The Damnable Fisticuffs (Round One: Kingdom of Giam)

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SpoilerThis marks the point in the round where I just write for whoever I feel like writing for.

"Apologies, Commander. I not have any threes. Go fishing."

Commander Nikoya Dochinsky drew a card from the deck, and stared at his hand in annoyance. Then he sighed, and tossed his cards to the ground. Sergei Iziaslav quickly picked them up, dusted them off, and put the deck away. The game was clearly over.

A shame, too. One more turn, and he would surely have had that royal flush.

"Enough," Commander Dochinsky declared. "Ivanov been gone too long. We send someone else."

Iziaslav glanced around. There had been five riders when the game started, but three of them were now gone. That left him and the Commander. So if one of them was being sent out to look for the other men...

"Commander, let me say, you are very brave man for volunteering to find company." Isiaslav smiled nervously. "You are inspiration to us all."

Commander Dochinsky was taken aback. He didn't remember volunteering, but aside from that minor detail he couldn't see anything wrong with what Isiaslav was saying.

That could only mean that the soldier was correct. Dochinsky must have been so effective as a commander that he had made his intent clear without speaking a word. It was obvious, really.

"Thank you, Isliaslav," the commander agreed. "You are observant man. Now, while I am gone, you stay here and use observantness to see if anyone returns, da?"

"Yes, Commander! I wait here for your victorious return!"

Isiaslav saluted, and waited for the commander to ride off. Then, he dismounted his bear and took out the cards.

"All right, Smidrigailovichov," he said. "Is finally time for rematch. This time, I defeat you!"

***

Vladislav Llyumzhinov was having a good day, all things considered.

True, he had been separated from the rest of the company and was presumably nowhere near Siberia. And yes, he was surrounded by angry wizards who were pointing wands at him and demanded to know what he was doing in the middle of a battlefield. And there were also the laser beams firing over his head and explosions not much distance away.

But his feet had finally stopped itching! And this time, it wasn't even because they had gone numb from the cold. He felt wonderful.

"That skirmish over there is unpleasantly close," one of the wizards muttered. "Can't let this suspicious character get away, though. Three of you, keep an eye on him and join up with another group. The rest of us will help our comrades against the Nescin weaponry."

"Right," said another wizard, this one with a longer beard. "You heard him, bear-man. You're coming with us!"

"To where? And is there vodka?"

The wizard's wand began to glow.

"We don't have time for your nonsense, bear-man. This is your last warning."

"Ah, yes! Lead way, I follow! Come, Nikita!"

The wizards guided him away. A few minutes later, they met up with another group, already in the middle of an interrogation. They seemed to have several prisoners, in fact.

"Got room for one more?" the long-bearded wizard asked. A bespectacled wizard turned to him and glanced at Llyumzhinov.

"I think that's technically two more," he said. He turned back to his own prisoners. "Is this a friend of yours?"

"I can't say I know his name, but he does seem familiar," Rupert said. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, yes! I remember now, I happened to glance at some plans while we were in Nescin. They were working on a genetic engineering program to breed riding bears for a new cavalry division."

In an instant, the wizards all turned to Llyumzhinov and pointed their wands at him.

"This is your last chance to surrender, Nescin scum," the wizard with glasses said. "Get off the bear and throw down all your weapons."