Palatine Domus of Lucius Fabius Caninus

[Elendil of Númenor]

There was nothing special about the house of Lucius Fabius Caninus. A patrician home, yet it was hardly noticeable among the heavily decorated, richly ornamented buildings of the Palatine. It was situated near the top of the cliff that looked down on the Forum Romanum, with it's garden gate leading directly to a narrow path that sloped down all the way to a side street that shortly met the areas of the lower Forum. This was a dirty, steep, unimportant and private path, however, and the back gate was always closed. If someone approached the domus from the western side, from the Palatine, all that would have greeted the visitor were two old trees at the entrance, the door – wooden and unpolished – was immediately behind them. The walls had a dull, unimpressive colour.

The interior wasn't more eye-catching than the entrance. A cold, but lightless marble floor led to the atrium, and the walls had a drab colour. The whole entrance area was barely decorated – as a matter of fact, apart from a mural (a slightly static depiction of Achilles being shot by Paris) and a mosaic of Janus (the important two-faced god, guardian of doorways), there was barely any decoration. The atrium itself was also the peristyle garden with a few potted plants growing in the corners. The opening above the impluvium was somewhat covered by a glass disk. This made water trickle down into a stone trough which – in case of really wet weather – emptied its contents on a small cluster of rocks and plants like a tiny waterfall on one side of the atrium. This meant that the shallow pool in the middle was empty, with only a dry and loose-fitting tile of marble covering the bottom. This small trickle seemed to be the only speciality of the house – which was either a mystery or an example of bad taste. There was nothing interesting in the other rooms, either.

Merely three slaves were part of the household. Two women and a man. The younger girl was Gallic, the other two from around North Africa. People rarely saw them unless they visited the house. The Gaul could sometimes be found watering the trees outside or working in the garden at the back. The other girl was a master cook – she could prepare fabulous dishes of any taste in an extremely short amount of time (though Caninus rarely expected or rarely invited visitors). As for the man, he was usually on errand, working for his master. Interestingly, almost no one could spot him outside the house on the Palatine, but he was frequently noticed in other parts of the city.

Caninus did not have family, neither did he wish for one. He felt more than comfortable in his study, or just minding his own business, let that be politics, religion, private dealings or any other matters.

[Merula]

Merula arrives at the door of the Fabii, he knocks three times and waits to be given entry...What a queer looking place for someone so prominent...

[Elendil of Númenor]

By the use of black magic and sorcery, Merula made the slave open the door for him, and without the servants knowing the following things happened:

[Merula]

(ooc: ^ I am guessing that is just going to be a slave letting me in...)

Merula pushes past the slave and walks into the abode of Caninus, the same slave offers him some wine which he sips quietly whilst he waits for Caninus to join him...

[Elendil of Númenor]

“Ah, dear Secundus Atrius, great to see you here!” came a voice from behind Merula, as Caninus appeared from the atrium and joined him in the triclinium. He dusted down his toga with his hands, sending puffs of white into the air. He then opened a window to let in some fresh air and washed his hands.
“How are you today?” Caninus asked while gesturing to his slaves that they should get to work preparing some food. He the took the jar and poured himself some wine, watching Merula intently. “What do you think of the things going on...?” Caninus inclined his head slightly towards the open window facing the Forum and the Capitoline Hill.

[Merula]

Salve Caninus! I am well thankyou for asking, though my leg still troubles me when it is cold... Merula limp/strolls over towards the window and looks to where the Senator had gestured towards,

Ah the Senate? It seems to me it is just the usual power plays and bootlicking at present, nothing out of the ordinary really.... although I did catch rather a fervently heated argument on the day of the triumph between Cotta, Tuscus and some new upstart from the bottom of the Aventine hill. It was quite a row, but I worked out in the end it was just your average pleb vs patrician insult tournament, Merula laughs, I do not get involved in that sort of thing. He leaned on the window sill and sighed, As for the state of the Res Publica itself, you would no doubt be aware of my hostile stance on ending the war with Carthage, all this talk of Macedonians and Iberians is giving me headaches! The threat was and always will be Carthage; we had the chance to destroy them utterly, Scipio had only to march some miles futher north and sack the city, but those fools decided it was time to end the war! To 'regroup and prepare for the Macedonian threat', my injured leg could pose more threat than those upstart wannabe Greeks!

He shakes his head, Forgive me for my rant, I feel very passionate about that issue, my family will never be at peace until Carthage is burnt to the ground and its inhabitants flung to the far reaches of the earth in shackles.

Merula turns around to face Caninus, Actually that reminds me, what did you make of the Triumph, it was very grand, but the expense, especially when we are in such hard times financially...

[Elendil of Númenor]

Caninus smiled.
“Nothing too surprising,” ha said softly. “It was inevitable that Scipio would return to Rome in such extravagance. I am shocked, however, by the fact that even several senators are utterly blind to the fact that our empire is falling into serious debt. Victory, though not complete or truly decisive, seemed to have made people think Rome is in a perfect state, that she barely has any expenses – despite the Quaestors report! – and that she is as strong as ever.”

Caninus shook his head and sat down on one of the recliners, showing with his hand, that Merula should do likewise. Soon enough, two slaves hurried in with a bowl of eggs and dishes of some vegetables and fish.
“Ah, try this, Secundus,” Caninus served himself a small slice of fish. “It's from the Tiber - up north, where it is but a stream; fresh, appetizing, well seasoned. I have no idea what a certain few enjoy in those creatures living by the Cloaca Maxima...” He shuddered, took a bite or two, nibbled on some cooked carrot. After wiping his hand on a moist cloth, he sipped his wine, well watered. Setting down the goblet, Caninus was lost in his thoughts for a moment. Then, he said,
“We have to understand that Rome has suffered from this war, even if not as much as Carthage. Militarily we are strong but not supreme. If Carthage and Macedonia coordinates an attack against us, let alone another war breaks out in Iberia, our forces will be stretched thin and we will lose all we have gained during these past years. We should not have given our enemies ground by marching – oh, retreating! – from Africa. Even after a series of horrible defeats, these people always get so... presumptuous if they win just one battle. Zama didn't change everything. We can't just simply close our eyes and forget those years when Hannibal was marching freely across Italy and we were at his mercy.”

Caninus sliced a boiled egg in two and proceeded to cut up one half. He sprinkled it with a kind of spicy sour sauce, then swallowed a mouthful with a bit of freshly baked bread.
“Speaking of Hannibal... Do you believe the rumours? What the people – and Scipio's men are saying – that Carthage's general is dead? Do you think it could be true?”

[Merula]

Merula listened intently to Caninus' words, he nodded his head emphatically, Yes, yes that is exactly what I mean, the Senate seems to believe one battle decides a war, sometimes this is true, but against an enemy such as Carthage it is not enough. The priests have foretold that only one of us can rule the world, the other must be crushed completely, and even in a practical sense this is the truth; Carthage and Roma can not remain rivals.

Merula reached over and grabbed some bread from the table, perfectly baked, it tasted brilliant, he listened to Caninus as he chewed and once he had finished he replied, Hannibal is an interesting case. He may indeed be dead, but we only have the word of one man to go by of course, so it is also likely that he could just have easily escaped. But to me this is not the point, Hannibal inflicted grievous losses upon our people, and to his own he became their saviour, their hope. If he is dead he has died a martyr in their eyes and that is just as dangerous as if he was still alive, for when the are strong enough, the Poenii will rise again, because they know as well as we do that this is a struggle to the death.