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General Thread
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In the early hours of the morning, Maria and Decius were awakened by the sound of Monstro's barking outside of the farmhouse. Maria's eyes immediately went to the place where Kita had been sleeping. Finding it vacant, she immediately turned over and nudged Decius
"Decius, Kita is gone.”
His eyes snapped open
Seeing the armed Soldier , Decius grabbed Monstro and held the animal by it's collar
The two men wore plain riding cloaks and carried no visible insignia, but their drawn swords and the deadly looks betrayed their nature. It took Maria a moment to realize that if they weren't Praetorians, who surely would be wearing Praetorian garb, they could only be one other thing:
Frumentarii.
Maria's heart sank into her stomach. She grasped Kita's small hand with an iron grip and pulled her close.
Today is the day I die. I escaped one monster, only to be found by another.
The men eyed Decius and Maria warily. Decius continued to struggle with the dog, before finally subduing it. It skulked
Abruptly the two men parted and a figure familiar to Maria ducked through the front door of the farm house. He was a tall man, with soft green eyes and black hair peppered with gray.
He motioned for the two soldiers to sheath their swords, and then bowed differentially to Maria and Decius.
"Lucius Antistius" Maria said matter of factly, her eyes betraying her fear.
The middle-aged Frumentarius had been for many years, the right hand of Catulus Aemilius Albinus, directing field operations and military affairs for the Frumentarii. Of all of Catulus' henchmen, Lucius had been the only one to show Maria any kindness. She had not forgotten it. If she was meant to die, Catulus would have sent his chief aid Gaius or worse, the deadly Frumentarii assassin Menander.
"Madame" Lucius' tone was grave. "You've given us quite the scare. We've been searching for you for the last three days."
"Next time we'll try to make it easier for you" remarked Decius, his tone flippant.
Lucius ignored the comment and merely glanced at the Vicar. "If the two of you would kindly come with me" he moved to allow them to pass through the farmouse door.
"And should we refuse your kind invitation?" asked Decius, his words acidic. He slowly moved in front of Maria as he spoke, as though to protect her.
"I'm afraid I'm not permitted to afford you the luxury of refusal. Now if you'll both come with me please. Now."
Decius began to slowly inch his fingers toward his sword hilt, but before he could draw his sword, Lucius Antistius moved like lightening, grabbing Decius' arm with an iron grip.
"My Lord Vicar" His voice dropped nearly to a whisper, "while I am certain your military prowess is substantial, you should be aware I have ten picked men outside of this dwelling, twenty more in the woods around us and these gentlemen" He paused, motioned to the men flanking him "are two of my best". As he spoke, the two men placed their hands on the pommels of their weapons. "It would be easier for everyone involved if you simply cooperated. Now please hand over your weapons."
There was no mistaking the anger in Decius eyes' He stared at Lucius, not moving an inch. Lucius spoke even softer this time, his steely grip relaxing slightly.
"I'm afraid my Lord Vicarius, that in these turbulent times, even the Frumentarii cannot guarantee your survival. But we'll try. Your complete cooperation will greatly improve our chances. Now please, give me your weapon."
Decius, continuing to stare at Lucius Antistius. Slowly and delibaretly he let his hand fall from his sword handle.
"Very well"
Lucius Antistius grabbed the handle of the Gladius and slowly pulled it from it's sheath. He looked it over for a moment before handing it ceremoniously to one of his guards.
"That shall be returned to you once we are moving. If we run into trouble, we may need that extra sword-arm. This area is crawling with Praetorians, and while my master orchestrated the fall of the Thracian, the Praetorians can be unpredictable. It would be best if we avoided them altogether, as they are currently fighting with each other to determine who their new Prefect is to be."
Truly taking notice of the child for the first time, Lucius Antistius frowned. "Is this the Thracian's child?"
Maria paled. Silence lingered in the air for a moment before Decius spoke "No. She's mine"
Lucius stared at the Vicar for a moment and then nodded almost imperceptibly, acknowledging the obvious lie. He turned to Maria, his pale green eyes meeting her icy stare.
"You will keep the child quiet, is that understood?
"Or what will happen to her?"
"Madame, I have no instructions regarding the delivery of the child. Only instructions regarding you and the Vicar"
He paused for a moment. "That being said, I have no desire to offend you or for harm to come to the child. And I believe my master may wish to see that particular child in the flesh. If you promise to do your best to keep the child quiet, I will do my best to keep all of you safe."
"If you harm a hair of this child's head" Said Maria, her breathing heavy and her tone deadly serious, "there won't be a rock big enough for you to hide under"
At this, the Frumentarius merely nodded.
"Now if you will follow me. The more time we waste, the greater danger we are in."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Outside of the house were several men on horseback wearing heavy riding cloaks. They looked as though they had been riding hard for some time, their clothing and horses were caked in mud. Some of them Maria recognized, one even gave her a crooked smile.
The bastard sent his personal bodyguard
"Do you require sustenance before we begin our journey?" asked Lucius as he brought them to two mountless horses laden with packs. He reached into one of the packs and removed three heavy riding cloaks, passed one to Maria, one to Decius and then took the third and began to cut it down with his sword, attempting to make it fit Kita's small frame.
"We have recently eaten. Where are we going? And to what purpose?" Asked Decius, taking the waxed riding cloak from Lucius and draping it over his body.
"First to a town about a days ride from here where we will be met by more of our forces and we will be able to afford you more comfortable traveling accommodations." He made the final few cuts on the cloak, before handing it to Maria who had been fastening her own cloak. She took it and began to place it on Kita, who seemed to delight in her new costume. Lucius sheathed his sword and continued speaking. "Then on to my master in Ravenna."
JMsut then, a man came riding out of the woods, his sword drawn and his horse winded. He immediately found Lucius Antistius and the two conversed privately for a moment
A few moments later Lucius reappeared,
"What's happened?" Asked Decius
"My scouts report there are Praetorians headed this way, about three miles from here. It would be best if we began our journey now."
Decius "My sword?"
Lucius nodded and barked a command to a hulking German soldier, who threw the gladius to his commander. He offered the sword to Decius almost reluctantly.
"I am trusting your desire to survive outweighs your desire to kill me. If you attempt to double-cross me, I will bring your head to my master in a bucket. Am I clear?"
Decius nodded warily. “Clarity is one of the few redeeming qualities my cousin’s lackey’s seem to universally possess.I will not impede your attempts to conduct us safely through Praetorian occupied territory"
Lucius nodded, and mounted his horse. He then turned to address the entire group
"We will maintain complete silence for the first several hours of this journey. Marcius Glabrus and Menander are with our men in the woods along our path. They will act as our first level of defense should we encounter trouble. Manlius and Torquatus" he turned to the two men to his right "You will stay with the Lady Aemilii. Should and followed my instructions. If we run into trouble, we will claim that you are a husband and wife traveling with your child, and we are your hired escort."
"And should that clever ruse fail us?" Asked Maria sarcastically, now firmly on her mount, Kita sitting in front of her. .
"Should that clever ruse fail us, Madame, you and the Vicar will ride hard to Ravenna, the rest of us will be dead, and what you think about our plan will hardly matter." With that, Lucius Antistius wheeled his horse about shouting orders to his men. Within moments, the small contingent was headed down the long road to Ravenna.
