Night IV
“There is always more spirit in attack than in defense.”
- Titus Livius
The crowd of men walked in a dispersed pattern through the back streets of Rome. There were too many of them to risk being seen as a group. Even in dangerous times like these, a mob of men of this size would attract attention if seen wandering the streets in the middle of the night. Instead, they remained separated into four separate groups, paralleling each other along the darkened alleys of the city. A few men were farther ahead, keeping an eye on their quarry as the target moved through the city. More than one of the men wondered why the target was out so late, but the thought of their own task kept them from voicing the ironic question. The target had to reach their destination at some point, and when that happened, they would strike.
…
GeneralHankerchief was no fool. During the accusations of the previous day, he had unwittingly been caught in the crossfire. Arguments between friends were rarely beneficial in good times; in times of crisis, they could be disastrous. GeneralHankerchief knew that the day’s disputes had made him a target, and so he had prepared well.
Immediately after the Senate adjourned, he went directly home, keeping a watchful eye on the streets as he passed by. Once there, he ordered all of his guards to be put on duty and for all doors and windows to be locked and barred. Any servant whose loyalty was even remotely in doubt was dismissed from duties for the night, and the rest were armed with pugii. GeneralHankerchief himself moved a sleeping mat into a storage room in the center of his villa, the most secure location in the house, and had one of his many guards remain with him at all times. As a final precaution, he kept a blade of his own within arm’s reach at all times.
A few hours into his slumber, GeneralHankerchief was nudged awake by the guard who was watching over him. The man put a finger over his lips, and another to his ear, indicating that his master should keep quiet and listen. He did so, and through the walls he heard the sound of running footsteps. Both men drew their weapons, looking intensely at the only door to the room. There was a pause, then a knock followed by the voice of a loyal servant.
“Sir, there is a… guest… at the main gate.”
GeneralHankerchief could barely contain himself. He had been disturbed on a night like this because of a guest?! “I ordered that NO ONE be permitted entry to this villa tonight,” GeneralHankerchief screamed, “what part of that order was unclear?”
A few moments passed, but the steps did not go away. “I… I know, sir,” the servant stammered, “but… but it is a most unusual guest. I… I do not think you would be pleased if we turned her away before informing you of her presence.”
Her? Well, that was indeed a different situation. He had heard rumors that the exotic woman was in the city, but no one had talked of her visits openly. There was no way he would pass up the opportunity to see her for himself and find out what was really going on. After all, what harm could a single woman cause in a villa as heavily guarded as his?
…
The laughter was unsettling. The Republic was in crisis, the city under siege by assassins, and the Senate was now regularly proscripting the most prominent men in Rome. No one should be laughing at a time like this, especially not in the manner coming from the villa before them. The men looked at each other warily, wondering what their masters had gotten them into, but orders were orders. They had a mission, and they would attempt to carry it out no matter how strange it was.
They knocked on the gate for several minutes before a small hatch was opened and an angry face appeared inside. “The master is not receiving any guests, go away!”
The men gulped, but they were not easily deterred. “Please, sir, we must deliver a message to Chaotix! You must admit us, it is a matter of life and death!”
The angry face squinted at them for a moment, then disappeared. A few moments later, it returned. “You will be admitted, but only after you are searched for weapons.”
The men exchanged pained looks and then one responded, “That is fine, good sir, we are unarmed anyway.” And with that, the portal opened and the light and laughter poured over them. There were guards everywhere, and they were searched one at a time, very thoroughly, until the guards were satisfied that they were indeed unarmed. With that, they were shown into the main courtyard.
Glasses of wine, speckled eggs, sweetmeats, and other fine delicacies were scattered everywhere. It looked like a massive party had been underway for hours, but there were only two people in the room. Chaotix look over at them and smiled, “Ah, the men who are here for me. Welcome! Would you care for a drink.” Chaotix laughed pleasantly and took a sip from a wine goblet.
For several seconds, none of the men spoke. Eventually, one drummed up the confidence to say what they had come to say. “Apologies, but we must inform you that you life is in terrible danger! Men are coming to kill you tonight, you must flee!”
Chaotix laughed and smiled. “Well, it was brave of you to inform me of this. Surely men as brave as you would be willing to defend someone as helpless as me?”
In answer, several faces flushed simultaneously. “We… uh… that was indeed our intention. However…” one man trailed off. Another picked up where his partner was unable, “However, another group of men was supposed to meet us. They… they failed to arrive.” He shrugged, “those men had all the weapons.”
Chaotix raised an eyebrow at this news. “Well, then thank you for at least warning me. You might as well run along home. As you can see,” Chaotix gestured towards the guards at the main gate, “I am perfectly safe here.”
With sidelong looks at the scene before them, the men turned and headed back out into the night. As they passed through the gate, they heard it slam shut behind them. There was the sound of a heavy bar being lowered and a few guards snickering, then the sounds of Rome at night overtook the men and they disappeared back into the city.
…
“Sir, there are armed men outside the main gate!” The servant was wide-eyed and sweating when he finally reached GeneralHankerchief. The increased commotion from the main gate had been growing for some time, but he had tried to ignore it. Despite all his suspicions and all his precautions, after the woman arrived he had truly begun to believe this would be a pleasant evening. She was not beautiful, per se, but there was something incredibly charming and sexy about her. She was not shy, that was for sure. GeneralHankerchief was still (relatively) sober, but it was apparent he would not remain that way for much longer. He kept making a mental note to pace himself, lest the ability fade, even while the desire grew.
A loud shout broke his increasingly inebriated thoughts; something really was going on at the main gate. He looked at the servant. “WELL? In the name of Juno, what is it man?!”
The servant swallowed, “They stand in the night with torches blazing, not attempting to hide from us. They have been there for some minutes now, and have not uttered a single word, even though we’ve asked their business several times and ordered them to disperse.” His eyes strayed over to the woman before springing back to look at GeneralHankerchief. “They are all holding gladii, sir.”
GeneralHankerchief looked over at the woman for a moment, and heaved a heavy sigh. He put down his wine goblet and stood, strapping on the blade that he had wisely kept nearby, even after she had arrived. “Tell the men to stay on guard, do not leave the villa, and do not unlock any door or window. No one is to enter this house until sunrise, no matter who it is!” The servant spun on his heels and ran off to report to the rest of the guards holding the front gate.
GeneralHankerchief turned and looked at his guest. “I apologize, but this is not a matter I can ignore, even for one such as you. Please,” he gestured to a servant at the back of the courtyard, “he will show you to the side door, you may leave from there. It is no longer safe for you here.”
…
Chaotix was in the back of the villa, near the culina, when the pounding started. At first, it sounded like a slave pounding out grain, but the sound of splintering wood quickly told the difference. A servant bolted out into the hallway, wide-eyed, and shouted at Chaotix. “Run! They’re breaking in! They’re breaking in!” The man fled, making a tremendous racket in the process.
Chaotix looked around frantically. Where were all the guards? Why weren’t any back here? The culina door shattered into splinters, making the question moot. A large group of men began to pour into the villa. There were too many to count, but every man was holding a pugio. Heads swiveled quickly to look at Chaotix, and then four separate voices cried out, “There! Attack!”
There was nowhere to run. In his haste, the fleeing servant had knocked over a table that now blocked the doorway back to the rest of the villa. Chaotix could easily climb over it, but not before being pierced by several daggers. The men had just turned, sensing the easy kill, when a few voices in the rear were raised in alarm. A flailing body flew through the door, colliding with several of the men inside. They fell on top of each other in a wailing tangle.
The body was followed by a large group of muscled men wielding fierce weapons. The first few engaged the closest men, while several other broke off and started to push their way towards Chaotix. One man, clearly the leader, gestured frantically. “Over here! Quickly! We cannot hold them for long!” Chaotix did not hesitate. Regardless of the intentions of these new men, they couldn’t possibly be worse than death. Chaotix ran forward, reaching the safety of the nearest muscled man just as the pugio-wielders closed in behind. The men surrounded Chaotix and began retreating back out the culina door, the first few moving backwards, fending off the attackers as they went.
The cool night air swept over Chaotix as the exodus from the villa continued. The rearguard did a magnificent job of delaying the attackers inside the villa, and soon the sounds of battle faded behind them. Chaotix was shaken, but still drew breath. In the end, that was enough.
…
They had locked themselves inside the secured storeroom, comfortable letting the guards deal with the men at the main gate. GeneralHankerchief was irked, but not incredibly worried. He was in a secure, heavily guarded villa, locked in the most secure room, and he had an armed guard at his side. Together, they sat in silence, listening to the cries of battle coming from outside.
Suddenly, the guard slapped his hand to his eye and began to rub furiously. The man’s tunic was spattered with dust. GeneralHankerchief looked up and saw a trail of fine debris falling from the ceiling. He opened his mouth to give a warning, but there was no need. The sound of breaking roofing tiles was loud enough for all to hear. The guard was still struggling to regain his vision when several men jumped through the holes, each of them clutching a gladius. The first one down drove his deep into the guard’s neck, nearly severing his head. The others moved on GeneralHankerchief.
An increase in noise from outside the room told GeneralHankerchief that the front was now being assaulted as well. His guards were distracted, they would not reach him in time. He swung his blade at the nearest foes and cursed them all as loud as he could, but there were too many men, and they were between him and the door. There was no escape. GeneralHankerchief screamed a curse and the men and charged. He died fighting.
…
The sounds of the night’s violence had pervaded throughout the city, and by morning all of Rome knew of what had occurred. As the Senators moved through the city to the Curia, they found businesses closed and doors shut. The populous had clearly decided that Rome was no longer safe, even in the day. The Senators glanced warily at one another, whispering in groups in corners, well away from one another. No one even bothered looking at the empty seat in the Populares section, they knew what had happened before they even arrived. As they had come to expect, two notes were nailed to the Curia doors.
Originally Posted by A message from Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus to the Senate
Alive (28):
Beefy187
Andres
Greyblades
LittleGrizzly
Sasaki Kojiro
everyone
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AggonyDuck
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Chaotix
Khazaar
Ichigo
Jolt
Cultured Drizzt fan
Gaius Scribonius Curio
Marshal Murat
Iskander 3.1
Captain Blackadder
atheotes
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YLC
woad&fangs
Askthepizzaguy
Ignoramus
TheFlax
Cronos Impera
Caius
Killed (7):
White_eyes:D
mini
Beskar
Yaropolk
pevergreen
Glenn
GeneralHankerchief
Proscripted (2):
navarro951
Tiberius of the Drake
WoG/Suicide (0):
It is now Day IV. You may begin voting. This day phase will end on Friday, May 22nd at 10:00am EST.
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