Soldier of Rome: The Last Campaign (The Artorian Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF
Author: James Mace
Teutoburger Wald, Germania, more than thirty years earlier. He had further distinguished himself during the campaigns of retribution under Germanicus Caesar; his commanding general once telling the Emperor Tiberius that Cassius was, perhaps, the bravest man he had ever met. It was this reputation that later led to his transfer from the legions to the Praetorian Guard, where he established himself as one of their more respected leaders.
In recent years he had risen through the ranks as a senior officer within the Praetorians; an unusual posting, given his secret loathing of the imperial family. Though he served Augustus faithfully during his early days as a soldier, he never forgave the emperor for appointing the dreadful Quintilius Varus as commander of the Rhine Army, for it was he who led the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Legions to their destruction in Teutoburger Wald. Cassius also believed that any retribution should have been dealt swiftly, not six years later, and only then after the death of Augustus. And while he had respected Tiberius as a soldier, as he was one of Rome’s greatest commanders who could rightly boast that he’d never been beaten in battle, as emperor, Cassius found him wanting. Ironically, Tiberius himself would have been one of the first to agree with this!
In an interesting twist of fate, he had helped uncover a conspiracy against Tiberius, which was wrought by Cassius’ own commanding officer, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. He gave a sinister grin, knowing that he had saved one emperor, only to assassinate his successor ten years later.
The men walked quickly down the passage, their sandals echoing on the cobblestones. The praetorian tribune, along with several of his accomplices from the senate and a few guardsmen who were complicit in the plot, walked quickly along the corridor that ran beneath the busy streets between the palace and the circus. Far from being a dank, uninviting tunnel, it was spacious, lit with numerous torches, and served as a means of numerous patricians and other important persons to avoid the stifling crowds.
“Why , Senator Marcus!” a voice said enthusiastically to one of Cassius’ companions.
Despite being the emperor’s personal pathway, it was by no means secret. In fact, it was commonly used by senators, magistrates, and members of the imperial household when coming and going from the palace. The man who greeted them was a senator, whose name Cassius could not recall at the moment. He furrowed his brow when he saw the sweaty complexion of his friend, despite it being a cool January day.
“By Juno, are you feeling alright?” he asked.
“Yes, f…fine,” Marcus said quickly. His left arm was clutched close around his middle, giving the appearance that he was having stomach pains when, in fact, he was concealing a gladius beneath the broad purple stripe of his toga.
“The good senator has been feeling a bit off,” Cassius spoke up, “but this has not prevented him from coming to pay his respects to the emperor. Gaius Caligula awaits our pleasure and, as you know, he does not like to be kept waiting.”
“But of course,” the inquisitive senator said before bidding farewell to Marcus.
The other conspirators also let out sighs of relief. Cassius was the only one who appeared calm and focused. But then, what did he expect of men who’d had a soft living in Rome and never had to draw a blade in anger? Still, he knew they were resolved in their conviction to free Rome from the tyrant. He did not need them to be skilled with their weapons like legionaries, just willing to stab one man who had wronged them all grievously. One of the senator’s had had his wife invited by Caligula to attend a special banquet at the palace, only to have it become a depraved orgy, where the poor woman was subjected to malicious sexual cruelty by the emperor, as well as many of the drunken guests. Even a number of slaves of both sexes had had their way with her. In
In recent years he had risen through the ranks as a senior officer within the Praetorians; an unusual posting, given his secret loathing of the imperial family. Though he served Augustus faithfully during his early days as a soldier, he never forgave the emperor for appointing the dreadful Quintilius Varus as commander of the Rhine Army, for it was he who led the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Legions to their destruction in Teutoburger Wald. Cassius also believed that any retribution should have been dealt swiftly, not six years later, and only then after the death of Augustus. And while he had respected Tiberius as a soldier, as he was one of Rome’s greatest commanders who could rightly boast that he’d never been beaten in battle, as emperor, Cassius found him wanting. Ironically, Tiberius himself would have been one of the first to agree with this!
In an interesting twist of fate, he had helped uncover a conspiracy against Tiberius, which was wrought by Cassius’ own commanding officer, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. He gave a sinister grin, knowing that he had saved one emperor, only to assassinate his successor ten years later.
The men walked quickly down the passage, their sandals echoing on the cobblestones. The praetorian tribune, along with several of his accomplices from the senate and a few guardsmen who were complicit in the plot, walked quickly along the corridor that ran beneath the busy streets between the palace and the circus. Far from being a dank, uninviting tunnel, it was spacious, lit with numerous torches, and served as a means of numerous patricians and other important persons to avoid the stifling crowds.
“Why , Senator Marcus!” a voice said enthusiastically to one of Cassius’ companions.
Despite being the emperor’s personal pathway, it was by no means secret. In fact, it was commonly used by senators, magistrates, and members of the imperial household when coming and going from the palace. The man who greeted them was a senator, whose name Cassius could not recall at the moment. He furrowed his brow when he saw the sweaty complexion of his friend, despite it being a cool January day.
“By Juno, are you feeling alright?” he asked.
“Yes, f…fine,” Marcus said quickly. His left arm was clutched close around his middle, giving the appearance that he was having stomach pains when, in fact, he was concealing a gladius beneath the broad purple stripe of his toga.
“The good senator has been feeling a bit off,” Cassius spoke up, “but this has not prevented him from coming to pay his respects to the emperor. Gaius Caligula awaits our pleasure and, as you know, he does not like to be kept waiting.”
“But of course,” the inquisitive senator said before bidding farewell to Marcus.
The other conspirators also let out sighs of relief. Cassius was the only one who appeared calm and focused. But then, what did he expect of men who’d had a soft living in Rome and never had to draw a blade in anger? Still, he knew they were resolved in their conviction to free Rome from the tyrant. He did not need them to be skilled with their weapons like legionaries, just willing to stab one man who had wronged them all grievously. One of the senator’s had had his wife invited by Caligula to attend a special banquet at the palace, only to have it become a depraved orgy, where the poor woman was subjected to malicious sexual cruelty by the emperor, as well as many of the drunken guests. Even a number of slaves of both sexes had had their way with her. In