Where Wolves Are Men (Part 1 of 2) (482 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 3 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by sword (View user info) at 2005-03-02 15:49:03 EST
"They say she was killed by natural causes Appius"
"Oh, aye, and indeed she was, for its quite natural to die when a man runs a spear through your heart and then drops a building on top of you" returned Appius.
"You know this for a fact?"
"I have walked the rubble at her father's villa on the day it happened. I saw her body and I saw the wound that caused her death." The tone of Appius' voice made it quite clear he felt very passionately about his subject, I for one believed what he was saying.
"Who else could have murdered Verina? Who would dare attack her in her father's estate and destroy his home as well?" Appius was becoming more vigorous in his oration and I felt now was not the time to question him farther. For a boy he was a dangerous adversary especially for someone in my standing.
I have spent 47 years in service to my empire and as a result not only have I filled my own personal coffers with Denarii and earned myself a handsome and arable stretch of land but I have also made quite a reputation. I am much fonder of the former then the latter. My farm and house bring me pleasure and wealth but my reputation just brings me trouble, trouble like young Appius here.
When I was 12 years old I began my service in one of the mighty legions of the Roman Empire as a servant and I was fated to one day become a soldier as well. For my peers this seemed the perfect style of life, on the battlefield there was adventure and the opportunity for glory and honor aplenty. I was in favor of a safer approach to success though and I had no use whatsoever for honor. During a campaign in Northern Gaul that was going poorly the general leading our army attempted to inspire our soldiers to victory by claiming that the man who brought the head of the rival general, who was responsible for our difficulty, could take his daughter's hand in marriage. This was my first real opportunity.
On a whim I stole away in the night and on foot traveled the country side till I located the camp of the Gaul army. I scavenged for food with my wits and a sling while I observed them and devised a plan. In the middle of the night I ambushed an unwary man who had separated himself from his fellows to relieve himself and I slid my short knife into the small of his back puncturing his lungs and drowning him in air. I then adopted his uniform and moved in to stay with the Gaul army.
I masqueraded as a young soldier there for almost a week before I found an opportunity to complete my mission. The general, whose name was Bayeux, had a weakness for women and often met with two or three slave girls alone in his tent. At one such opportunity I utilized all the stealth I possessed and cut a whole in the back of his tent circumventing the guards posted at the front of the tent and murdered Bayeux and his two lovers before they could make a sound.
With farther daring I took Bayeux's own war axe and beheaded him in his tent, I stored his head in an empty quiver I had recently appropriated before fleeing back to the Roman camp where I was greeted as a hero.
The leader of the Roman had expected to soon retreat and had not anticipated that anyone would actually behead Bayeux and as such he was hesitant to award me his daughter, especially since I was a mere servant who had technically deserted the Roman army. Sensing his dislike and more importantly sensing a means of advancement I told him that rather then marry, I would prefer to perform a more elegant service to Rome, with his blessing. And this began my career that would be full of murder, kidnapping, coercion, sabotage and espionage. I worked for many patrons for exorbitant fees and always produced the best results up until two years ago when I decided to retire on the massive wealth I had amassed and live out my remaining days peacefully.
Appius had other plans though, unfortunately, and I knew better to cross a Roman noble who had just lost his lover. He was a short boy and not all together in the best of shape. There was a boyish charm painted across the pale, soft tapestry of his face and his body was wrapped in an impressive purple robe. His hands though were anomalous to his construction as they were calloused and scarred. His arms hung rigidly by his side leaving his hands level to his expensive looking belt. Protruding from the fancy belt was a simple but well gladius; the preferred weapon of the Roman legionnaire and along the opposite hip hung a long fighting dagger.
An even more impressive martial sight was the centurion who stood behind Appius; he was a giant of a man, only a few inches below 7 feet tall and likely double my weight. Strapped across his back was a blade that looked like few men had the strength to wield it. I did not doubt that the centurion was one of the few.
Sighing I answered him "And what is it you want from me young Appius?"
With a malevolent gleam in his eye he told me "I want you to kill the man responsible for the death of my betrothed. I want you to kill the shaman who is known as Liscus and then I want you to bring me back his eyes."
User Reviews
Submitted by sword (user info) at 2005-03-03 13:08:08 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
actually thecaes I have been playing Rome Total War for a while and watching as my tiny soldiers valiantly throw themselves in harm's way by charging at enemy units to engage them long enough for my seige weapons to find their range and obliterate them gave me the idea that if I were a Roman soldier I probably wouldn't like to be on the front lines and I would try to do something else instead like go around assasinating people or something.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-03-03 07:33:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I think it's awesome that I did a gladiator post and now these other Roman-themed posts are cropping up.
Nice job. I thought the backstory went on a bit too long and felt a little detached. You could have made a cool post on his backstory alone, because it was a good mini-story. There were a couple of lines that I didn't like the feel of ('the massive wealth that i'd amassed' -- wording too repetitive, 'utilized all the stealth I possessed and cut a whole in the back of his tent circumventing the guards posted at the front of the tent and murdered Bayeux' -- sentence too long, and 'I slid my short knife into the small of his back puncturing his lungs and drowning him in air.' -- aren't the lungs too high in the torso to be punctured by getting stabbed in the lower back?). But overall, it was a good story, and I want to read the next one.
Was this inspired by that new PS2 game, Shadow of Rome?
Submitted by L-Gizzle (user info) at 2005-03-02 16:50:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment