Chapter 03: The Viper's Nest
Music:
Battle Preparations, the Third
For the first time in your life you see the main square of the Eboracum as the perfect symbol of what the provinces have become: crumbling palaces, cracked flagstones, all hidden in the shadows of the past, cringing before the gigantic statues build by Emperor Hadrian.
On the broad steps of the Senate building you come across an usually large gathering, where small groups gather to scheme and gossip. The news of your return must have reached here sooner than you'd though. You feel their questioning stares while you are climbing the steps.
Into the Viper's Nest...
Muffled voices herald your arrival in the gloomy, vaulted hall. You notice that some of the Senators quickly withdraw into the shadows. You walk briskly past the row of marble columns and enter the Chamber of the Senate.
The Chamber of the Senate resembles a large cauldron, where the rows of seats gradually descend towards the speaker's stand. When you arrive, the only person there is the Censor, the administrator responsible for keeping the catalogue of the meetings, but the crowd follows you.
My name is Septimus Sulla. I wish to speak to the Senate. I bring news of the gravest importance.
The Censor shakes his head sadly. "My sincere apologies, but you are not a member of the Senate. You have no right to speak here." You feel the nauseating surge of anger rising again. This man can't fathom the things you went through, but you might give him a taste.
Apologize THIS!
The man hits the ground with a loud crash. A stunned silence falls over the hall, so everyone can hear you when you repeat your name.
Now, I say again: My name is Septimus Sulla. I demand an audience with the Senate. Immediately.
The Censor grabs the pen, but his hand is shaking. A drop of blood stains the ink and your name. It feels like an omen. You waste no time and walk straight to the speaker's stand.
Noble Senators! I'm aware that my behaviour may strike you as offensive. Some of you think my words defy tradition. But take into consideration the sad events that befell my family. This matter is of the gravest urgency. If I'm not a Senator, I cannot address you properly.
If you want to formally discuss my request, I shall wait here. However, considering the urgency of the matter I intend to present before you, I'm willing to share my thoughts with you before the formal session.
You pause and the hall is filled with an excited buzz. Cornelius, the head of the merchant family Severus, nods to the augur in his traditional robe with the blood-red stripes. The augur invokes the blessings of the gods on the assembly and opens the session.
(I must remember Severus' family gesture and repay them in kind. My allies shall be rewarded.)
Cornelius Severus is a noble-looking man with silver hair and a powerful presence. After greeting the Senate, he immediately turns to you, "I see that Septimus Sula is making an unexpected appearance among us. May I ask for his formal acceptance into our ranks?"
You have made the right decision today, Cornelius.
The Senators argue among themselves for a while, carefully weighing every word. It takes a while until the noise in the hall subsides, then an elderly member of the Ordo Equester raises to speak. The ageing Senator puts your request to the vote and the Senators reach an unanimous agreement. Afterwards, Cornelius Severus walks to the speaker's platform, but only ask you to speak.
(Unusual, according to traditions, right after the Severus Speaker finishes, the Messala Speaker is next...but I shall seize the moment.)
Accepting the invitation, you walk to the speaker's platform.
Senators! You ordered me to the Wall to help the Caracalla family against the invading Picts. And then I was left alone, betrayed by those who sought my help.
"Lies!" shouts one of the Caracallas. "We had to move back to our estates to defend ourselves!"
You glare at Senator Caracalla.
Your estates were far away from any danger! And the place where you set up your camp is a day's walk from the Wall."
The Senator suddenly looks more relaxed, and he even tries a weak smile.
Prove it, Sulla. Otherwise these are just empty words. Due to some unforeseen circumstances we were delayed. That much is true. But look who is talking about betrayal! The leader who survived the battle without any wounds?
(That snake! He is accusing me of cowardice? I could let them think I am a coward..it might lower their guard in the future....but...no. I cannot let him insult the Sulla family name further.)
With a flick on the clasps, your chest piece falls to the ground, exposing your battle wounds. Excited murmuring sweeps through the hall. These wounds would have sent an average man to the death's door, but here you are, with only the pink scars of your healed wounds as as reminder. There aren't any healers in Eboracum who could perform such a miracle, that is for sure.
I have no idea which god was gracious enough to spare my life, but I'll say my prayers for all of them.
Or perhaps it was a demon!
Gods create. Demons are the harbingers of destruction! Just ask any priest... or those who meddle in the art of black magic!
The uproar shakes the hall, Senator Caracalla glares at you. As a scholar, he's been researching the cult of death that helped to build the wall.
But my well-being is hardly a matter worthy of your precious attention. I have more important things to say now. Most of my warriors died in that battle. I was left for dead, bleeding from my wounds and it is a miracle that I survived. And for what? To come home and see my family destroyed? My estates burned to the ground? I stood up for you and
you betrayed me!
The Senators exchange ashamed glances. Instead of the usual commotion, this time eerie silence fills the marble hall.
(I should poison the Caralla's name further - compensations can wait.) Senators, I'm talking about the series of seemingly accidental events that somehow still led to the destruction of my family. Don't they sound suspicious? Should I also mention the absence of the Caracalla family from the battle? Or the unknown soldiers who looted my lands?
The Senators can't contain their anger any more. The noise quickly becomes deafening. "These are only assumptions! We demand proof!" However, you sense uncertainty in the air that is far from the angry disbelief that they display.
(I have no proof. I must not press the matter further lest they distrust me in the future. I've sown enough seeds for now...) I admit I cannot prove anything. But I never dared to hope my words alone could convince this noble congregation, so this wasn't the reason that brought me here. No, Senators, we have some more pressing matters to attend to.
You all know the consultum the Senate passed a hundred years ago. That decree set the terms that still apply to the families lending the military or financial help for the protection of the wall, namely that all losses sustained must be covered by the other families.
The Sulla family defended the wall, and thus the whole realm against the tide of the Picts! And what was the price we paid? We lost everything! Our soldiers, slaves and estates are gone, not to mention the personal losses. I demand compensation!
Cornelius rises from his bench. "We need time to study the decree that Septimus Sulla quoted with such fervour. It would be unwise to make the provinces of Eboracum pay for someone's mistakes in leadership or the inexperience of his family in the treatment of their slaves."
(Cornelius Severus,...still governed by greed, after all?) I'm ready to prove my worth as a military leader! Am I wrong to suppose that the Senate is unable to decide even such a trifling matter? A weak Senate is the sign of a weak Eboracum!
The uproar is so loud that it's almost ear-piercing. This is clearly a debate that will go into the annals of the Senate. Finally the augur has to intervene personally, but it takes some time until everyone calms down. Now the Senate will vote on the matter of your compensation.
Finally, the Senate offers you 2000 gold and grants you an auxiliary force until you've gathered a new army.
The debate is over. The Caracallas leave the hall immediately. Horatius Quintus family assures you of his support. You meet Cornelius Severus at the door. He smiles at you and calls you "Senator". Still, you'd give anything to know what's going on in his head.
Rewards:
+ 2000 Gold
+ 1 Unit of Sulla Auxilia
+ 1 Tyrant
House Relations:
+10 Quintus
- 2 Severus
- 12 Caracalla
- 4 Messala