Zaganos stood at the quay, his eyes hooded and inscrutable as he looked on the riddled mess that was all that was left afloat in the result of a clash between Basil and the Sultan's men. Flame and sound, the survivors said, cannons on ships, and hand cannons as well! His grip tightened reflexively on his horses lead, bringing a concerned knicker from his mount.
Zaganos sighed, patting the immaculate bay, before deftly climbing into his saddle. He reasoned this was to be expected, given his own people's recent advances, but it still raised a lot of unpleasant questions that he would have to find answers for that were pleasing to the Sultan. A new player meant that Mehmed would be even more interested in the identity of his amnesiac Achilles heel than before, a proposition that chilled the blood of even a hard man like himself.
He snapped the reins, setting off up the hill towards the Hagia Sophia, where Mehmed would be waiting for his report and, hopefully, his advice not his head. Maybe Halil Pasha was right, this business of betrayal and subtleties seems to deepen with every day that damnable Roman lives, and should it come out, the words of the infidel will have ended two men who thought themselves the equal of being called Caesar, not just his. Zaganos pushed the horse to a gallop, headless of foot traffic, his few guards scrambling to maintain formation in the newly-cleared streets thronging with pedestrians. Curse him for a softhearted, honorable fool.
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"Ah, Zaganos Pasha, right on time, right on time." His lord beckoned him eagerly towards a collection of easels placed in and around the ancient altar where generations upon generations had celebrated their communion for centuries uncounted. "What do you think? I wish to make this marvelous cathedral into a true house of Allah, one that our people will travel from across the world to marvel at, and further praise His glorious name!"
"An honorable goal, my Sultan. I'm afraid that it seems that this place has seen much better days, it will take much time and work to make it worthy of Him once again. The Christians lost when they forsook the maintenance of their own holy places, we were just finishing off a irreligious rabble of idolaters." Mehmed smiled wryly. "Well said, Zaganos. We simply did Allah's work, and so all was provided. Now we must restore what has been lost, mend what has been broken. We are raiders and atabeg khanlings no more, it is our mission now to carry on the mantle of Rome and restore order and progress The will of Allah. That is why in the midst of an incomplete victory, I ponder upon drawings of minnarets and aqueducts, for that is the duty of one who is Caesar. That is why YOU have been summoned today. For as I plan to rebuild the City of World's Desire, I hear that my men and ships have been destroyed under the watch of my best generals and highest officials in a city conquered so thoroughly it did not require the third day of sacking. What is going on Zaganos, and think not that your position is so secure I cannot fill it again if you have been false with me."
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Mehmed's eyes flashed with their oft-hidden flame, and mere inches separated their faces. "Speak quickly and with purpose. " Zaganos held firm in his posture of polite deference. "Lord, these were external spies, men but newly arrived since the sacking of the City. They were prepared, capable, and excellent in the use of their craft, which was flying the colors of the infidel Georgians. Rest assured, I have sent my best men on my fastest horses on their trail by land, and galleys shadow the sea should they truly be Georgian partisans. They shall be captured and brought before you in chains. I swear it, my Sultan. "
Mehmed's eyes lost their fire, and he seemed to lose interest in his interrogation as he sighed and returned to his study of the drawings. "It would be best if you are correct, dear Zaganos, but my mind troubles me, the rulers of Georgia are no fools, they know that they stand on the edge of a knife, and they stand to lose much from such actions. No. There is another power at work here, something a match for even our best. I will be waiting for your reports on this, and I pray I am wrong. It is too early yet for us to be waking dragons, we must secure our house and prepare." He looked back at Zaganos, his face frozen into a regal mask.
"Go. You are dismissed. However, understand that you too, rest on a knife's edge."