Fortune's Favor

Fortune's Favor

Decius II

Despite the thousands of soldiers present, the legion's camp beside the Elamu River was unnaturally quiet. Decius walked carefully through the dusty streets between the many tents and tried to take an account of the army. The men were subdued, drifting sullenly from campfire to campfire and tent to tent. The normally ever-present games of dice and wrestling bouts were few and far between. Suspicious eyes watched the sorcerer as Decius moved past the openings of tents where soldiers sat idly.

Soon enough, Decius arrived at the center of the camp and the legion commander's tent. It was a wide red pavilion, trimmed in gold and guarded by four sentries in shining cuirasses and plumed helmets. As Decius approached, one sentry stepped forward and called him to a halt.

"Identify yourself and state your purpose here!" he barked. Decius smiled slightly and narrowed his green eyes.

"Decius Sallax Capricius," he replied, handing over a sealed scroll. The sentry examined it and saw that it bore the red wax seal of the magister militum, the highest-ranking military man in the empire outside the personage of the emperor himself. Decius then tapped the indigo sash across his chest that represented his allegiance to the sorcerer's college, the College Veneficorum. Nodding, the sentry waved Decius through. Returning the scroll to its place in his pouch, Decius entered the pavilion.

Inside, the mood was little different from the camp outside. One man slumped into a chair at the desk while another leaned over it, examining maps and charts. The sitting man was young, perhaps twenty-five, and of regal bearing despite his melancholy outlook. He was handsome and thin, with dusty blonde hair, green eyes, and a long, aquiline nose. He wore a burnished cuirass under a red sash, a white tunic that reached his knees, and a pair of leather riding boots.

The other man was older and taller, with an unshaven face and curly brown hair going gray. He was dressed much the same as his companion, though he wore a dark red cloak over one shoulder and a simple sword at his left hip.

The two men looked up at Decius.

"Who are you?" the man at the table asked, his voice morose.

"Decius Sallax Capricius, fresh from the Collegium Veneficorum at the orders of the magister militum. I am to be your new augur."

The older man snorted.

"We could have used you two weeks ago. You're not much good to us now. A monkey could tell our fortunes."

"Yes, I heard tale of the battle at every drink and meal between here and Chyrosia. Word of the legions' troubles travels fast."

"Indeed," the man at the table agreed, looking into an empty pewter mug. "I am Valerius Caesius Marius, senior tribune of the Third Legion, for now."

"You are in command?"

"Ever since the legate died," Marius replied wearily. "My fellow voyager of the damned in Marcus Drusus Bacarius, the camp praefect. If you have come to join us, I'd advise that you leave now. With both legates and the dux dead, we will no doubt be saddled with responsibility for this disaster. Our position has passed beyond precarious and into disastrous. This whole province will be in rebellion before the end of the month."

Marius reached for a pitcher but found it to be empty as well. With a heavy sigh, he threw the mug to the floor.

"I was about to order the legion to pull up camp and make for Chyrosia and the safety of its walls."

"If you do that, you'll surrender the entirety of Khesh to the rebels. How soon can reinforcements reach us?"

"Aravos Kostanthenes sent word from Amphikara. He will muster eight thousand garrison troops and come as soon as he can, but he expects that to be two months from now."

"A rebellion can spread a long way in two months," Decius replied, looking over the maps and charts. "There is no word from Laraebos? They should have soldiers aplenty."

"The governor dispatched them upriver, into Churax. Our pleas for aid may not have even reached him yet, but he is wholly engaged with his own designs. He will not spare a single nag for our effort."

"Then it falls to us," Decius mused. Marius snorted and Bacarius barked at the servants for more wine.

"The enemy outnumber us five to one, and their cavalry rule the desert. We have little option but to fall back on Chyrosia and wait for reinforcements."

"How many men did you save from the disaster?" Decius asked. He thumbed through a thick stack of papers.

"Perhaps thirty-five hundred infantry and a thousand horsemen, nearly all from the Third Legion, but not a single gun. I ordered them spiked before they were abandoned, but I fear few gunners were able to carry out the order. The Eighth Legion is reduced to a scant few hundred, though stragglers report there are survivors hiding out in the villages and marshes along the Elamu River and its tributaries."

"And since his victory, what has Battus been doing?"

"Solidifying his gains," Marius replied. He waved his hand over a map of the province, indicating all the land upriver of their current camp. "He has won over all the towns and tribal chiefs north of the Elamu and is drawing forces from the drylands to the west."

"An army is most vulnerable in retreat, and you've barely any cavalry. How did you escape so easily from the defeat at Yamhadan?"

Marius shrugged. Bacarius returned with a fresh pitcher of wine and set it down.

"Through the favor of Apliss," the camp praefect growled in reply. "The rumor is that he and his second quarreled over the loot stripped from our dead. We have used the respite to rally what stragglers we can, but we need to fall back on Chyrosia before they settle their feud or Battus washes his hands of his quarrelsome lieutenant and comes for us himself. They took our field guns at Yamhadan, but they will be of little use against the city walls. The harvest will be in in two weeks. We can last the winter in Chyrosia as reinforcements muster. There is peace on the eastern frontier, along with seven legions."

"Hmm," Decius made a noncommittal reply. He looked to his right, into the side chamber of the pavilion, where two young men in red cloaks sat playing cards. "Tribunes," he called. The men set aside their cards and marched into the main chamber and stood at attention.

"Decius Sallax Capricius, magus of the Collegium Veneficorum and augur of the Third Legion," he introduced himself. "Your names?"

"Rhamut Shoula, junior tribune of the Third Legion," the taller of the two men replied.

"Sarus Jovian Graeborvan, acting senior tribune of the Third Legion," the other man said mechanically.

Decius looked to Marius, "and the other junior tribunes?"

"Dead, wounded, and unknown." Marius said, ticking off a finger for each missing tribune. "None from the Eighth have been found alive."

"What was the last report on Battus' position?"

"He was some hundred miles north, at Shipar, along the Nissibi River."

"What are his objectives?" Decius inquired. "Both short term and long term. Does he mean to crown himself king and rule Khesh himself, or is he merely demanding lowered taxes?"

Marius sighed. "I am not sure he has any. The governor imposed a new tax on beasts of burden and expanded it to include the tribesmen's herds. Much of Upper Khesh lives on the livestock trade and was faced with having to pay a tax they had not saved for. When they protested, the governor had their envoys flogged. Battus was merely the first man to take up arms."

"Hmm. And your fallen dux was a cousin of the governor, correct?"

"Cousin or nephew, I could not untangle their family tree. In any case, it was blood ties, not merit, that won him his command."

"How did it happen?"

The praefect snorted in derision.

"He wrote a letter. It's how we all got our commands."

"The battle, not the appointment," Decius clarified.

"We spent a month chasing mounted marauders. The dux tired of swatting flies and made for Battus' hometown of Haddul to force him to battle. They blocked the ford, so the dux went around, through the palm groves. We never saw them coming."

"Well, that's good. I feared your soldiers had gone soft."

Marius scowled. "You've a lot of military criticisms for a man too young to have attended the cursus militorum."

Decius sighed. "It is true, I have only read about such things while never commanding anything greater than wooden soldiers in the Collegium Commons. However, I come to you not to bury you, but to raise you up at your lowest hour. I have done my auguries and the omens bode well for us.

"You and I each have friends in the curia, Marius. More friends than the governor, that is for sure. Especially once they hear he has provoked the people so irresponsibly. If we send our letters to the emperor wrapped in victor's laurels, we will make this his fault. But if we sit and wait until Kostanthenes relieves us, you will be known as the man who cowered beneath Chyrosia's walls while rebellion burned throughout the province."

Marius' eyes narrowed. Decius smiled. Good, there is fire in him yet.

"What do the auguries say?"

"In essence, Fortune Favors the Bold."

"That is... less helpful than I had hoped," Marius admitted. His disappointment was clear, but Decius could see that he had awakened something in the man. Darting, inquisitive eyes came to life on his face, and the despair that had driven him to drain a pitcher of wine was fading fast.

"I propose a plan that might be sufficiently bold to please the auguries," Decius said. He dropped into an empty chair and steepled his fingers before him. "This quarrelsome second of Battus," he began.

"Arashlem Sharishakun," Bacarius supplied. "He is a wealthy magnate with marriage ties to the dryland tribes. As a result of his quarrel, he has taken his forces back to his town of Farun and kept them there."

"His son was one of the few rebels to die at Yamhadan," Marius added quietly. Decius smiled again.

"That will favor our cause most strongly. I propose a march, into rebel territory. We will pull up camp tomorrow and make straight for Farun, along the southern bank of the Elamu to shield us from Battus and his cavalry. At Farun, we will pry Sharishakun away from Battus with a bribe of whatever we can muster up. Gold, horses, slaves, honorary positions - it matters not. With his cavalry, we will then make for Battus' base at Haddul and destroy him."

"A march like that would be possible with a fresh legion," Bacarius protested, "but with a dispirited legion, we will never make it. And if we do, we will be destroyed in battle all the same."

"There is a rumor going around the camp that you plan to punish the men for cowardice through decimation."

Marius sat up with sudden concern. "I would never do such a thing. Decimation destroys a legion's spirit even more effectively than its body. An army without spirit is no better than a mob. Had I heard such a rumor before, I would have quashed it immediately."

"Of course you haven't heard, I only started the rumor this morning."

"You started it?!" the praefect snapped.

"Only so that you could quash it," Decius replied easily. "Thereby gaining the men's trust. They do not blame you for the defeat, I have made sure of that. But you are an unknown quantity. They want to trust you, but they may need a gentle push. They are looking for their savior."

"The last report was that Battus mustered fifteen thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry. Half the horse are under the magnate Sharishakun's command, but our legion is too depleted to overcome fifteen thousand infantry."

"They are untested urban militias and tribal levies. How many of them even have received matchlocks or pike drill? Stiffen your legion's resolve and order them to attack home. They will carve a path through the enemy. Their captured guns are of similarly little concern. It takes more than a month to make a proper artillerist. Their cavalry are their true strength, and we will win over half their number at Farun."

"All that is well and good," the tribune Graeborvan put in, "but if we fail, what happens when the province is lost to rebels?"

Decius shrugged. "Look at the map. There are only mountains to the north and an endless desert to the west. To the east and south are more imperial provinces, all staunchly loyal. If the rebels take Chyrosia, legions from the Eastern District will crush them in the spring or summer. Khesh will forever be an imperial province, but your careers hang in the balance, tribunes."

Marius was quiet as he considered the proposal. As Decius deflected the objections of Bacarius and the junior tribunes, he examined maps and figures. At last, he spoke again.

"What offer will you make to Sharishakun?"

"Silver and horses are always welcome gifts. Tell him we will repeal the livestock tax, or better, exempt him from it. Then tell the governor he can honor our agreement or explain himself to the emperor's envoys. But a personal gift to the man might make the difference. What do we know of him?"

"He breeds racehorses," Shoula supplied. "He owns the sire of the most prized breed in all of Khesh."

"Round up some prize mares," Decius suggested. "Anything else? What of the loot he is quarreling over? What do we know of that?"

"The rumor is that it was a woman," Bacarius muttered.

"Oh?"

"The dux had a Diborian concubine, a lovely Diborian woman with red hair and blue eyes. He was quite taken with her. The rumor is that Sharishakun took her from the dux's entourage, but Battus seized her as the victor's spoils. Sharishakun is a man famous for his lusts."

"Indeed. We should send soldiers into the town and round up whores from the brothels along with the rich men's concubines. We will take them to Farun and give them to Sharishakun as a gift. Then we will promise him this Diborian woman as his own victor's spoils, along with a share of the army's spoils."

"Rich men and brothel owners will not easily give up their slaves," Bacarius countered, but Decius brushed him off again.

"Reimburse them from the governor's purse. Or from our own. Once we defeat the rebels, we will sack their towns and take ten times as many slaves as we gave out in the first place."

"I approve of the plan," Marius declared. He looked to Bacarius, who sighed with resignation.

"Very well, I will go along with it," the praefect agreed.

"Bacarius, you have a good eye for horses. Take some of the payroll and find us some horses to make a worthy gift. Shoula, write the governor and tell him we need to replenish our coffers. Inform him of the plan and tell him to send the money to meet us in Farun. Magus," the acting legate looked to Decius as he stood up from the table. "You and I are going to find ourselves some pretty girls."

A short while later, Decius found himself sitting with Marius and an assistant to the camp praefect in the modest salon of a brothel in the nearby town of Jalit, two miles from the legion's camp. The town was a popular stopping point for riverboats plying the great Elamu River and as such had attracted a large number of whoremongers and their wares.

The madame entered the room, a rotund woman named Kanat who wore her curly black hair restrained by a braided headband. She wore a white blouse and blue skirt emblazoned with brilliant yellow dandelions in bloom. Behind her trailed six young women, each dressed similarly to the madame, though two forwent her blouse to appear topless. Marius idly plucked at his tribune's sash as he looked them over while Decius leaned against the couch's armrest and rested his chin on his fist as his eyes wandered along their bodies.

Kanat arrayed the women before them and turned to face her customers.

"Do you see anything that strikes your fancy, Excellencies?"

The two men considered for a moment. The women were all dark-haired and olive-skinned, with faces painted to lighten their cheeks and darken their eyes. Three were slender, one thicker around the waist and shoulders, while the last two fell in between. They were all as olive-skinned as Decius himself, with curly hair of black or dark brown and warm, dark brown eyes outlined in black.

Marius raised a hand and beckoned to one of the girls, a short and slender girl whose large breasts were barely concealed beneath a pale blue blouse. She smiled and sashayed across the room to sit on his knee, her breasts shaking as she did. Marius put an arm around her waist and slipped one hand up her blouse. The girl smiled and put a hand on his wrist, embracing him with her other arm.

"Sammu is one of our favorites, Your Excellency. She will surely please you."

"You have brought us a fine selection of beauties, madame," Decius said as Marius distracted himself caressing the girl's body.

"My girls and I are honored to serve such distinguished guests. None of my girls have bedded an officer before, nor a sorcerer."

Decius thought to correct her but decided to enjoy himself before informing her that he was taking her slaves away. Instead, he focused on one of the topless girls, a slender young woman with her curly hair spilling down her back to the thin brass girdle that held up a blue skirt emblazoned with birds in flight.

"This one," he said, pointing to the girl. "Bring her closer."

The madame put a hand on the girl's bare back and guided her closer to Decius until he could reach out and take her hand from the couch. He looked her up and down, from her bare feet to her braided headband across her brow. Her little breasts adorned a tight chest, dark nipples on olive skin the same complexion as the rest of her. She clearly goes about outside in the nude quite often, Decius mused to himself, feeling his cock hardening as he ogled her.

The madame saw him looking.

"Do you like her?" Kanat asked eagerly, "That is Namara, our newest addition. She is only eight and ten, barely a woman but woman enough to make you come thrice over in a night, Your Excellency."

"She is pretty," Decius said, and leaned forward. Namara blushed and looked to the floor.

Kanat stepped to her side and laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. She whispered something into Namara's ear, and the girl looked up at Decius and smiled shly.

"Remove your skirt, girl," Decius commanded, but the girl simply stood smiling. Kanat relayed the command in the local Kheshite, looking to Decius in apology.

"Forgive her, Excellency, some of these girls are too provincial to speak your courtly language."

The girl moved to obey, untying the cord that held up her skirt and letting them both fall to the floor. She stepped out of the dress around her feet and kicked it away, standing nude before Decius with practiced aplomb. Decius smiled at her shaven sex and ran his hands along her slender legs. She trembled slightly under his touch, betraying some inexperience at the whore's craft still. Decius finished with a slap to the girl's shapely bottom and sat back with a smile. Namara giggled and touched her lip with shyness, whether real or feigned Decius could not tell.

"Does she please you, Magus?" the madame asked, eager to make a sale at last.

"She does," Decius replied.

"Very well, I will send the others away, unless you wish more than one each?"

"We do," Marius replied, having undressed Sammu in his lap. With her blouse off, she proved to be even more buxom than she had looked, and now Marius showered them with passionate kisses, squeezing them in his hands as he did.

"Order them all to undress," Decius commanded, and the madame relayed his command. Together, the girls stripped naked and presented themselves for inspection. They were all beautiful, with well-toned and groomed bodies. They were shaven between their legs, in keeping with the fashion of the imperial courts. They wore no great jewels or heavy ornaments of gold but adorned themselves in what precious things they could. One girl wore golden roundels over her nipples, and another wore a silvery chain around her narrow waist. Earrings and rings studded with precious necklaces completed their ornamentation. Decius and Marius exchanged approving looks.