Curia Hostilia, Consulate of Balbus/Caelinus

[Sir James the Good]

Aquila eyed Claudius with respect. He appreciated the way the old man did not care about other's opinion of him, how he lacked pretension but rather moved about with an air of impassivity. Quietly but purposefully, Aquila rose and walked over to the newcomer, taking a seat next to him.

You seem to be held in awe around here, old man. I would be honored to make your acquaintance. I am Decimus of the Junii, called Aquila.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Senators, we have a few things that demand our attention. Firstly, there is our Praetor and the rebel war. How is he getting on? We haven't heard from him in a while. Also we must lead and investigation towards the disappearance of senator Falco, and send another senator in his stead to obtain the rights of trade which we requite.

[Caesar Rex]

Claudius nods to the senator, little time to chit chat in a curia...
Senators who gulp wine while talking of war and rebels.
Who determines that these men are rebles...
They were peaceful farmers and patrons of their own state and town, now they must kneel to Romes aggression...

Where has Senator Falco gone? Claudius asked of the Appuleius before he sat.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Marcus, I have not yet been dispatched. I am under the impression the legion is still retraining. I returned to Rome to cast my votes in the election and I wait upon the legion and the senate's blessings to return to Arretium.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

My apologies, dear Praetor, for my ignorance.

Senator Claudius, Falco had been sent eastward to the land of the Greeks to obtain rights of trade between our nations. However, it appears he has somehow disappeared, whether through kidnap, assassination or just lack of communication, we don't know.

[Elendil of Númenor]

Celsus stood up. What has he to loose?

"Senators! I kindly ask you to allow me to see what has happened up north. I do not hold any magistracy yet, and I wish to leave Rome for a short while, before I stand for Quaestor, an office that will chain me to the city. You also know that when my..." - swallowed - "that I have travelled a lot, and I know the lands around Italy quite well. Thus I would be quick and quiet. I would only ask for one guard, a simple horseman, one of my slaves, and a messenger whom I will use to inform the Senate with."

OOC: read my character's story in the Campus Martius to understand why I have swallowed up a few words, and why I know the land so well.

[Caesar Rex]

Claudius looks down at Marcus, seated in the middle and grumbles to himself...

Young pups want special charges to galavant around the countryside... he should find himself laying in a ditch on the side of the road more like it...

[Lord Kal]

Senators, I have already volunteered to go. As a Praetor of Rome, I will find those responsible for his disappearance and bring them to justice.

[Winter]

Censor Lepidus enters the Curia. He casts a knowing look over the crowed, nods to Praetor Scipio, and proceeds.

"Senators I have dreadful news. It appears our good friend Senator Falco has gone missing in Cisalpine Gaul"

Discussion breaks out among the senators, and many demand that Lepidus prove his claim.

"Senators, I will continue. Several nights ago at my domus I received a most unusual visitor. It was a battered and bleeding Gaul, who nearly died on my front doorstep. After sequestering him in my home for some time, I was able to get several answers out of him. He claims that he was the traveling companion and guide to Falco, and that Falco sent him to me. The man says the senator was ambused on a road leading into northern Italy by thugs, and Falco sent him to me as he attempted to fight off six barbarians."

"Normally I would not have given his wild ramblings any heed, save for one important detail. The man carried with him a dispatch from the senator himself, with the senator's seal. I have it with me today..."

Lepidus takes the burnt and cracked parchment out of his toga and holds it up to the assembly.

"It appears to be his diary or record from his first weeks out. From what I am told Falco desprately tried to burn all of his official papers as he was fighting off his foes; this is all that survived, so I shall read what I can to the Senate."

Lepidus begins his recitation,

"The regions directly north of the Limes are small tribes that squabble among each other and pose no major threat to the Republic. Further north however there is an ambitious tribe in the city of Mediolanum, called the Aedui. It is dynastically linked with a city in Transalpine Gaul, but I could not find out what that city is called. Should the Aedui kings become ambitious they will almost certainly look south, and when they finish uniting the Cisalpine Gallic tribes they will certainly pose a threat to the Republic. Therefore I am sent to dictate a peace treaty and some trade agreements with this tribe, so that they may be open to more friendly relations with our noble Commonwealth..."

Lepidus stopped short and returned to the Senate.

"As you can see noble senators, Falco had better understanding of these tribes than any other. He knows that peace with them is essential to keep our war with Carthage running smoothly. He is also well aware of the dangers involved in his mission, and he clearly fought for the Republic until the last gasp. Let us honor this man, but let us not go off on a vain war into Gaul on a futile effort to avenge him.

I do declare as Censor of Rome that Falco's shining example shall be a testament to Roman virtue and morals for ever and ever."

Lepidus turns and goes to his seat, silently praying that he has done the right thing.

[Lord Kal]

Crassus glared at Lepidus throughout his speech. He rose slowly amongst the chattering after Lepidus sat down.

"May I extend my deep regret to all of the senate in the wake of this terrible news.

But we must not despair. Senator Falco may still be alive. We must - MUST, senators - investigate this. All we have to go on is some second-hand information from a Gaul, that it was brigands. Possible, yes, but we must also look at the possibility that the Gauls themselves are behind this. After all, how does one tell the difference between a brigand and a Gaul? And would not the Gauls send somebody less.. official to do their dirty work for them?

Nonetheless, we cannot send even a small force to investigate and transgress the Gaulish borders. A war with gaul would be a disaster at this point. But if they are trying to silently kill our visiting diplomats, they could be hiding an invasion force which we would have no alternative but to prepare for. Brigandry is an equally likely scenario, so we must tread with caution. Our goals are to find out who attacked Senator Falco, and if he is still alive.

I think we should send a spy to the region. As Praetor, I would happily oversee the judicial decisions to be made over this crime, and of course would need to be privy to the region's intelligence reports to best advise the house to act next.

[Pontifex Maximus]

The Praetor, unable to conceal his role in the events, rises abruptly as the faces of the senators turn to face him. He pauses for a moment, and stumbles over himself.

No doubt some of you would have already guessed at my involvement in this matter. It was, er, hard to conceal my part after running into Crassus on the road.

I will give my account and I hope that you will forgive Lepidus and I for keeping this information from you for a short time. After the Gaul had appeared in Lepidus' Atrium, he dispatched a messenger and requested my presence in his villa. Based on the expression of his messenger and the sight of the man's blood upon entry into his home, I knew foul play was afoot.

After hearing what you yourselves have just heard, we reasoned that with the war in the south just getting underway, we would withhold all information that would lead you to call for a declaration of war against the Gallic tribes until we could be sure of their motives.

I am on the verge of embarking on my campaign into the north to face down the rebel leaders, who in my opinion are probably responsible for this murder or possible kidnapping. Many of them are Gallic in descent. After the battle in the north is won I will investigate this further and send my agents into gaul to determine their strength. It is very likely they are but warring amongst themselves, and poor Falco was caught in the middle. I hope this is the case.

Ideally I will be able to torture a confession out of the rebel warlord. If he proves to know nothing, however, I could station my legion on the border and do some reconnaissance work to determine the Gaul's strength and assess their motives for doing this, if in fact they are responsible.

Please forgive us for this, but we felt we were acting in the best interests of Rome by ensuring the situation in the south remained stable and the invasion of Sicily was underway. We cannot be held to fight a two front war, we have not the resources or manpower. We would capture Sicily and lose our holdings in the north at the same time otherwise.

The truth of the matter is we do not know exactly what happened to Falco except that he is either dead or captured, most of what we know is hearsay. Further investigation needs to take place before we can place blame effectively.

Scipio sits, he is feeling a bit lightheaded and tired, but relieved at the same time.

[Lord Kal]

Forgive me, Senator Scipio, but I cannot see any reason there for denying the house this information. You feared that we would make war with Gaul? Firstly, only a madman would start a war over this, especially given that we are about to invade Sicily and war with Carthage. Secondly, Senator, it is not your job to decide what the senate does and does not see! The Senate sees all and makes a decision, and it is our duty as Senators to support the decision once it has been made! Not an attempt to censor information because we fear it may lead to a decision we do not like.

I really wonder whether based on this record it would be wise for you to go on a mission of such importance and sensitivity.

[chaplain118]

Senator Scipio, what you suggest is, I fear, dangerous for the Republic. Suppose, Senators, that the Guals catch sight of a legion marching toward their lands. They will not take kindly to such a gesture. Even if we stay within our own borders. The Gauls, they know no bounds. They know not of nationhood. They will watch us and believe that we are their to take away their lands. Also, how can we not know if Falco was ambushed by Brigands who then handed him to the Gauls? After all, it would explain why a Gaul was the one who delivered the information, wouldn't it?

Let us conclude the war against Carthage first before we tie up our hands in Gaul.

[Lord Kal]

Of course, Saevus, I am not advocating military action, but I suggest we send a spy or two to try and investigate and gather any leads. If nothing else, they might discover something else, perhaps something that Falco was killed or captured for seeing.

[Pontifex Maximus]

It was not by mere selfish desire to hoard information that we kept this out of discussion. We did not have sufficient details until recently to supply you with the best version of the story. Our fear was that premature decisions would be made. The time was right to now tell the senate, since Falco's absence was becoming noticeable. The decision was made under duress, and I personally thought it would be dangerous to publish half-truths and faulty information. Secondly we did not deny information, we delayed it. There is a chief difference in this.

Saevus, I fail to see how the sight of my bodyguard would threaten the Gauls so greatly that they would be inclined to invade. No encroachments would be made into their land, but I propose that we build a watchtower on the border and station trusted men there that would be willing to inform the senate of Gallic movements in the region. I am suspiscious of the Gauls, but as of right now not hostile towards them. I encourage the rest of the senators to not jump to any conclusions until we can effectively pass blame. It could still turn out that the brigand leader was behind all this, and if indeed he was, I will drag his beaten body into the courts of Rome and preside with my fellow Praetor over his trial unless, of course, the senate would prefer me to crucify him in the snow.

[Sir James the Good]

It was wise of you my friends to bring the truth before the senate. You did the right thing, even if you did make us wait for too long a period of time.

I am outraged at the death of Falco as much as any other man, and do wish that we avenge him with the full force of the Senate and People of Rome, but we must first know who it is we are to fight (brigands or an entire nation?) and ensure that we have the necessary resources to do so before taking action (a few maniples or a Consular legion?). I agree with the present consensus that we should not make military encroachments into Cisalpine Gaul at this time. Praetor Crassus' suggestion is very wise--let us send a spy north so that we may gather the necessary intelligence to reach an informed verdict.

[chaplain118]

Your bodyguards? You yourself had just spoken of embarking on a campaign in the north against the Brigands. You honestly will have us believe that you will take with you your bodyguards only? Who do you suppose you are, Alexandros Megas? You would bring a legion, and the Gauls would view that as a threat, especially as you are approaching closer and closer to their land. And what of the Gaullic men in the Brigand armies? The few that will escape will only incite the desire for war among the Gallic Tribes, and before you know it, senator, we will have a full-scale invasion on our hands.

And on the absence of Falco, you decide to tell the Senate once the absence becomes noticeable? How long were you planning on keeping this information from us? Had consul Balbus not sent dispatch regarding Falco's absence, this matter would have gone by unnoticed. What are you planning? What other information are you hiding from us, noble praetor?

[Elendil of Númenor]

Celsus laughed aloud with sarcasm. He looked at the faces at his fellow Senators. Well let everyone hear a nice little story.

"So you want to go to Gaul? Are you sure who we are talking about? Do you know what the Gauls are? Conscript Fathers, you know that I have told little about my adventures. Now it is time for you to listen to a curious tale.
It happened in the year I set out on my journey. I and my company was riding eastward on the northern side of the River Rubico. There was a great fog, we couldn't see much farther than a mile. Then suddenly we saw riders galloping as fast as the wind towards us. About half a hundred of them, though it was long ago, and the fog was too dense to tell surely. Most of them wore a leather top, and some kind of loin-cloth. Some of them wore boots, though most of them were barefooted. They carried long swords on belts, and a few of the javelins. The horses were not armoured, but very well bred and muscular. In front of the whole assembly rode a tall and striking man, the only one who wore mail and and a jewelled sword.
We saw very well that there was no way of resisting them so we stopped and waited. They were quite a fright as they rode down upon us through the mist. They closed in without any intent of stopping. They encircled us, faced towards us. The chief urged his horse forward, and spoke to us witha surprisingly fluent Latin. He said something like this
'I am Warlord Moritasgos. You be in our' he waved around, thought about the next word 'land. Great King says you may not pass. Great King asks where you go.'
I answered him slowly, making sure he can catch every word. 'We are riding towards Illyricum. We wish to cross in to Macedonia.'
'Why not take ship?'
'The seas are rough in this year. The fog is everywhere...'
'Not in the south' The Gaul wasn't a speaker, but wasn't at all stupid. I told him an unwise answer.
'We came to see the world. To understand places' seeing the anger in the Gaul's eyes I added 'including the beautiful land of yours'.
'You be Romani! You make big armies. Make cities and forts. Destroy forest! Curse you!
'We are not spies!'
'You lie! You spies! I kill you! I would. Great King allows us not to kill you. Great King wishes seeing you.'
And so we were taken to their Great King, who lived in the city of Mediolanum. During the long route there we didn't speak much. We just answered questions about life in Rome. And somehow they asked the same questions again and again, not satisfied with our answers. We finally arrived in the halls of the Great King. Indeed, he was so great that he didn't find it necessary to learn civilized languages, he spoke in a harsh barbarian tongue. He had a translator. And guess what? It was a Roman! A fisherman, taken captive, and forced to live as a barbarian. Oh, he got food, he got beds, he got women. But he never got what he missed most. Rome.
We talked to the king, during a feast. Oh no, not the kind of feast we have here! It was outside on a huge plain. People were sitting everywhere, taking large chunks of meat from the huge bonfires that were lit all around the place. The king made us tell about life in Rome. I remember he asked why we have public baths. Why don't we use the streams all around us. He asked why we don't like trees. Why do we build cities out of them. Finally we were told to sleep on a part of the field, under the walls of the city. Our horses were tied, not far, to a clump of trees. We went in to an uneasy dream, to be woken buy the Roman translator of the king.
He said 'You are not the first Romans to come here. Flee now if you wish to be the only ones to leave alive.' But where were our Gallic guards? They were murdered, by the Roman. He told us that he will tell the Gauls to look for us in the other direction. We told him to come with us, and escape, but he refused the offer. 'This is the last thing I do for Rome' he said. 'Flee as quickly as you can! Reach Illyricum, you will be safe there - from Gauls, at least.' We ran for our horses, saddled them, and rode in to the night. But even as the wind whistled in our ears, we could hear the last cry of a man, as he was struck by a sword. The man, who helped us in escaping death. That man cried only one word, and yet it explained everything. 'ROMA'."

Celsus looked out at the window. The sun was setting.

"Conscript Fathers, I say neither aye or nay to a war with Gauls. I just want you to know who these... dear friends of ours are. I ask again Do you know what the Gauls are? They are barbarians! They do not care about Rome. And they do not parley with Rome."

He though about saying something else, but then decided his part was done. Let the Senate make it's next move now.

[Pontifex Maximus]

All in due time, Senator, but we cannot pass blame until we know who is to blame. It could be either party, rebels of Gauls. Before we even begin to speak of military action, we must know the full truth. I propose that a spy be sent into the north and additionally when I move to take command of the northern legion, I oversee construction of a watchtower on our northern border to keep us informed of Gallic movements.

After hearing Saevus' words, Scipio's face turned bright red as the short man spat at Saevus.

I did not advocate leading an invasion force, but a fact finding mission that would be aided by the construction of a watchtower and not necessarily led by me. I will not sit here and be insulted! Do not turn the table to make me look the war-monger, it is the desire for peace that kept us from laying all this out on the table in the first place. What would you have done if you were in my place? Betrayed a friend? Pushed for war? You speak from a position of supreme ignorance, sir, and I will not sit here and tolerate it! If any of you smell conspiracy, bind me, put me in jail should it so please you! How many of you have fought recently in the north or even traveled there? You forget that I was asked for counsel because of my knowledge of current situations. I have served as Praetor far longer than you have, most venerable Crassus, although the senate seems quick to forget about past contributions to the Res Publica and instead points fingers. If the honor of the senate has been reduced to this, than I say we are no more than a pit of vipers.

Scipio begins to settle down and his face turns completely pale, taking on the semblance of a sick man. Faltering over the last few lines..

What has passed has passed, and this is no time to dwell on historical hates. We are to become far too busy for that. We must work together or be destroyed by internal strife. We must remember that we do not know full details as of yet, perhaps when I return from the north we shall know more. Until then, our hands are tied.

Sitting down in a huff, Caius massages his forehead with a scowl.

[Lord Kal]

Nonetheless, in light of the controversy, I propose I oversee the intelligence of the area and send the spy. If Praetor Scipio could build a watchtower and arrange for the reports to be sent to me also then that would too prove useful.