Demetrius and Ganzaya rode across the last stretch of the planes. Ahead of them was a large settlement with high stone walls. Its interior was made of twisted streets and filled with whitewashed buildings of wood and brick. The melting spring snow rested on various trees planted throughout the city to give shade to travelers.

The two rode to the city gate, which had a string of travelers going in and out. Several theme warriors were on guard duty. They noticed Demetrius and let him pass by.

"Welcome to Varn. We'll take a ship from here to Kostaspolis," Demetrius said.

"I have been here before, despotēs," Ganzaya replied. "It was a long time ago, but I was escorting a caravan sent by my Khan to trade with you people."

Demetrius nodded.

"There should be a ship ready, but I'm willing to bet that you want to look for your barbarian wife here," he said.

"Yes, despotēs. I know there's a tiny chance that she's here, but there's still a chance," Ganzaya stated.

"Very well," Demetrius gazed onward. "I wanted to leave for Kostaspolis right away, but I will wait until nightfall. I can afford to wait that long. Until then, you should look for your wife. Meet me at the Seaside Thermopolia at sunset."

"Thank you, despotēs," Ganzaya said.

The Ulv rode his horse to the side. Demetrius kept riding as Ganzaya spoke to people, asking if there were any steppe nomad woman slaves here.

Demetrius took in the sights and sounds of the city. Children were playing in the streets, horses clip-clopping, and numerous people doing work. The Stratigos unfortunately also took in the smell of horse crap. But it was countered by the scent of baked goods.

Soon, Demetrius was at Varn's command post. He dismounted and handed the reigns of his horse to a theme warrior.

"Bring her to the stables near the docks," Demetrius ordered.

The warrior nodded and rushed off. Then, Demetrius entered the command post. Inside was a tall man with black hair and a beard sitting at a table. He was surrounded by theme warriors, and they had jars of alcohol clutched in their hands.

Everyone jumped up the moment they saw Demetrius enter the room. The black-haired man approached him.

"Tourmarchēs Bringas," Demetrius said.

"I am at your command, despotēs," the man replied.

"I'm looking to buy a slave. Specifically, a woman slave from a steppe nomad tribe known as the Ulvs. I am willing to pay three times the market price for her."

Shock covered Bringas' face.

"Three times?" he asked.

"Yes," Demetrius answered. "If any of you find a slave like that, go ahead and buy her and send her to me. I will send you the payment when I receive the slave."

Bringas nodded.

"I don't think there are any slaves like that here, but if there are, we'll find her," he stated.

"Good," Demetrius turned to leave.

"Still, an Ulv woman?" Bringas pondered. "You have very...specific tastes, despotēs."

"My tastes are none of your business," the Stratigos said.

Demetrius exited the building.

"That should take care of things here. Now, to find transportation," the Stratigos thought.

He turned towards the docks. The boy moved through the streets, people getting out of the way when they saw his fancy clothing. Eventually, Demetrius reached the docks.

The piers were made of wood, well-constructed, and maintained regularly by dockworkers. When Demetrius walked, the boards did not creak as he moved over them. A wind blew towards him from the Dark Ocean. It carried the smell of salt with it.

Gazing over the docks, Demetrius saw a variety of ships. Some were knarrs and drakkar from lands to the North. But most were galleys from various countries that surrounded the Dark Ocean.

Demetrius walked over to an area of the docks that was swarming with members of the Remen Navy. In this part of the pier, three dromons were docked. They were a type of galley with oars, sails, and flamethrowers mounted on them. These flamethrowers were larger than the ones used by infantry.

A naval officer, wearing lamellar armor, approached Demetrius. He had a thick brown beard and silver eyes.

"I see you've returned, despotēs. I didn't expect you to be back so soon," he said.

"Spare me the pleasantries," Demetrius replied. "I intend to leave tonight."

The officer shifted nervously.

"Yes. You need to report to the Basileus in Kostaspolis. You'll want to do that as soon as possible. However...there is a slight issue with leaving tonight."

Concern flashed through Demetrius.

"Was someone killed? Is there a leak in one of the ships? What's going on?" he forced down his worry before speaking. "As a Stratigos of the Remen Empire, I order you to tell me."

Named Entities that Fear You: 156.

The officer flinched away.

"Another Stratigos arrived yesterday. She doesn't want to leave until tomorrow. I apologize, despotēs, but we can only spare one ship," he said.

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"A she? That means she's from one of the Four Magician Families," Demetrius stated before thinking. "Things can't have been easy for her. Women who aren't spellcasters don't have what it takes to fight in war, and some idiots think that's the case for female spellcasters too."

He continued his musings.

"There was only one female stratigos deployed to this area, Theodora Tagaris. Her family uses ice magic. None of the other magician families like my family, and I can't blame them. We deserve all the hate we get. I won't be able to get her to leave tonight, but I can at least get her to let Ganzaya and I join her on the ship," Demetrius thought.

"Where is this stratigos?" he asked.

"The Seaside Thermopolia. It's a popular thermopolia, and a lot of people visit it," the officer explained.

"I know that," Demetrius marched off.

Soon, he arrived at a large building with a crowd inside and outside it. Demetrius walked inside, noting the menu on the wall. Numerous types of seafood as well as various drinks were for sale.

Demetrius stepped inside. He gazed around the room. People in numerous forms of dress were crowded around the front counter, ordering food and watching their orders be made.

A girl sat in one corner of the room. She was Demetrius' age but had white hair that flowed past her shoulders. Silver eyes glistened in the sunlight. There was a tight tunic on her chest. It was white and decked with various forms of jewelry. Her legs were coated with white pants. A sword adorned her belt. And she wore a set of Varangian-style boots.

Two women and a man were sitting at the same table as her. The white-haired woman stroked the chin of one of the women while gazing at the man with lustful eyes.

"Ice magicians all have white hair, but there's no way Stratigos Theodora is this barbarian. She must be from some Northern country. I doubt the Remen Empire has a monopoly on ice magicians," Demetrius thought.

He kept looking around. The only other people in the room with white hair were a few old men. A sense of disgust welled up in Demetrius as he walked over to the woman with white hair.

"Stratigos Theodora, why are you dressing like a barbarian?" he asked.

Her gaze snapped to Demetrius like the claws of a crab.

"Your clothing...I see. You think that you have a right to tell me what to do just because you're another stratigos?" she questioned.

"I think that if I dressed like that, my father would disown me, and Basil would laugh himself to death," Demetrius said.

"It's a good thing I don't care about your father," the woman stated. "And it's not my fault that I prefer pants to hose and tunics to robes. I was born this way."

Demetrius shook his head with disapproval.

"Calm down, Demetrius. Even if this stratigos dresses like a barbarian, she wouldn't have been sent here if she wasn't competent. And right now, you want something from her," he thought before speaking. "Well, it should be fine, as long as you're willing to have people disrespect you because of your dress."

Theodora shrugged.

"I find that wearing tight clothes gets me plenty of attention from men and women. It's worth the price of disrespect," she said.

Demetrius nodded.

"Very well. I am here for business, so I will get to the point. I am Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis," he stated.

Before the boy could continue, Theodora jolted up. A look of sheer hatred crossed her face. Demetrius froze.

Named Entities that Hate You: 87.

"What kind of business does a Kallergis have with me?" she asked.

"I just returned from a mission, and I need to report to the Basileus," he answered. "I was told that you are departing for Kostaspolis tomorrow. It would be best if we traveled together."

"Theodora will know that Varn can only spare one ship, but this gets my point across without revealing any weaknesses," Demetrius thought.

The alcohol on Theodora's table froze solid. A chill went down Demetrius' spine. Then, she made a princely bow, forcing a calm expression on her face.

"That is correct, as expected of a fellow stratigos. It would be best for us to travel together. I will accept you on the ship tomorrow," she said.

"Thank you," Demetrius replied.

Shock coated Theodora's face.

"Did you just thank me?" she asked.

Guilt flowed through Demetrius.

"By the gods, I messed up. I shouldn't have thanked her. But thanking her is the right thing to do. But...I must do my duty. I'm sorry, Theodora," he thought before speaking the first thing that came to his mind. "And now that I've thanked you, you have to let me take my barbarian mercenary on the ship too."

Rather than anger or hatred, confusion coated Theodora.

"I would have let you do that anyway, and I don't understand your reasoning. Thanking means accepting? Did you offend someone and get your brain beaten in, Kallergis?" she questioned.

Demetrius opened his mouth to say something. Then, he closed it.

"That was a mistake on my part," he thought.

"You may leave now," Theodora got closer to Demetrius, right in his face. "We depart in the morning."

"This is an obvious power play. If I leave, it'll establish her as the superior. I can't blame her for wanting to put me down, but I can't give in," the boy thought.

"I don't see why you are taking your time. You have two women and a man there, but you're not going to spend the night with any of them," Demetrius said.

Theodora's expression turned to one of raw anger. Shock coated everyone at her table. She took a deep breath as they spoke.

"You're not going to?"

"But you said you would make sweet love to us."

"Even if she dresses like a barbarian, I assure you Stratigos Theodora is a woman of honor," Demetrius said. "She would not lose her virginity before marriage."

Theodora grabbed Demetrius' hand, clenching it like a vice. The boy was strong enough to break out of her grip; however, he didn't bother to resist as he was dragged outside of the building. In fact, a strange spark flew in his mind when he felt her strong hand. Demetrius did not know what it meant, so he pushed it aside. Soon, the two were in an alley.

"Stratigos Demetrius, I will remember your name," Theodora spoke in an angry whisper.

"Good. I could use more rivals," Demetrius replied before thinking. "I'm sorry, Theodora."

"You are lucky that we aren't barbarians, or I would challenge you to a duel on the spot. I wasn't even aware that your family knew one of the secrets of ice magic."

"Ice magic can only be done by virgins or people who are married. Ice represents purity, and premarital sex stains the purity of your name. Or so the barbarian god of Winter decided. All magic is based on names to one extent or another, and staining your name in the eyes of a god connected to your magic is a good way to lose it," Demetrius recalled.

Theodora kept up her glare.

"You must consider yourself lucky, Stratigos Demetrius. You can have all the sex you want," she said. "Of course, I don't think there's a single woman who would want to have sex with you."

Demetrius looked down. Nausea welled up inside of him. The boy almost retched, narrowly holding down puke.

"You're right. No woman would want me, and I can't blame them," he said before thinking. "Especially after what happened to Mother. No woman should ever marry into the Kallergis family. It's bad enough that the women born into our family have to share our suffering, but women outside our family are innocent."

Guilt coated Theodora's face. The girl looked away and took a deep breath. A moment of silence passed before she spoke.

"I apologize. I went too far. There's nothing worse you can say to a man than telling him that no woman wants him. I shouldn't have stooped to your level."

"It's fine. It is the truth, and I deserved that," Demetrius kept his gaze away from her.

Another moment of awkward silence came and went.

"You look like you need a strong drink," Theodora said.

"I don't drink alcohol," Demetrius replied.

"You don't? Why? Everyone drinks."

Clenching his fists, Demetrius walked past her.

"My family deserves the hatred it gets from you," he said. "But remember: we are not friends. I'm going back to the thermopolia. I have to meet someone there. Leave us alone."

As he left the ally, Theodora looked on with a mixture of hatred, concern, and confusion.

"How strange. Stratigos Demetrius does not act like any other Kallergis I met. None of them show remorse for their actions. Is Demetrius the only one with remorse, or are the others just better at hiding it? I don't think anyone likes his family, but I hope I didn't make an enemy today," she noted. "Although, if Stratigos Demetrius ruins my fun again, I will pay him back."