“What is your plan then?” Mark asked, innocently. “Will you gather all your citizens in the city and focus on defending the walls or do you want to try to stop them before that?”

“Fighting a field battle would be suicide,” Memnostis said, grimly. “The Assanaten army has never lost a major battle. The sar of Saggab had an army larger than theirs, and he got destroyed.”

“What makes them so strong?” Mark asked.

“The core of Assanadon’s army is not raised seasonally,” Delios said. “They say, he has ten thousand men permanently under arms and any man, woman, and child in their empire works only to support the army. When the fighting season is over and other rulers must let their men go home to bring in the harvest, the Assanaten can continue to push forward.”

This made a lot of sense. Mark's knowledge about history and warfare wasn’t particularly impressive but even he knew that standing armies were historical exceptions. Fulltime soldiers weren’t just able to fight all year round, they would also be much more experienced, both individually and as a unit. Having consulted many different companies, he knew organizational knowledge was a real thing.

“My Riadnian are hard men. Good fighters!” the anax said, holding up his fist. “But most are not warriors by trade. They are farmers, craftsmen, and loggers. They will hold the walls well enough. But meeting the Assanaten arrows on open ground…”

Mark could see that Memnostis disliked admitting these facts. The anax was a proud man. Would Mark have empathized with him had it not been for that scene a couple of minutes ago? It didn’t matter. To secure his survival, he couldn’t let himself be distracted by the local’s perversions.

The question was, should he leave Riadnos as quickly as possible or stay and try to make himself valuable in the defense? While he’d just left a warzone and didn’t wish to stay in, what would soon be another, he also felt reluctant to run further from the place he’d first entered this world. It was time to get to the real topic of their meeting. “I guess, I now have a basic understanding of your situation. What can I do for you?”

It was Delios who spoke first. “We would like…. We request your help in the defense of the city. Your wisdom will be invaluable to us in these desperate times.”

Mark adopted a frown. “I am not a warrior. Nor do I have much experience with warfare. Why not ask mistress Bel’Sara? She has helped you in the past.”

Father and son exchanged another look. Mark also noticed that both glanced at the young woman from time to time. Delios more so than his father.

Delia had also been present during the long discussion last night. And at the time when Bel’Sara had interviewed Atissa in her chambers shortly after her arrival.

I’ll have to pay more attention to the girl in the future, he thought. If she was just a spy, the men wouldn’t look at her all the time.

“It seems mistress Bel’Sara intents to go where the girl Atissa goes,” Delios said, gesturing respectfully in Mark’s direction.

“And you assume, Atissa will follow me,” he said, nodding.

You’re wrong about that one, he thought. Even the sage seemed to have forgotten that Atissa had loved ones on the other side of those mountains. As long as her uncle’s fate was uncertain, she wouldn’t go anywhere but back.

At least they weren’t beating about the bush. Mark felt some sympathy for the anax’s son. The young man seemed to be straightforward. When the boy had served the wine, he’d averted his eyes, too. Maybe being uncomfortable with your father fondling a minor wasn’t the highest standard to judge somebody’s character by but then again this was a world without running water and electricity. He had to adjust his expectations.

Mark took a sip of the wine. “To tell the truth, I have not made up my mind yet. This is not my fight.” He raised his hand before Delios could speak up. “But you have been very hospitable. The least I can do is analyze the situation. Maybe there is a way how I can contribute. I would need access to some resources, though.”

The men looked at him surprised. Maybe this conversation was going smoother than they had expected?

“Of course, master Mar’Doug,” the anax said quickly. “Whatever you need.”

Mark smiled. “Good. I will need some help, starting with an assistant. One of the scribes maybe. Somebody smart that is knowledgeable about how the city works. Then somebody that knows the surrounding area. Especially the mountains. Further, somebody who can advise me on military matters. How you fight, how the Assanaten fight, and so on.” He held his fingers up, counting the points. “I will need to charge a fee, too. I hate to mention this but traveling costs money and I lost most of my possessions on my way here.”

In other words, you already owe me because I brought you news of the enemy, he thought.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

He saw that the anax was about to respond so he quickly continued. “I will need direct access to your leadership, too. Maybe I could work with your son?” He nodded to Delios.

Normally, he would have wanted to have direct access to the CEO, general manager, or whatever else the highest guy in charge was called. In Memnostis' case, he felt like making an exception.

“Sure,” Delios said, looking unsure at his father.

“Good,” Mark said. “Another point. I need a list of the local religious organizations. Also, could you put in a good word for me when I need to talk to them?” He only paused long enough to see a nod. “Then the last request I have is about training. We have talked about this before. Atissa and I would like to train with some of your warriors. I am teaching her some things, but I am not a fighter myself. I cannot teach her how to use blades and such things.”

He looked expectantly across the table. Both father and son needed a second to realize that he was finished. And then another to phrase an answer.

“I think…all these things can be arranged,” Delios said.

“Yes,” the anax said, looking from Mark to his son and then to his daughter.

“I have noted down everything the honored sage listed,” Delia said. “I will go through it with Delios later.”

“Hm.” The anax stared down into his cup as if he’d forgotten about it while Mark listed his demands. He swirled the wine a couple of times before emptying it.

“Is there anything else we can do for you?” Delios asked.

“From my side that would be it for now,” Mark said. “As we work together, I am sure there will be more. But for now, we have a place to start.”

“Then let us end our discussion for today,” the anax said, rising. “Master Mar’Doug.” He bowed his head slightly and left.

How many cups did he have? Mark hadn’t kept track, but it didn’t show in his gait. The wine was strong, but these people were probably used to it.

“If you will follow me”, Delios held out his arm,” I will show you to your new quarters.”

Mark bid his farewells to Delia and followed her brother through the palace’s corridors. He had already begun to make a mental map of the place on their first visit and was careful to take note of all the rooms and features they passed. No way to tell when he would have to get out of there very quickly.

“I am relieved that you will give us your help,” Delios said.

“We will see what can be done,” Mark said. “Please, do not expect me to stand on your walls and throw lightning at the enemy. As I said, I am not a fighter.”

Delios tried to hide it, but it was clear, this was precisely what they had in mind. The Assanaten had their flamethrower-magi. The Riadnian needed something to counter them.

“Of course,” Delios said. “We are grateful for any help.”

Atissa had told Mark what mistress Bel’Sara had done to the magus. If he’d witnessed it with his own eyes, would he still have tried to sneak up on the burning man to club him with his stick? He still wasn’t sure why he’d done that.

Now you’re lying to yourself, he thought. He knew exactly why. At the time, he hadn’t even considered the option of running.

This was dangerous.

Safety, comfort, and finding a way home had to be his priorities. The last thing he needed was to get emotionally entangled with the locals. Was the fact that Atissa would never want to leave the reason he’d pushed against mistress Bel’Sara’s plan to travel south to Saggab?

No, he’d thought his current course through. Following the sage would put him at her mercy. She probably considered him an obstacle in guiding Atissa to whatever she thought her prophesized destiny was.

Maybe she had even more reasons not to like him. He rubbed the smooth wood in this hand with his thump. Having carried the staff around for so long now, he barely even thought about it anymore.

Noticing that nobody had said anything in a while, Mark decided to rekindle the conversation. “We will analyze the situation as best we can. Hopefully, we will come up with a recommendation other than surrender.”

Delios looked at him, shocked. “I do not think my father would ever consider surrender.”

Mark nodded. You didn’t say we, he thought. He might have made the right choice with the son. “There is a huge difference between a hostile and a friendly takeover.”

“A friendly takeover?”

Mark studied the man walking next to him. Since he knew neither Delios nor the Helcenaean culture, he had to be careful bringing up something like surrender. “For example, a surrender with terms. As long as the terms are cheaper than the men the enemy would lose conquering the city, he might agree.”

“Ah, becoming a vassal,” Delios said. “The anax would not like that idea. The city has been independent since Riadna founded it over a hundred years ago. Neither other Helcenaean nor the empires of the south have ever conquered it.”

“We are not there, yet. And hopefully, we never will be. The first step is the accumulation of information.” To his own surprise, Mark felt excitement. He had a project, a problem to solve. It was the aspect he’d liked most in both his career as an engineer and as a consultant. Something complex to keep his mind occupied.

“Starting today the first basileis should arrive,” Delios said. “Once our most important allies have gathered, the great council will be held. There is not much time.”

“Then we will have to start everything at once. Please, put together a group that has firsthand knowledge about the last siege. We are not interested in heroic stories. What we need is accurate information of what happened.” Mark held up two fingers. “Second, we need people that know the mountains. Third, the best builders you have. Maybe we cannot find all the best people right away, but we can get started.”

“Why builders?”

Mark smiled, looking down the corridor. The carrying walls were made of big, chiseled limestones. It must have taken a long time and enormous effort to build the palace on this hill. “The seawall. I think the easiest solution would be to have another one of those against attacks from the mountains.”

Delios stared at him. “How…how would we carry the stones into the mountains? It would take forever.”

Mark shook his head in a way he hoped looked wise and magnanimous. “The issue is not the stones. The issue is location and, as you said, time. But then again, time is always an issue.”

“If you say so, master.” There was a lot of doubt in Delios tired eyes.

When was the last time you slept?

Mark put his hand on Delios shoulder. “Let us first organize some help for our core team. How about that guy, Elaiadoros? He seemed to be quite capable. Let’s go see him. Most importantly, everybody must understand that we have the full backing of the anax. We cannot be slowed down by uncooperative people.”

Delios nodded and followed the energized Mark to the archives.