Alea Iacta VIII: Under Mud, Over Sea Chp. 14: A Three-Day Tour...
As they get on the ship, Marcus, Cornelia, Heilyn, and Meloch briefly discuss the Thoth text and its relationship to Cimbrus' disappearance and the prophecies.
On the Place of Forms, looking mostly at the Thoth text, Cornelia muses:
"We will see the absolute truth of ourselves, and the absolute truth of each other - the best and worst qualities in each of us. This is probably going to be very very scary, and cause big crises of confidence. Poor Metellus...
We will see the beginning of Rome. Which beginning, though? When Romulus ruled, or when Augustus did? Either way, I think we should head for the Hut of Romulus once we get there. Although it's not clear from the account whether space works the same way inside the
Gates - we might be right near the Hut of Romulus once we get inside, if we're entering the Gates from near the Imperial Palace...
And we should be warned not to speak idly either. Be careful of true names, be careful what you wish, etc. The appearance of the jackal-headed spirit might also mean that we'll get a divine guide once we're inside, which would be cool.
"The jackal spirit spoke directly into my mind, saying that he did so so as not to change the world. "Before Osiris was a God, he came here, with his consort Isis, and they spoke the word of Life, thinking of the fertility of the land and of its people. And he sacrificed himself for that Word, and went to rule over the Dead.
OK. This is how the Word-speaking works. It might mean that once you speak a Word, you die. Or, it could mean that once you speak a Word, you take that word's essence out of yourself - for Osiris it was Life; for us it will be Love (or, technically, Amor). But then
what about Romulus and Augustus? They didn't die, and they didn't lose all love (Or did they? Ooo. Augustus spoke the word as a father, and he didn't have any surviving children. Hmmm.) They did, however, become divine...so maybe dying means that you become
divine, because Osiris also became divine after speaking his Word?
Also, telepathy is safe. Wena, please stock up on Mindlinks?
You need to be a god to know how to speak a True Word. If you have divine ancestry, though, you can learn - Karmouthis was descended from Pharaohs, and was therefore of divine ancestry. We have people (well, beings) with us who are descended from gods: we'll find Cimbrus when we go through the Gates, and we have Talat, who admittedly can't talk very well. (A tangent follows about the horrors of having the world redefined as "Apple.")
Rufus might be in there too, if our theory is right that he's the 'one sprung from the divine who is the source of power' from the Prophecy.
Marcus notes, after considering her theories, that:
"I think it's worth noting that it is phrased as "they spoke the word of Life." It's not just that Osiris speaks it and dies: Isis appears to speak it and live. Also, Osiris is described as "sacrificing himself for that word"- it's not clear that that's the same action. It may be: Step 1: Osiris and Isis speak word, causing powerful effects. Step 2: Osiris
sacrifices himself for the word, making it stronger and going to rule over the dead.
Are any of us possibly descended from gods? Metellus, Cornelia, and Llyr leap to mind as possibilities. We should check whether Metellus or Cornelia are descended from any of the apotheosized emperors. (Marcus takes apotheosized emperors completely seriously as Gods.) Also, if either of them are descended from the ancient royal family of Rome, that
would get them Venus and Mars. Any other major divine bloodlines in Roman families?
Is the royal family of the Brigantes descended from a god? If so, Llyr would be of divine blood.
I don't think there's any reason to believe I have any divine ancestry; middle-class Greek ancestry isn't likely to lead back to any of the old semi-divine heroes, and while it's vaguely possible that there's some minor Egyptian ancestry, no reason to expect Pharaonic descent."
Meanwhile, Llyr and Heilyn and Lucretius discuss Licinia Luculla's comments about the Pisan treasure hoard and attempt to divide it up:
Two-bladed silver-engraved +1/+1 Spanish sword - Heilyn, on careful study, thinks that it is enchanted as well against some specific foe...
Licinia Luculla looks at this and concentrates, burning some
sweet-smelling herbs around it and waving her fingers in precise patterns.
"Ah, she says finally, "This is very old, probably an ancestral trophy
from Caesar's wars in Gaul. It's a sword made to kill Druids, especially
when they have changed into their accursed animal forms. It will do extra
damage (2d6) to any person or creature who shapechanges, and if you strike
such a one with this weapon when they are in an animal form, they must
focus or return to their true form (DC 15 Will Save.)"
Heilyn now realizes the source of his vague uneasiness about this weapon -
he's fairly sure it would do quite nasty things to him personally, if
wielded against him.
+3 steel German scimitar, with an oak handle - between all of you, you think that the magics on it are somehow associated with forests.
"Another relic of the wars, this time from Germany. This scimitar draws on the powers of the spirits of the northern woods when it is in a forest of oaks or spruce - in such a case, it allows the wielder to cut through one enemy to the next with a deadly stroke. (Cleave +1d6 extra damage). It is consecrated to Dagda.
Orichalcum ring:
"Ah...I have one of these myself. You, my child, can cast a spell into this
ring, and if anyone then casts that same spell on you, it will be
countered. I believe that it might also work for mental powers, although I
know little about philosophy.
Golden elephant disk on a chain - +2 Con bonus
Big wolf fur boots - faint abjuration and transformation magic.
"I suspect these may have been taken as spoils from the same German
chieftain who owned the scimitar. They allow you to travel quickly across
that unpleasant northern snow or ice, and keep your feet warm in winter.
Hollow silver tube and stick - seems to be a musical instrument - has 4
indentations on the side, and marks of what look like several faded ones. Moderate transmutation.
"The indentations indicate the number of uses remaining, 4 in this case.
While I am no musician, I believe this instrument can be used to open
closed places, even magically locked doors. I will be aware, of course, if
you use it in my house while I am gone, daughter."
Dark grey Egyptian cotton cloak, embroidered with black silk in a complex
Egyptian pattern, faint conjuration and transmutation.
"Ah, a Cloak of Arachne - I wonder what Greek witch he bought this from,
or whom he killed. It lets one climb like a giant spider and renders one
somewhat immune to a spider's tricks and venom."
Greek reed pipes, faint enchantment and evocation.
"Well, these would certainly be one way to end some of the endless
poetry recitations back in Roma. If you are skilled at playing these, they
have a chance to fascinate the listeners, but they also render the ears of
listeners temporarily acutely sensitive to all noise, causing damage for
quite some time. I wouldn't play it unless you've rendered yourselve deaf
first..."
Thick leather gloves, faint transmutation
"These gloves grip onto surfaces, giving you a +5 bonus when swimming or
climbing walls. "
Tiny marble pyramid, faintly sticky on one side, faint abjuration
"Ah, I have several of these. You can attach them to, say, a chest with a
command word - this one's command word is "Imhotep" and it will make a
prolonged, loud noise if the object is touched thereafter without uttering
the command word. Be careful - the slaves have had many nights' sleep
disrupted by these."
A small pot of ointment that seems to be largely wax, faint transmutation.
You found traces of the ointment on some of the books downstairs.
"This is used to preserve scrolls and other documents."
Meanwhile, as the two and a half-day ship journey progresses, several of the passengers begin to notice some slightly odd behaviors in their comrades and themselves.
Cornelia and Meloch are standing at the prow of Metellus's ship as it sails at
full speed up the Italian coast back to Roma, thinking about all their adventures and worrying about what will come next. They suddenly realize that they can't remember at all what the name was of that deserter they met north of the Wall. The train of thought leads Cornelia to thinking about her family's tradition of loyal military service. Oddly, she knows that
your cousin in Massilia had some sort of military service, but you realize that you have no idea what it was.
Metellus, doing military exercises on the deck, realizes that he's forgotten some of the details of the trial he helped oversee, in particular, the name of that annoying female neighbor of Salonianus the wine merchant. Probably unimportant, though, he decides.
Wena, meanwhile, spends her time doing Object Reading of the various scrolls, and does discover the interesting detail that on one of the scrolls from the boat, the owner before Heilyn and Metellus was a Chaotic Evil middle-aged Brigantian man, a description that is precisely similar to that of one of the owners of Hadriana's anti-conception ruby.
Cornelia, meanwhile, upset by her lack of memory, has been trying to focus on the name of the deserter and remember it. Sadly, thinking about it seems to make concentrating even harder. She decides to go and ask the Centurion, who she knows has a very good memory, about it...but embarassingly realizes that she can't remember his name either, even though she's pretty sure they've been traveling together for months. Maybe it's sunstroke. She asks Meloch, who's having similar trouble, and stares at the armored Centurion, hoping something will jog her memory or someone else will call out his name.
Marcus, a fairly perceptive man, notices fairly quickly that Cornelia is staring at him really, really intently, and then blushing embarassedly and looking away when he looks back at her. She has a slightly confused look on her face. He draws his own conclusions and goes grimly to speak quietly to Metellus.
"May I have a word with you, Tribune? It would be best if this conversation were private."
After they move away from the crew and their companions, Marcus proceeds.
"There are two matters that I feel I need to bring to your attention. The
first suggests that our enemy has taken another offensive through his
perversions of philosophy. I appear to have lost some of my memories
connected to the Ninth. In particular, I cannot recall the name of the
deserter we met north of the Wall when we retrieved the Eagle. I can
still picture his face, but I cannot recall his name, nor his exact rank
or cohort. I have thought more carefully about the rest of my legion, and
I can remember most of the centurions, but not the primus pillus's name,
nor that of the chief legate. I also cannot remember our commander's
name, but that is explained by damnatio memoriae. It took some effort,
but I was able to remember that the traitor's name was Titus Minucius.
"This could be explained by the fading memory of age, but I do not think
so, Tribune. I still remember almost all of the men of the Sixth,
although a few legates are hard to remember. I can also remember all of
my classmates from when I was a boy studying philosophy back in
Alexandria. I think it most likely that Scaevola has tampered with my
memories. I have taken the precaution of beginning to record on tablets
and shards as much about the conspiracy against the Ninth as I can
remember."
Marcus pauses after finishing that speech.
"The second matter is more awkward, Tribune. I hope you will pardon my
temerity. The matter concerns Domina Cornelia. As you well know, young
women have difficulty controlling themselves. By Domina Cornelia's age, a
woman needs a husband to guide her and to prevent her ... drives ... from
leading her into scandalous behavior. It is only to be expected that,
even with such an honorable father as the Legate, these drives would be
particularly severe with a mother who practices witchcraft and is known
for her own uncontrollable desires.
"It has been too long since Domina Cornelia was outside of her father's
supervision, and she is showing the signs of her desires. I am confident
that your own presence held her interest for quite some time, sir, but in
the face of your continued honorable conduct towards her, she has begun to
seek out others who might not behave as honorably.
"Tribune, Domina Cornelia has begun to look at me in an unmistakable way.
While I have too much respect for her late father the Legate to allow even
the appearance of impropriety, I worry that her desires will lead her to
seek out someone less restrained. It is not my place, of course, to make
suggestions as to what should be done. But I thought that you would want
to know, because her father's spirit should be spared the pain of having
his only child bring scandal on her family. And scandal can only be
avoided by her marrying promptly. Without wishing to presume, Tribune, I
hope that you might assist her in finding an honorable match."
After his speech, Marcus's expression shows that he feels even more
awkward than before he began speaking. He stands rigidly at attention,
waiting to hear if Metellus has any response other than to dismiss him.
Metellus blushes, fiercely, and then says, "Well, the memory issues do seem quite alarming. It's probably related to the Ninth and somehow to Scaevola's foul plans, although I'm not quite sure in what way. As for Domina Cornelia, rest assured, I have every intention of protecting her and making sure she finds a good and suitable match, although I'd be a little surprised if she had serious intentions towards you, Centurion."
He nods in abrupt, embarassed dismissal to Marcus, who strides away. Some hours later, Wena beckons the Centurion and Cornelia over to one side of the ship to discuss the results of her Object Reading. Initially nervous, but reassured by the chaperone-presence of Wena, Marcus joins the two women, carefully and nervously positioning Wena in between himself and Cornelia.
It becomes clear that only half of Cornelia's mind is on what Wena is saying. She keeps darting confused, curious glances over at Marcus, brow furrowing as if she is trying to remember something.
Her expression grows more and more worried as the moments pass, until finally, she sighs, shakes her head, and says to the centurion, "I'm sorry...what's your name again? I'm sorry - I know I should know....but I don't. I just can't remember _anything_ today..."
When Cornelia asks Marcus's name, the centurion, already fairly close to attention, stiffens up even further. "Domina Cornelia... I am Marcus Catellus Alexandros, centurion of the Ninth Legion, retired from the Sixth. But, Domina, you know that..." Marcus looks at her confusedly. After a few seconds, he laughs, cutting the laugh off as quickly as he
can. He forces his face back into a more neutral attitude. "Domina, I fear that our adversary has tampered with your memory. I have lost my memories of some of my comrades in the Ninth." He pauses. "I sincerely apologize for laughing, Domina. I had misinterpreted some things." Marcus does not clarify further.
