Note: i'm new here and hoping i'm doing this right. I just want to make up a story based on one of my RTW campaigns, A novel i once read, and some input by and non-guild member. I hope you like it but judging by my school English grades it'll be pathetic.

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Halicarnassus 50BC, Roman Empire, Orphilo's Tavern, 11:30pm.

Cato yawned and stretched as he looked out over the mountain side. The drill by Prefect Septimio previously that day had taken a lot out of him and his 80 men; as well as the rest of the Cohort.
down below him he could see men and women leaving the temple of Neptune, no doubt hoping for a safe crossing to Jerusalem the next day, as well as the last of the merchant leaving their quarter of the city to return to their homes and ships waiting patiently in the harbour.

"Been a long day for you eh?" enquired Cato's fellow centurion and friend Macarus.

"yeah" Cato replied. "Not only did Septimo make us do the usual armour cleaning and marching training but today he also made us do some extra rowing training on the Training ship. He then let us have ten minutes brake befor two hours of combat training with those really heavy wooden swords and shields."

"phew!" Macarus commented. " I was going to complain about the extra build duties my cohorts been put on but your day seems much worse. Compared to you, building the governors living extension is nothing."

"he's not having another extension is he?"

"he is. Soon his palace will be bigger than the rest of the city, if he carries on building at this rate."

"Do you not find it odd Macarus?" queried Cato.

"what odd"

"well i've been thinking about this for a while and do you not wonder where Governor Caractius gets all this money to improve his living conditions. Its not like we're a Frontier City. Why would we need all that senate appointed money."

Macarus Laughed. "you and your educated upbringing. Most soldiers dont look that far into the private life of their General." in fact thats what got your century shipped to this hell-hole in the first place. You saw General Antium talking to some Partian soldiers and imediatley accused him as a traitor."

"that was a honest mistake and you know it."

"Mistake. They were practising for a private theatre play for the General and hs family. You then stood up in the agora the next day after seeing what you saw and told the Judeans to rise up against the general. You were lucky that you werent executed."

"lucky he was my uncles cousin more like. He's the one that got me off the hook."

"yeah well, all i'm saying mate is that just because everything isnt tip-top, spik-and-span and totaly plauseable, doesnt mean that we're all going to be secretly invaded by the Armenians, parthians or anyone else you can think of."

"i suppose so, i just dont trust him though."

"Cato, if it werent for me you wouldnt trust your own shadow. now lets get back to camp before Prefect Casius docks my wages again."

The two got up from their veranda chairs and began to make their way down through the city streets and back to the camp, outside the city to the north. It was just when they were crossing through the forum that they relised something was wrong.

"Macarus...can you smell smoke?"

"I thought i could"

the two had been laughing and talking all the way through the city and hadnt really been taken in their surroundings.

"silence a minute cato, i can hear something."

In the distance screams and crackling were just audible. and to the south in the distance, a cloud of smoke; disguised by the night sky, could be vaugly seen rising from Govenor Caractiuses palace.

"better see whats going on" Cato said to his friend as hebroke into a jog.

By the time they got there they could see that the under-construction part of the palace had been set alight and scaffolding was falling off the side of the building and onto surrounding houses. people were running yet some stayed behind to try and cease the flames destructive campaign from the palace to the rest of the city. To their right cato could just see General Caractius and some soldiers carrying buckets of water and carts of manure from the rest of the city trying to also stop the blaze.

"suppose we better help" Macarus shouted to cato in order to be heard over that crackling and screaming. just then as Macarus looked over Cato's shoulder he saw; crudley painted on the wall, the words. TRAITOR GO HOME. He pointed this out to cato and commented.

"Seems like your not the only one to suspect General Caractius" and they both stared at each other in stunned amazement.

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Hope you liked this opening section. I would like to hear some comments before i carry on writing.
Thanks.