The Ancient Rome Game
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Neverwonagame3
Self-Styled Intellectual
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It was probably the arrival of your forces that led the enemy to retreat, General. There is the possibility of pursuit remaining, however.
Vertinari118
Deity
Five days later
The messenger rode into Aliso and saw everywhere wounded men or men rushing off to battle.
"What's happened?" he asks a passing soldier.
"The Germans attacked in force, by the time the last quarter was committed it was too late. Almost half the legion's dead and five other forts in the area have fallen all the auxiliaries defending them and their families living in them are dead. There is no hope. The enemy number over thirty thousand and we only have 1700 or so men still fit enough to fight."
I do a quick mental calculation
"You mean two-thirds of the legion is dead or wounded sufficient for them to be non-combatants?"
"Something like that."
"I must go at once. Get me a fresh horse and send out ten riders in every direction. (Whispered to myself) I shall return and lift the siege or with an army mighty enough to avenge your deaths. I promise"
"What was that sir?"
"Send out.."
"I got that bit. Something about lifting the sage?"
"Never mind soldier. Do your duty!"
"Yes sir!"
OOC notes: The narrator is a Tribunus Angusticlavius and there for an eques. Minor Roman nobility, like a knight in medieval times maybe slightly lower, definitely lower than a senator. He is a member of the ordo equester, so he is a career soldier as well as a wealthy citizen and about third in command of the legion along with his fellow Tribuni Angusticlavii.
The messenger rode into Aliso and saw everywhere wounded men or men rushing off to battle.
"What's happened?" he asks a passing soldier.
"The Germans attacked in force, by the time the last quarter was committed it was too late. Almost half the legion's dead and five other forts in the area have fallen all the auxiliaries defending them and their families living in them are dead. There is no hope. The enemy number over thirty thousand and we only have 1700 or so men still fit enough to fight."
I do a quick mental calculation
"You mean two-thirds of the legion is dead or wounded sufficient for them to be non-combatants?"
"Something like that."
"I must go at once. Get me a fresh horse and send out ten riders in every direction. (Whispered to myself) I shall return and lift the siege or with an army mighty enough to avenge your deaths. I promise"
"What was that sir?"
"Send out.."
"I got that bit. Something about lifting the sage?"
"Never mind soldier. Do your duty!"
"Yes sir!"
OOC notes: The narrator is a Tribunus Angusticlavius and there for an eques. Minor Roman nobility, like a knight in medieval times maybe slightly lower, definitely lower than a senator. He is a member of the ordo equester, so he is a career soldier as well as a wealthy citizen and about third in command of the legion along with his fellow Tribuni Angusticlavii.
Vertinari118
Deity
The Last Ride
Four days later a brownish blur was seen from the walls of Julium. It gets larger and larger and is hurtling straight at the gates.
"Open the gates! Open the gates! For the love of Hermes I said open the gates!" The gates swung open and revealed the brown blur to be a messenger on horseback going at what seems an impossible speed. Finally he reaches the town square, where legatus legionis Inius and his men were readying for the parade later that day. The horse's legs finally buckled and the messenger was thrown into the dust at the legatus' feet. He lay absolutely still, seeming dead to the beholders. Suddenly he drew breath and said "Aliso is...nearly destroyed. Need reinforcements...Julim fall. Warband...00,000 in number. Must gather mor... By Jupiter I'm dying! But I need...."
Thus the messenger and skilled officer Julius Octavius Aliso died. Gaius Octavius Thurinus or Augustus, as the Emperor is now known, may not remember his cousin but he certainly remembered the Emperor and he died trying to save his empire. Were his efforts in vain? Or will Rome rally to the cause and relieve Aliso?
Four days later a brownish blur was seen from the walls of Julium. It gets larger and larger and is hurtling straight at the gates.
"Open the gates! Open the gates! For the love of Hermes I said open the gates!" The gates swung open and revealed the brown blur to be a messenger on horseback going at what seems an impossible speed. Finally he reaches the town square, where legatus legionis Inius and his men were readying for the parade later that day. The horse's legs finally buckled and the messenger was thrown into the dust at the legatus' feet. He lay absolutely still, seeming dead to the beholders. Suddenly he drew breath and said "Aliso is...nearly destroyed. Need reinforcements...Julim fall. Warband...00,000 in number. Must gather mor... By Jupiter I'm dying! But I need...."
Thus the messenger and skilled officer Julius Octavius Aliso died. Gaius Octavius Thurinus or Augustus, as the Emperor is now known, may not remember his cousin but he certainly remembered the Emperor and he died trying to save his empire. Were his efforts in vain? Or will Rome rally to the cause and relieve Aliso?
...But in Roman Egypt, the Romans saw the Jews and Greeks as annoying pests...
Erronus Calculus sits down on a chair in his garden, sipping wine, enjoying the Phoenician sun. He like the climate here. Many, many years ago he had met a merchant from Tyre in Massilia who described Phoenicia to him. It sounded like paradise. He immediately board a ship, finding out only later that it was bound not for Phoenicia, but Britannia. There he had to work through many miserable rainy winters to raise enough to afford a journey back to the Mediterranean. And the food! Don't talk to him about British food!
He end up in Phoenicia eventually, of course, and has rose to become governor of Berytus. He live comfortably in his large villa by the sea, with his wife (a local), three sons and two daughters, and a few slaves to cook and clean and maintain the garden, though he himself like to stay active and do some of the gardening himself. He also has a number of educated slaves who was allowed to help him with his work and teach the children. While he has little tolerance for incompetence, generally he treated his household slaves well, and a number has been allowed to buy their freedom.
Under his governorship, Berytus boomed. Merchants and traders flourished, and with wealth comes sophistication - musicians, writers, sculptors, artists, doctors, and alchemists thrived under Calculus' patronage. He had commented a while ago to his advisors that he wanted to "eclipse Athens and beat Alexandria".
Calculus put down his glass of wine on the table next to him and clapped twice. A few moments later two slaves entered the garden from the kitchen, bearing snacks.
Mathaios Minos is a young Greek slave, though Calculus often thought he doesn't look like a Greek. He bought him at an auction while he was visiting an old friend in Sidon, and brought him back to Berytus. He appear to be quite bright but does not speak Latin well, nor can he read or write. He can, however, work wonders with food, so he is kept as the household cook. Lately Mathaios had developed great interest in stories of new inventions and the work of alchemists from Alexandria, and Calculus subsequently found that he is much more worldly than he initially thought him to be. Marcus Tabulus is from Neapolis and he can read and write, and is quite good at arithmetic. Calculus employs him as a translator and scribe, as well as an instructor for his children. Apparently he was once in high positions before he fell into debt and sold himself into slavery.
The two slaves brought the bowls of snack to Calculus, who took a bite. As usual, Mathaios' cooking does not disappoint...
(To be continued...)
He end up in Phoenicia eventually, of course, and has rose to become governor of Berytus. He live comfortably in his large villa by the sea, with his wife (a local), three sons and two daughters, and a few slaves to cook and clean and maintain the garden, though he himself like to stay active and do some of the gardening himself. He also has a number of educated slaves who was allowed to help him with his work and teach the children. While he has little tolerance for incompetence, generally he treated his household slaves well, and a number has been allowed to buy their freedom.
Under his governorship, Berytus boomed. Merchants and traders flourished, and with wealth comes sophistication - musicians, writers, sculptors, artists, doctors, and alchemists thrived under Calculus' patronage. He had commented a while ago to his advisors that he wanted to "eclipse Athens and beat Alexandria".
Calculus put down his glass of wine on the table next to him and clapped twice. A few moments later two slaves entered the garden from the kitchen, bearing snacks.
Mathaios Minos is a young Greek slave, though Calculus often thought he doesn't look like a Greek. He bought him at an auction while he was visiting an old friend in Sidon, and brought him back to Berytus. He appear to be quite bright but does not speak Latin well, nor can he read or write. He can, however, work wonders with food, so he is kept as the household cook. Lately Mathaios had developed great interest in stories of new inventions and the work of alchemists from Alexandria, and Calculus subsequently found that he is much more worldly than he initially thought him to be. Marcus Tabulus is from Neapolis and he can read and write, and is quite good at arithmetic. Calculus employs him as a translator and scribe, as well as an instructor for his children. Apparently he was once in high positions before he fell into debt and sold himself into slavery.
The two slaves brought the bowls of snack to Calculus, who took a bite. As usual, Mathaios' cooking does not disappoint...
(To be continued...)
CivRulesAll
The Void Beyond
- Joined
- May 1, 2007
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- 590
No, west india man. You already got kicked out of the island game. Wanna be kicked out of this one too?
Augustus sends the 40,000 denarii to Berytus. He needs to update his look...
Augustus sends the 40,000 denarii to Berytus. He needs to update his look...
Neverwonagame3
Self-Styled Intellectual
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- 3,549
Quitting.
Two Weeks Later, Pompeii
The town watchman on duty was getting bored. Every day it was the same, look out over the horizon, look for a threat that would never come. He sometimes saw Roman troops or large groups of people moving on the road, but never anything dangerous. The only exciting thing was the large groups of Roman troops that would sometimes show up.
Oh well, it could be worse.
He then saw something on the horizon. It looked like... some men. He soon saw that it was a large group, about Two to Three Hundred. When they got a bit closer, he saw they were Roman troops. From the looks of things, they'd been in a battle and lost it badly. It was General Inius' Legion.
The watchman went to get the governor and some doctors.
Later...
Governor Hadrinus was worried and angry. General Inius' Legion had almost been destroyed. While there was once 5000 troops, only 237 remained, and about half of those were wounded. Most discomforting was that Inius was not among them.
He read the battle report again:
Two Days before the battle started, a messenger from Aliso appeared, and warned us that Aliso had nearly been destroyed by an incoming barbarian horde. It was apparently big, and he died shortly after telling us. Worried, we did our best to hunker down and defend Julium. Our forces, combined with the Praetorians and the leftover soldiers from the earlier battles at Julium and Aliso, numbered roughly 10,000. We thought these numbers, along with the defenses we had set up, would be enough. We were wrong.
The day of the battle, the German Army arrived. We do not know how big it was, but we estimate they had troops numbering in the hundreds of thousands, based on the messenger and a few other eyewitnesses. The defenses we'd set up just weren't enough against their numbers. They quickly overran us. Our troops fought bravely, but we knew we were doomed after a while. Julium's soldiers were completely wiped out, and we fear Aliso's may have been too- we know not of their fate. We later learned that the city of Julium was completely burned to the ground. We fled with the Praetorians once we realized it was hopeless. We only had about 500 troops left, them about 400. The next day, we were came to a river crossing and were ambushed by some more Germans. Half of our forces were trapped on the other side of the river, and have either been killed or captured. We suspect the second, as another messenger told us they had roughly 400 prisoners from the Praetorians and our Legion, including General Inius, and were asking for a ransom deal. They ask for 10,000 Denarii for the General, 100 each for the other troops, and 50,000 for everyone.
The town watchman on duty was getting bored. Every day it was the same, look out over the horizon, look for a threat that would never come. He sometimes saw Roman troops or large groups of people moving on the road, but never anything dangerous. The only exciting thing was the large groups of Roman troops that would sometimes show up.
Oh well, it could be worse.
He then saw something on the horizon. It looked like... some men. He soon saw that it was a large group, about Two to Three Hundred. When they got a bit closer, he saw they were Roman troops. From the looks of things, they'd been in a battle and lost it badly. It was General Inius' Legion.
The watchman went to get the governor and some doctors.
Later...
Governor Hadrinus was worried and angry. General Inius' Legion had almost been destroyed. While there was once 5000 troops, only 237 remained, and about half of those were wounded. Most discomforting was that Inius was not among them.
He read the battle report again:
Two Days before the battle started, a messenger from Aliso appeared, and warned us that Aliso had nearly been destroyed by an incoming barbarian horde. It was apparently big, and he died shortly after telling us. Worried, we did our best to hunker down and defend Julium. Our forces, combined with the Praetorians and the leftover soldiers from the earlier battles at Julium and Aliso, numbered roughly 10,000. We thought these numbers, along with the defenses we had set up, would be enough. We were wrong.
The day of the battle, the German Army arrived. We do not know how big it was, but we estimate they had troops numbering in the hundreds of thousands, based on the messenger and a few other eyewitnesses. The defenses we'd set up just weren't enough against their numbers. They quickly overran us. Our troops fought bravely, but we knew we were doomed after a while. Julium's soldiers were completely wiped out, and we fear Aliso's may have been too- we know not of their fate. We later learned that the city of Julium was completely burned to the ground. We fled with the Praetorians once we realized it was hopeless. We only had about 500 troops left, them about 400. The next day, we were came to a river crossing and were ambushed by some more Germans. Half of our forces were trapped on the other side of the river, and have either been killed or captured. We suspect the second, as another messenger told us they had roughly 400 prisoners from the Praetorians and our Legion, including General Inius, and were asking for a ransom deal. They ask for 10,000 Denarii for the General, 100 each for the other troops, and 50,000 for everyone.
CivRulesAll
The Void Beyond
- Joined
- May 1, 2007
- Messages
- 590
When Caesar heard about this from Caius, he was outraged. He sent a pigeon to Pompeii saying that they would be ransomed. Without any money paid to them. An entire Roman Legion with the 50,000 denarii would get the prisoners, and then kill the German horde.
