Alea Iacta VI: When in Rome Chp. 13: The Triumph, really!
The time had come for Cimbrus' Triumph, and practically everyone suspected that the Druidic Resistance Movement, possibly although not definitely in connection with the mysterious Black Chain Philosopher, would mount some sort of attack, probably on Cimbrus himself. Our group carefully interviewed the two potential slave candidates for the role of standing behind Cimbrus with the laurel wreath and whispering "Remember that you are mortal" in his ear, and decided finally on Cimbrus' own personal servant, Ligurnus. Ligurnus was extensively checked for psionic, magical, and divine influence and strip-searched before the Triumph, and we believed him safe and loyal.
Unsure where the attack would come from, and motivated also by appropriate formalities, our group split up for the Triumph itself.
After Lucretius secured the somewhat reluctant permission of the commander of the Praetorian Guard, Meloch turned Lucretius, Marcus, Metellus, and himself invisible, and they surrounded the triumphal chariot as it slowly proceeded along the parade route, fully armed and prepared for danger. Meloch and I roamed back and forth a bit, watching the crowd.
Meanwhile, Llyr, unarmed by order of the Praetorians and vigiles, was up at the beginning of the parade, on the second-to-last of the floats depicting the great events of the Britannian War, in front of the captured prisoners. Wena guarded the end of the parade, walking with other free Britannians who were there to acknowledge Cimbrus's greatness. Cornelia, due to the heroism of her father, had been offered a seat of honor on the dais in the Circus Flaminius, where Hadriana and baby Cimbra were sitting and watching. Heilyn, of course, had been banned from the Triumph, but was placed on a small island in the middle of the Tiber, near the parade route, with a small group of Praetorians, in case any Druids tried to use the oak grove there for malevolent purposes.
So, Meloch and I are riding around invisible on invisible Kaspar the goat, through this incredibly slow, long parade. First come the floats, long wagons with scenes of lightning bolts tossed down from the sky, moving trees, gigantic animals, even a few scythe-wheeled war chariots. Then come the chained, grim-looking prisoners. Then the triumphal chariot, with Cimbrus, the slave Ligurnus, and a whole bunch of invisible people. Then the Senators, the Equites, the grateful free Britannians, and the Legions. Well, actually, not much of the Legions, because most of the soldiers either stayed in Britannia or were sent off to fight the Parthians. But there's a token cohort or two.
As the triumphal chariot passes by Cornelia and Hadriana, the toddler Cimbra, who has been sitting quietly with her toys on the platform, suddenly gurgles "Dada!" and starts hurtling at top baby-speed towards the edge of the 10-foot-high platform, into the cheering mob below. Hadriana initially smiles at Cimbra's public acknowledgement of her father, but then realizes what danger she's in. Sadly, she fails in her attempt to grab Cimbra, and the baby keeps moving. Cornelia lunges for the child, but also misses. We invisible warriors panic, not close enough to grab the toddler if she falls.
Finally, just as Cimbra reaches the edge, Cornelia mutters a few words under her breath, and holds up a brightly colored ball. "Cimbra, sweetie! Come play with me! You like me, don't you!" Cimbra, easily distracted, comes back to the sight of the ball and spends the next hour happily seated in Cornelia's lap, whom she seems to have taken quite a liking to. In the midst of playing with the child, Cornelia tries hard not to contemplate the death penalty for casting mind-affecting magic on members of the Imperial Family.
The parade passes on, and the floats and then the prisoners reach the sharp turn at the bottom of the Circus Maximus, where the route takes an abrupt left before heading up through the Forum. Llyr, arranging the moving trees on his float, suddenly glimpses out of the corner of his eye what looks like chains dropping from some of the prisoners in front of him. He yells to the guards around him, and grabs one of their spears before leaping off the float and starting to run towards the prisoners. Meloch and I, on the other side of the prisoners, notice that some of them seem to be simply disappearing...vanishing from sight entirely. There are now significantly less prisoners than there were a few seconds ago.
At approximately the same moment, some sort of arrow shoots out from amidst the crowd seated on the benches of the Circus Maximus, headed directly for Cimbrus on his chariot. Luckily, it misses, but none of us are able to spot the shooter. Metellus, Marcus, and Lucretius all jump onto the chariot, trying to shield Cimbrus with their invisible bodies. Meanwhile, Meloch and I begin looking around for the sorcerer causing invisibility, and send telepathic messages to Wena, through her previously established bond, alerting her of the danger. Wena passes on the messages to Cornelia and Lucretius. Lucretius, who has had See 'Invisible cast upon him by a relatively friendly priest/mage of Mercury, notifies Wena and thus Meloch that there are two hags floating in the air, a hundred feet up, who have just appeared.
Llyr charges bravely into the prisoners, and realizes quickly that some of them have not only been unchained, but now seem to have weapons. Furthermore, there appear to be a few entirely new people there, all Celts. He immediately targets the three Druids, who are unable to cast due to the metal driving into their arms, and takes out one in a single flurry of blows. A few other guards run to assist him. Other groups of prisoners keep disappearing either into the crowds surrounding the parade route, or simply from view entirely.
Listening very carefully, Meloch finally hears what sounds like chanting to him coming from high up in the sky. In desperation, he aims an area Dispel Magic, a newly learned spell, at the general location of the chanting. Suddenly, a floating elderly woman, covered with tattoos and bloodstained hands, appears in the sky. Various guards begin shooting at her, as she tries to dodge them, including Lucretius. Meanwhile, Metellus charges forward to help Llyr with the escaping and violent prisoners, although he misses the Bull Druid on his first try.
Metellus and Llyr continue attacking the prisoners, as more continue disappearing. Cornelia is trying to protect Cimbra and Hadriana, while Wena is running madly to catch up with all the action and maintaining telepathic relays. She sends her owl, Cato, to the scene, and manages to Light up the visible witch, to make her a more obvious target. Llyr finally notices that there is a small toad being passed from prisoner to prisoner, as well as what looks like a cat, and soon after it touches prisoners, they disappear. He begins aiming for the animals, guessing that they are the mysterious witches' familiars.
The shooter fires off another shot or two at Cimbrus, one of which hits Marcus. In general, though, they seem poorly aimed. Marcus, looking sharply around with enhanced senses, manages finally to spot the assassin, and points him out to the Praetorian archers, who make quick work of the man.
Meloch, having tried a spell or two at the visible witch, decides to concentrate on the remaining invisible one. He casts Dispel Magic twice more, and on the second time, all those near the triumphal chariot hear something plummeting out of the sky towards them. Marcus and Lucretius throw their shields and themselves over Cimbrus, and thus bear the brunt of the weight when a foul hag lands on their shields and materializes. In one swift move, Marcus dumps her off the side of his shield and stabs her to death, becoming visible himself in the process. The crowd erupts in understandable chaos. Meanwhile, archers take out the other witch, who is seriously weakened when Llyr impales her toad.
Llyr and Metellus, with some Praetorian help, manage to kill more than half of the prisoners before they escape, together with some of their Druidic Resistance Allies. Heilyn, waiting on the island, sees several prisoners swimming across the Tiber in escape, and goes out with the guards and deals with them. In total, only about 9 prisoners successfully escaped, including, unfortunately, the Bull Chieftain, an enormous and vicious fighter, was one of them. However, Llyr personally killed all three Druids, and is highly congratulated by the Praetorians for doing so, especially by Lucretius, who revises his opinion of him upwards.
The Triumph is saved from complete debacle, although it certainly wasn't the kind of well-ordered, untroubled kind of event that Meloch said they usually are. But at the end, there was still all the free food that I could ever have wanted...and Meloch and I were still invisible for a bit, so we got the best stuff. It is a good day when you have as many grapes and dates as you want.