Princes of the Universe, Part I

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sojolly said:
Sisiutil;

This story shows with not even a shadow of doubt that you have what it takes to tell a captivating story that keeps the audience riveted.

In particular the segment about the great lighthouse and the penance paid at the end was particularly engaging and brought a tear to my eye. After starting your story late last Tuesday evening, i couldn't help but read the story through. Stopping only to eat and grab a short nap, i am now caught up.

You have brought a new perspective on the game for me (which i have been playing since Civ I came out in 91). Thank you.

I wish you the best in your publishing career.

Sojolly
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QFT. And welcome by the way.
You know Sis, I can't remember if I've said it before, but the same happened to me. I remember being transfixed in front of my monitor reading your story (the lighthouse part) and suddenly tears were streaming down and I had to stop for a while.
Maybe I was emotional at the time, but this is what truly differentiates great stuff from regular fanfic. If you can bring emotion in your work (and you did), then you have the signs of a great writer.
They say this is what video games lack (can a video game make you cry ?), you have succeeded where so many have failed.
Again, thank you.

Well, enough with the compliments... Where's the update ?? :mad:
;)
 
Charles Li said:
Who is George Romero???

and no I am not his fan!!! Whoever he is!


Ur Worng!
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Gearge Romero made the ....... of the Dead movies, basicly creating the zombie apocolypse story. Check em out, they 're very good though may I suggest you not watch em if you can't handle large amounts of blood and gore.
 
Note: Sorry for the lack of screenshots for this entry, but it's been a while since the last update and I didn't want to keep you folks waiting any longer...


Princes 15 - Scipio's Spy

Part 5

“Someone’s asking about you,” Bekhter said.

Manlai turned to face him. “Who?” he asked after a moment’s hesitation. He had a broad face that rarely displayed any emotion at all. Many men assumed, upon first meeting him, that he was stupid: the broad face, the lack of expression, the slow manner of his speech were all reasons for this. And they were all misleading. They soon came to realize the error of their assumption. Many came to regret it. Deeply.

“A Roman. An officer,” Bekhter told him.

Manlai stroked his moustache with his thumb and his forefinger. “Has he said what it’s about?”

“Not that I’ve heard,” the other man said. “You think it has something to do with our guest?”

Manlai then shook his head. “I doubt that. The Romans wouldn’t be so stupidly obvious.”

“What do you want to do about it?”

“Have this Roman informed that I’ll be at the Jargal teahouse for lunch. I’ll find out what he wants with me there.”

The man nodded and walked out of the room, allowing Manlai to return his attention to the interrogation. He nodded to the other two men in the room, and they responded by tilting the long wooden board back so that the end that had been immersed in the basin came up out of it. The woman who was strapped upside-down to the board coughed and sputtered and gasped for breath as her head finally came out of the water.

“Once again, Nara,” Manlai said to her. “What was the last message you passed along to the Romans?”

The young woman panted down several breaths. Her dark eyes stared back into his, and he could see the anger and the spite was still there, even after several hours of this treatment that left her gasping and shuddering as each dunking brought her within a hair’s breadth of drowning. Still she said nothing. A stubborn one, and strong, he silently acknowledged, but she would break. Everyone did, sooner or later. Manlai grunted, then nodded to the other two men. She barely had time to gasp down another breath before her head plunged back under water again.

***

“You speak pretty good Latin,” Scipio said. “You know, for a Mongo.”

Manlai gave the slightest of nods, acknowledging the compliment and ignoring the insult. “It’s always wise to know the ways of one’s adversary,” he said. Scipio just shrugged and stared at him blankly. “I hear you’ve been looking for me,” he said from across the table. His right hand idly held a small glass of tea. Scipio had refused some when offered.

“Yeah, well, I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” Scipio said. “The way I see it, you owe me a denarius. That’s half a month’s pay to me, so it’s not small change.”

“How so?” Manlai asked, his face impassive. He’d studied and practiced the stone face since he’d been a child, and was a master at it. The Roman officer sitting across from him, on the other hand, could barely sit still.

“One of your girls, she cheated me!” Scipio said indignantly.

“One of my girls…?” Manlai said evenly.

“Oh, don’t act all innocent,” Scipio said. “We’re men of the world, aren’t we? I’ve heard about you. You run the girls in this town. Well, one of them took my money yesterday and didn’t give me what I had coming.”

Manlai shook his head as he raised his glass of tea. “You must be mistaken,” the Mongolian told him. “My girls never…”

“Her name was Larentia,” Scipio said.

And for one of the very few times in his life, Manlai failed to maintain his stone face. His brows rose, and his glass of tea stopped half-way to his lips.

“Ah, that rings a bell, doesn’t it?” Scipio said accusingly. “She took my money and ran off without me getting what I’d paid for. What kind of a business are you running, anyhow? If you cheat every soldier in the Roman army this way, there’s going to be trouble, my friend.”

“Larentia…” Manlai said. “I may know of her,” he said cautiously. “But I’d have to know more about your transaction with her if we’re to settle this amicably. You wouldn’t happen to remember what she said to you…?”

Scipio frowned and shook his head. “She jabbered some sort of nonsense at me like it was supposed to mean something. Like I could remember—I was hungover, and she was supposed to be the cure for it,” he said with a smile. “Now look. I’m not an unreasonable man. You settle up with me, give me my denarius back, and I won’t go spreading word around the barracks that your girls are skippers. Deal?”

Manlai took a deep breath. “I’ll want to make my own enquiries about this matter. Come back here tonight for dinner, and we’ll resolve this.”

Scipio sighed, then pushed back from the table and stood up. “You’d damned well better be here,” he said, then glanced angrily at the other three big, burly Mongolians seated beside Manlai at the next table. “You can bring your girlfriends along again if they make you feel safer,” he said with a derisive laugh, then turned and walked towards the door.

Once he was gone, Manlai turned to look at Bekhter, who was standing by the back entrance of the teahouse. Manlai nodded, and a heartbeat later, Bekhter had disappeared.

***

There was really only one question running through Scipio’s mind as he walked out of the teahouse and turned down a nearby alley that led towards the Roman garrison’s barracks. Now or later?

He caught the movement behind him and to his right. He had to fight off the instinct to react quickly enough. Instead, he allowed the blow to come, which it did, hard into his side just above the kidney. He did his best to roll with it. It still hurt like hell. Then the black cloth bag came down over his head, blinding him, and more blows, until he sagged to the ground and felt them tying his hands behind his back. Then he felt hands grabbing hold of him under his arms, and he was dragged down the alley.

He reflected that it was ironic: he had no idea where they were taking him, and yet he knew exactly where he was going. Before long, he knew, he’d be seeing Larentia again. He just hoped it wouldn’t be for the last time.
 
:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

Thanks very much for this Sisiutil. Mind you it looks as though there are at least another two parts, quite possibly more, before this particular tale is finished. :eek: Hopefully you can manage to post further updates slightly faster? :please:
 
Sam_Yeager said:
:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

Thanks very much for this Sisiutil. Mind you it looks as though there are at least another two parts, quite possibly more, before this particular tale is finished. :eek: Hopefully you can manage to post further updates slightly faster? :please:
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I'll do my best, the story was sidelined by a recent computer failure--but the new computer is up and running. FYI, Scipio's story has about three or four more installments to go.
 
Sisiutil said:
I'll do my best, the story was sidelined by a recent computer failure--but the new computer is up and running. FYI, Scipio's story has about three or four more installments to go.
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3 or 4 more installments? I'll be looking forward to it! Thank you, once again, for your excellent writing.
 
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEW UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great update as usual sis!

Thank you!:woohoo::woohoo:
 
Sisiutil, great as always. :thumbsup:
 
great update sisiutil!
hooray for the new PC!!

hmmmm this thread seems to have pick up an unusual sort of fan...
 
I saw aHare a few days ago and thought, Romans. Then I saw my RTW disk and thought, Romans? Finally whilst making my way to the SG forum I thought, Romans!

Nice update Sisiutil.
 
carl corey said:
Great update! I wonder if Scipio has a GPS on him to help the Romans to locate him... ;)
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I don't ever recall seeing GPS devices on the tech tree, so no. ;) But let's hope he has another trick up his sleeve. :D
 
Our prayers have been answered! The Lord of Awesomeness has blessed us with an update!
 
Greek fire, maybe, the age-old phosphorus compound which ignites when in contact with water? Easy way to flare. Though they have Rifles, so maybe flares already exist.

Anyways, good update, blah, blah, blah...when's the next one? ;)

Seriously, though, nice! :goodjob:
 
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