"Thank you for your troops, and I agree: on the battlefield, politics are forgotten.

But now, reports say that elite Epeirote troops have come forth, and I must ask you: where do you think they are heading, hmm? Do you think they're just there on a pick nick? Maybe they're on vacation? Maybe they want to see the mountains and the sheep on the countryside? Gee, you think so? Or maybe, just maybe - and I know this might sound ridiculous, but - maybe they are heading to retake their capital? Is that at all possible, you think?"

Pvblivs smirks.

"This is what I warned you would happen if you tried to hold on to the city. It was foolish not to listen to my words, for now it seems we are in a little pickle. We can't sign a peace treaty now as is, they'd never agree to one. We can't launch an offensive either. So what do you, who voted for this foolishness, and especially Avlvs Aemilivs who proposed it, think should be done now? Defend it? With what? An outdated legion which is on its way back to Rome?

For every day that pass now, my proposal grows in wisdom while yours is constantly sinking. It is a shame the senate didn't realize this back then."