by Mr. Handy » Thu Apr 21, 2016 5:20 am
More lictors and other members of Caesar's group filtered into the dining hall. The guests seemed very happy, and everything was going smoothly. Claudius found that he was completely ignored, perhaps willfully by some who preferred not to look at him. He might as well have been an ambulatory piece of furniture as far as they were concerned. Scraps, however, was very grateful to him for the food he slipped the cat, rubbing against his leg and purring contentedly. At least someone cared about him.
"Ah, I'm glad you brought that up," said Caesar to Germanicus as he walked with him to the table. "We'll need to know more about the enemy dispositions before we can finalize our plans, but I have given it much thought. I intend to follow in the footsteps of Alexander the Great and conquer the Parthians, not merely defeat them on the battlefield. We'll sail for Greece to pick up more troops and supplies, then across the Aegean Sea to land in Asia Minor. From there, we'll march to Parthian territory. Our first order of business is to seize a city near the border to allow for resupply as we progress deeper into Parthia. We shall have siege engines the likes of which Alexander never dreamed of. While the legions are the backbone of our forces, we'll also make good use of our more mobile auxiliary cavalry. We'll need men like that one there." He glanced over at Decius Lupus. "Maintaining our supply lines will be your responsibility, Germanicus. I'll have some maps that we can review together to decide which city shall be our initial target. But all of that can wait. Tomorrow is another day. Tonight, we celebrate!"