IX: The Samnite War, Turn III
Telamon
A corvid.
- Location
- Texas
[X] Plan Sulla Redux
- [X] Cohors Primus
- [X] Mercy
- [X] Loot most of the town's wealth, leaving some few funds and the most hidden valuables behind. They will not be destitute, but they certainly won't be rich, either.
- [X] An Open Hand
- [X] You decide to launch an attack on Aeclanum, preparing the cohort to strike at a well-defended position. This, while not a true siege -- as Aeclanum has no walls worth mentioning -- will still be a battle of some note, your first such should you choose to strike.
- [X] Cohors Primus
- [X] Mercy
- [X] Loot most of the town's wealth, leaving some few funds and the most hidden valuables behind. They will not be destitute, but they certainly won't be rich, either.
- [X] An Open Hand
- [X] You decide to launch an attack on Aeclanum, preparing the cohort to strike at a well-defended position. This, while not a true siege -- as Aeclanum has no walls worth mentioning -- will still be a battle of some note, your first such should you choose to strike.
April 3rd, 85 BC
669 Years After The Founding Of Rome
The Year of Flaccus and Marius.
669 Years After The Founding Of Rome
The Year of Flaccus and Marius.
- The Fourth Samnite War (85 BC - Ongoing)
Night falls over Samnium, creeping mile-by-mile over the land. As the sun sinks down into the jagged peaks of the Apennines on the horizon, the last red rays of day stretch across the hilly landscape, illuminating the cluster of buildings and temples which the Samnites have named Aeclanum. The cohort marched night and day to reach Aeclanum before more reinforcements could filter in from the rest of Samnium, and has now pitched a camp a scant half-mile from the large Samnite town. It is at the edge of this camp which you now sit atop your horse, steadily observing the city you hope to break with fire and steel.
In the dying light of day, you can see the Samnite town is ringed by shattered, broken masses of stone that were once some of the mightiest walls in all of Samnium, until Sulla destroyed them and sacked the town nearly four years ago. Despite the loss of its formidable walls, the town is still incredibly well-defended -- not by any mortal fortification, but rather by Samnium itself. Aeclanum sits nestled amid three hills, defended from almost all sides by the very earth of the land you seek to conquer. The news of the incoming Roman forces seems to have galvanized the town's defenders into constructing fortifications, but here, at least, it becomes apparent that these men are farmers, not well-trained soldiers. Their defenses are slapdash jumbles of wood and mud, speaking of a lack of organization and cohesion that must run through their entire force. Any Roman legion should cut through them with ease, and yours is no mere legion, but the Cohors Primus -- the legion's pride.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the raven-haired man who stands next to you, surveying the town from aboard his own steed, a dun mare with a checkered coat. From his well-formed body to his aquiline face and sharp green eyes, Lucius Proculus Mercator is one of those men who seem born for command, and glory in it. His aquiline face and sharp nose are a clear indicator of his noble bearing, and though he is only a decade older than you, he has already risen to hold the glory of primus pilus, the 'first sword' -- commander of the first century of the first cohort of the legion, and quite literally the 'first sword' into battle. He is technically fourth-in-command if you, Sertorius, and the Camp Prefect are all indisposed, and will assume command of the cohort should anything happen to you.
Mercator has said few words to you in the last week of your command, choosing simply to let you communicate your orders to the other five centurions while he busied himself with administering to the men themselves. However, as the two of you quietly observe the town you hope to bring crashing to its knees, he speaks, his voice soft and calm in the afternoon air.
"You should not have suffered the Priestess to live, Tribune. The Samnites will hate you all the more for that mercy."
You cock your head quizzically. "They're a stubborn sort, to be certain, but I cannot see how they would begrudge me sparing their goddess."
The centurion snorts. "Their goddess, and much more besides. These folk are obsessed with disease and death. There is a shrine to Mephitis in every Samnite home, to ward off spirits of plague and sickness. To them, an invasion is contamination, a sickness which must be purged. And Rome? Well, Rome is the greatest disease of all."
He looks over at you for the first time, his face shrouded by the gathering dusk. "You are no fool, that much is clear. But do you even know the job of the priestess whose life you spared?" Without waiting for an answer, he forges on. "If an invasion is sickness, then they must be healed of it, must they not? Indeed, every Samnite who comes into contact with an invader must 'purify' himself by bathing in the Pools at Amscantus. They cleanse themselves of Rome as we would cleanse our homes of plague."
He spits in the dust. "Samnite superstition, obviously. Their gods have no power in Rome -- and make no mistake, Tribune Atellus, this is Rome. They just don't know it yet. But leaving them their Pools will leave them hope. Hope that they can still be purified. Hope that Rome might still be resisted."
His voice is not accusing. Mercator is Roman to the bone, and even his harshest words are filled with the soldier's cool respect, but his words are more than pointed enough for you to gather his meaning.
You blink, then gather yourself. "Had I known --"
Mercator cuts in, his voice cutting through the night air. "Yes. Had you known. Had Sertorius known. But you didn't, and he didn't. Neither of you stepped foot in Samnium before this war. Some of us have fought here our whole lives." Your eyes flicker to the mottled, pink-brown scar which winds from the base of his jaw to the ridge of his forehead.
The primus catches your gaze and smiles grimly. "Yes, a gift from the Samnites, earned the last time I was here. I fought at Aeclanum, under Sulla. He made mistakes too. He left this wretched town standing, in the hopes that it would remind the Samnites that no walls can resist the power of Rome. Yet here we are again." A disgusted look crosses his face, and for a long moment he looks as if he is about to say something more.
Instead, he turns his steed away with a flick of his wrist, trotting her slowly towards the camp. Just when you think he is gone, however, his voice calls out from the gathering darkness.
"Walls or no walls, Tribune, they will always rise up. Leave only ashes, and they can rise from nothing."
Through the finest efforts of the first Cohort and its' captain, all progress in and out of Aeclanum is stopped. It is not a siege, per se, but with a Roman cohort planted on the main road to Aeclanum, all traffic curiously slows to a crawl. After the first handful of days, even the stragglers stop coming, and the town is shut up. It is on the third day when the Samnite delegation arrives.
You, Tercerus, and a small escort of legionnaires meet them halfway along the road into Samnium, at an agreed-upon point a decent distance away from both the cohort's camp and the hungry knives of the Samnite militia.
It is a curious procession, a motley crew of hungry men and slaves. The majority of the ten or so soldiers in the escort are all obviously militia. They are dirty, lean men with scraggly faces and hard eyes, clutching swords like pitchforks and bent over with hunger. The older man at the head of the line, however, is a warrior. He carries himself with the self-assured dignity of a man who kills for a living, and his grey eyes gleam with sharp intelligence from their resting place in his long, pale face. You know from the moment your eyes fall on him that this must be Spurio. A bandit and raider of some small infamy, he has made the dubious transition into a freedom fighter, and is one of the commanders in charge of the town. Though not the most powerful of these Samnite commanders, he has nonetheless sent you an offer for parley.
"You are Sertorius? I imagined him...older. Taller, too. Maybe handsomer." You are taken aback for a moment, but the man's wrinkled grin tells you full well that he knows you are not Sertorius. Rather than rise to his bait, you simply get to the point.
"Rome is merciful, as am I. We are willing to negotiate terms for a surrender."
"Wonderful, wonderful," the old bandit leers throatily. "What'll you be giving me then?"
Your face twists. Something about the man is repulsive. "Giving you?"
He rolls his eyes. "Romans. Dull as a bag of bricks, and about as smart. Yes, giving me. Y'know, when I forget to order the guard to their posts tonight? Or when me and my boys happen to take a little trip out of town just as you attack?"
Tercerus, at your side, actually growls, a low, snarling sound full of disgust. "Treachery, then."
Your feelings are much the same, and you struggle to keep your distaste from being readily apparent as you speak. "You would betray your own people to their hated enemy?"
"Betray? You and I both know I'm saving them from a slaughter. Look at these half-dead stick farmers behind me. You think they don't what I'm planning? They're scared out of their damn wits. You attack that town with that shiny legion of yours, and it'll be a bloodbath. You kill these men, and half the towns around here will starve come winter. Truth be told, it's a kindness to let you take it bloodlessly."
"Right. A kindness with a cost."
Spurio chuckles again, a throaty, broken thing. "Everything has a price, and everyone. Mine is about...say...ten gold talents? Eleven, if you've got the coin -- I hear you worked over Aequum Tuticum pretty well."
"You're not exactly in a position to be demanding anything from Rome."
Another chuckle, this one filled with a wet crackle that is somehow particularly crass. "Oh, but I am. Every man you lose here is a man you don't have to fight the real soldiers with. You might not lose many, true, but you'll lose some, and every Roman who bleeds out on the end of some pig farmer's stick is a Roman who can't fight Medix Appius and his army at Nola."
He grabs an amphora of wine from a nearby slave and takes a deep drink before wiping his mouth and shrugging noncommittally. "Doesn't matter to me. Roman coin is Roman coin, whether I take it from your corpses after the battle or not."
You, Tercerus, and a small escort of legionnaires meet them halfway along the road into Samnium, at an agreed-upon point a decent distance away from both the cohort's camp and the hungry knives of the Samnite militia.
It is a curious procession, a motley crew of hungry men and slaves. The majority of the ten or so soldiers in the escort are all obviously militia. They are dirty, lean men with scraggly faces and hard eyes, clutching swords like pitchforks and bent over with hunger. The older man at the head of the line, however, is a warrior. He carries himself with the self-assured dignity of a man who kills for a living, and his grey eyes gleam with sharp intelligence from their resting place in his long, pale face. You know from the moment your eyes fall on him that this must be Spurio. A bandit and raider of some small infamy, he has made the dubious transition into a freedom fighter, and is one of the commanders in charge of the town. Though not the most powerful of these Samnite commanders, he has nonetheless sent you an offer for parley.
"You are Sertorius? I imagined him...older. Taller, too. Maybe handsomer." You are taken aback for a moment, but the man's wrinkled grin tells you full well that he knows you are not Sertorius. Rather than rise to his bait, you simply get to the point.
"Rome is merciful, as am I. We are willing to negotiate terms for a surrender."
"Wonderful, wonderful," the old bandit leers throatily. "What'll you be giving me then?"
Your face twists. Something about the man is repulsive. "Giving you?"
He rolls his eyes. "Romans. Dull as a bag of bricks, and about as smart. Yes, giving me. Y'know, when I forget to order the guard to their posts tonight? Or when me and my boys happen to take a little trip out of town just as you attack?"
Tercerus, at your side, actually growls, a low, snarling sound full of disgust. "Treachery, then."
Your feelings are much the same, and you struggle to keep your distaste from being readily apparent as you speak. "You would betray your own people to their hated enemy?"
"Betray? You and I both know I'm saving them from a slaughter. Look at these half-dead stick farmers behind me. You think they don't what I'm planning? They're scared out of their damn wits. You attack that town with that shiny legion of yours, and it'll be a bloodbath. You kill these men, and half the towns around here will starve come winter. Truth be told, it's a kindness to let you take it bloodlessly."
"Right. A kindness with a cost."
Spurio chuckles again, a throaty, broken thing. "Everything has a price, and everyone. Mine is about...say...ten gold talents? Eleven, if you've got the coin -- I hear you worked over Aequum Tuticum pretty well."
"You're not exactly in a position to be demanding anything from Rome."
Another chuckle, this one filled with a wet crackle that is somehow particularly crass. "Oh, but I am. Every man you lose here is a man you don't have to fight the real soldiers with. You might not lose many, true, but you'll lose some, and every Roman who bleeds out on the end of some pig farmer's stick is a Roman who can't fight Medix Appius and his army at Nola."
He grabs an amphora of wine from a nearby slave and takes a deep drink before wiping his mouth and shrugging noncommittally. "Doesn't matter to me. Roman coin is Roman coin, whether I take it from your corpses after the battle or not."
VOTING
The Traitor
Spurio, one of the commanders at the garrison, has offered to betray the 400-strong militia in Aeculanum for a bribe, leaving the town's defenses open. Whether or not you accept his bribe is up to you, but if you do, you must decide how best to use him.
[] Accept Spurio's offer, and have him leave the defenses of the town unmanned one night, allowing for your forces to attack unseen, and perhaps even take the town bloodlessly.
[] Accept Spurio's offer, and have him and his soldiers come over to your side during a pivotal moment in the battle, hopefully breaking the town's spirit.
[] Accept Spurio's offer, and have him destroy or damage the food stores in the town, increasing the chance the starving militia will capitulate.
[] Accept Spurio's offer, and have him and his soldiers simply sneak out of town one night, reducing the forces in the town by a good fifty men.
[] Reject Spurio's offer.
[] Reject Spurio's offer and send a messenger to the town informing them of his attempted betrayal.
[] Write-In
[] Accept Spurio's offer, and have him and his soldiers come over to your side during a pivotal moment in the battle, hopefully breaking the town's spirit.
[] Accept Spurio's offer, and have him destroy or damage the food stores in the town, increasing the chance the starving militia will capitulate.
[] Accept Spurio's offer, and have him and his soldiers simply sneak out of town one night, reducing the forces in the town by a good fifty men.
[] Reject Spurio's offer.
[] Reject Spurio's offer and send a messenger to the town informing them of his attempted betrayal.
[] Write-In
The Town Without Walls
You are in command of the Roman attack on Aesculanum, and may proceed with it as you wish. However, your advisers and subordinates all have their own ideas on how you should prosecute this attack. You find yourself with a myriad of plans to pick from -- plans which may offend or please some of your followers.
Siege [] You will lay 'siege' to the town, simply camping on the only road in or out and waiting until they either starve to death or give in. Tercerus advises this as the best course of action, though he also warns that Sertorius may not be willing to part with his first cohort for the weeks it may take to starve the militia out.
Charge [] You have better training, better equipment, and more men. You and the First will charge the town, cut their pitiful defenses aside, and butcher all who resist. This could go one of two ways -- if the militia is broken by your sudden charge, it could be nearly bloodless. On the other hand, the Samnites are famously stubborn, and a bitter resistance, no matter how futile, could mean the deaths of good men. Mercator advises this as the best course of action, and the one most likely to win glory on the field.
Sneak [] You order a detachment of men to sneak around the town while the cohort remains encamped outside. The men will scale one of the hills and attack the town from behind. While no force large enough to take the town could feasibly do this, a sudden and furious attack from within could throw the militia into enough disarray that your main force could attack from the front, crushing them with ease. Of course, this is not exactly the most Roman way to war -- but it is the smartest.
--[] Go with the detachment.
--[] Stay with the main force.
Let the Gods Decide [] You consult the Camp Augur to see which course of action is best. This is a show of piety which will likely win you much favor with the men -- though not so much with the jaded officers, who will likely see it as gambling the fate of the battle.
Charge [] You have better training, better equipment, and more men. You and the First will charge the town, cut their pitiful defenses aside, and butcher all who resist. This could go one of two ways -- if the militia is broken by your sudden charge, it could be nearly bloodless. On the other hand, the Samnites are famously stubborn, and a bitter resistance, no matter how futile, could mean the deaths of good men. Mercator advises this as the best course of action, and the one most likely to win glory on the field.
Sneak [] You order a detachment of men to sneak around the town while the cohort remains encamped outside. The men will scale one of the hills and attack the town from behind. While no force large enough to take the town could feasibly do this, a sudden and furious attack from within could throw the militia into enough disarray that your main force could attack from the front, crushing them with ease. Of course, this is not exactly the most Roman way to war -- but it is the smartest.
--[] Go with the detachment.
--[] Stay with the main force.
Let the Gods Decide [] You consult the Camp Augur to see which course of action is best. This is a show of piety which will likely win you much favor with the men -- though not so much with the jaded officers, who will likely see it as gambling the fate of the battle.
The Fate of Aeclanum
It is almost a given that you will, eventually, take the town, unless the gods themselves are against you. Like Aequum Tuticum before it, its ultimate fate rests in your hands.
Vae Victis [] You will do what Sulla failed to do all those years ago and destroy Aeclanum. You will set fire to its' temples and buildings, kill or enslave its' people, and utterly erase it from the face of Italy. Its' ruins will stand along with it's broken walls as a permanent reminder of the power and might that is, was, and shall always be -- Rome.
Woe to the Conquered [] You will press the city's population sorely, stripping them of all their riches and looting their homes. Much will be destroyed, but like Aequum Tuticum before it, you will leave the core standing. Those survivors who live to tell of it will speak of the day that Rome smashed their lives and their homes aside like so much dust, and left what was once a growing town a cluster of huts and sticks clinging to life.
Bend The Knee [] You will burn the temples of their gods and break the places of their history. Their statues, their monuments, their arts -- gone, like Samnium shall soon be. Their population, you leave untouched, as is their new right as Roman citizens. Thus pacified, you hope to shock them into submission and acceptance of Roman rule. This will require staying in the town for some time to set up a new command structure and ensure the town does not rise into rebellion moments after you leave.
[] Write-In
Woe to the Conquered [] You will press the city's population sorely, stripping them of all their riches and looting their homes. Much will be destroyed, but like Aequum Tuticum before it, you will leave the core standing. Those survivors who live to tell of it will speak of the day that Rome smashed their lives and their homes aside like so much dust, and left what was once a growing town a cluster of huts and sticks clinging to life.
Bend The Knee [] You will burn the temples of their gods and break the places of their history. Their statues, their monuments, their arts -- gone, like Samnium shall soon be. Their population, you leave untouched, as is their new right as Roman citizens. Thus pacified, you hope to shock them into submission and acceptance of Roman rule. This will require staying in the town for some time to set up a new command structure and ensure the town does not rise into rebellion moments after you leave.
[] Write-In
There is now a TWELVE-HOUR MORATORIUM on all votes.
Use this time to discuss the choices available and create different Plans. As previously discussed, any votes not in plan form, or submitted before the moratorium is up, will not be counted.
As always, discussion is rewarded. (As are Omakes and Reaction posts.)
Use this time to discuss the choices available and create different Plans. As previously discussed, any votes not in plan form, or submitted before the moratorium is up, will not be counted.
As always, discussion is rewarded. (As are Omakes and Reaction posts.)
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