The Imperial Palace, Dominate of Flavius Claudius Decimus (Ravenna) - *IBFD*

[We shall fwee...Wode]

EDIT: OOC:You saw nothing!

[Winter]

A messenger arrives from the Gallic front bearing the seal of Titus Aurelius Constantinus Felix

Ave Augustus et Senatores

I am writing to update you on my progress. I have begun my march north to root out the Usuruper's successor and his legions. I will head north to lugundum and then strike deeper into Gaul.

At the same time, I have sent my lesser generals to besiege Narbo. Currently they have no means of breaching the city's brick wall, but I hope that shortly catapults will arrive from Arelate by sea. Once they have, Narbo will fall quickly and the land route to Hispania will once again be in rightful Roman hands.

I will send a more extensive report upon more decisive action.

T. Au. Constantinus Felix

[Aldgarkalaughskel]

Rescue from the Rhine

I had hoped you would say that, Gaius.

Here is a scroll I prepared earlier hoping that my trust in you would not be misplaced -

"The bearer of this scroll is hereby promoted to the rank of Comes rei Militaris with all the due privileges and station attached forthwith. I hearby order you deep into the Rhine limes to rescue and lead to safety the men of the II Nervian Cohort besieged at Portus Epatiaci on the Rhine. You are charged to infiltrate the castrum and sally forth against the Franks and then retreat off the field of battle with as many men as you can save. Escort them through the lands of the Franks and territories of the usurping Romans until you find succour here within the Empire. The agents under my Tribune Felix will attempt to shadow you and assist you as best they can."

The Augustus reaches out at grips his arm suddenly -

Save these men, Gaius! I owe them much!

Gaius Flavius Pannonicus hotfootly arrives at the Palace.

"My Caesar. I bring bad news. The bulk of the garrison didn't manage to get away alive. Let me tell how it happened.

The destiny of the small isolated fort near the Rhines seemed utterly hopeless: a huge Frankish army besieged it led by the fearsome faction heir, Chlodie himself. I managed to get in the fort under the cloud of night.



The assassin you sent with me was trying to kill Chlodio...



...with no success.



Being sorrounded I decided to attempt a breakout - as you ordered. We were outnumbered 3 to 1.



I lined up my men and told them not to engage in a fight. The order of the Emperor was to bring home as many of them as possible.



The Frankish army was eagerly awaiting our first move. They wouldn't think that we should abandon the battlefield.



We left by the southern gate. I told the soldiers to stay calm and solemn. Which might have seemed very odd to the Franks.



The plan worked as Chlodio still didn't believe, that we would simply leave the fort undefended, thus he put back all offensive movements for a while.



When they discovered that this was indeed not a booby trap, they moved to strike. The most of us managed to get to the woods - the others were killed by the Frankish arrows. As the lucky survivors, we threw ourselves into the forest.



This is the aftermath of the breakout.



Unfortunately the Frankish troops scoured after us, and only a few of us managed to get away alive. The army was completely destroyed."



OOC: since SBH and winter are not on xfire, you can get the save tomorrow.

[Grandis Latro]

A tall, lanky individual walks into the palace, his dark green eyes scan the ornate fixings...

"Salve Emperor,
It is I, Manius Vitruvius, I come from Rome, I thank you for the relief you've sent to Rome... I confess I didn't think any coming. It is... a blessing... people are smiling once more."

[chaplain118]

ooc: that army is suppose to fight to the death... Did we just lose that army?

[We shall fwee...Wode]

Men should we make preparation to relocate once more to Roma, or is it still not safe enough to return? I do wish to return to see if my home has faired well through Alarics rampages.

[Winter]

A messenger arrives in the Imperial palace and hands the Emperor a message

Ave Imperator,

With the departure of my ex Prefect, Gaul will need a new governor if it is to be pulled from debt. Therefore I wish to offer you my most humble recommendation; Lucius Cornelius Italicus.

I have known Italicus for some years now, and I know that he is a shrewd economist and an excellent trader. He had the courage and virtue to abandon the Usurper before he made it to Gaul, and he built himself a sizeable business in Rome as well as a vast and impressive fortune.

It is my humble opinion that Italicus is the only man that can pull Gaul from it's economic hell, and is my recommendation for Praetorian Prefect.

Reverently,

Titus Aurelius Constantinus Felix

[Kingzilla]

ooc-is Rome ours again?


Look at the Screenshots before cluttering the forums with OOC comments! - Grandis Latro

[Grandis Latro]

Vitruvius retorts...

"Yes, it is your home you should be worried about, Italicus,

His voice drips with sarcasm,

Not the destruction of thousands of peoples' homes, and of course not the dead and dying..."

[Aldgarkalaughskel]

ooc: that army is suppose to fight to the death... Did we just lose that army?

OOC: Read my report again, especially the qoute of the Emperor - he said to withdraw and get back as many men as possible. And yes, the army is not on the map, blame CA not me for not enabling the "withdraw" button for an army without a general. And blame CA, not me for not letting the army indicate on the map after you've exited the battle scene without a fight and got the message that some of you rmen survived. So I brought back my men from the fort successfully, but the software doesn't show them on the map - not my fault. (BTW I tried 3-4x times to engage the Frankish army and reloaded again and again - it was hopeless. Kamikaze is not an option for a late Roman army.)

Here's the save, I've uploaded it first thing in the morning as Winter PM-ed me:
http://files.filefront.com/YATS3csav.../fileinfo.html

[Selifator]

OOC: The reason you can't withdraw is that you are under siege, so you either win and are free from the siege or you lose and your entire army is destroyed.
I tried to withdraw my men as well in sieges and they all died.

[Aldgarkalaughskel]

OOC: The reason you can't withdraw is that you are under siege, so you either win and are free from the siege or you lose and your entire army is destroyed.
I tried to withdraw my men as well in sieges and they all died.

OOC: it doesn't matter, it's a bug, that you can't withdraw by fleeing into the forest.

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

The notaries of the Imperial Consistory post by mandate of the Augustus the following figures -

Taxes by Diocesan Area:

Africa: 580 denarii gained for the treasury,8,615 lost for a deficit of 8026

Hispania: 3546 denarii gained for the treasury, 0 lost

Gaul: 1069 denarii gained for the treasury, 0 lost

Italy: 4272 denarii gained for the treasury, 10734 lost (which includes over 3000 denarii from the Eternal City) for a deficit of 6462

Illyria: 1504 denarii lost for the treasury, 0 gained.

Our priorities must remain the administrations of the African Diocese and the Italian Diocese.

ooc: am I to understand then that PowerWizard didn't save those men as per the game mechanics?

[Selifator]

OOC: He didn't. Since he was under siege and didn't complete the battle objectives he lost the battle and lost all of his men. So what we might do for rp sake, is recruit the units he had left in order to "complete" his mission.

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

ooc: no, if the men were lost, they were lost. The mission was a suicide one on purpose. I'm a little confused now. Are we playing game mechanics or rewriting them to suit our own agendas?

[We shall fwee...Wode]

OOC:I think he dies, nothing personal but if the men die, you should do too. Just pretend you were hunted down in the woods or that all your men were but you and a handfull of guards escaped and made it to Ravenna or Arelate if you want to live.

[Aldgarkalaughskel]

OOC: I have accomplished the mission, I am sorry for CA's incapacity to create a normal battle engine. If this means, that my character dies, then consider me out and have fun eliminating the newcomers!

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

ooc: it's not the game engine, PowerWizard! I knew those men wouldn't live. I don't want you to die with them but wanted you to accept an impossible task - the 'kobiyashi maru' scenario! I was really surprised you wrote up a successful AAR!

[Aldgarkalaughskel]

OOC: okay I changed my report, read the last sentence of it.

[-Aquila-]

Gaius Cornelius Agrippa returns from his trip south.

"I see a lot has happened since I have been away, and I am happy to return to my senatorial duties."