Stories Thread

[desert]

Servivs was drunk again. I say 'again' because it was the only the second time in his life that he had ever been drunk. The first time was in Ariminium. Now he was in Roma.

He had once been deputy to the governor of Ariminium, not long after the days of conquest that had seen Rome's influence extend all the way to the Po Valley. Of course, that had been a good time for those corrupt members of the bureacracy to make a small profit on the side. And those that were caught, such as the governor of Ariminium, well, the threat of Pyhrros was enough of a distraction to prevent any serious punishment from being meted out.

Someone HAD to be held accountable for the lost tax revenue, though. And what about that deputy?
Like the esteemed governor said, he was the one who handled all the paperwork. A public whipping, a year of ditch digging, and a small burglary later, and Servivs was belting down fermented barley byproducts in a tavern while watching a military parade pass by.

Troops headed for Taras, or so he heard. He rifled through his sack, extracted a few bronze coins from his meager collection, and handed them to the bartender.

"Do you know anything about that?" he asked, pointing with his thumb at the marching infantry.

The bartender looked at the contents of his palm and grated "Perhaps after you pay me for the other 5 drinks you've had?"

Servivs fainted, falling from his stool onto the ground.