>
> “How many are up and running?” Duke Lennox asked his adjutant noticing the group of people riding up the gentle slopes towards his camp. The camp was a house located at the northwestern edge of Cartaport.
>
> “Eight trebuchets are firing since the morning sire,” Lionel Rosewall reported in his posh accent. A man out of the village of Rosewall located near Palms Grove outside Cediorum, son of a bastard his late father had elevated. Lionel had served the old man for years and now had followed Roman to this adventure. Not distant, as they were across Cediorum in a sense, in one of the most known places on the Lorian Coast. The south gates of Cartagen.
>
> But plenty dangerous and difficult.
>
> “Any progress?”
>
> “Two hits on the walls. Seven merlons destroyed at the top east corner near the round tower.”
>
> “Two hits? Out of…?”
>
> “That would be eleven shots, sire.”
>
> “Eight machines fired eleven times in a day?” Roman snapped furious not believing what he was hearing. The group of visitors stopped their horses outside his headquarters and talked to his guards, another rider approaching in a bigger hurry in the distance.
>
> “Two broke down in the first attempt, the counterweights were not right. They were stored in the ships for too long your uncle Lord Patrick reported,” Lionel stated calmly. “Four were not properly secured, one came completely apart killing three, maiming two of the crew. A civilian firm, so expect a complaint there, but I’m preparing a reimbursement package for their widows. The engineer responsible is fined sire for poor maintenance.”
>
> “So the last two worked?” Roman asked rubbing his unshaven face tiredly.
>
> “They did. Fired four and three shots respectively,” Lionel said squinting his bespectacled eyes at their visitors. “Three shots went over the walls, two of them went far wide and stricken Uher’s Temple causing damage to the roof according to spies inside the city. They missed the Hippodrome somehow, either a good or a bad thing depending on whether one is a betting man or not.”
>
> “Good Gods,” Roman grunted in dismay.
>
> “As I said two found the walls and two were short sire. Range finding is the term they used in their report.”
>
> “Why the poor performance?”
>
> “The incline is unfavorable to machines unless we approach. If we do, it negates our advantage and they can shoot back at us. Pintor needs to clear out Cartaport’s northeast districts to allow the engineers access to better terrain, for more satisfactory results.”
>
> Right.
>
> “Here’s Pintor’s man,” Roman murmured with a grimace, seeing the legionnaire shoving aside the plainly dressed but in a high-quality doublet gentleman –apparently they weren’t together- and his escort.
>
> “Centurion Julian Pavo, Second Legion Information Branch, my Duke,” the sergeant following after the officer announced pursing his mouth.
>
> “Thank you, Paul,” Duke Roman said. “I remember him from yesterday.”
>
> “Duke Lennox,” Pavo started immediately. “Legatus Pintor wants the First Division to attack east behind the northwestern district.”
>
> “Mmm,” Roman said, his eyes on the blank-faced young man and his comely escort. “I’m reinforcing Sir Darius already with the Fourth Pavo to the west of Cartaport,” he told the IB officer. “That would leave me very thin and I need to push the machines closer. Baron Vendor likes to foray outside the walls and cause me great mischief as you’re well aware.”
>
> “They are withdrawing from the port milord,” Pavo hissed. “It is our chance. We can’t allow them to fall back.”
>
> “Let them get inside the city,” Roman replied indifferently. “You want more prisoners?”
>
> “Pintor wants the defenders weakened. We’ll fight them again behind walls this time, Duke Lennox.”
>
> “Just take the bloody District for crying out loud,” Roman admonished him. “I haven’t been to my home in months. It’s a lovely place, I sorely miss Centurion.”
>
> “My Duke, the Legatus wants the First to attack east,” Pavo repeated through his teeth. “We have tied up too many men in this front with little progress as you said.”
>
> “Fine,” Roman grunted. “Wars take time Centurion. You rush things and you’ll have my father’s fate. It is better to move with caution.”
>
> “I’ll convey your words to the Legatus,” Pavo said and saluted to return to his horse. The trip back to the Second Legion camp was at least two hours.
>
> “Fausto Mclean and Eleonora D’Orsi,” Sergeant Paul said stepping aside for the couple to approach. Roman eyes were on the rider who jumped off his horse, the sweaty man covered in dirt and quarrelled with his guards who went to stop him from entering the yard.
>
> “Duke Lennox,” Fausto said in his dry accent. “My father offers his regards.”
>
> “How is the Marquise?” Roman asked a little distracted. “Apologies dear lady, Fausto. I need to address this,” he said and turned to the guards. “Let him through!”
>
> “Of course,” Fausto said politely. “War is the business of the day.”
>
> “Mmm,” Roman said and nodded at the newcomer’s salute.
>
> “Duke Lennox,” the young messenger said. “A missive from Lord Patrick Lennox. It’s urgent sire.”
>
> “Lionel,” Roman said and his adjutant retrieved the scroll. He gave it to Roman who unfurled it with a small grimace.
>
> Read a couple of lines and then gave the scroll back to his adjutant. “I can’t make sense of this. Whoever wrote it must be drunk, or drugged out of his mind. The Admiralty’s message relay office has gone to shite.”
>
> “Anything of note?” Fausto asked.
>
> “Someone from Baron Riveras entourage reported to your father Lady Eleonora that there are rebel forces outside Sava,” he told Baron’s D’Orsi of Flauegran's daughter. The girl had a certain air about her worth exploring at a more opportune time, he thought afore remembering she was married to Fausto.
>
> Eh.
>
> “Sir Paris, his son,” Lionel added reading the scroll himself. “He was with Crafterson at Oldfort.”
>
> Roman frowned. “He’s not anymore? It must be a mistake.”
>
> “No mistake sire,” Lionel said dryly and completely unexcited about the developments. “Oldfort has fallen to Lucius. Commander Cranes force is destroyed and the Third Legion is outside Sava.”
>
> “That’s two plaguing days from Flauegran Lionel!” Roman blasted him losing his temper despite the effort to appear calm. Eleonora paled at his words.
>
> But Lionel in contrast remained unruffled and elucidated in his fake aristocratic voice. “That would be a day on a good horse sire.”
----------------------------------------
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Praetor Lucius Alden
The King of Cartagen
Part I
-Not all roads-
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Two hundred and nineteen days into the eighteen months campaign
Code named 18 (plus) 8
Less than half a kilometer from Wine Bridge at Mabindon River
Kingdom of Regia
Early dawn
Their horses neighed disturbed at the approaching rider. The scout cut hard when he reached them and raised both arms afore saluting. Salvian had his sword out despite the fact they controlled the bridge. The heavy mist made it difficult to discern who was approaching.
Lucius got up from his field chair with a gesture for Gripa to stay with the horses and approached the young scout.
“Some riders came near our sentries, but they turned around and galloped away,” Salvian relayed the scout’s words.
“Scouts?” Lucius asked him.
“Civilians Praetor. Far as we could see,” the man replied.
“Get your rest. Have something to eat afore returning to your unit,” Lucius said and returned to Merenda’s headquarters tent. The Centurion was standing outside clad in his armour.
“Caxaton has brought his supply train across the Vine Garden. So he has a lot of civilians in tow,” Lucius told him and the officer scratched his unshaven jaw with mid and index finger. “How soon can the Second Cohort secure the other bank?”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Half a day we’ll be across and set up nicely,” Merenda replied confidently. “In two days? Eh, we’ll have a nice wall built with a ditch in front of it. Now give me more time than that and I’ll lock this down for years.”
“Looking forward, I’m not sure Lord Caxaton has years of supplies with him,” Lucius said.
“Praetor, looking forward I’m not sure I can sleep in nature for much longer,” Merenda replied sadly, in a serious tone although he was jesting. “A man should have breaks between discomforts, lest one of them leads him to permanent injuries.”
“You’re complaining about the bed again?”
Lucius had ‘confiscated’ the furniture for Monica.
“I have found another one,” Merenda admitted.
“How can you order a bed in the middle of a campaign? From where?” Lucius asked with a smile.
“Cartagen,” Merenda replied. “Through Ramirus’ contact.”
“Ramirus’ contact is a carpenter?”
“A brothel madam. Her business took a hit lately, so she branched out to both camps.”
“Ah. So the bed in question,” Lucius said shaking his head. “Is a rental in a place of ill repute?”
“Praetor we can shun the woman’s ethics all we like,” Merenda replied with a shrug. “But her beds are the innocents of this whole affair. I shall defend them if it comes down to it.”
Lucius sighed at the Centurion’s early morning spirit. He glanced at the Decanus carrying the maps. “You have a table perchance mister Marcus Antonius? I love the chairs but I’d like to look at the maps.”
“Several,” Merenda replied and gestured for a guard to bring one out of a wagon he kept near his tent. “Dear Indus,” he said in a friendly manner to the unfriendly and very thin half-breed. “Do bring the maps here will you?”
“How’s Domus?” Lucius asked sitting on the chair across from him.
“Startlingly he’s fine,” Merenda replied, Decanus Domus voice coming from inside the tent interrupting him.
“I’m not fine!”
“The Praetor is here!” Merenda yelled back over his shoulder.
“I’m not fine Praetor!” Domus roared even angrier than before.
“He’s a little banged up ha-hah,” Merenda played it down. “A horse… fell on him sort of.”
“Nothin’ sort of about it!” Domus croaked. “Praetor,” he added.
“It was a heavy animal,” Merenda commented and glanced at the thin as a rail Indus that unfurled the maps on the table.
“I’ll get something to eat, milord, Centurion,” Indus said stiffly and saluted.
“Of course,” Lucius said. The officer seemed quite starved. “Gripa has a couple of rations in the horses saddlebags.”
“I’ll visit the kitchen, Praetor,” Indus replied and saluted again afore leaving them.
“You need to issue more food to the men,” Lucius admonished Merenda. “The man’s barely standing upright.”
“It’s his gimmick don’t concern yourself with him,” Merenda replied. “Has Valens gotten it right you think?”
Lucius smacked his lips.
“He has a good force gathered beyond the bridge. Caxaton has eyes on them.”
“It’s three days to reach them.”
“You won’t have to march that far,” Lucius told him. “Caxaton will have to retreat.”
“Where?”
“North.”
“The mountains?”
Lucius stared at the map. “In the gorge, he’ll defend the mouth and wait for rescue.”
“We ain’t letting his birds fly over us.”
“Birds will come through,” Lucius said with a shrug. “But no help. Not for a while. He doesn’t have that much.”
“A month?”
“If he kills the animals two. But then he’ll have problems with the civilians with him. I can see them deserting as soon as next week.”
“That leaves Duke Lennox’s response,” Merenda noted. “What did the high-ranking staff say in the meeting?”
“I can’t have you attending every meeting my friend,” Lucius replied. “Draco would do as he’s told. Which is nothing hopefully, but appear intimidating.”
“He can nail the part. The man’s all brows and good posture hah-ha. I can picture him standing in the middle of the road glaring at the locals,” Merenda guffawed and pushed his light brown hair back.
“They’ll assume the whole Legion is behind him. They can’t chance it,” Lucius replied. “So they’ll need to react there, which will help Valens hopefully.”
“They bombard the city,” Merenda noted sobering up.
“I can do nothing to prevent that,” Lucius replied thoughtfully. “Other than getting in there so people can see me and Lesia can hear it.”
“That shall confuse them.”
“Uhm,” Lucius replied. “I just want Sula to return to Asturia before the winter.”
“Eh, he might take a bite at Ligur,” Merenda commented.
“This I don’t want,” Lucius said. “Which is why we must find a way to finish this part soon.”
Easier said than done.
“Too many moving parts Lucius,” Merenda said furrowing his brow.
“That’s true,” he replied and got up.
“How are the lovely wives?” Merenda asked changing the subject.
“They are doing the best with what they have,” Lucius said pressing his mouth tight. “At some point, I must provide them both with something more. I’m raising a family whilst campaigning across the continent Antonius. It’s not fair to any of them.”
But Regia had to come first for without it, there could be no future.
“Not all roads are covered with flowers,” Merenda told him and he nodded.
“Not all roads,” Lucius agreed.
But I’ve already picked mine.
>
>
> Duke Roman Lennox, who was commanding the Lesia Regulars, had reached the southwest corner of the walls of Cartagen at the end of summer. Bringing his heavy siege machines closer he started a tremendous bombardment of the city that caused serious damage to Uher’s Temple cracking its famous dome and even hitting the Hippodrome’s racetrack. Ettore Pintor who had all but managed to dislodge the Cartaport defenders had reported to him that the last of them were leaving the northern districts.
>
> The latter would have allowed them complete control of the port city, but also bring the Second Legion siege engines next to the southeast corner of the walls.
>
> Inopportunely for them, in the first month of Fall of 193 NC the young Duke was informed via Cediorum’s Admiralty that Flauegran was in danger and that enemy soldiers had appeared in the fields outside Sava. Baron Riveras of Faro and Baron D’Orsi of Flauegran asked the King for assistance as they didn’t have the manpower to deal with Lucius’ force. It must be noted here that the Wine Barons had sent a large military force to Cediorum. They were to attempt an ‘incursion’ to Wetull for an unrelated reason and were stripped of fighters. While they had plenty of men working the fields nobody was willing to disrupt production and tossed the matter in the hands of the King.
>
> The Palace was shocked and King Davenport ordered the Royal Guard to depart Armium immediately reinforced with a force from Levacum, but Cediorum which was the biggest city near the front was tied up with the siege of Cartagen and asked King Davenport for time to inform the Duke. King Davenport, under heavy pressure from his wife Queen Saskia, refused to give them time, but his advisors urged him to involve the army and after a night long Council they decided to stall the departure of the guards haphazardly until word from the heads of the army reached them.
>
> The army’s headquarters were of course stationed in Cartaport at the time (Admiral Sir Patrick Lennox famously staying on his luxurious ship Talia, named after his wife) where the news of Oldfort’s defeat created a ripple effect through the ranks. His nephew Lord Lennox, a cautious man after the first months of the siege, but under family pressure as well to avenge his father, asked the military heads present for a viable solution to the problem.
>
> The problem was Lord Caxaton’s large force that had been trapped between two rivers and was now pressured by Lucius’ army and Cartagen’s forces. The latter had withdrawn men from Cartaport –Sir Antony Valens’ blunder equally responsible for this- which had allowed Legatus Pintor to clear the port after months of struggle. Pintor –a good friend of Lord Caxaton- suggested taking the Second and march through the Flats towards the junction of the road between Flauegran and Oldfort. It would have been a grueling two or three weeks journey with the weather worsening to face a prepared Lucius and the outcome was deemed uncertain.
>
> It was widely communicated that Caxaton had about two weeks of supplies and with heavy rationing perhaps three, but inside the military circles dealing with the problem, everyone knew the time was much less. Anyways Duke Lennox was conflicted about the proper action, as while they had caused some damage to the walls after months of little progress, they needed more time to open a proper way into the city. With Cartagen now having another road of communication and supplies open this was becoming very difficult. Of course, Lord Caxaton commanded a very big number of troops they couldn’t just abandon to their fate along with many civilians.
>
> Fiorin, a military academic and architect, declared Caxaton’s force lost and suggested that while moving the Second Legion towards Flauegran held merit, he considered the famed city lost as well. While the lords present at the meeting could palate with difficulty the loss of some thousands of men and Caxaton (other than his friend Pintor perhaps), the loss of a whole city (along several estate towns due to Flauegran’s topography) was too much. The chance that the King would favor the first was very slim to non-existent and there was a wide consensus among those attending the meeting that he’d hate the second with enough passion to have some of them executed for incompetence.
>
> Or all.
>
> Lord Mortimer, Lesia’s Master of Silence, who ‘learned’ of the conundrum suffered a severe case of ulcer and almost died from internal bleeding. It was to torture him for the rest of his life.
>
> With Lesia paralyzed mostly due to the fear that had crept up the military command that they couldn’t deal with Lucius in the field, events elsewhere were about to change the outcome of the siege completely. The first was that Lucius who had reached Flower Bridge a week later discovered the road open. Caxaton had retreated towards the mountains intending to dig in and defend long enough for Lesia to break him out, or the city to fall.
>
> None of the above were to happen in his lifetime, or ever, but a very emotional at the sight of Cartagen’s walls and massive crowds of cheering, local clove pink flowers holding defenders Lucius did enter the city through its North Gates after crossing the Flower Bridge.
>
> Twenty days into the Fall of 193NC, almost nine months into the Eighteen Months campaign and five years since he’d departed for the North, the exiled ‘Bloody Tiger of the South’ had returned to the coast of Regia.
>
> With the second event we will deal with in the next chapter.
>
>
>
> -
>
>
>
> Lord Sirio Veturius
>
> The Fall of Heroes
>
> Chapter II
>
> (Lord Lucius Alden,
>
> -also addressed-
>
> Legatus Augustus, Praetor Maximus
>
> Southern campaigns,
>
> Fifth year
>
> Volume IX-X
>
> Eighteen Months Offensive
>
> Part III
>
> Section subtitle
>
> The winter of the Two Kings
>
> prelude to 'a road of Flowers'
>
> Fall of 193- to winter of 194)
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