Chapter 21 - What Lies within the Tower.
> Commander Training Legion, II, VII
>
> By request of Censor VII you are ordered to assume the defence of the left side. Proceed there directly and await further instruction. Armicustos Cico will meet you at the River Tower with supply.
>
> Primus Pilus Laudanus
As the 7th Century followed the 6th ahead of them a runner wearing an Auxilia uniform burst out from within the forest and stopped them as he pulled Centurion Armiger aside with a slip of vellum handed over.
The centurion's face twisted in confusion and frustration as he read the orders contained in the note. Crumpling the vellum he stuffed it under his breastplate as he turned to address the conscripts.
“Century, it appears that the normal rotation of duties has been adjusted… instead of a break at the rearguard we will be in the vanguard... Again.”
The bitter look on the centurion's face was echoed by the century who muttered under their breaths and kicked at rocks along the path as they turned around and walked back the way they came, then wheeled left at the base of the hill to march towards the river. The frustrations mounted as they mourned the loss of a plum position on the side that always wins to suddenly being sent to the worst part of the battleground.
“I only got the smell of mud out of my hair yesterday.” Vesuvia moaned too loudly, but it seemed like Optio Magunnus marching off to their right agreed with the sentiment and didn’t reprimand her. “At least it will be quick and we can go back to the barracks early!”
“It’s strange we are being ordered directly to our position early and getting field supplied.” Silene whispered to Palinus.
“Why is that?” he asked in response.
“Normally we would be going with everyone else to the Forest Fort and getting orders, weapons and supplies from there.” She was deep in thought. “I think there is something going on and I’m really not sure what it is. Maybe it has something to do with the high essentia battlefield and Tribune Asterius’s modifications.”
“Uncle Ares talks about Asterius all the time.” Rufian interjected into their whispered conversation. “He says that he is a genius and a revolutionary non-uniform colour theorist… he also says he is a mad man…”
“If Ares say’s he’s mad, he must be pretty eccentric…” Bruchts said.
A hiss and a sharp glare from Macunnus cut off further conversation as they marched.
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The path they followed started to get muddy as they marched down towards the river. Around them the forest changed from a dry woodland scrub to wet, gnarled and boggy stands of trees with patches of reeds and pools of water from the meandering river. They could see their destination out in front of them, a stone tower peeking out from the forest on their left with the river not far behind. To their right, perched on the lower slope of the hill stood a tall matching tower standing over them ominously.
As he imagined attacking the hill tower, Palinus looked over the ground in the way. A swath of marshy fields that was dotted with low prickly bushes and patches of brackish water disguised by thin layers of water plants waiting for a wayward sandal to step in and test their depth. That was before they even reached the hill itself, it was a nightmare.
Soon they had arrived at the tower and were greeted by a grouchy Armicustos Cico standing beside a donkey cart and yelling at an assistant shuffling around a pile of boxes.
“Why in Vestra’s fiery crotch am I doing a personalised delivery to a pack of babies out in this mud pit?” She ranted at the centurion and at the conscripts. “We spend all week stocking the forts so we don’t have to do this sort of rubbish.”
With a swift series of orders from Optio Magunnus several decios were dispatched to set up camps around the tower with supplies they were issued rapidly from the boxes on the cart.
Fortunately the 6th decio, which included Palinus and his friends, were assigned to the tower defence and avoided trying to find a patch of land that was dry and flat enough for camp. They got to set up in an alcove under the spiral stairs up to the battlements, quickly setting up their bedrolls and not having a tent to set up meant they had little else to do so they were assigned to help pulling more boxes down from the cart and into the fort. They helped make piles of supplies around the edge, leaving a wide space around the rift which dominated the centre of the room casting it's vibrant light.
Moving the boxes around they got to hear more of Cico’s venom.
“... and what possesses the Primus to swing his meat spear around like this? I don’t even know. He’s never bothered to change up the intercohort exercises before.” Cico was still ranting even as the unpacking was finished.
“It is probably more the work of Tribune Asterius if you ask me.” Optio Magunnus chimed in.
“Incorrect on both fronts. Stop gossiping like fishwives and get-.” Centurion Armiger growled at the two. Though a sharp glare from Armicustos Cico made him backtrack, “-let us help you on your way.”
The armicustos held her sharp glare with the centurion for a moment before snorting and moving to a clear patch of ground in the tower. She began to channel essentia for an ars that Palinus didn’t recognise, though it seemed to be something that took a considerable amount of essentia and focus as she stared at the empty space with her hands spread.
“What rank is an Armicustos, it seems like even Armiger is deferential to her to let her rant like that.” Palinus wondered aloud as he watched the leadership group while his team mates fussed around with the gear assigned to them.
“She is an NCO so she doesn’t have a commission. An armicustos is like a special kind of signifer. You are about to see why she is so important and even Armiger wouldn't want to piss her off.” Silene answered quietly.
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Palinus must have blinked as the empty spot on the floor that Armicustos Cico stood over was filled in a moment with several sturdy looking boxes. He let out a soft gasp.
Armicustos Cico must have heard them as she waved her hands with a flourish and posed with the boxes like a salesman showing off their prized wares.
“All signifers have some sort of storage ars to keep the century’s war chest safe. To be an Armicustos you need to be able to hold at least three hundred weapons as well as a payments chest.” She bragged as she wiped her hands dramatically and signalled to her assistant that they were leaving.
One box she had summoned looked familiar, it reminded Palinus of the wand box they found only the other week. Standing with his team it felt like a lifetime since their adventures in the back ways.
Outside the decios surrounding the tower had begun to finish setting up their campsites. Once they had the bed rolls down, covered with canvas tents and fires started they cooked the rations provided for their breakfast: the standard filling porridge of oats cooked in milk and honey with dried fruits.
The smell of porridge Bruchts was cooking up in the small fire set in the narrow firepit made Palinus’s stomach rumble. He was getting used to the generous portions and rigid timings of the Training Legion and the delay in getting out to the tower and set up meant they were having a very late breakfast.
Each decio in turn was called into the tower and Palinus sitting with the sixth decio in their spot eating their meal watched as each opened the sturdy boxes. Each conscript was armed by Optio Magunnus or Centurion Armiger as they took their turn.
Most of the century were young men, and the more physically inclined made up the majority. These conscripts were given a gladius made of wood and a squared wooden shield with a painted face depicting a stylistic two and a fluffy eaglet that referenced their training legion and cohort.
Some decios which included women or the less stereotypically over-legion looking men were offered alternative choices including bows, throwing spears and slings. Most interestingly of all, certain conscripts within the century were offered a choice from the box which Palinus recognized.
His suspicion of the box was proven correct when as they approached for their turn. Optio Magunnus held the box open for him. Inside were half a dozen remaining wands which were armed with cubed calculii that glowed dully.
“They are only training wands,” The optio advised. “ They’ll knock a conscript on their arse but shouldn’t do any lethal damage… or at least they aren’t supposed to. Just don’t go around blasting people repeatedly on the ground, especially in the rift.”
“We’re going into the rift!?” Palinus asked excitedly.
Magunnus laughed.
“I wouldn’t get too excited, kid. Rifts in even a mock battlefield are a meat grinder. Ol’ stinky here,” He gestured at the rift dominating the middle of the tower. “It’s the worst of them all. Anyway, the centurion generally prefers to send in a more defensive team, so it’s probably not your problem. You’ve got an overwatch spot though, so be thankful you're not sleeping in the mud… if the battle even lasts to nightfall.”
Reaching into the box Palinus could feel a specific wand in the box that spoke to him. It looked like it was just about the perfect attunement, as if it had been picked out for him. As he pulled out the wand the optio nodded and smiled and Palinus suspected that it might well have been chosen for him. His attunement was apparently relatively remarkable according to the Censor.
"Do we have any chance of winning?" palinus asked the optio.
Magunnus laughed again, shaking his head with mirth.
"No." he answered simply. "The last time the forest side won was more than a decade ago. That was back when Podi... Tyrant Octavius was here. So yeah... no."
As they returned to their spot under the stairs and waited for further instruction Palinus felt strangely disappointed. Something inside him wanted to go into the rift and wanted to win. Intellectually he couldn’t place why he had that feeling, he had never been a risk taker as a child and he generally preferred to avoid conflict. Why now did he feel a sense of bloodlust?
The feeling of introspection was still unfamiliar to him. Ever since their time in the rift he had been noticing more and feeling like he was smarter and more capable, he supposed that the drive within him might be something to do with the empowerment from the rift.
As he reflected on his own mental state Palinus looked around at his teammates. Silene and Bruchts busied themselves organising packs. They laughed and joked as they separated the rations from the box provided and Silene directed Bruchts on how to organise the individual packs. She threw objects accross the space into the packs that Bruchts held open, showing off her skills they landed neatly into the pack with little effort.
Vesuvia and Rufian sat side by side on bedrolls. They weren’t talking or moving much at all.
Instead they stared hungrily at the rift.
“Psst… Psstt…”
From behind Palinus heard the soft noises of someone trying to get his attention. No-one else in his team seemed to notice, focused on their task or the rift.
Turning slowly to the noise Palinus peered into the shadowy corner below the stairs.
Deep in the corner was a crack of light, a small doorway disguised as the stonework under the stairs stood open only a sliver to reveal a face lit by a torch. Palinus instantly recognised Marius, but below Marius’s face was another man who peered out from the crack who must have been crouched below.
Palinus’s face twisted with confusion and the two men smiled widely beckoning him to come over and pulling the doorway open further to reveal that the tower’s spiralling stairs also went downwards.
As he moved slowly towards the door something about the gleam on the unknown man’s face made Palinus hesitate.
From behind the man Marius noticed the hesitation and began to frantically signal.
*Finger to lips*
The universal signal to be quiet
*Hand with open palm waving towards himself*
Palinus knew that one too, it meant he needed to come to them.
*Three knuckles tapping twice on his shoulder and pointing to the unknown man*
That signal was unfamiliar but it was something to do with a Legion rank.
*Saluting while shaking his head*
Saluting was obvious, but the additional headshake was definitely not a standard signal.
*Hand with open palm waving towards himself, but this time more urgently*
Palinus didn’t understand what Marius was trying to signal but the frustration on the decurion’s face ultimately made up his mind to come to them quietly.
Creeping over to the men they opened the door just wide enough for Palinus to squeeze through and they quietly closed the hidden door behind him.
Moving silently away from the door they crept down the stairs spiralling below the tower.
As they finally came to a landing at least as deep as the tower was tall they paused.
The unknown man turned in the torchlight. Palinus could see now that he was a younger man than Marius and the iris of his eyes glowed subtly with a red lustre that matched the man’s smouldering intensity. As he made a wide flourish with his hands and channelled essentia into a panel on the landing the stairwell began to light up with a soft glowing light in which Palinus caught a flash of the white robe beneath his dark cloak.
Palinus finally realised who the man was with a gasp.
“Welcome, Palinus,” The intense man said dramatically. “To the tomb of the First Tyrant.”