Play@YSDC

Scaevola's Villa- southwest of Rome, Italia
Mid-morning- March 15, 44 BC

Awan returned, escorting Story, Lucius, and Brook. The room was a vast square chamber. Murals and carvings, all Egyptian-themed, covered the walls. Some of them were rather disturbing, depicting people being sacrificed to the gods, Thoth being prominent among them. There was also a large idol of Thoth, the same size as the one of Anubis, in the center of the chamber. At Thoth's feet stood a sandstone altar on a raised platform with horns rising from the four corners. Akana lay on her back on the altar, her wrists and ankles tied to the horns on its corners and a gag in her mouth. She was badly wounded, but her wound had been treated. Another archway led onwards from the rear of the cavern. All of these underground rooms lay beneath the villa. It would have been expensive in terms of both time and labor to have them constructed, but Scaevola was surely not without those resources.

Elizabeth was here, and she looked overjoyed to see her friends. Also present were Caelia Alba, Titus Iunius Philo, Aricus Callidus Gladio, and the three cavalrymen: Decius Lupus, Artemis Sylvius, and Spurius Paprius Valens. Additionally, there were five Egyptian guards here. Artemis held a lit torch and was peering through the archway at the rear.

"Lady Caelia, it seems this is the Senator's library with a whole group of scrolls," Artemis said aloud as he peered back into the back of the temple.

Decius turns to Awan. "Thank you Awan," he gestures to the freed prisoners.

"Your man referred to the queen being worried about Caesar and needing assistance. I'm probably being a bit thick headed but I did not realise you or your men cared so much about Queen Cleopatra's opinion?"

"You are most welcome, Decius Lupus," said Awan, "Cleopatra is our Queen. She is the mother of our people. Why should we not care?"

Decius considers this news.

"And how do you feel about the queen's servant Nefertiti?"

"I do not know her well," said Awan. "She seems a loyal enough servant to the Queen."

"I would say she has her own agenda." Caelia says and notes Decius' expression. "Call it a woman's intuition if you like. Either she is Caesar's secret mistress or she loves him from afar or maybe it is for a more sinister reason. That, I don't know."

Caelia glances towards the room of scrolls, "Scaevola must have a wealth of knowledge here." She says, her eyes bright. "One might say burn it but what a waste that would be." Caelia has spent most of her life seeking such knowledge, traveling to Greece and Egypt many times. She has an almost hungry look in her eyes.

"If it is dark knowledge," said Awan, "it should be burned." He raised his torch. "Do not succumb to the temptation. There are things I have seen that no man should see."

Brook heads over to Elizabeth and hugs her. "I'm so glad you're allright."

Elizabeth wraps her arms around Brook and hugs her back. "Thank you, Brook," she says. "I'm glad you're okay too!"

Story looks around at everyone and smiles at Elizabeth and gives her a thumbs up before turning his attention to the larger group as he says, "Excuse me. Not to be a downer in this moment, but unless I'm missing something what are we going to do about Scaevola's beastmen in the room with the fine accommodations that the three of us just came from? There's nothing stopping them from walking in here and slaughtering us all."

"They will not leave their chamber unless something happens," said Awan, "or if they are ordered by their master. As far as they are concerned, I am carrying out his orders. You are right to be concerned, though. He could return from Rome at any time, and we must make haste to leave. I know he has a secret way in and out of the villa. Perhaps it is through the archway at the back."

Decius' attention is certainly drawn by the word "beastmen".

"Beastmen? Are they any relation to the giant sphinx in the front garden? But let's head through this other exit, perhaps it is the secret escape route?"

"There is indeed a connection," said Awan, leading the way through the archway at the back. "Senator Scaevola calls them the children of the Sphinx."

The room beyond the archway was long and relatively narrow. It was lined on both sides by shelves filled with papyrus scrolls. In the middle of the chamber, though with room to go around them, were a table and a writing desk. Lying on the table were three knives of excellent quality and a small, thin object that looked like some kind of magic wand. At the far side of the room was another archway, beyond which was an upward-sloping tunnel.

Story/Elizabeth/Lucius/Brook,[b]Story[/b] and his companions recognized the knives as the ones they had found in Dunwich, and the wand was [b]Story[/b]'s sonic screwdriver.

Story walks over to the table and picks up his Sonic Screwdriver. He looks it over, tests it, and then puts it safely into his pocket. Feeling complete he turns and hugs Elizabeth while whispering in her ear.

Elizabeth,[color=#0000FF]"You are a dear friend. I'm glad you made it out safely and got help. Forgive me for the horrors of this day."[/color]

Elizabeth whispers back to Story.

Story,"There's nothing to forgive," [b]Elizabeth[/b] whispered. "Everything worked out okay, and I'm just glad that you three are all right."

OOC,The spoiler button won't open when there's an apostrophe in the title. You should edit your post to just say "[b]Elizabeth[/b]" so that her player can open it. I was able to see what was inside it by quoting your post.

Decius draws his borrowed khopesh (he's secretly getting a bit fond of it) and approaches the further archway and the tunnel heading up.

"What do you mean beastmen? Artemis continued forward into the room of scrolls and carried the torch held aloft. He looked about the room. He paused, pkaced the mace on the table, and lifted up one of the knives. He examined it and tucked it into his belt just in case. He grabbed the mace handle and continued forward with torch and mace.

"Um," says Elizabeth to Artemis, "those knives belong to my friends. I have one just like them. They must have been taken from them when they were captured."

Awan joined Decius at the far end of the chamber. The tunnel continued upwards into darkness. A fresh breeze was coming down it.

"Well, then, let's return them...here are the knives - take them so we have a few more weapons just in case," Artemis turned over the knife to Elizabeth and continued onward into the cavern as it headed upward.

Caelia lingered, unable to tear herself away from the vicinity of the scrolls; if only she had more time. But Aswan was right; she had only to think of Scaevola and his hideous intentions - Caelia had little inclination to take that dark path. Just as the torchlight of the others was starting to withdraw up the passage, she turned with a sigh and started to follow them.

Titus whispers a prayer to the gods for protection and follows the others. Beastmen? Like the Minotaur? Fearsome creatures indeed, if they be real.

Elizabeth handed the knife to Story, and Lucius and Brook retrieved the other two knives. All of them placed them in their sheathes and proceeded up the sloping tunnel with Artemis leading the way. Awan, who carried the other torch, waited for everyone to move past him before bringing up the rear. Before entering the tunnel himself, he touched the flame of his torch to the scrolls on the shelves on either side. The fires streaked down the length of the chamber with twin whooshes, turning Scaevola's secret library to ash. Then he hastened upwards with the rest.

After a short while, the group reached the top of the tunnel, which emerged into a natural cavern with rocky walls. A cave mouth at the far end was covered with vines. Parting them revealed hilly outdoor terrain. It was dark, and the only light besides the torches came faintly from the twinkling stars. While Srory, Lucius, and Brook had no idea how long they had been imprisoned down there or how much time they had spent sleeping, Elizabeth and the rest were all too aware.

"How can this be?" asked Elizabeth. "It was morning when we went down. It can't possibly be night already!"

Decius looks up at the sky with alarm. "In my dream, at the same time Caesar was slain, the gods cast a shadow over the daytime sun. I fear that dream really was a prophecy. Titus, you are the expert, what do you say?"

"In my last vision the gods send me great signs of chaos and destruction after the death of Caesar," Titus replies. "I fear for the Republic. It may mean war of brother against brother. Let us pray that it be not so."

Spurius nodded. "We have had far too much of that already during the last few years," he said. "If Caesar is slain, and we have failed...then at least we can make Scaevola pay for his treason."

Brook Davies,[b]Brook[/b] recalled from her studies that there was an eclipse following [b]Caesar[/b]'s assassination. That eclipse seemed to be what was happening now.

Brook walks up beside Story and whispers:"The eclipse...I've read out this. I think it means it's already happened. Caesar is dead. Unless someone managed to stop the assasination, I guess."

Caelia breathes the fresh air with relief; it'll be a while before she voluntarily goes under ground again. "Maybe this is another dream but we must hurry to Caesar's palace and hope that Germanicus and Nefertiri have been able to keep him safe there. Don't forget what Scaevola said: that he would become an immensely powerful magician should he succeed in killing Caesar."

"Yes, we must return to Rome at once!" said Spurius.

"I'm familiar with the area around the villa," said Awan as he reached the cave mouth. "I can guide us back to the road wherever we have come out. Keep the torches lit. We shall need them in the darkness."

The group exited the cave. From the other side, once the vines obscured the entrance, it was no longer visible. They'd never have noticed it had they not known it was there. True to his word, Awan located the villa a short distance away, and he led them back around it to the front. The gates still stood wide open. The road went past it, to the port of Ostia in one direction and to Rome in the other. The horses they had brought were still in the area, except for those that Nefertiri and the others had taken. However, there were not enough for the guards, so the journey back to Rome would be a slower one.

OOC,Everyone, please roll Spot Hidden.

Fatigued by these recent activities, Titus is barely aware of his surroundings.

OOC,[b]Decius'[/b] [i]Spot Hidden[/i] is 35% and he roll... [dice]0[/dice]

I wonder if there's a tactful way to go and retrieve my spatha?

Decius hisses to everyone, "Hide!! Scaevola approaches on horseback, now is our chance to ambush him!" He points out the figure on horseback.

Decius sheathes his khopesh in favour of the bow and arrow and looks about for a good place to ambush the senator.

"The best place to hide is within the gates," said Awan. "Two of my men can stand guard outside as if nothing has happened, and the rest of us can go inside and shut them, hiding on either side of the wall. When he enters, we can strike him from behind."

Decius looks to the rest of the party to see if everyone is happy with the plan (but is himself already heading toward the villa).

"Hopefully, the horses are far enough away that he won't notice them in his haste? Quickly though, if we are to do this we must be ready and out of sight. And stay away from that sphinx thing."

OOC,If the opportunity presents, [b]Decius[/b] will "retrieve" his spatha with as much dignity for the deceased as circumstances allow.

Caelia has her scalpel ready and heads towards the gates but will keep clear of the fighting; she will be picking up the pieces afterwards. "Don't expect Scaevola to be unwarned; he may already know of our intrusion." She warns, and is worried about locking themselves inside the villa; there will be no easy escape should it go wrong.

Spot hidden,(25%) roll:71

Titus cannot depend on another stroke of luck to guide his hand. He will hide in the shadows as best as he can.

Artemis kept the mace at the ready. Now he really wished for one of the pillium, but if there was not other option, brute, blunt force would at least work.

Brook looks a bit worried. "Lucius is hurt, he shouldn't fight..." She holds her knife in her hand, looking to her friends.

Decius had time to retrieve his spatha and get back into position. The guard he had pierced was actually still alive, just unconscious and horribly wounded. Caelia was able to keep him from bleeding further.

"I shall stay back," Lucius said. "You should as well, Brook."

Once everyone was inside the villa's grounds other than the two guards Awan had picked to stand outside, he and another guard shut the gates. Then everyone stood against the wall on either side of them. Since the gates opened inward, they would block the group from view.

Soon horses' hooves could be heard approaching the gates from outside. "Open quickly!" bellowed Scaevola. "I am being pursued! We must bar the gates behind us!" The gates were quickly opened, and Scaevola rode inside. His fancy Senatorial robes were splattered with blood. There was not much time to act. Once the gates were shut, everyone would be visible.

OOC,You all now have one round to act.

Decius grips his spatha with satisfaction. "You will pay for that blood you have spilt! For Caesar!" he roars for all he's worth. He swings at the mounted Scaevola.

OOC,Attack with spatha at 75% and he rolls... [dice]0[/dice]

[dice]1[/dice]
[dice]2[/dice]
[dice]3[/dice]
[dice]4[/dice]

Sorry,Screwed that up by accidentally rolling 11d4 first go. The first d8 rolled 3 and the first d4 rolled 3, total 6, apologies for the mess...

Decius charged at Scaevola and struck him mightily with his broadsword. The blow took him in the thigh, but it did not seem to affect him - though he did notice.

OOC,No problem. Yes, that counts as 6 damage. The others may act now.

Titus tries to appeal to what little may remain of the man's reason. "Thrown down your arms and be spared! The gods are against you!"

Story hesitates hanging back observing the ordeal before him. He looks at Lucius and says, "Quite right... you and Brook should remain out of harms way." He looks at the sky, and then turns his attention to the the action with Scaevola he mumbles, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Artemis rushed after Decius with his mace held high.
He swung it at the blood speckled senator. "You won't get away with the murder of Caesar."

Aricus and Spurius also rushed forward. Aricus stabbed the Senator with his gladius with a mighty thrust. While it didn't hurt him as much as it should have, it did pierce his flesh and cause him to bleed. He looked utterly shocked as Spurius slashed at him with his spatha, mortally wounding him and sending him toppling from the horse.

Scaevola landed on his back, bleeding out. "The Oracle..." he muttered, "she tricked me...When she said the betrayers would win the day, I thought..." Then his eyes closed.

OOC,The error is still in place on your character sheet. The base skill for Small Club is 25%, but that misses either way. [b]Aricus[/b]'s Gladius roll (75% skill) attacking [b]Scaevola[/b]: [dice]0[/dice] Damage to [b]Scaevola[/b] from gladius: [dice]1[/dice]+[dice]2[/dice] [b]Spurius[/b]'s Long Sword roll (50% skill) attacking [b]Scaevola[/b]: [dice]3[/dice] Damage to [b]Scaveola[/b] from spatha: [dice]4[/dice]+[dice]5[/dice]

Decius blows out a breath. He is by now fairly splattered with other people's blood.

"Well done lads, good team work," he says to his brothers in arms. "I really hope we are right about this or we are in so much trouble."

Decius attempts to rescue Scaevola's no-doubt-spooked horse before it hurts itself, as long as this effort doesn't involve going near the Sphinx.

Caelia watches the fight with a professional eye; it was incredible how much damage Scaevola withstood; 'Be wary, Decius, He may look mortally wounded but he has already survived more than any normal human should!'

Brook keeps out of the fray together with Lucius. She has her knife in her hand, just in case, and stands almost protectively next to the Roman companion. She watches the fight with concern and horror.

Decius, being a skilled cavalryman, was easily able to secure the horse, which had not wandered far. The Sphinx was far off in the distance, near the villa itself, and it showed no sign of movement. Scaevola breathed his last and expired, clearly dead. He too moved no more.

OOC,Everyone is moving to the thread linked below:

Aftermath