Chapter 3: Not in Rome
Beast Boy found himself in a narrow alley overflowing with filth and stench. He staggered towards the end of the alley slipping several times in the process. The alley opened up into a large cobble-lined plaza. He sneezed in the bright sunlight then coughed several times before he could get a good lungful of air.
He stood in a daze trying to replay the events in his mind that had gotten him to this place. Warp was in one of the tree branches watching the girls. He was able to climb the tree unnoticed but when he confronted him he lost his balance as he grappled with his opponent. Both of them fell to the ground and somehow during the fall Warp's vortex regulator must have gone off sending him down one of his time portals.
"Halt, identify yourself!" a rough voice called out. Beast Boy was suddenly jolted from his thoughts. He looked over and noticed three soldiers coming towards him. All wore shirts of chain mail, leather leggings and boots. The man in front had a gleaming chest plate and carried a short stick with leather strips dangling from one end. Two men followed slightly behind him; they held small oval shields painted red with yellow trim and held long spears in their hands.
"I said identify yourself," the man in front asked once again. Beast Boy looked around to see if he was talking to somebody else. He flashed a confused look then figured the men were coming for him. Within an instant the two spearmen had surrounded him while the man with the breast plate stood immediately in front of him.
The other two lowered their spears at Beast Boy while the man in charge lightly tapped his stick on his shirt. "Why are you wearing the sacred color? Are you with the Sacer Scrinia?"
Beast Boy was unsure what to say. Why were they upset with his purple shirt and what was this sacer scrinia thing they were talking about?
"Take him." The two soldiers took his arms. Beast Boy offered some resistance but the commander quickly drew his sword and placed it precariously across his neck. "Enough of this! If you do not come with us I'll drop you right here. Do you understand?" Beast Boy quickly submitted. "Bring him to the gate; we'll see what Titus says when he gets here."
The other men roughly pulled Beast Boy behind their commander as they made their way across the deserted plaza towards an open gate in the wall on the far side. The plaza was quite large and surrounded on all sides by buildings. There were three ways out of it besides the gate. Large groups of soldiers were stationed at each of the exits. Another group of men stood the parapet along the top of the wall. All of them seemed very restless as if anticipating something.
A man on a white horse entered the gateway and turned to the side. A score of foot soldiers followed him through the gate. Each wore identical armor as the men who had taken Beast Boy. The man on the horse wore a shinny breast plate and splendid helmet with a red plume on its crest. A fine red cape flowed off of his back. He surveyed the plaza quickly then rode up to the man on foot carrying the stick.
"My Tribune," the man on foot greeted the man on the horse with down trodden eyes. "The plaza is secure. We found this man wearing the sacred colors. Does the Sacer Scrinia ride with the Imperator?"
"No Gaius, they have proceeded ahead to Ravenna. Augustus only travels with the Schola Palatina." The men holding Beast Boy tightened their grip on him.
A horde of heavily armed horseman passed through the gate. Their mount's hooves clapped loudly on the cobble-lined plaza. Behind this horde a man entered the plaza riding a fine white stallion with flowing purple cape. He was accompanied by one other rider. The man in purple wore a gold breastplate with raised eagles stamped on it and an equally stunning helmet on his head. In his left hand he held a magnificent golden shield with the letters P and X on it. The other horseman and foot soldiers turned to the man in the purple cape as he came to a stop in the plaza.
In unison they rhythmically chanted to him. "Our Lord, Master Augustus you are happy and pious!" The plaza then filled with the clashing of arms as each man began to bang his weapon on his shield.
Beast Boy looked over towards the gate. Several ropes dangled to the ground. Above the din he could hear the gates clamp shut. Then he heard a pounding of hammers. Several men came out of the area underneath the wall that overhung the main gate. They quickly dropped their large mallets and began climbing the ropes back up to the parapet.
"Hey guys, I think those men are up to something," Beast Boy said to Gaius. Gaius quickly turned around and punched him hard in the gut. Beast Boy coughed and groaned then fell forward to his knees. The other men pulled his arms behind his back then raised them causing Beast Boy to cry out in pain.
"Silence you dog!" Gaius sneered in contempt.
Beast Boy thought he heard a soft thud. One of the men holding his arms grunted in pain and collapsed onto the cobble stones. The other soldier looked over and noticed an arrow imbedded the fallen man's back. He quickly released his hold on Beast Boy and turned around to look up at the wall when another arrow struck him in the upper chest. He staggered backwards and fell down hard to the ground.
"DEATH TO THE TYRANT!" rose up from the men on the walls as a hail of arrows and darts fell on the men in the plaza.
"To the gate!" Gaius cried as his remaining footmen raised their shields above their heads to shelter themselves. Loud whinnies of protest erupted from the horsemen in the plaza as arrows continued to rain down. The men who were guarding the plaza exits streamed forward to attack the surprised horsemen.
Beast Boy looked on in shock. Several arrows landed near him breaking with a crack as they struck the pavement. Beast Boy suddenly realized he was a target and it wouldn't be a good idea to hang around unless he wanted to become a pin cushion. The only real shelter was the overhang by the main gate. He quickly made a dash for it stepping over some of the dead soldiers and slipping on the streaks of blood that flowed from the fallen men.
In the shelter of the overhang Gaius' men were trying to lift the wooden beam that was laid across the main gate. Several wooden wedges had been hammered between the beam and the massive wooden door preventing the bar from being dislodged. A loud clank sounded from above and light began streaming down. Arrows pored down onto the Gaius' men. Several were struck and the remaining men raised their shields above their heads to shelter themselves. Beast Boy curled up in one of the corners and watched in horror as the small space began to fill with cries of pain and death.
"Damn it, get that gate open!" Gaius roared to his remaining men. Beast Boy could see several men repel down the sides of the wall and enter the overhang to cut down the remaining men. Gaius cried out and drew his sword. His men stumbled and struggled to join him.
Beast Boy tentatively stood up and carefully made his way to the beam holding the gate closed. He pushed up on it trying to lift it off but quickly saw that it was hopeless. The previous attempts had only wedged the bar even more firmly against the gate. Even if the bar was removed the gates opened towards the plaza and the corpses of the fallen men would have to be moved before the gate would open. Beast Boy turned around to see what was happening in the plaza. A soldier came at him with a large mallet.
"Wait a minute; I'm not on their side!" Beast Boy pleaded. The man raised the mallet above his head and brought it down hard intending to smash his skull open. Beast Boy ducked and side stepped the attack as the mallet dully pounded on the gate. The man turned around to take another swing at Beast Boy when Gaius plunged his sword into the attacker's belly just below the rib cage. The man's legs crumpled as Gaius' sword severed his spinal cord. He quickly withdrew his bloody sword and turned to Beast Boy.
"Get that gate open or we're all dead!"
"I can't," Beast Boy responded, "It's wedged tight and even if we could get it off there're too many bodies in here to pull it open."
Gaius looked at the gate in disgust then grimaced in pain as an arrow from above struck him in his right shoulder. His sword fell to the ground with a clank and he leaned back against the stone wall writhing in pain. Beast Boy looked up into the murder hole and saw more arrows pointed down at him. He had to get the gate open. He morphed into an elephant, placed his head against the door and pushed with all his strength. The timbers groaned under his weight. Beast Boy briefly opened his eyes and saw Gaius staring wide-eyed in horror at him.
Several arrows struck Beast Boy in the back but they did not penetrate his thick hide. The wooden timbers cracked and the gate gave way under Beast Boy's strength. He plunged forward, staggered several steps outside of the wall, turned to one side and trumpeted loudly announcing his success.
As he looked back at the opened gate a large boulder thrown from the wall struck him in the head. His vision clouded and he fell forward into the grass.
"Orbus!" Gaius cried as his remaining foot man circled around Beast Boy in an attempt to shelter him from the rain of projectiles coming from the wall. Beast Boy's head spun as his face rested on the prickly grass. He opened his eyes and groaned. He could see the feet of several footmen surrounding him. He closed his eyes again as another wave a dizziness overcame him. He could hear the thunder of hooves as a group of horsemen burst through the gate.
"Come on get up!" Gaius screamed at Beast Boy. He felt a sharp tug on the back of his shirt as he was pulled to his feet. Arrows and stones continued to pore down from the parapet. Most struck the footmen's shield wall that surrounded Gaius and Beast Boy. One of the horsemen stood next to them. Gaius screamed in agony as he hoisted Beast Boy up. The horseman quickly grabbed his arm and swung him on the back of his steed. In an instant Beast Boy was jolted as the rider urged his mount forward. Beast Boy clung tightly to the rider's waist as they quickly galloped through the open field away from the wall.
Ahead of them what remained of the horsemen had halted a safe distance from the wall. Beast Boy and the rider were galloping towards them. He glanced back and saw the small group of footmen struggling to distance themselves from the wall. Two of the men carried a wounded soldier between them; this was most likely Gaius but Beast Boy wasn't entirely sure.
The men on the white horses were conferring with each other as Beast Boy and the rider joined the group. Most of the men were struggling to keep their mounts steady. Some slumped forward and fell off their mounts with mortal wounds from their escape.
"My prince," Titus cried. "Make haste to the passes and rejoin our friends in Gaul. Take the Scythians. I will take the remains of the guard and slow the pursuers."
"Titus," the man in purple proclaimed. "May your name be remembered among the gallant soldiers of Rome!" A war cry rang up among the horsemen. Part of the group broke off and headed back towards the gate riding behind Titus. The man in purple watched as Titus' small contingent of horseman galloped towards the gate. As the men neared the wall a mix of footmen and horsemen poured out. Titus and his horsemen passed the small group of footmen that had helped Beast Boy escape. Their wounded comrade was gently laid on the grass. They paused briefly then broke back towards the gate to join Titus' horsemen.
Beast Boy watched as Titus's small group plunged into the crowd emerging from the gate. Seconds later he heard the crash of equipment and cries of men as Titus' force was swallowed up in the battle. Several of the horsemen were flipped violently with their mounts into the crowd of men. Beast Boy swallowed hard watching their sacrifice knowing he would never get the chance to thank those who had saved his life.
A great cry erupted from the Scythians. Beast Boy jumped at the sudden noise. The group quickly turned from the scene then broke into a full gallop. The man in purple looked on momentarily then turned his horse to join the others. Beast Boy strained his neck to catch a last glimpse of the battle at the gate.
"Hold on or you're going to be eating grass!" the rider shouted back to him. Beast Boy turned forward and tightened his grip around the rider's waist as they sprinted away.