A/N: Well, it appears that I have two new followers! A special welcome to Karehai and thedoctorspersonalblogger! As a side note, Imperator Justinian pointed out that Montezuma and Pacal have yet to be featured as story characters. To that I say…

Just wait and see… *evil laughter*

Chapter Ten: Sounds of Suffering

Caesar sat at his desk looking intensely at several maps. Legate Hamilicar Barca, the general assigned to the defense of Rome, walked quickly to the threshold of Caesar's study and coughed into his hand.

"You summoned me, your majesty?" He asked, standing at attention.

Augustus put his maps down for a minute, and motioned for him to kneel at his chair.

"As a Legate of my legions, I trust you with this vital secret," Augustus started grimly, "My spies have discovered that American soldiers are amassing in the Thieves' Forest with the intent of assassinating my bride on our wedding night."

"I'm afraid that I have not previously heard such news." Hamilicar said bowing his head in disgrace.

"Any news from Alexander?"

Dido's sudden appearance drew the attention of both Augustus and his general, who both stood at attention.

"My woman, it's barely been a day since my ships left the harbor! They may be fast, but they are not that fast. Please be patient with them." Augustus said, trying to appear reassuring.

"He will come for me." Dido responded assuredly, with her head high. She had to resist the urge to bite back at the prince for his condescension.

"As you say." Caesar replied tentatively.

Dido wore an accomplished smirk on her face as she walked away. As soon as she was gone, Caesar was back in his seat and Hamilicar was on his knees-

"That's what she said!" Harald shouted, earning bursts of laughter and groans of annoyance alike.

"She will not be murdered. On the day of the wedding, the Thieves' Forest must be emptied and every individual inside is to be arrested." Caesar said sternly to his Legate.

"I'm afraid that with the bulk of our military at war with Austria and repressing dissidents and revolutionaries…" Hamilicar attempted to explain.

"Form a brute squad! Hire mercenaries! Recruit Huns and Mongols in exchange for more freedoms! Do whatever you must to have that forest deserted before the wedding!" Augustus cut in harshly.

"It will be done, but it will not be a simple task." Hamilicar said, crossing an arm over his chest.

"Try ruling the world sometime." Caesar deadpanned with a hint of sarcasm.

The day of the wedding arrived. Augustus Caesar's brute squad had their hands full as they carried out his orders.

Legate Hamilicar sat atop a prison wagon as it moved toward the docks. The prisoners were to be taken to the distant prison island of Glasgow, a former Celtic stronghold. Hamilicar's lieutenant marched alongside as he gave his report.

"The forest is nearly empty. But a drunken samurai is giving us some trouble."

"Well give him some trouble. Our orders were to clear out the forest, we were not told that we had to take everyone alive." Hamilicar said as the wagon rolled on.

"Twenty years!" Oda shouted drunkenly, "I spent twenty years learn-learning to be the very best sw-swa-swordsman… like no one ever was! To find the warlord was my quest, to kill him was my clause-cause! I have brought shame on my family with my failure! Dishonor! Dishonor on me! Dishonor on my family! Dishonor on all of Japan! Dishonor on your moose!"

The moose in question raised its head from the grass it was eating and trotted away, and into the forest.

"You there! Get up and get moving!" The lieutenant barked as he walked over with his hand of the hilt of his sword.

"Not until I regain my honor!" Oda shouted back, drunkenly handling his katana.

"Well you won't find it here," The lieutenant said sarcastically, "Go find it somewhere else, the Prince has ordered everyone leave!"

Oda drunkenly swung his katana at the soldier as he approached. "I don't care if the Prince, the King, the Emperor, or whoever says anything! I'm not going anywhere… not until I find the man in black or that scarred warlord…"

"You, brute, get over here!" The lieutenant ordered to a passing thug.

"I've got to find Gandhi or Harald… they'll help me get that warlord, I think…" Oda slurred as he rolled his head around.

"Ha! Oda, you still can't hold your drink!" The brute said as he walked over and pulled the intoxicated samurai to his feet.

"Harald?" Oda questioned hazily.

"Damn right!" Harald affirmed. The lieutenant moved to attack Oda, but Harald casually punched the soldier in the nose, knocking him unconscious.

"Come on, you need to sober up." Harald ordered as he hauled Oda away.

Harald took Oda to Loki's Throne, a tavern that sat on the outskirts of the Thieves' Forest. Vikings would often visit due to its close proximity to the coastline, and so the name was changed to something more fitting of their primary demographic. Besides, not many people had visited Attila The Hungry-

"WHAT?" Attila roared as he stood up abruptly, nearly flipping the table, "WHO WROTE THIS?"

"It doesn't say who the author is!" Washington answered quickly.

"They better pray to their GODS I never find them! I'll have you know Attila The Hungry is a fine establishment, and quite beloved in the Hunnic Empire! This mockery will not stand!"

"Attila, calm down, it's just a book!" Washington attempted to pacify the angered warlord.

"Yeah, besides, we all know how good the food there is!" Genghis added, "Remember the last time you hosted congress, we all had food delivered from there?"

"THAT'S where those ribs were from?" Harald asked in surprise, "Attila, we need to talk about opening a few restaurants in Denmark! Those were the best damn ribs I've ever had!"

"That's great and all, but we're here to hear Washington read the book." Enrico interrupted.

"Very well, continue Washington. We'll discuss franchising later, Harald." Attila said, having finally calmed down.

"How's the headache?" Harald asked Oda in between bites of lamb leg.

"Almost non-existent. This stew is fantastic." The samurai commented.

"As it should be! You've got the hangover special stew there. A lot of Vikings get a little too hammered, and so the staff cooked something up to clear away the cobwebs." Harald explained, using the lamb leg as some kind of pointing stick as he gestured to the staff and stew.

"So, what happened after I lost my duel with that man in black?" Oda asked as he finished off the last of the stew.

"Well, he and I had a brawl… but he got behind me with a sleeper, and didn't let go. When I woke up, I stumbled off into the woods just as Prince Caesar was coming by. Oda, you're not gonna believe who he had with him."

"Who?" Oda asked leaning in a little closer.

"He had this guy on a horse with him, big black beard. And he had a scar over his eye, like this." Harald said, tracing the shape of the scar across his face.

"Caesar had the warlord at his beck and call this whole time! They must both pay in blood!" Oda demanded, slamming his fist into the table.

"There's more!" Harald said, "I followed them, you see. They picked up Gandhi and took him away. The man in black took the princess into the fire swamp and came out the other side! They survived in there, but Caesar took the princess and the warlord took the man in black."

"Well, that's it then!" Oda said, having an epiphany, "The man in black must have some ill will towards Caesar and the warlord. If we find him, we can get him to join us in going after them… tonight!"

"Whoa, hold on… the royal wedding is tonight. There's going to be a lot of guards. We need more of a plan than 'three men rush the gates'." Harald attempted to caution.

"Then we will find the man in black and make plans! He had the skill to best me, the strength to best you, and the smarts to best Gandhi. He can plan this attack! After twenty years, my honor will be restored and my father's soul at peace. There will be blood tonight!" Oda announced as he left the table.

Harald tossed a small bag of coins on the table and followed his Japanese friend out the door.

Once again, Caesar Augustus sat in his study. He carefully slid the edge of his personal dagger across a whetstone, focusing on the almost soothing sound it made. From the corner of his eye, he saw something move. Looking up, Legate Hamilicar entered and dropped to a knee in front of his desk.

"Rise and report."

Hamilicar rose and stood at attention.

"Milord, the Thieves' Forest has been empty and thirty men stand at the castle gate."

"Double it. My bride must be safe." Augustus ordered as he wiped his dagger with a cloth.

"There is but one key to the castle gate," Hamilicar said, pulling a silver key with a red seal from under his armor, "And it hangs around my neck."

Augustus smiled slightly and nodded to his trusty general. Putting his dagger on the desk, Caesar rose with raised arms to greet his fiancée as she entered the study.

"Tonight, we marry. Tomorrow, Legate Hamilicar will escort us to the harbor where we will be joined by the entire Roman armada for our honeymoon." The Roman prince declared as he walked to Dido.

"Every ship apart from the four fastest," Dido corrected, staring intently at Caesar's fading smile.

"…Yes, yes of course! They are due back tonight, as it were!" Augustus sounded very unconvincing as he tried to keep a straight face.

There was an awkward silence, during which Hamilicar coughed into his hand and walked quickly from the study.

"You never sent the ships," Dido confirmed her suspicions from reading Caesar's reaction, "But it matters not. Alexander will still come for me."

"I offer you so much and you continue to throw it away. You're truly a fool." Augustus sighed as he returned to his desk.

"Yes, I was a fool!" Dido responded sharply, storming up to the front of Augustus's desk, "I was foolish to believe you were anything but a lying coward!"

There was a clicking noise as Caesar's dagger slid into it's sheath, a very cold and emotionless look on the Roman's face.

"I would not say such things if I were you." Caesar's voice was unnaturally calm and even.

"Why not? You can't hope to hurt me, at least not by yourself," Dido's old sneer returning, "Alexander and I are bound by a love that you could never possibly achieve. You could never find it with a thousand hounds. And you cannot break it with spears, hammers, or swords. And when I call you a coward, I do so because you are the most repulsive, deceitful, and wicked person to ever taint the earth!"

With a loud bang, Caesar's dagger was back out of its sheath and buried in his desk. The prince's calm façade was rapidly fading as he roughly grabbed Dido by the arm and pulled her back towards her room.

"I wouldn't say such things if I were you!" He said again, only this time his voice was almost a feral growl. Reaching the princess's chambers, Caesar all but threw her inside and slammed the door behind her, locking it shut.

Attila sifted through papers as Gandhi finished writing the notes taken from the last session. Both were thoroughly surprised when Augustus stormed down the steps, stopping to stand over Alexander.

"And so the two of you truly love each other?" He asked, "You might have been happy together, but this is not a storybook. A love like yours has not been recorded in centuries… and so no man in centuries will suffer as much as you will now."

"Didn't you promise you wouldn't hurt him?" Attila asked, standing from his chair, "You said nothing of Gandhi and I, but-"

"I said I would not harm a single hair on his head," Augustus said, grabbing a lone strand of Alexander's hair and pulling it out.

"This is the one I won't harm!" He shouted. Before anyone could react, Caesar grabbed the bar and raised it to the highest setting.

"No! Not to fifty! We haven't tested-" Attila attempted to protest but was drowned out by Alexander's screaming.

The scream was heard for miles, and could only be likened to a call of the damned. People rushed into churches to feverishly pray. Children cried and covered their ears. The Roman Legion shook in its boots. Dido looked up from her sorrows, trying to place the familiarity of the noise that echoed in her own heart.

But not too far from the source of the scream, a samurai and a Viking stopped in their tracks.

"Harald, can you hear that?" Oda asked, putting an arm out to stop the Viking, "That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound from the death of my father and loss of my honor. The man in black makes that sound now."

"You sure it's him?" Harald asked.

"If his true love marries another tonight, who else has cause for ultimate suffering?" Oda reasoned as he tried to push through the crowd.

"I'll handle this. EVERYBODY MOVE NOW!" Harald shouted, and the crowd instantly parted like the Red Sea.

Gandhi's head poked outside the doorway that lead down to the pit of despair. Ensuring the coast was clear, he stepped into the world and sealed the door behind him. Augustus and Attila had left the pit, and Gandhi had been left behind to clean up after them. The elderly Indian made his way in the direction of the castle, pushing a wheelbarrow.

"Going somewhere, Gandi?" Harald asked as he and Oda stepped into the pathway.

"Gentlemen!" Gandhi said in obviously feigned excitement, "How great it is to see the two of you again, and in such good health!"

"You knew." Oda growled.

"I knew what?" Gandhi asked, genuinely confused.

"You knew who the warlord was! The prince hired us, did he not? The warlord I had spent the last twenty years hunting-" Oda advanced on Gandhi, drawing a katana.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gandhi backed away with his hands raised in surrender, "Okay, yes, I was vaguely familiar with the man!"

"What's his name?" Oda asked, aiming the sword at Gandhi's throat.

"Attila! Attila The Hun! He and Genghis Khan were partners long before Rome started civilizing the barbarians. Attila joined up for power, and Genghis took to piracy!" Gandhi spoke very quickly.

"Where's the man in black?" Oda asked next.

"Who?" Gandhi asked.

"Harald, refresh his memory." Oda ordered the Viking, who smacked Gandhi in the head. Gandhi teetered for a moment, and fell over.

"I must've checked a little too hard." Harald said apologetically. Looking around, Harald saw Oda on one knee a beam of sunlight shining down upon him.

"Uhhh… Oda?"

Oda raised his sword to the heavens.

"My Father, we have been in dishonor for twenty years. But I may be able to make things right. Somewhere nearby is a man who can help us achieve vengeance, retribution. I need your spirit to guide me to him. Guide our sword, please. Guide our sword."

After his speech, Oda closed his eyes and stood up. Holding his sword in front of himself, Oda blindly walked around, as if guided by a supernatural force. Harald watched in awe as Oda slowly made his way over to a large tree and lightly stabbed into it. Oda opened his eyes and bowed his head in disappointment, leaning forward against the tree. There was a sound and moments later, a door opened leading down into the earth.

"Huh. Well, what do you know?" Harald commented as the two descended the stairs.

Oda and Harald didn't have to look hard to find the body of Alexander, their man in black. Oda grabbed his wrist to check for a pulse while Harald listened for a heartbeat.

"He's dead." The two men came to the same conclusion simultaneously.

"WHAT?" Dido all but screamed, drawing everyone's attention again, "What do you mean he's dead?"

"He probably means that he's dead." Augustus deadpanned.

"NO! That's not right!" Dido shouted, on the edge of tears, "Alexander's supposed to ride in and save me from marrying the evil prince! It's not fair!"

"Whoever said life was fair?" Pacal asked. Dido immediately burst into tears, and half the table glared over at the Mayan.

"…I think everyone's a little too invested in the story, I'll finish it next time." Washington said softly as he prepared to close the book.

"No." Came the immediate and harsh response from Caesar of all people.

"Pardon?" Maria asked, intrigued.

"Dido started this story against my will. If she wills that it end, I wish it to be seen through. Besides, it is a bad habit to leave your work unfinished." Augustus said, leaning back in his seat.

Washington coughed into his hand.

"In that case… I suppose we shall resume."

"Don't worry Dido," Boudicca once again to calm Dido down, "I'm sure it'll all work out in the end."