Wine on the balcony

"Sounds like I missed all the fun. Hell, I missed the entire party!" Yuri said, bringing the wineglass to his lips. "You should have seen when Hans and Stanislav almost brawled." Jakub burst out.

The two were sitting in Jakub's apartment, on the balcony viewing the city as festivities were happening below their feet. Giggling like children, as they were on the second bottle for the evening.

"So Jaroslav has fallen, and the church calls upon you amidst the news? Not to be rude." Yuri said between breaths and his rose-tinted cheeks.

"I was thinking the same, Yuri. God protect us. I felt like a liar when I told them I command thirteen-hundred soldiers. I command thirteen-hundred recovering alcoholics." Jakub said, trying not to spit out the same wine he was trying to drink.

"And all that effort to not drink on work hours; It's being nullified by letting them run amok in the city." Yuri chuckled along. The tart and sour taste of the red wine went along nicely with the sun setting. The light was warm, but thanks to the autumn, it didn't feel unpleasant and warm like it could do during the summer.

"But on a more serious note, did they just mistake you with another more important Jakub?"

"No apparently. A Swiss-man named Lehmann pulled me away to a corner later last night. We talked, and he saw our little railroad network that we have going on between Lukow and Brest as interesting."

Yuri scoffed and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Calling it the silk road between the West and Russia." Jakub said, going for another sip of his wine. He looked out over the beautiful city, seeing how the residents had taken their visage to their advantage to set up a large market. The smells of spice and food reached its way up to the two of them. "A silk road, huh? Did he just say that, or was there any context behind it?" Yuri asked. Jakub hurried down a quick sip before continuing.

"He wanted to strike a deal, a loan of some sort, in exchange for expanding our base in Brest."

"And you declined it? Why?"

"He wanted us to annex Brest. He didn't say it, but that's what it meant. We would go from protectors to conquerors, creating yet another faction. And we would be held hostage by credit for his demands."

Yuri gave Jakub a certain look as he tilted his head.

"Quick on your conclusions?"

"Oh, for goodness' sake, Yuri, Hans wanted me to swear fealty to his brother Otto. There were a lot of deals being tossed around that night, one of the orthodox priests urged me to leave the Catholic church even. "

Yuri raised both his hands up.

"Fine! Fine! You're the great politician and general. I'm just the drunk priest who you dragged out for consultation."

Jakub let out a sigh before taking yet another sip of his wine. He looked towards a sparrow chirping on a rooftop nearby. He let out another deep breath before speaking.

"speak your mind, you're being passive-aggressive again."

"Well, the news that you have shared are worrying. I haven't had the luxury of digesting the imminent fall of Russia that lurks around the corner. I can understand your scepticism, but."

"But? Out with it."

"The fact remains that some people see your importance in the complete picture, and I wonder what we are going to do about it?" Yuri said calmly. The laughter seemed to have dispersed, like opening a window.

Jakub looked at Yuri, who looked concerned for once. What are we going to do about it?

"I still don't know. Our visit here still remains for a couple of days, and the news are still fresh. So far, I think, resuming recruitment is the right way to go."

Yuri sat quietly for a couple of seconds, taking a sip as he calmly viewed the city.

"I've had strange dreams these last couple of nights Jakub. Perhaps the train journey took a toll on me, but I keep seeing a dark shadow. It comes from the north. I can feel it in my dreams. Like a cold, dark wind, a shadow old yet new to this world, creeping south." Yuri said, taking another sip of the wine.

"We live in an age, were even old men crumble in the fear of the dark. Jakub. I'm not sure I know what is the right thing to do, only God knows. But I think we must weigh things carefully in our visage here."

The words felt heavy, like Yuri had placed a stone on his chest. Jakub heaved a shaky stream of air through his nose before realizing it. The old fuck is getting wiser beyond his years.