A return home
Author: * AeneasIulius Romulus - 15 Posts on this thread out of 303 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 7, 2003 - 15:39

After many hours of gazing at the silver stars
And drinking carafes of the moonlight mixed with wine

Aeneas bids Justinia goodnight with a simple kiss upon her hand
and words such as these "Goodnight Matrona, may the gods see fit to bring you a pleseant sleep and fill your soul with joy... I must go"

As he walks away ovid comes to his mind...

Iusta precor: quae me nuper praedata puella est,
aut amet aut faciat, cur ego semper amem!
a, nimium volui--tantum patiatur amari;
audierit nostras tot Cytherea preces!
Accipe, per longos tibi qui deserviat annos;
accipe, qui pura norit amare fide!
si me non veterum commendant magna parentum
nomina, si nostri sanguinis auctor eques,
nec meus innumeris renovatur campus aratris,
temperat et sumptus parcus uterque parens--
at Phoebus comitesque novem vitisque repertor
hac faciunt, et me qui tibi donat, Amor,
et nulli cessura fides, sine crimine mores
nudaque simplicitas purpureusque pudor.
non mihi mille placent, non sum desultor amoris:
tu mihi, siqua fides, cura perennis eris.
tecum, quos dederint annos mihi fila sororum,
vivere contingat teque dolente mori!

"Come Titus let us go... We've much to do tommorow and I have much wine to sleep off... It is a beautiful night"

"Yes My young master... It is indeed beautiful"


Dressing to go out
Author: * justina Cassius - 21 Posts on this thread out of 744 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 8, 2003 - 13:05

“What shall I wear? Beatrice, what do you think?”

Beatrice was Justina’s maid and had been with her since she had got married. She loved her mistress dearly and was concerned about her. She looked peaky and never smiled these days. It was good that she was going to the Theatre.

“I thought that maybe you might like to wear the lilac Madam, you have only worn that once.”

Sighing Justine looked at Beatrice “Gaius had that shipped here especially from Rome. He said the colour suited me. He only ever saw me it once.”

“Forgive me, I had not thought, what about the pale green and you could wear the green necklace with matching earrings?”

“No, Beatrice, I shall wear the lilac. Gains would want me to wear it. I shall think of him and how he smiled at me when he saw me in it. We shall have to get some material and make some new dresses. But first we must find out what the latest fashion is in Rome. I would ask Aeneas, but men never notice these things. And new hairstyles, I have been wearing my hair like this for so long!”

Beatrice bustled around. Justina sat at her dressing table and held a looking glass up and looked at her reflection in the polished metal surface. “I think you can dress my hair with ringlets and then tie it up and let the curls fall. And I shall wear that pendant my Brother sent me from Rome last month. I have not worn it yet”.

Closing her eyes, Justina sighed and wondered if going to the Theatre with a man she had only met 24 hours before was wise. Eboracum, although a reasonable size, was still like a village. People were always interested in what she was doing. After all, she had a position of responsibility. She then smiled at the thought of getting tongues wagging. “Let them speculate, I am going in an official capacity, introducing the new Curialis of Eboracum to the town. The people will not know that he asked me to the Theatre! He is a handsome young man, well learned and cultured. He must have had a good tutor. He quotes poetry so beautifully. Last night was truly a nice evening even with danger lurking. Julius Secondus should be back here, by my side by now. He must have left Germania at least a day or 2 before Aeneas. Where was he?”

“Madam, Milo is outside, he wishes to speak to you”.

“Show him in Beatrice”

“Salve Madam, I am pleased to inform you that I have planned your journey and we can travel as soon as you wish”

“Thank you Milo. Is there anything else? I am going to the Theatre, so we will discuss it in the morning”.

“No Madam. I hope you have a good evening” Milo bowed and left the room. “Hmm, going to the Theatre? With that new Curialis, AeneasIuliusRomulus I’ll be bound! I shall have to make some background checks on him. See if he could be of any use to The Cause.”

Waiting and business
Author: * AeneasIulius Romulus - 15 Posts on this thread out of 303 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 8, 2003 - 14:09



Aeneas woke earky with a blasting headache from all of the wine. Titus true to his station was almost instantly around with tonic and fruit to greet Aeneas from his drunken slumber.

"Young master, there are several city officials that would like to meet with you and discuss the current status of the city. Also I have alerted the theatre that yourself and the lady Justinia will be in attendence this evening for the showing of Medea."

"Did you get us good seats?"

"Of course sir, the Imperial box no less..."

"Ahh never are you a displeasure Titus."

"When will you be ready to meet with the Decurios and businessmen?"

"Oh not too long.. let me drink this tonic and become togate and I will meet them in the gardens."

"Yes Domine, shall I have the cooks prepare a luncheon for yourself and the councilmen?"

"Sure..."

After a lazy morning, the young man was togate and ready to meet the days business. Like all things official it was a boring affair to Aeneas. Complaints about this and that, that could either be fixed by themselves or not fixed at all. Apparently the foundations of the walls were uneasy and needed repair in some areas, the defenses themselves were becoming inadequate to hold all of the housing in the quick growing city... A never ending stream of whining hat just needed an approval and some funding.

"Well gentlemen prepare the proposals and we can set them to law at the next meeting in the Curia. I have my own business to conduct and a play to go to this evening so I will have to bid you farewell, feel free to use the gardens and enjoy some of the food that has been prepared for your pleasure."

Hours later after unpacking everything he could not unpack before, visiting the library to get some poetry, bathing and napping he was ready to recieve the young Justina and escort her to the performance.

A meal was prepared, wine poured, and tables arranged in the gardens for their enjoyment. All that was missing for the poet was his muse...

In the Garden
Author: * justina Cassius - 21 Posts on this thread out of 744 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 9, 2003 - 07:47

"This way Lady" Justina was shown into the Garden where Aeneas was wating, seated with a selection of snacks and a very large carafe of wine "Justina Cassius, welcome to my new home" Aeneas jumped to his feet and rushed over, took her hand and brushed the back of it lightly with his lips. "Thank you for inviting me, the garden looks beautiful". "It looks even more beautiful now that you are standing here". Justina looked doen at the floor and did not know waht to say. "Can I pour you some wine? I brought it woth me from Germania." "Yes, Thank You, but please water it well" "You look very nice in lilac Justina, and that pendant sets off your eyes. Forgive me, I do not mean to embarass you. I understand this must seem strange to you. I am already a slave to your beauty Matrona." "Aeneas, you are a flirt!" Justina decided she may as well flirt too. "Lady, your wine," he handed her a goblet "the colour of the wine matches your lips." Justina acknowledged the compliment with a small gracious nod of her head. "You look very official today, how has your first day in Office been today?" "Routine I think Lady. It was interesting. I will try and get organised and into the spirit of the post as soon as possible. You have enough work to do without having to run Eboracum." "Well, I am sure you will do a good job, Tell me about Seneca's Medea. I have never seen it before." Aeneas settled down to explain the plot and Justina perched on her chair, wine in one hand,taking small sips, fascinated as he plunged into the storyline."

Urgent Letter to Justina Cassius
Justina Cassius, Legati Augustii Britannia Inferior


Dearest Justina, my friend.

Forgive me for pushing right on to my task, but I am anxious to hear of your safety before I must take my leave for Balearica. I am to be Decurio of Palma and shall embark for the islands within a fortnight, but there will be more time to write you of that when I arrive and can give you a good picture of the surroundings.

At present, I have another purpose, for I have overheard a disturbing thing not a full week ago in a stable, no less, when I happened to go there anticipating the presence of my escort from Londinium. It was there that I heard a man boasting to another of trouble for you, but first, for your Julius Secundus. Is he there with you now? Can you rely on the council of those in your midst?

It is good they did not detect my presence at first. Before they saw me, I was able to feel the breath of a plot in the wind, though what it should have to do with these men in Londinium, I could not discern.

Let me hear from you then, if you can. I cannot rest until this is sent and you would do well to mark my seal, as you know it to be. I will write you again when I am ready to leave.

Venissa Julia Iceni
Decurio of Palma


Reply to Venissa Julia Iceni
Author: * justina Cassius - 21 Posts on this thread out of 744 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 9, 2003 - 19:22

Dearest Venissa Julia How pleased I am from you. I wish you a safe journey to Palma and hope the seas are calm and the winds in your favour. I am in good health, and have joy in telling you that I am expecting a child (again). Thank you for your information. I am aware that there is a plot against me and have asked for assistance from Decius Aemilius, having written to him. Julius Seconds has took a letter to him in Germania and Decius sent a new Decurio to Eboracum to help me in reply. AneneasIulius Romulus is now alreay Curialis of Eboracu, and seems intellegent and trustworthy. However, there are not many people that can be trusted, we have reason to believe that my beloved Gaius was murdered and the instigator might very well be amongst my staff. I am concerned abour Julius Secondus. He has not returned from Germania. he should have arrived before Aeneas and I have had no word at all why he is delayed. I shall have to send a letter to Decius, maybe he needed him for a reason and Julius has been delayed coming back. If you hear anything at all of Julius or of any more about this "trouble" that awaits me please write to me. Are you going straight to Palma or will you be passing through Rome? If you do go to Rome, please call on my Father and Brother and see if the children look well. Give them a kiss for me and write and tell what they are upto. They know I love them and miss them, but please reassure them that I am fine. Safe journey my friend. Please write as soon as you arrive safely. I hear the waters in the Mediterrean are crawling with Pirates and will not rest until I hear you have reached your destination safely. Your friend Justina

Missive to Justina Cassius
Author: * Decius Aemilius - 15 Posts on this thread out of 1,710 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 10, 2003 - 00:28

Salve, Justina Cassius.

I am well and must trust that you remain both healthy and unassassinated. I must regretfully inform you that Julius Secondus is indeed still in Germania. He is in fact in one of my buildings, under the care of a physician and quite incapable. Secondus was discovered and brought in by a patrol of legionaries some few miles down the road. Someone delivered a quite serious blow to his cranium and left him for dead. Fortunately, he was discovered in time and may well recover. As yet, however, he is not sensible. I am unsure what happened to him. Brigandage I suppose, as he was found without wallet, boots, or other valuables. But it is most odd if so. The patrol that found him was part of the training program going on here under General Verus Maximinius and was but one of quite frequent patrols. The whole area had been declared secure. I find it most peculiar that bandits would operate practically in the middle of a massive military training operation.

I intend to look into it, once I figure where to begin.

I am pleased my associate is fitting in. Incidently, please remind him to check on my business interests and not to get seduced by either the nightlife or your personal problems. I appreciate that your life is at risk, but he could at least hire someone to check and write to me.

Best of wishes. I remain
-Decius Aemilius Scaurus Cocceianus


A Messenger arrives in Eboracum
Author: * justina Cassius - 21 Posts on this thread out of 744 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 11, 2003 - 05:20

Milo saw a Messenger talking to a guard and sauntered over to them.

“Where can I find Justina Cassius? I have an urgent message for her.”

“I am her Personal Secretary, you may give the message to me and I shall give it to her as soon as possible. She is not able to receive you at present.”

“I am sorry, my instructions were to hand this to Justina Cassius personally. I shall wait until she is free. Where may I wait?”

“I understand, come with me, I shall take you to my office and you may have some refreshment while you wait.”

“Thank you. I am rather in need of a drink.”

“I have a rather nice choice of wines, come with me, and try some.”

The young courier followed Milo.

“Here we are, please sit. Would you like something to eat? Some warm water to wash in? The baths are still open. We can go over there after you have slaked your thirst. The good Lady is at the Theatre and will be away all evening. You may as well see her in a presentable condition.”

Milo fussed over the man, all the time thinking how to get hold of the missive. It was his only chance of finding out what the news was from Germania. Justina was being very security conscious lately; she only let him deal with routine correspondence and reports. Justina Cassius had been writing her personal letters herself and despatching them into the courier hands.

Milo was at his friendliest. Drawing out the young man, getting him gradually drunk. After a while, Milo judged it was time to take the man to the Baths. In his current state, the warmth of the baths would make him sleepy and he could then easily get his hands on the message.

The soldier seemed to have bottomless legs though, and seemed to be able to take his drink well. Milo was getting desperate. Time was passing and as soon as Justina Cassius returned to her Residence, the guard would tell her there was a messenger waiting for her with news. He had no alternative but to hasten things and would have to slip a sleeping draught into the soldiers drink.

“Before we step out to the Baths, I have one last wine you must try.”

“Bring it on!” The man looked at him owlishly, blinking.

“This is a special wine and must be drunk in a certain way. Where I grew up, my Master had this prepared for him when he was weary. He said it refreshed him. I will go and prepare it for you.”

Milo bustled around his office, humming under his breath. He opened a cabinet and drew out a bag of spices. “Now this a an old secret recipe, I cannot tell you all the ingredients but is has some honey, cloves, cinnamon and a few other things that I cannot deivulge. I just have to warm it slightly. He poured out the wine and then placed a stick into the fire and waited for it to smoulder and then quickly plunged it into the wine. “The secret is to wait until the stick is just about to catch fire” he smiled, handing the fragrant drink towards the young man. “Drink it while it is warm, so that the flavours can be tasted.”

The soldier sniffed the concoction, shrugged and downed it in one, smacking his lips.

“That was nice. A bit sweet for my taste, but you are right. I feel very relaxed. I must sit down.”

He sat down and was asleep in 10 minutes, snoring loudly.

Milo searched him carefully. He found the message scroll and broke the seal of Decius Amelius and started reading.

“By Jupiter! Julius Secondus must have the Gods watching over him! Justina must not find out about this.”

He turned and looked at the young man, snoring in the chair. “I have no choice, drastic measures are called for. I will have to despatch this fellow.”

He called the Guard. “Help me move this young fool to my quarters, Justina Cassius would not be pleased to find him here in this state. I shall buy you a drink if you do not say what has happened. I am sure you would like a pass for some leave to taste the delights of the Viscus? I heard a new group of girls are at the House of Venus. Only arrived this week” he winked lewdly.

The Guard, although a bit dim witted was not stupid! He nodded and picked up the man’s legs and Milo lifted him.

He grimaced at the thought of killing this man, but he had no choice. Sometimes one had to gets ones own hands dirty.


An unexpected arrival
Author: * Venissa Julia Iceni - 5 Posts on this thread out of 221 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 11, 2003 - 10:48





Venissa left before dawn and rode hard for days, stopping only long enough to give Arian a rest before pushing him on for all he was worth. Now it was fully dark again. Giving little consideration to whether riding all this way on horseback would detract from her Roman dignity or get her killed by bandits on the way, she'd come to the decision suddenly, in the middle of the night. She'd read Justina's message over thoroughly, searching for a reason to stop worrying. But,
there was more to this situation than she'd been told, more perhaps, than even Justina knew, and her surprising announcement made the situation all the more dire. Venissa was not going to leave her to deal with the mess by herself. Something was definitely wrong and even Palma could wait, if need be.

The sky was clear and Arian flew with the help of a balmy south wind. She slowed him to a trot at the edge of town and searched for landmarks to get her bearings.

She hadn't seen Eboracum for two years and there had been changes since then. Passing a theater, she could hear the muffled voices playing out a drama within and she walked Arian past with little of her usual interest in such things. And yet, she couldn't help but hear the words of some half-forgotten tragedy echoing behind the foremost thoughts in her mind.
Fled is the kindly light, deep darkness blinds my eyes, and the sky, buried in gloom, is hidden away.
Venissa shook away the echo, focused her eyes and gave Arian a little nudge. Minutes later, she arrived at her destination.

A single brazier struggled to light the courtyard with its dying embers. She'd arrived late and Justina had already retired, no doubt. This place, at least, had not changed. She lighted off Arian and flung her woolen cloak over his back to rid herself of its weight.

The place looked abandoned. She slipped through a vaulted doorway and and headed for a dim shank of light near the far end of the receiving hall. Stopping short of it, not sure what to do next, Venissa gathered a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. She was exhausted. The light coming from a room beyond the hall was suddenly obscured, blocked by
something that moved quickly away, allowing the beam to cut over the floor again. She stared into the passage and waited, thinking a gaurd would be coming to question her presence.

Instead, the guard, with something large and bulky slung over his back, came out of the room and shuffled down the corridor in the other direction. He was followed by another man, walking briskly behind him. Neither man said a word. Venissa thought she saw a pair of legs dangling down along the guard's backside, but she dismissed the idea. I must be dreaming in my state.

A moment later, the guard came back through the passage toward her. Venissa stepped out of the shadow to address him.

"Is this how you protect the Emperor's officials? By now, I could have had away with any of you. I demand to know the wherabouts of the Legate, Justina Cassius."

Meeting Milo
Author: * justina Cassius - 21 Posts on this thread out of 744 Posts sitewide.
Date: Mar 11, 2003 - 16:45

Milo was startled to see Venissa Julia Iceni standing before him. He had no idea who the person was standing before him but he had to make sure that they were out of Justina’s quarters fast.

“Well, it is just as well we came in when we did, young man”

“But, …”

“Guard, Arrest that man!”

The Guard lumbered over to Venissa, and although a large man, moved very fast considering his size. He grabbed Venissa and pinned her arms to her side. She struggled but could not wriggle free of his strong grasp. She started to lash out with her feet, trying to kick Milo and the Guard. She managed to catch Milo on the shin.

“Why, you little runt!” and Milo slapped her across the face hard. She saw stars, her head snapped back and her lip trickled blood.

She spat blood out of mouth, “You are making a very big mistake.”

“Silence, I am in charge here, who are you? What was your purpose of breaking into Justina’s office?”

Venissa realised that this man was being a bit strong handed for a mere intruder. She glared at him. “You will find out when Justina Cassius sees me, and then you will regret touching me, yet alone holding me against my will” she spat out at Milo.

“I am sure the Lady would be very interested to hear what I saw. A man being carried away, unconscious. A Guard not at his post.”

Milo roared in anger and realised that trouble lay ahead. “She has to know of your existence first, and that will not happen young man.”

“Take him to the Guard House and lock him up in the store room.” The Guard looked uncomfortable. “Sir, I have no authority too…”

“Do as you are told. Do you want to be punished for leaving your post? No, I thought not. So do as I say, and do it now.”

The Guard knew that if Justina or his commanding officer found out about his dereliction of duty, he would be indeed punished and harshly. He tied Venissa’s hands behind her back and gagged her with the kerchief from around his neck. He then frog marched Venissa towards the Guard House.

He kicked open the store room door and threw her in, slamming the door shut. She fell to the floor, feeling bruised and lightheaded. She lay in the darkness and waited for something to happen.