GAIUS Return to Rome Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself has said, This is my own, my native land! Whose heart has ne'er within him burn'd As home his footsteps he hath turn'd From wandering on a foreign strand! Sir Walter Scott, Lay of the Last Minstrel .......... [gaius] The news that they are to be sold in Asia Minor is not the worst that could have been. Certainly it will be easier to make it home from there than from Africa, and the kingdoms will probably be more civilized than the wild tribes of the Gauls or Hannibal's allies in Iberia. Hannibal's lack of health greatly raised Gaius's hopes for his city. Perhaps he will not have the strength required to mount an immediate campaign with the moneys gained from the sale of the slaves, and thus threaten the city before it can raise a replacement army. Upon reaching the rest of the Romans, Gaius joins the rest of the delegates in spreading the news. Besieged by hundreds of questions and complaints, he does his best to answer what he can, but eventually his patience runs out, and he answers to all, "That is all I know, and if you have been listening you know as much as I. Lycia and Bithynia are neighbouring countries on the peninsula to the east of Greece. I don't even know if we are all going there, or what. And I've already answered all whose families I recognized back in the city. If you want to know more, ask Silenius Antius." Pushing his way through the crowd, he makes his way (asking for directions) towards the remnants of his legion. Perhaps some of his maniple are still alive, and it is his duty to see to them as best as he can. <><><><><> [GM] 216 B.C. Asia Minor .......... The thousands of Roman prisoners taken in the Battle of Cannae are sent to various cities in Asia Minor... the more fortunate ones go to Pergamum or Rhodes or Lycia, Hellenized states with many Roman ties. Roman exiles will at least be treated decently there, and not be completely removed from the culture they knew. You go to Bithynia, on the northwest coast of Asia Minor. While Hellenization has taken hold here to a lesser extent, it is more multi- cultural, with influences from west and east. Eighty years ago, Nicomedes invited the Celtic people known as Galatians here, and with them founded the Kingdom of Bithynia. Nicomedes is gone now, and so are the original Celtic invaders; they were forced south into the land that now bears their name; Galatia. The Seleucid ruler Antiochus III poses a threat from the south, and to the east are the (usually) cooperative Armenians, but on the other side of Armenia, Rome's old enemies, the Parthians, pose a constant threat to all of Asia Minor; right now it is probably Antiochus who deters them more than Rome. You find yourself sold to a wealthy Bithynian merchant of Greek descent, who needs someone literate and educated to help manage his warehouses in the major port city of Nicomedia. Thus, your lot is not nearly as bad as it could have been. Calocles is not a very generous man, but neither is he cruel or unreasonable. So long as you keep his inventories straight, and there is no theft, life is not difficult. He takes a certain amount of perverse pleasure in having a Roman as his slave, but compared to some of your comrades who also wound up in Nicomedia, your life is pretty easy. You get news regularly, from the many sailors and other travelers who pass through this major stopping point along land and naval trade routes that connect the Black Sea and lands beyond to the Mediterranean. You learn that, for whatever reason, Hannibal failed to press his advantage and siege Rome. Instead he withdraws to the countryside, and ravages more of Rome's outlying possessions. The following year, he allies with Philip V of Macedonia, another bitter enemy of Rome. Rome experiences numerous defeats, though they halt Philip's push into Illyria, retake Sicily from the Carthaginians, and manage to put more pressure on Carthage by allying with their western neighbors, the Numidians. Hannibal continues to be a commander without peer, as he takes Tarantum and Capua, but loses the latter a year later after a failed diversionary attack on Rome. (And Rome will recapture Tarantum two years after that.) Carthage destroys two Roman armies in Spain and dominates the entire southern Iberian coast. Hannibal continues to wreck every Roman army sent against him. His brother Hasdrubal is defeated in Spain at the Battle of Baecula, but still crosses the Alps and breaks into Italy. This defeat forces Rome to withdraw its forces from Greece, and Philip makes peace with the Aetolian League. Hannibal and Hasdrubal join forces, but nonetheless, the tide begins to turn in favor of Rome at the Battle of the Metaurus River, where Hasdrubal is killed and his army is wiped out. The man responsible for this is Publius Cornelius Scipio, the same young general who took Carthago Nova two years earlier. At last Rome has a commander the equal of Hannibal. Scipio breaks the Carthaginian hold on Spain, then returns to Rome and is elected Consul. Seeing that Carthage is on the retreat, and needing a breather, Philip V makes peace with Rome, ending the first Macedonian War (there will be many more). Able to finally turn their undivided attention on Carthage itself, Consul Scipio is sent across the Mediterranean with a Roman army, to challenge Carthage on its home soil. His campaign in Africa results in the capture of Tunis, and the destruction of two Carthaginian armies. Terrified that Scipio will siege Carthage itself, they sue for peace...then withdraw their offer when Hannibal returns from Italy. One of the greatest generals the world has ever known brings his army home, and the younger Scipio waits for him. All this occurs over a period of years, and news comes slowly at times from across the Mediterranean Sea. All of Asia Minor knows that Hannibal has returned to Africa, and every Roman expatriate in Nicomedia seems to be holding his breath in the months of silence that follow. ..... 202 B.C. Nicomedia, Bithynia One early winter morning, you rise to begin inspecting a shipment of papyrus from Pergamum, which is to go out this week on ships plying the Black Sea. There is commotion on the docks, and it's spreading outwards, as people carry the news as fast as word of mouth can spread it. Consul Publius Cornelius Scipio utterly defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama. Carthage has surrendered. ..... In all the time you spend in Bithynia, only once do you sense the tingling sensation that you learned from Romulus Solus signifies the proximity of another immortal. It was at night, while you relaxed on the docks with some other slaves. A small ship passed by, heading out into the bay, and your attention was drawn to it....but no searching face appeared on the deck, and as the ship sailed away, it took with it its immortal passenger, who apparently did not care to meet you, or even find out who you might be. Five years after you arrived in Nicomedia, someone first commented on how youthful you looked, even after several years of working on the docks, in the stinging sea breeze. After ten years, such comments became frequent; even Calocles has commented about how remarkable it is that you seem not to have aged much at all since you first arrived from Italy. It is now seventeen years since you left Rome, and you have begun to hear mutterings that are more than admiration. Calocles sometimes eyes you suspiciously, as if wondering whether you are playing some trick on him. Other Romans who came to Nicomedia with you make jokes, but beneath the jests you begin to sense a nervousness, an edge to their speculations that you've discovered some secret of eternal youth. You are popular with the daughters of the poor and the slave class, the only ones whom you dare consort with, but the men become increasingly wary around you. From time to time you have considered fleeing Bithynia...it wouldn't be that difficult, though you're well known to everyone who pilots a ship through this port, and ex-Roman slaves are carefully watched in Asia Minor. But where would you go? You cannot return to Rome, for you would do so as an escaped criminal, and bring dishonor on your family. Likely Romulus Solus would have no respect for you coming back to seek his patronage under such conditions. Life in Nicomedia isn't so bad. Though you miss your native city, and your family, you know that Rome will always be waiting for you, and your family....well, everyone's family dies eventually, and accepting that loss stoically is part of being Roman. But, following the end of the second Punic War, there is increasing talk of Rome's expanding influence. The Bithynian King, Prusias, has fallen more and more under Rome's sway, and Bithynia is entering into almost a client-state relationship, seeking protection from the ambitious Antiochus the Great of Syria. Thus, it is rumored that the many Roman survivors of Cannae who are still living as slaves in Asia Minor may soon be sent home. You dismiss such talk as wishful thinking at first....but it persists, and you even overhear your master, Calocles, discussing it with another wealthy Bithynian, saying that in Africa, Numidia has already returned all former Roman slaves to Rome, and that Roman envoys are making subtle but insistent inquiries as to the status of their former citizens up and down the Aegean coast. ..... April 10, 199 B.C. Nicomedia, Bithynia Calocles calls you to come from your comfortable but cramped slave quarters, and see him in his manor. Only a few times before have you been allowed in his family dwelling, so you know it is either very good news or very bad. Calocles has aged a great deal in the last seventeen years. His hair has gone from greying-brown to snowy white, and he has a persistent cough. He sits on a Greek-style couch and drinks imported wine, and looks at you almost disdainfully, as if angry that you are going to get away, without ever revealing your secret. "King Prusius has ordered that all Roman slaves are to be freed," he says simply, and without preamble. "We are to be paid some token compensation from his treasury, but you are no longer a slave." He coughs. "Rome is subsidizing a small payment that is to be made to each of you, to allow you a chance to begin a new life...or to return home." He hands you a small pouch, which contains a small number of coins....about the right amount to buy passage to Italy. Apparently surmising that there is no point in even discussing whether you'd like to remain here as a paid servant, Calocles says simply, "You were a good slave." Then waves his hand in gruff dismissal. <><><><><> [gaius] At first, he had hoped for a quick return... but as time passed by and no honorable means of leaving presented itself, a subtle fear began to arise. He could not continue here as he was for a couple of decades... time had made the sundering from his family less painful, and the messages he had bribed a couple of ship captains to take to his family made him worry less about their fears for him. Of course, he could not receive news in the same way, and had to depend on hearsay and gossip, but the emotional wounds had scarred over and mostly healed. Now there was something else to fear... if he were not free to leave and set up his life by his own means, his secret would eventually be revealed. Soon, he would have to do something to leave, dishonorable as it may be. What made it even more galling was that if he were going to dishonor himself, he should well have done it years ago, when first enslaved. The rumors of freedom were the only thing keeping him in his job in the last couple of years, and he took pains to hide his youth, going as far as grow a scruffy beard, and to keep his face constantly dirtied. But that only slowed the rumors and increasingly serious jests. The summons to Calocles' chambers brought his emotional roller coaster to an end. If the news were good, he would hopefully be leaving soon. If it were bad, he would likely be forced to escape. In either case, it seemed like he would be seeing his erstwhile master for the last time. Not a day too soon, either. Gaius listens to Calocles impassively, though he rejoices inwardly. For the first time in years, a smile curves his mouth as Calocles seems at a loss for words, then he leans forward to accept the money. "I'm going to miss this place...", he says as sardonically as possible, before turning around and leaving. He wastes little time in gathering the few possessions he had picked in the years from his chambers, and leaving Calocles' grounds for the last time. Perhaps there would be a ship leaving for Italy down at the docks. The trip would give him time to think on what to do upon reaching Rome. Visit his family, or not... could he do it without giving away his secret? A short deception... or merely to never see them again. Regardless, there would be time and nights to think upon this. Now was a time to leave this despised place far behind. <><><><><> [GM] Italy, 199 B.C. You don't find a ship going directly to Italy, but are able to reach the Piraeus, where Roman ships now ply the waters, to ward off Macedonian vessels and pirates paid by Philip V to threaten the ships of Rome and her allies. The second Macedonian War is well underway, as Philip's naked ambition drives him to mount another campaign aimed at placing the Mediterranean under his control. Despite the war, your trip is uneventful. After seventeen years, you see the same sight that receded from you as you left your homeland in disgrace...the southern tip of Italy, laying green and peaceful beneath the sky. Your ship makes a stopover at Syracuse, which is now Roman- controlled, as it was not when you left, and then continues through the straights between Sicily and Italy, leaving the Ionian behind and entering the Tyrrhenian. And at last, you see a bustling port town dead ahead, larger and busier than you remember. Upon landing, it will be less than a day's ride to Rome. <><><><><> [gaius] It is nearing evening when the ship pulls into port, but despite the warning signs of encroaching darkness, Gaius does not head for an inn. More important is to find a sword, of whatever quality... it has been too long since he was allowed to carry anything with a blade, and the freedom to carry a weapon is too heady to let this opportunity to pass by. So he passes a couple of likely inns or boarding houses, heading up and away from the waterfront, into the district of the artisans, looking for a weaponsmith, armorer, or even pawnshop that may still be open. <><><><><> [GM] Pawnshops are closed, but a few smiths can be found still hammering at their anvils, or wresting a few last bits of metal from their forge. Of course, the money you have left after your trip is minimal...Calocles gave you enough to pay your way to Rome and barely an as more...with the few small coins left jingling in your belt, you will have to settle for a very poor blade. As you look over the meager offerings that are within your budget, you feel that sensation you have only felt twice before....a tingling in your spine, a weight at the base of your skull....an Immortal, nearby. <><><><><> [gaius] **perhaps I have tempted the gods... look for a blade, and the need for the blade will immediately appear** Noticing the feeling, Gaius continues his haggling with the smith, even more determined now that he needs to get the sword. Or perhaps a decent spear, considering that one will likely be cheaper than a sword, even if carrying it may draw attention from the milites. Not that he is likely to defeat any good swordsman, considering how out of practice he is... but he knows how to hold a sword, and while skill may be easy to tell, it is easier to fake being in practice. And being without a weapon will definitely mark him as easy meat. While haggling and listening to the smith's replies, he casually turns around, asking for directions to a decent inn nearby, and using the turn to scan the street up and down, to try to spot the source of the feelings. <><><><><> [GM] The smith offers you a cheap gladius, very cheap, and he obviously hasn't sharpened it much. You'd guess it's one of his cast-offs that he would not normally even try to sell to a customer not so obviously in need of a weapon and in dire financial straits. Unfortunately, it's either this or a spear of only slightly greater quality, and much less concealability. Although the crowds in this port town are thinning as sunset approaches, there is still a decent bustle of activity around the market. Even so, you pick out a knot of barbarians, mercenaries or tribal representatives bringing tribute, or just "tourists" on their way to or from Rome to see her glories. They look like Celts, though you can't tell what kind of Celt (not that you've ever been able to make much of a distinction- during the war, Celt equaled Enemy. Now, you understand some of them are friendly to Rome, or at least have been bought or intimidated into acting friendly while Roman soldiers are around.) And the tingling presence of an immortal appears to come from a red-haired woman wearing an ankle-length wool cloak. She draws it closer about herself, and stares in your direction for a moment, then moves so that her companions obscure her from your sight. <><><><><> [gaius] In an abstracted aside, he finally accepts the gladius from the smith. Perhaps he will need it not... but merely having it comforts him. Giving the sword a closer look, he turns around and restarts the bargaining, this time for a small whetstone to make the edge presentable... and quickly finishes, not wanting to waste much time. Keeping in mind the warnings about some barbaric immortals, he then quickly travels to the nearest cheap inn or place of lodgings, and pays for lodgings in the common room. After a trip during which he did little but stand around watching the waves, he feels energetic enough to stand watch for some hours, in case he is followed by the woman or some of the barbarians from the group that were with her. Putting his back against the warm stones of the common hearth, he nurses his tankard of heavily-watered wine slowly, as the other lodgers settle down on the floor, most with a large, wide cloak like his own, to provide both bedding and covering. But his eyes periodically stray to the door, as thoughts of the stranger war with remembrances of his family, and with ill-defined plans for the future. Eventually, perhaps, he sleeps, with dawn just an hour or two away. <><><><><> [GM] You sleep (poorly) the entire night, but when dawn breaks, you still have not felt the warning presence of another immortal. Either the barbarian woman did not follow you, or perhaps lurks out of detection range. <><><><><> [gaius] **well, perhaps she's not more interested in meeting me than I am in meeting her**. There wasn't much coin left... and the trip to Rome was not all that short, not on foot. It was time to get going, and try to make the best time by starting early and travelling late. Looking warily around him while still in the town, Gaius made his way to the landward gates, and set out at a fast pace on the road. After all, all roads lead to Rome . The old military pace came back to him, although he was now able to recover from the exertions more quickly, and so travel at the rapid pace for longer distances. The mindless, reflexive rythm of the steps freed his mind to look ahead, to consider what he would say to his family. After several hours of travel, the conclusion finally came to see Persius first, then to go to his family... immediately or later, would be up to him to determine after speaking with Persius. <><><><><> [GM] Rome, 199 B.C. ..... The road follows the Tiber River. You do recover more quickly than you did before you realized your Immortal state, though you are not immune to exhaustion. It takes you most of the day to quick-march the twenty miles to the City. You arrive a few hours before sundown. Rome is eternal. You see few changes immediately; the gate through which you left seventeen years ago has been recently renovated, but on the streets, the buildings are the same. You pass the shop of Marselius the wineseller, where your father always used to send you. You're not far from your old neighborhood. You enjoy the sights and sounds of Roma, and the paved streets and familiar language and the odor of Roman meals being prepared, the gossip of lowborn citizens as they make their way to and from the homes of their domini, children chanting songs you chanted in your childhood...a thousand little details that you never consciously thought about, but whose absence weighed on you, day after day, as you involuntarily acclimated to Nicomedia, a city with enough reminders of Roman culture to make the alienness of it more bitter. Now you're home. You leave your neighborhood, resisting the temptation to run home and greet your family (about whom you had never been able to receive any news in return...surely Diocletian and Pollia are married with children, and you may even be a great-uncle; your older sister Lavinia has had time to raise her own children to marriagable age.) Your parents were healthy when you left, but seventeen years is a long time... Instead, you wend your way towards the Pallatine, where Persius Romulus Solus makes his home. As you begin to walk up the hill, it occurs to you that you look like little more than a scruffy vagabond, and you're marching into the wealthiest district in the city. If any of the vigiles spot you, you aren't likely to be allowed to pass unquestioned. Yet, you are. A trio of armed watchmen comes around a corner before you can duck into an alley, but they walk past you without a second glance. While relieved, it makes you wonder if Persius' neighbors have been stingy with their patronage lately. Finally, the elder Immortal's vast mansion comes into view. You stand at the gate, noting that not a detail seems different than when last you were here, except that you can appreciate the magnificence of the estate better in the fading daylight. You feel the familiar tingle at your spine as you come up the public walkway....and then a second. There are *two* Immortals within. <><><><><> [gaius] **Well, what an interesting coincidence... could this be the barbarian lady, or is this just the season for others to come out of the woodwork, after 15 years of not meeting any. Or is it just that this is Roma, and a natural place to attract us...** After a brief hesitation, Gaius continues to the front gates. Despite the general decline of the neighborhood, one thing he is nearly certain of, and that is that Persius would never have let his domicile decline, not without some special reason. A gateman will be waiting, perhaps even the same that he had seen before... The second (or third, depending on your point of view) immortal is a real annoyance, being that he wanted to meet with Persius as soon as he can, so he can then go quickly to his family. But his reason for being here is no less necessary, nor overshadowed, because there is a third party present. <><><><><> [GM] There is a gateman, though not the same man you remember. He looks at you with a jaundiced eye, and says "Dominus Persius Romulus does not see his clientes after lunch." Obviously concluding that you are a penniless client hoping that Persius will bestow some coins on you. The presence becomes stronger, and Persius himself appears at the far side of the courtyard, watching you from the shadows. "Let him in, Otho." The gatekeeper blinks, then bows slightly. The interior, as you expected, does not seem to have changed an iota. Persius walks ahead of you, too far for you to speak to him comfortably, until you reach the same dining room in which he received you seventeen years ago. This time, he has another guest. The other Immortal is tall, and muscular, and has a ragged scar that makes an ugly line across the left side of his face, down to beneath his jaw. His skin is tanned, and his black hair is long and uncombed. The bigger man, seated at one of Persius' odd chairs, watches at you warily as you enter. "Achilleus," says Persius, "this is Gaius Fabius Pontio. I met him seventeen years ago, after the Battle of Cannae. He has spent the time since then in Bithynia. I expected him to return soon. Gaius Fabius, Achilleus is an even newer Immortal than you. He awoke to his immortality four weeks ago, after a death-match fought at the wake of a prominent Senator. I was fortunate enough to be attending the party, so I sensed his revival." The gladiator looks at you. "Cannae, huh?" he grunts. "I remember hearing about that, when I was a kid. You got trounced by that Poeni general, didn't ya?" <><><><><> [gaius] Upon entering the room, he looks at Persius until Achilleus is introduced, at which point his eyebrows go up... **Not the same Achilles, surely?***, but his momentary confusion is cleared up by Persius' next words. Ignoring Achilleus's rude greeting, he first speaks to Persius. "Greetings. It's been a long time, and I'm grateful to your seeing me with no notice given at all." Gaius then turns to the other man in the room, and responds, "Cannae. Yes. We were defeated by Hannibal, Rome's worst defeat ever. But as you've recently found out, not too many people go through life without losing a fight...and even fewer without dying." <><><><><> [GM] Achilleus doesn't seem to catch the riposte, though Perius' lips curl upwards slightly. "Well," he says, gesturing to his table, and clapping his hands for a servant. "I imagine you haven't had a draught of good wine in some time. Tell me how fared you in Asia Minor? I was not able to establish your precise location, though my sources told me you were among the lot sent to Bithynia. Nicomedia, I'd guess? Obviously you didn't cross an elder Immortal in your time there. Did you meet any? I have met several passing through Rome in the last few years, but Achilleus is the first Roman Immortal I have discovered, since you...departed." <><><><><> [gaius] He takes Persius' implied invitation, and sits down on a couch near the low table, although he does not lean back in relaxation. "I was in Nicodemia, servant to a merchant for that time. While managing his shipping, I thought I felt a couple of touches, perhaps from ships passing by the port while I was barely in range... or perhaps not. You're the only other one I knew for certain that I had met, and what I thought was the same type of feeling was actually much weaker... I may easily have been mistaken." "What I'm certain of, though, is that there is another one that I met at the port yesterday evening. Perhaps met is too strong a word... we sensed each other and made eye contact, then she backed away and was lost in the crowd. I was not greatly eager to meet her, and left early the next morning. She seemed to be from one of the Gallic or Iberian tribes, a barbarian but not totally outlandish. Indeed, I wonder if there is somewhat more than coincidence between my meeting you, the first immortal, in fifteen years... and Achilleus, and that woman... all within two days of each other, though I had met you before. Do you know of something stirring?" <><><><><> [GM] "A barbarian woman?" Persius is suddenly alert, and wary. "Exactly what did she look like?" <><><><><> [gaius] "She was with a handful of barbarians from a single tribe. Had red hair, and wrapped a faded grey woolen cloak about her. . As soon as we saw each other, she backed up behind the others and dissappeared.... Do you recognize this description,... or is it not my business ?", smiling after the last part. <><><><><> [GM] Persius paces. "It could be her," he mutters. "The woman who slew my last pupil. Daring whore, to come so close to Rome!" He looks at the two of you. "I swore over forty years ago to avenge Titus's death, but I could not leave Rome with no Roman Immortal watching over it. If that Gaullic bitch is so near, I will have her head! Will the two of you swear to stay here until I return?" <><><><><> [gaius] "Well, now, as long as you're going to come up with a more complete and reasonable plan than... 'stay here until I come back, I'm running out to get her!', I will stay. But you will need to take care of business before leaving on business that could end your business, if my circumspection was clear..." <><><><><> [GM] Persius gives you a sour look. "Of course I do not mean to go running out the door this very moment," he says. "We'll discuss arrangements to be made to reintroduce both of you into Roman society. For you, Achilleus, it will have to be under another name, obviously. You, Gaius, can perhaps return as the freed Roman soldier who was sold to Bithynia seventeen years ago...but, you'll have to learn some tricks for simulating age. Of course there is your family to consider. I have looked after them while you were gone. Your father remains reasonably prosperous; I have rarely had a need to exert any influence on his behalf. Your siblings have all married well. Your father is not in very good health, however. You may have returned just in time to bury him." Persius' summary of your family's affairs is delivered bluntly and with no apparent expectation that you will either thank him or resent his meddling and invisible patronization. He is already unrolling some scrolls on his table. "What I intend to do is establish the two of you under my patronage....I have plenty of invented positions in my ventures, for just such a purpose, and in fact you will actually be useful. While I am gone, you will have acceptable reasons to be here on my estate conducting business. In fact, I recommend you take advantage of my library, and get in some sparring practice. I'm sure Gaius is quite rusty." Tact is not Persius' strong suit. Achilleus grins, looking like he enjoys the prospect of beating up a higher-class Roman. <><><><><> [gaius] He pauses, scratching the stubble of his beard, while he considers the news. "Sounds as if you've been well prepared for new Roman immortals for years. Considering how much time you seem to have spent planning, I don't see what I can do better than to take your advice. I'll have to go see my family soon, though... a few days, or a week at most." <><><><><> [GM] Persius shows you around his estate, and introduces you to his servants, whom you note, seem remarkably lacking in curiousity about the two strange, rather scruffy-looking men their master is hosting and telling them to treat as honored guests. Then he sits down with you. "I would prefer we arrange a suitable identity for you before you suddenly appear on your father's doorstep and undoubtedly cause a commotion over your return. If you are going to be Gaius Fabius Pontio, returning from Asia Minor, you will have to age yourself a bit. A beard would help, but unfortunately beards went out of fashion in Rome over a century ago, and haven't come back; I suppose you won't want to look like a barbarian. I can show you how to add some grey in your hair, but there is also a trick to walking and carrying yourself like an older man. In lieu of that, seeing as how little training I have time to give you right now, a limp would suffice, but you'd have to keep it until such time as Gaius Fabius 'dies'." "Of course, your family is less likely than others to notice immediately how little you have aged. After all, you look the same as you did when last they saw you, and that is the mental image they still have of you in their heads. It will take some time for them to realize it is more than a little odd how little you've aged. But your neighbors are another matter; they'll see the strangeness about you more quickly. Perhaps we can invent a reason why you do not wish them to publicize your return, at least for now?" <><><><><> [gaius] "I just want to see my family and father... occasional visits will suffice in the future, and I think that it won't be that hard to act out a part for a day or two at a time. Let us say, that I found a girl to marry, and you have offered me a job that involves my travelling to parts of Asia Minor. That will be a good reason why I will live, or seem to live, off Italy. And why I will only come for short visits, and why in a couple of decades, I 'die' and my son comes to occasionally visit his father's homeland. "A limp or suchlike will be fine, it will also be an excuse to carry a staff or cane, to further draw attention to my disability and encroaching age." Gaius gives a slight sardonic grin at this. <><><><><> [GM] Persius finishes his preparations; he might not mean to run out the door this moment, but he certainly intends to leave by nightfall. Finally he takes a long, slightly curved blade of non-Roman design off the wall, and slides it into a well-oiled leather sheath he has already prepared for the purpose. "I apologize for this delay, but you will get used to patience," he tells you and Achilleus. "You can afford to bide your time now, for decades and centuries. And this will not take nearly that long. I should be back within a week or two, assuming the woman hasn't gotten far." "About that," Achilleus asks. "What if you *don't* come back? What if she kills you?" Persius smiles grimly. "Unlikely. But if I should ever disappear for more than twenty years, my estate will become property of Rome. Everything I own, I have left to the city." He salutes the two of you, and departs. <><><><><> [gaius] "Good luck, and may the gods be with you," he speaks in a low voice as Persius leaves. He then turns to Achilleus and sighs,... "Persius was quite rushed, apparently. Did he have time to speak to you of your new situation, or did my arrival and news cut that short? ". While talking to Achilleus, he sits down and starts to eat more seriously, which he had been too polite to indulge in, seeing that his host had clearly already finished his repast. <><><><><> [GM] [Oops! I need to backtrack slightly here- there is one very important point Persius wanted to go over with you before he left, which I forgot about in writing my last post.] Prior to his departure, Persius sits down with you and Achilleus one last time. "As Achilleus has pointed out, it is not *completely* impossible that I might not return. I have done nothing to anger the gods that I know of, but one can never be totally sure." "I have been the oldest Immortal in Rome since the days of Etruscan rule, centuries ago. My own mentor was one of Rome's founders. He told me of a time before this city was built, when only goatherds lived on the hills that are now Rome. I think he was old then. To him, Rome was the most glorious achievement in the history of man. I have done some traveling, and seen many cities, from the far East to northern Africa, and there IS no city that compares to Rome, no civilization that compares to ours." "Our gift is also a responsibility. As Immortals, we witness history that will be remembered by mortals only in the tales they pass down from one generation to the next, and which they write down on paper, which is only a slightly more reliable record of what truly happened. Rome is now the most important place in the world. It was not so at the beginning, and perhaps someday Rome's glory will wane, but for a long time to come, I think that the entire world will revolve around us. My mentor made me promise that one of us would always watch over this city, so that nothing that transpires here will be forgotten. I am now leaving Rome in your hands, so to speak. I want you both to swear to me that, should I not return, one of you will always stay in Rome...at least until such time as you might discover another Roman Immortal, who can join you in your vigil, and sometimes relieve you so that you may travel." <><><><><> [gaius] After a few moments thinking, Gaius responds, holding back a mild frown. "I have no objection to the idea of remaining here... though I don't know how I'm going to set up a life here without being near my family, or keep up a deception if I am near them. But if it becomes necessary, I'm certain that I will find a way, pleasant or not." "I'll swear to remain as long as Rome is the center of events, though that doesn't mean that I'll leave as soon as that is not the case." <><><><><> [GM] Persius seems not entirely satisfied with your promise, but accepts it as adequate for the time being. Achilleus shrugs. "Sure, I'll stay in Rome, where else would I go?" Persius' departure leaves the vast estate in your and Achilleus' hands. Achilleus loses no time in demanding that the servants begin bringing him the finest wines, which you suspect the man hasn't the discriminating taste to appreciate, and eating like a horse. After a few days of his company, you find him to be thick-headed, unimaginative, and boorish. To him, immortality means he can now eat, drink and be merry for all eternity. However, his formidable gladiator's physique shows that his life was not always so comfortable, no doubt why he's enjoying his new status so immensely. You find yourself hoping for Persius' quick return, though, because you're not exactly enthralled with the idea of spending the next twenty years with Achilleus. <><><><><> [gaius] The timing of Persius's departure is a constant source of annoyance to him, as he wanders the mansion between long periods of reading in Persius' library. For some reason, exercising with Achilleus without Persius' calming influence does not seem to appeal to him. But by far the greatest problem is his worry for his family. He doesn't dare even pass by to see them, in case he is recognized. If he leaves now to meet his family, it is likely that whatever story he comes up with may not fit properly with whatever plans Persius has made for his continued life in Rome. If Persius doesn't come back, that won't matter much... but if he does, then Gaius' impatience could well scotch another long-term plan, meticulously laid out by Persius. On the other hand, patience is hard.... resolving to wait just another week, Gaius goes off again on a long walk around the city, refamiliarizing himself with the sights, sounds, and smells of home. <><><><><> [GM] The familiarity of your native city settles back in, and the long years you spent overseas recede in your consciousness. You enjoy Roman food, shopping at Roman markets, watching some Roman sporting contests, and talking to Roman citizens. (Not to mention, flirting in subtle, Roman manner with Roman women.) But you have to continually resist that temptation that keeps wanting to guide your steps towards your old neighborhood. You remember Persius' caution that your father may be near his deathbed. Achilleus continues to eat like an ox, and the houseservants watch with thinly-veiled disgust as he brings into their master's home a nightly procession of 'dancing girls', and a growing circle of what Achilleus calls his 'drinking buddies'. They say nothing to you beyond what their duties require of them, but you can tell by their imploring looks that they are hoping you will do something to put a damper on their less decorous guest's revelries. Two more weeks pass, and still Persius does not return, nor does he dispatch any messages back to his estate. <><><><><> [gaius] Gaius spends the two weeks planning his approach to his family between bouts of looking through Persius' trade scrolls. If Persius does not return, the knowledge in those scrolls could help him establish a profitable trade even after Persius' possessions are given to the state. And if Persius does return, he will have a use for Gaius, who now has enough trading experience to be a useful assistant... much better than receiving a sinecure that he feels he may not deserve. He lets his beard grow out, though not a moustache. It could prove profitable if he has to meet his family following his own plan. Achilleus is a source of disgust, though he is polite enough to try to avoid showing it to the man's face. Though it is not Gaius' business to object to the behavior of somebody who is as much the guest of the house's owner, before embarking on his homecoming, he goes looking for Achilleus, meaning to have a word with him about his excesses. After all, he may not know that such behavior is frowned upon in such places that he now finds himself, and thus it falls to Gaius to enlighten him, however reluctant he is to speak with this barbarian. <><><><><> [GM] Achilleus, as usual, has a pair of girls-for-hire lounging on the couch next to him, while his gaggle of admirers drink and leave stains on Persius' expensive Oriental rugs. "Ave, Gaius!" he says, with just a touch of irony. "Finally decided to join us? Pass the man some wine!" A sloe-eyed creature with her garment fallen almost open around her chest rises and offers you an enormous cup, with an inviting and not very subtle smile. <><><><><> [gaius] Gaius pauses slightly when he enters the room, to gather his patience... and take a subtle but perceivable sigh. A corner of his mouth turns upwards in a crooked, amused grin at Achilleus' words. Accepting the cup from the girl with a raised eyebrow, a polite smile, and a muttered "Thank you", he takes a short sip to review his plan of attack. Then he turns to Achilleus, and asks him softly "Achilleus, would you grant me a couple of minutes of your time? I plan to leave soon, and there is some slight matter that I would speak with you about, before my departure. I'm leaving in a couple of hours, before your party will be over, so now is as good a time as will come up." <><><><><> [GM] Achilleus looks disgruntled at having to detach himself from his admirers, but grunts a reluctant acquiescence and rises to his feet. He follows you into an adjoining room, munching on a cluster of grapes. "Aye, what's this matter then?" <><><><><> [gaius] "I assume that you haven't been into the homes of patricians too often... and if you did, it was during parties like the one you have going. So you may think that it's commonplace to have wild parties and invite lower class friends and women. But understand me... most patricians don't have such parties, and frown upon them. Persius is rather old, as I'm sure you know, and he has spent decades, perhaps centuries, in this house. He will be extremely upset when he comes home and finds out that his home has been used to host wild parties. That doesn't even take any damages, spilt wine, and upset servants into account. It's not my problem, so I didn't want to speak of this earlier, but if I don't warn you now, the first you'll hear of it is when Persius comes home and starts hurling lightning bolts around. And I would really not plan on his not coming back, either." Gaius begins to turn away, then turns back. "But, do as you will... it's your immortal skin to risk, after all. Think, though, about how much punishment Persius could mete out to one who will always heal any wound... before you decide that an angry Persius is nothing to worry about." <><><><><> [GM] Achilleus looks indignant. "No, I haven't had the HONOR of being in many Patricians' homes, except to fight for their entertainment," he growls. "And you expect me to believe that Persius is really a god who can throw lightning bolts like Jupiter? He's just an immortal like us, except he's been alive longer." However, your warning does seem to make some impression on him. He watches you leave sullenly, then heads back to his party. <><><><><> [gaius] **humph. and this is what Persius wants to turn into a Roman citizen... I wish him luck of it, cause he'll need lots of luck... and patience.** Gaius walks away, shaking his head. Achilleus is as good an example as any to him, that demonstrates that the gods grant their gifts where they will. But now, it is time to implement his plan to meet with his family. It should be unnecessary even to lie, merely to skip over details that his family will probably not even realize are missing. First, to disguise his appearance slightly. Entering his room, he stoops to the small rag that he had filled with greasy ashes from the kitchen. The beard should disguise his appearance, and with a small amount of fine ashes rubbed thoroughly into it, his apparent age should increase greatly. A small nail driven through his sandals, but not completely so, should irritate his foot enough to cause a limp. He picks up a solid oaken staff that he sent one of the servants to purchase for him, and now he is ready to play a slighlty aged relative with a limp, come to visit. With luck, no one will even notice that he is not showing his full age, much less that he hasn't aged a day from when he left. Putting on the last touch, a woven straw hat as was commonly worn in the eastern end of Bithnya to ward off the sun, should help avoid the neighbors eyes... since Persius had wisely warned him that curious neighbors may be more dangerous than his family. So changed, and looking like a different man, he walks out slowly, working on perfecting his limp so that he won't later vary it, while he walks on to the front door of his family's house. <><><><><> [GM] Limping through the streets, you finally return to that part of Rome you have avoided for long weeks....home. Your father's house is in good condition, obviously being well- maintained. It's even been built up a bit. Whether Persius' intervention was necessary or not, your family has apparently fared well enough in your absence. A servant you don't recognize answers at the gate. He's beginning to query you when a middle-aged man comes up behind him to get a look at the guest. You almost don't recognize Diocletian. He is balding, and his hair has streaks of grey in it, though not as many as those you artificially added to your own hair and beard. Comparing his appearance to your own image that you saw in the mirror before you began applying your disguise, the true impact of immortality hits you for the first time. The people you knew and watched age during your seventeen years in Bithynia had less effect on you, because you saw them age gradually, and thus their change was never noticeable at any one time. Upon returning to Rome, Persius of course looked as he did when you left, and while you recognized a few of his servants who were there last time, and still serve him seventeen years later, you hadn't known them long, so the sight of them aged had little impact on you. But Diocletian, your younger brother, now looks almost old enough to be your father. It takes him a moment too, then his own eyes widen in recognition. "Gaius?" he gasps. <><><><><> [gaius] Despite trying to maintain a calm composure, a wide grin splits his face, as he sees the brother he hadn't faced for seventeen years. It is a couple of seconds before his smile relaxes enough for him to responds, and he steps forward, pulling off his hat. "Why, who else? You weren't expecting someone else, were you?" But the joke breaks off there, as he steps forward to hug his older brother for a couple of seconds, before decorum is regained and he steps back, pausing a second for Diocletian to recover from his surprise. "Yes, I'm home at last. Rome's growing influence in Bithynia was enough to persuade those who had purchased survivors of Cannae to release them. My former master certainly got enough use out of me, though at least those accounting skills that you liked to belittle have finally become polished. But with the trends being what they are, he finally had no choice but to grant me release and passage home." "But we can certainly talk of that later, and where Father can hear me, too. Tell me, now, of what the family is doing. I tried to send letters through friendly ship captains, but none brought any messages back. I don't think they were willing to take the risk of delivering private letters to a slave..." <><><><><> [GM] "We prayed you'd make it home," Diocletian says. "We knew that the Senate was putting pressure on our allies in Asia Minor to release our countrymen." He ushers you inside happily. "And we DID receive your letters...some of them, anyways. We tried to send replies, but it doesn't surprise me that none made it back to you." "The family fares well, though Mother....hasn't been quite the same since you went away. Our sisters both married well, as did I. Gods, you have so many nieces and nephews to meet! Our holdings prosper....we've become wealthier as Rome has. I am afraid I never fulfilled the political ambitions Father held for you, though." He sighs, looking wistful for a moment. "So we hold no greater social prominence." The house seems darker and quieter than you remember. "Let me announce you first," he whispers. "So Mother doesn't become hysterical at the shock of seeing you." He hesitates. "Father...is not in good health." His eyes glisten for a moment. "At least....you made it back in time..." <><><><><> [gaius] "Well, the family seems to be doing well, " says Gaius while following Dio. "That is what's more important than rising in the social order." At Diocletian's last words, his step falters for a second... "At least in time ??.. I hope I misread my worries into your implications, brother, for what you seem to be not saying is not pleasant news at all." The conversation fades into a companionable gloom as they approach the entrance to the large living/dining room in the middle of the house, and Gaius halts short of the entrance, taking a deep breath and releasing it, trying to purge his anxieties. <><><><><> Rome, 199 B.C. "I am afraid it does," Diocletian says heavily. "We've paid for treatment by the finest physicians in Rome, and mother has even turned heavily religious, making frequent offerings to the gods, but I'm afraid neither seems to be having much effect. Father's condition has been steadily worsening. You know how determined he is-" your brother smiles at you and claps a hand on your shoulder- "I think perhaps he was holding on, hoping you would return home." "Gaius?" Your mother's tremulous voice echoes in the gloomy household, bringing a flood of memories rushing through your head. Your eyes sting suddenly. Then she comes into the main room, wrapped in a somber gown, still as elegant as always, but not nearly as bright and vivacious as you remember her. The passing years don't seem to have marred her much, but sorrow weighs heavily on her face. Her eyes are dark and sunken above pallid cheeks, and a few wisps of hair escape her coiffe and hang desolately down around her face, something she would never have allowed in years past. Her eyes light up when she sees you, though, and you are forced to brace yourself for an embarrassing but entirely expected emotional display. Mothers are allowed, after all. She rushes into your arms and embraces you. "Oh, Gaius!" she sobs. "I prayed and prayed that you would return home! Thanks to the Gods! If only they would answer my other prayers as they have answered this one!" <><><><><> [gaius] Both discomfitted and gladdened by his mother's display, for a second Gaius just hugs her back uncertainly. But then, he decides that days like this don't come every lifetime, and picks her up and swings her around twice before putting her down and donning a more reserved mien. "It is rare the gods answer any prayer clearly and without a hidden cost..", he replies to his mother, "But I'm glad that at least they have answered this one. Along with a host of my own prayers, though I was never the praying type. But I understand that a prayer that I never considered necessary to send may have been more appropriate..." With a grim look on his face, he continues, "... I'm told that Father is not well..." <><><><><> [GM] "No," your mother says sadly. "He's not." In the patriarch's quarters, you find your father, lying in bed. Though his eyes are as alert as ever, and his voice is strong, you can't help wincing at the sight of this feeble, aging man that you remember as a virtual deity. Now he lies weakly in his bed, and can barely sit up without help. He coughs hoarsely before greeting you, speaking as if you'd only gone out for the afternoon, instead of returning after an absence of seventeen years. "Hello Gaius. Come here and let me get a better look at you. What is this beard, a new fashion?" <><><><><> [gaius] After an inward grimace at the sight of his father's condition, Gaius approaches close, smiling. After all, the fates may not have had them meet again on this side of Death. "Not a new fashion where I came from, and certainly not a fashion here, new or old. But I've gotten used to travelling with it, it kept the sea spray from my face." "I'd like to tell you you're looking well, but to be truthful, you're really not looking at all well." Avoiding the quick glare thrown his way by his mother, Gaius continues, "Though you've had the family doing very well, from what I see. I'm glad that my shame did not affect the family's fortunes." <><><><><> [GM] "We've done all right," your father agrees. "But your observation is quite correct, and I don't feel any better than I look. I don't have much time left. Now that you're back, we can plan accordingly." Over your mother's objections, he says "Septima, leave us now." She tearfully withdraws, leaving you and your brother and your father. "A good woman, the best," he sighs. "But, weeping women are just a hindrance when trying to settle plans for the future. When I die, you will become the eldest male of the Pontio clan. Diocletian has grown up well since you left, but he still has not the drive and ambition to lead. So, I will expect you to carry on as best you can now, as if you had never been gone. Diocletian will support you to the utmost of his abilities, of course." Your brother shifts nervously, not comfortable at having his deficincies so baldly stated, but your father has never been one to waste words. "We've done well for this generation....all my children have married well....except you, of course. Your rather inglorious circumstances will make it difficult to win the sort of woman you should have been entitled to, Gaius, but I expect you will set about finding a suitable wife as soon as possible? Then it will be time to start seriously looking after the next generation. My illness has striken me with insufficient diligence when it comes to my grandchildren." He sighs. "I am so glad you returned home in time to take over, Gaius." His eyes become a little unfocused. "Rome has only just begun to come into her own, I'm sure of it. I charge you with making sure that Rome's fortunes are ours, my son." <><><><><> [gaius] Gaius keeps his wince off his features, as his father baldly sets his future ahead of him... especially since he can't argue with his father's plans. Already preliminary plans for ridding himself of his position pass through his mind... and they must be done soon, before his new position puts him too much in the middle of society, to hide his agelessness. But in any case, if his father is dying, he must honor his last wishes... and if his father recovers, unlikely as that appears to be, there will be plenty of time to think about what to do. So he bows his head in deference to his father's wishes, and mildly replies "Certainly, father, I will do my best, although it seems to me that Diocletian has done well while you were indisposed, and I should think that he will be of great help, showing me what has changed and how the house has achieved its prosperity. I will take the family's fortunes forward as far as those of Rome, the gods be willing." <><><><><> [GM] Your father dies two weeks later. Diocletian is actually rather more attentive to familial and economic matters than your father gave him credit. While he is not at all averse (in fact, he is rather eager) to transfer responsibility to you, as senior male of the Pontio household, after spending time looking at the records which he maintained for the most part over the last decade, records which you are now able to analyze primarily due to your own experience as an accountant and clerk in Bithynia, you have no doubt that your family would be in good hands were Diocletian allowed to take over as patriarch. But, so long as you're alive, that's not going to happen. In your surruptitious visits back to Romulus Solus' estate, you find that little has changed; Achilleus is still making free use of Romulus' treasury and wine cellar, though he does seem to have taken your warning somewhat seriously, and moved his revels to other locales in the city. Romulus still shows no sign of returning. It looks like Achilleus will quite happily sponge off of his overly-generous asbent patron for the next twenty years; when Romulus' will is read and everything he owns reverts to Rome, Achilleus may be in for quite a let-down. [At this point, an overview of what you think Gaius will do for the next few years would be appropriate.] <><><><><> [gaius, overview & plans] It seems to Gaius that he needs to set up a future away from his family, one secure like that of Persius... but not so far away that he cannot watch over them. And he did give his word to Persius that, at least for a while, he would remain in Rome... Achilleus is neither of the blood, nor is he a fit representative of Immortal Rome. () But, if Persius _was_ killed by that barbarian lady in one of these duels that he had heard about, then it seems clear that he would again have to work on his swordsmanship, to become skilled enough to survive. Accordingly, Gaius entrusts most of the local finances to Diocletian, whilst arranging a couple of trips back to Bythnia and to its neighbors, for himself. Having been in charge of a merchant's accounts, he has an excellent idea of what goods will bring back profits when traded in Asia Minor, and with Diocletian to advise him on what goods are worth in Italy, Gaius figures that investing in trading will bring back large profits. And, being one of the few Roman merchants operating so far to the East in the Mare Nostrum, he has the advantage of Rome's growing might... it seems like it will be a long time, with the power of Carthage broken, before a Roman merchant has to worry about the safety of his goods, or of being unfairly taxed or having his goods confiscated. Not forgetting his life insurance, Gaius makes sure on his first scouting voyages, and later on his trading forays, to find a willing bodyguard, and pay the person's price, in order to have an able sparring partner. Having heard of the effectiveness of a staff, and realizing how simple it is for a traveller to carry one, he begins practicing with it... for after all, the one weapon that a staff is best against is a spear, and that is likely what most other immortals will carry. Not only will this increase his skills to where he feels reasonably confident, but it will also keep him in shape, and his constant exercise may help explain his vigor for some more years... long enough to use double-bookkeeping to set up a second, small, trading business, using small amounts of house goods, in order to get the bankroll to be able to start a new business, either training soldiers, or another trading venture, once he fakes his death. Which he will do, any year now, once he feels the trading routes are well-enough established that Diocletian and his children can maintain the family business without his knowledge. To that end, he takes a couple of his nephews on his business trips, to give them first- hand knowledge of the area. And then, one trip, he plans to slip overboard during a storm, change his identity to that of the owner of the secondary business, and decide what he wants to do then.