Marcylus sat on a hill overlooking a small valley. His troops had set up a fort in the valley and were still sleeping. The general reflected on his past battles during the campaign. He had lost many men, but he had learned that for Rome to win, men had to be sacrificed. A shadow appeared behind the general. It crept towards him. The sound of a dagger being unsheathed was barely heard by Marcylus. He smiled. A second later the weapon was at his throat.
" Good morning General " said Phylus. He sheathed his dagger before sitting down beside the general. The two men talked for awhile, about fate, love, hatred, and anything in between. Phylus even told a humourous story that made the General laugh. After a moment of silence, Marcylus asked the spy a couple of questions.
" Have you had any training in assassination Phylus?" The spy nodded his head. He had actually been waiting for the time when his general would ask him to assassinate someone. Next Marcylus brought out a scroll from his armor. It had a drawing of a man's face. Phylus knew immediately that this was to be his target. He studied the face. The man was a Greek leader. The spy wondered why he would be killing a neutral leader. He then continued talking to Marcylus.
" You abandoned Julii, yet you still wear their colour, why is this?" The general looked at Phylus. He just sat there and said nothing. He reached for his cape, tore it away, and tossed it to the wind. The pair watched it glide down the hill. It slowly dropped until it landed on a soldier.
A roman had been sent by Isaacius to bring Marcylus' army newly coloured Armor, shields, and weapons. His cart was behind him as he walked up the hill. Suddenly his vision was blocked by a garment. It wrapped around him.
" What in the name of Mars is this?" He tumbled back down the hill. Later he found passage into the camp. Phylus took his leave of the general. The spy quickly found the nearest road and started his trek towards Greece.
Marcylus watched the sun rise before moving into the camp to greet his waking men. The men rose, donned their new gear, and had breakfast before manning their posts. The general realized that his army seemed much more...precise than the week before. Their eyes had confidence in them. The general was talking to the armor runner when a young boy burst into the camp. His eyes were wide with fear. Marcylus and Rexell quickly rushed over to the boy. He spoke in a shrill voice to the two men.
" Sir please help, my father is being harassed by Greeks, I don't know how long he can fight them off by himself. There are about twenty of them. They were toying with him before." Marcylus agreed to save the man. He asked for ten men to volunteer for the task. Many men raised their hands. Marcylus smiled, his men were ready. He chose ten men. Rexell brought horses for the rescue party. After receiving directions to the man, The romans rode off into the countryside.
It wasn't long before Marcylus heard shouting and laughing. He slowed his men down. The general dismounted and walked toward the sounds. The man they were rescuing was in a river, his ankles sloshing through the water. Marcylus peered from the bushes at the man. The greeks around him played with him. Rexell moved in beside Marcylus. They nodded to each other. Marcylus donned a helmet he had found at Segestica. It covered his face, giving him good protection. Rexell put on his own helmet. He fitted an arrow into his bow.
Before going to talk with the Greeks, The general placed his cavalry. He walked out of the trees and called to the Greeks.
" Why are you harassing that man?" He looked sternly at them. One Greek laughed and brought his spear to bear. Its pointed tip stood extended. He asked the general why they should do otherwise.
" I am not afraid of no Roman, the Romans are weak". This Greek just happened to be their leader. He was very overconfident.
" If you do not leave that man alone you will die." Marcylus smiled again, his opponents had no idea of the ambush that was in wait. He unsheathed his sword. Its sliding sound slightly muffled by the river's sounds. By now the lead Greek stood only two feet away from Marcylus. The man laughed and raised his spear to strike. The general heard a whistle. The Greek man grunted as the arrow from Rexell's bow struck him in the stomach. He had enough time to gasp in surprise before Marcylus drove his sword into his chest.
" Where did that come from?" asked the other men. They watched as Marcylus removed his sword from their leader's body.
" Let's get him!" they cried. Marcylus whistled. The sound of hooves erupted behind the Greeks. They turned and saw the rest of the rescue party galloping toward them. Lances were pointed out at the enemy spearmen. Marcylus rushed the nearest enemy, cutting him down in a spray of blood. The man that had been attacked lunged forward, cutting the spear of another man in half. The Greeks panicked and started attacking the general.
The lead horse rammed into the enemy soldiers. Spears flashed and embedded themselves in the thick armor of their foes. Five men went down in the first pass. A roman jumped from his horse, knocking three men to the ground. He immediately stabbed them in the throat. The river began to run red with blood. Small fights broke out, horses neighed and whined, a spear jabbed into the belly of a horse, throwing its rider into the river. Marcylus grabbed a soldier, turned him around, and slit his throat in a smooth motion.
" Victory!" cried the Romans as three enemies ran away. The impacts of three arrows were heard shortly after. Rexell entered the riverbank area, blood was on his armor. The general walked up to him, nodding.
" During the fight one of them tried to knife me general," he said. Marcylus removed his helmet. The romans had suffered three wounded. They could still ride, and the rescue party rode back to the fort leaving the general, Rexell, and the man they had rescued.
" A thousand blessings upon you General, may the gods smile down on you," preached the man. He revealed to them that his name was Lylius. He then whistled. A cart drawn by a mule then came into view and stopped infront of Lylius. The general looked into the cart and spotted swords, shields, and other items. They looked of high quality.
" I am a blacksmith my lord. I can only repay you by joining your army. I will sell my goods to you at a fair price." The trio then hiked back to the fort. They left those they had slaughtered to rot.
Somewhere in Greece a man entered a sleeping chamber. A large bed dominated the far right corner. While a desk with scrolls and a suit of armor was on the other side. The skin of a tiger was on the floor ahead of the bed. The man placed a couple of scrolls on his desk before going to stand near his bed. He did not notice a shadow slink into the room from a window behind the bed. It crept up behind him. A dagger was pulled from his sheath.
" You are making a terrible mistake!" cried the man before Phylus slit his throat. The roman quickly hid the body under the bed before jumping out the window, and starting his long journey back to Rome.