spine and despite the serious conversation, I found myself fighting a smile off my face.

"Fine," Astrid agreed, resting a hand on her stomach as he kicked her feet up on a carved table. "When are we going? Sooner seems better than later in this case. I imagined we rustled some feathers." She remarked, casting a look at Jill, who offered a thin, slightly pained, smile in response.

"The effects have been rather… immediate," Jill agreed. It was only the next day after the party and the duel, but Chares wasted no time making his wrath known. "Within the city, we have essentially become outcasts. The merchant alliance has issued a notice that any trade with us is forbidden, and I expect that message will be sent well outside of Constantinople. Naturally, that is just for the Merchant Alliance affiliated traders, but most will obey because they would rather risk our displeasure than Chares'."

"Most?" I questioned, finding myself less than pleased with the consequences of my actions. I had interrupted the flow of trade. I didn't regret what I did, and I wasn't surprised with the result, but I could and did find it rather annoying. I had been relying on trade to gain Stewardship experience and wealth to pay my troops. As it turned out, Jill had been right to chastise me for my spending at the university because our savings weren't as… robust as they otherwise might be.

"There are countering influences that we can deal with. It's too early to tell at the moment. Michalis was expelled from the Merchant Alliance this morning, unsurprisingly, and he will explore those options for us," Jill continued, letting out a small breath.

I felt a pang of guilt, "Sorry." I felt like I would be apologizing for this for some time.

Jill waved off the apology. "Astrid is right. It would be best to conquer Crete sooner rather than later -- gossip is already beginning to spread, and it won't be long before the tale is unrecognizable and paints you in a terrible light. Scattering the pirates will put us in a position to be wooed by local merchants, and lessen the impact the rumors might otherwise have." Jill continued in a calm voice, and I found myself rather curious what exactly my mother taught her during our stay in Norway. She was proving to be rather good at this.

I wasn't the only one who noticed either. "Lovely. You're finally starting to use that meat between your ears," Morrigan remarked, and that was about the closest thing I had ever heard to a compliment coming from her. Jill offered a slight smile, allowing herself a moment to bask in the praise.

Then the smile fell, "How close are we to actually launching the invasion?"

"I sent runners to collect the merchant fleet and I will meet with an official today," I told them. Meaning, at most, it would be a week before we were at full force. It might also be worth considering hiring some mercenaries to pad out the numbers, and to take the brunt of the losses. Widukind taught me that trick. As a hired mercenary, I found it unsavory, but now that my army was the one at risk… well, I had a very different perspective on it.

"And if they don't give us what we want?" Morrigan questioned. That was a very real possibility. Chares wasn't nobility and, under normal circumstances we hadn't broken any laws. The duel was sanctioned and acknowledged by both parties. But, that was on the assumption that we would be dealt with fairly. Given that Chares had connections amongst the nobility along with nearly every prior experience I've had with them so far, that seemed unlikely. It just came down to who the Empire wanted to use more -- me and my army, or the Merchant Alliance.

"We take the territory around the mouth of the Dnieper River," I answered. Honestly, it would be worth doing anyway as it gave us a direct connection to our homeland, and an easy exit if the need ever came. We would be more removed from the Empire than I would like, but it was still workable. The greatest draw of Crete was the Abbasids -- their merchant vessels, in particular. "The Romans have no claim to it, and we would take it in our name so they would have no say."

And if the very worst came to pass, we could look to the Bulgarians as a local ally.

"When will you speak to an official?" Jill asked, and part of me wanted to wait until they came to me so I would at least know what I'm dealing with. Say, for example, if they came with armed guards and a warrant for my arrest. More than that, going to them weakened my position.

All the same, I don't think I could afford to wait. "Now," I decided, standing up. "Best to get it over with so we can start making plans either way," I reasoned. Jill nodded in agreement, and Astrid began to rise, intent on coming with me, but I held her off with a wave of my hand. "It is best if I go alone. Perhaps with a few guards, at most. We have no friends in this city, and last night was a lesson about accepting their hospitality too easily."

Astrid's expression twisted, and I could see that she wanted to go. But, whatever words she might have said, she swallowed them down. "Fine. You're right. I'll see to it that we're ready to make a hasty escape if they decide to do something stupid." I was glad she wasn't fighting me on this.

With that, I left the room to them making plans. Stepping out of the building, I didn't see any particular change in the Roman guards that were posted around our area, even if they did seem more tense than usual. True Sight marked them as gray, meaning at the very least, they weren't enemies. Though, I could almost sense their fear when I began to approach a pair of them.

"I need to speak to an official in regards to my contract with the Emperor. My warriors have loitered long enough," I told them, speaking Greek.

"I- I'll see to it that the message is delivered, Lord Siegfried!" The soldier yelped out before all but running down the road where our official 'liaison' would be located. That was a reaction I was more used to experiencing. It also told me that word of my duel had already spread throughout the city. My gaze flickered to the remaining guard, who pointedly didn't look in my direction. However, he trembled ever so slightly.

Good. Let the Romans be afraid. Maybe they would watch their manners in the future.

With a dismissive scoff, I walked back to the docks and got involved with the loading and unloading. Busying myself before a meeting I didn't want to have. The distraction worked, but not for very long -- not because my mind wandered but because the response was fast incoming.

Pausing my work, I looked over to see a small group of people were coming down the main road. The people parting for them, revealing a handful of guards that flanked around a self important looking man. Though, I'm not sure he was truly a man -- his face seemed… feminine, even if he did have a thin mustache and goatee. Though, even that was hard to notice with the robes and the odd triangle shaped hat that he wore.

Dusting my hands off, I approached them. The feminine man took a step forward and did an odd looking bow to me. "To Lord Siegfried, Aetios has seen fit to address you concerns and has requested that you meet him, post haste." The man said, taking a step back as he eyed me much like one would if you found a snake in a bush.

Aetios. I hadn't heard from him since we made that deal. A rather unnecessary one in hindsight, but one I benefited from. I didn't know enough about the local politics, but I did know he was someone of some importance. I had hoped my request for a meeting would have been answered by the Emperor -- or, in all practicality, his mother -- but that hadn't seemed likely.

I rested a hand on the hilt of my sword and I didn't fail to notice how all of the guards stiffened. True Vision marked them all gray. They weren't enemies, at least. "Very well then. Lead me to him," I instructed. Unlike all the times before, I felt more confident as I strode forward into a dangerous meeting. It wasn't thar I was any more skilled with words than I had been before. It was simply because I was no longer pretending to be someone I wasn't. I wasn't pretending to be one of them.

The trek wasn't a particularly long one, and it could have just been my imagination, but it felt like there were more eyes on me than usual. The unnamed guards and official led me to the upper districts of the city, to a lavishly decorated building. It wasn't the palace, but it served some government utility I reasoned. The interior was lesser than the palace as well, and I was glad that I was desensitized to the obscene wealth on display.

After a rather silent journey, I was led to a door that was opened for me. There, standing near a balcony, was Aetios. He appeared as he ever did, wearing a small smile as he greeted me. I didn't return the smile but I did take the seat that he offered as he sat on his own across from me.

"Greetings, Lord Siegfried. I hope that you have found our glorious Empire to be everything that you hoped it would be," he began, his tone smooth and polite. Not a hint of any tension in his words or his posture -- any onlookers could be forgiven for thinking that this was merely a meeting between friends.

I had a sharp retort on my tongue, but I swallowed it down. I wouldn't try to blend in with these people, but that wasn't an excuse to be openly rude. "For the most part, it has. Your libraries and university are most impressive," I told him because that was the only genuine praise I was willing to give the Romans at the moment. The truth of the matter was the worst part of the Roman Empire, by far, had been the Romans themselves.

Aetios' smile seemed genuine, "You are perhaps the first to turn to them as a thing to praise above all others." He remarked, and that sounded like an insult wrapped in a dress. "I must say, you aren't anything like the court has expected. There has rarely been a day at court where your name hasn't been mentioned." That sounded like empty flattery to bring up what he wanted to speak about.

"More so since last night, I imagine," I remarked idly, opening the door for him. I wasn't sure how I felt about Aetios. He hadn't necessarily wronged me, but he did deceive me. Knowing what I knew now, I saw the ridiculous price he put on a mere merchant pass and trading rights. However, that ridiculous price was telling. Why exactly had he sent me and an army of two thousand to conquer Greece?

Why had Irene been so surprised to learn of my price?

"You would imagine correctly," Aetios confessed, making no secret of it. "The tale has already reached His Imperial Majesty's ears, but I would hear this tale from you. Is it true that you ripped apart a man limb from limb with nothing more than your hands?" He questioned, and now his words had an unusual focus to them.

"No," I told him, and I could immediately see his hopes start to fall. Interesting. I think I was starting to see why he wanted to meet me like this. "I only ripped off his head."

Aetios' eyebrows shot up at that, "His head?"

"It's not as difficult as you are imagining. It's no more difficult than taking the head off of a chicken," I continued. "Placing his head against his own ass is a rather grave insult in my culture. It is rather difficult to impress the gods when the last thing you experienced in this realm was your own foul stench." I elaborated, my tone ambivalent.

I was not a normal man. Normal men couldn't do what I do. I would use that here and now to thumb the scales in my favor.

"And the guards? You did not fly into a rage and kill them all?" Aetios prompted and I tilted my head. Is that what was being said?

"I killed them, but it was during the duel. To give him a sporting chance," I answered, making Aetios seem thoughtful as he leaned back in his seat. A finger tapped on the arm rest as he refunded me carefully.

"Before your arrival, there were tales of the war in Francia. The court delighted in that upstart Charlemagne's failures. The tales were all outlandish, of course. A wolf turned man leading an army that took city after city, some even said that it was a demon from hell that led the pagans to sacking and raising every church in Francia." Aetios began, searching my expression. I gave him nothing. The stories had a kernel of truth to them -- I had taken a number of cities, and I had raided a number of churches. "Few believed them, and a turn of the season later, few care to listen to the stories. Fewer still have made the connection that I did when you reached our shores."

Ah. I see. That explained it, didn't it? "Greece was a test then?" I ventured, suddenly feeling a great deal more comfortable. I knew how to handle this now.

"It was," Aetios confessed. "One that you passed well beyond my expectations. And now you seek to do what you did to Greece to Crete," he continued and, with that, I suddenly felt a lot less comfortable. Simply put, he shouldn't know that. Only a handful of people should know that. Did he have a spy? Had my movements been so watched that he could guess my intentions?

He left the statement hanging in the air, giving me a moment to consider how to reply. It could just be a guess and I could confirm it. But, if it wasn't and I lied… "I do," I decided, making Aetios' lips quirk up in a thin smile.

"I understand that you've had trouble purchasing property within the Empire," he continued, and I decided he was entirely too well informed. However, I could hear the offer in his voice.

"I have," I confirmed shortly.

"Then I propose an arrangement," Aetios began, as I knew he would. "I have it in my power to put forth a task -- that a fortress must be built on Crete, and you will be in charge of its construction. The land will be yours to do with as you see fit, and all materials will be billed to the Empire's treasury rather than your own purse." That more or less sounded like exactly what I wanted. Especially when I had been prepared to take that cost. "An anti-piracy measure. And to act as a staging ground for potential invasions into the Abbasids. I have little doubt that the proposal will be accepted."

So, I got what I wanted, more or less. "And in return?" I questioned, making Aetios smile broadly.

"You accept the help of Strategos Tatzates," Aetios answered, and I fought off a frown. While the seemingly endless titles of court were tedious and bothersome to learn, I did know that title. A Strategos was akin to a Duke or a Jarl -- someone in charge of the military and administration of a territory. There were less than twenty of them in the Empire, to my knowledge, which made them easy to remember. Tatzates was the Strategos for a large swath of Anatolia, sharing a border with the Abbasids.

I didn't trust the offer in the slightest. "To what end?" I questioned -- it was far too simple. I would get what I wanted, and I only had to do something that I was going to do anyway? There was no cost there, and dealing with these Romans had taught me that there was always a cost involved.

"To no end," Aetios answered for a moment, holding his smile a second longer before it fell. "You seem to be a very direct man, so allow me to extend the same courtesy -- your successes will never be acknowledged in public court. You are not Roman, and you are a pagan. However, I am not blind to your abilities or talents. I wish to make use of them. In this case, your victories will be Tatzates's victories."

Ah. I see. That was… disagreeable, I initially decided. To steal glory, to claim the valor of another's deeds was… shameful. Honorless. However, it wasn't my honor that was being besmirched by such a cowardly thing.

And in the end, it got me what I wanted.

"Very well," I agreed, and I seemed to surprise Aetios with how easily I did so. It was my turn to offer him a thin smile, "Great deeds are only precious in their rarity."

The message was clear -- Tatzates could have my scraps.

"I'm overjoyed we could come to an understanding," Aetios replied and I clasped his forearm as I stood up, the deal being made. It was as I turned away from him that my smile slipped away. Not once had he lied to me. As far as I could tell, he was being honest and even True Vision marked him as gray.

Yet, all the same, I left the room feeling like I had been played.