Chapter 228
Hiccups POV:
It's been two weeks since we arrived here in Rome and to describe them, I would have to say chaotic with very little time to relax outside of the house. The reason for this is the nobles and local fans would not leave us alone whenever we were out and, in the city, just hoping to do some exploring or shopping. It was nuts but I am happy to say that I've been able to at least share some of Rome's culture with my family like the chariot races where we were able to get front row seats, enjoy some of the local foods, take flights over the city and other such things. Throughout this entire trip I did my best to make sure the kids remain close at all times since I could see the looks, they were receiving from some of the more unsavory looking characters who probably had plans to hold them for ransom. When me and the girls weren't around though I made sure my ninja were keeping a close eye on them since anyone who tried to take them would have to deal with them first. It was thanks to this that seven groups of would be kidnappers were captured and handed over to the guards to be dealt with for attempted kidnapping and thanks to my ninja's stealth skill, neither the kids nor their mothers knew about it. I intended to keep it this way since if the kids found out they'd be pretty nervous and not want to go out and enjoy the sunny days while their mothers would never leave them alone and kill me for hiding it from them.
Anyway, earlier today I was in the park with my family, including Toothless who was busy playing with the kids with me and my wives watching them with Astrid sitting down next to Blanca who was on her knees allowing me to use her lap as a pillow. This was a moment of peace that I had been truly enjoying since it wasn't often, I got to enjoy a quiet afternoon with those that I loved in such a peaceful place since Toothless kept the people away. Sadly, like all my moments of peace, it was ended too soon, and, in this case, it was ruined by one of Caesars personal guards coming to deliver a message, informing me that Caesar required my presence at the palace immediately.
As much as I hated to leave my family behind during these times of peace, I knew it would be disrespectful to refuse the message, so I headed out to get to work. Now I was back in Caesars palace, making my way down the halls to the throne room after receiving the summons of Caesar so I could see what was happening that he'd need to ruin my peaceful times I was sharing with my family. I walked into the throne room and saw him sitting there on his throne with an annoyed look on his face that clearly showed something was bothering him. I bowed to him and said.
"Ave, O Caesar!"
"Ave Hiccup Haddock." I stood up straight. "I believe you must be curious as to why I have summoned you here." I stood up straight.
"I am curious, but I know you would not call me here without a good reason."
"Indeed, but this reason is rather selfish for there is a request I wish for you to take on." I raised an eyebrow.
"What is this request you ask of me."
"There a city called Incasabil, run by a governor named Flavius." I nodded. "As you know all cities are expected to pay a portion of their taxes to the Roman treasury, but he only donates ten pieces of gold at most which is odd for a city that is so large."
"So, you believe something's going on?" He nodded. "Why not send an inspector to check the money that goes into the governors vault?"
"I have sent multiple men to act as treasurers and to check his accounts to see if he is hiding away the funds for himself but when they return, they are shadows of their former selves as are their guards or have fallen ill causing so much pain and weakness that they needed medical attention that could only be given here in Rome." I raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean exactly?"
"When they leave, they are upstanding nobles while their guards are well trained soldiers but when they got back they were self-indulgent drunks who desired nothing more than wine and to party as if they were young men celebrating a massive victory resulting in a promotion or so ill they're pale and bed ridden while sweating and writhing in pain."
"So, in other words they either become drunk idiots who just want more wine and to party or unexpectedly fall ill that's so bad the doctors of the city can't help?" He nodded.
"In a way but one man who requested the doctors from the city said they all fought like beast and had to be removed or else his illness would have gotten worse." Caesar sighed. "And once the drunks have recovered which takes a while since they are gifted by Flavius with a few amphoras of wine before leaving, the only thing, they remember about their trip is how generous Flavius was to them and how they forgot to check his personal vault while those who fell ill were unable to do anything in their condition." He sighed.
"Sounds like this Flavius guy is keeping most of the money for himself and making it so anyone who comes to check it out isn't able to check anything by either getting them drunk or by poisoning them." Caesar nodded.
"My thoughts exactly but with no proof there is nothing I can do."
"I take it this time you want me to go instead of one of your trusted nobles?" He nodded.
"I know you to be a decent man with a mind that is not so easily corrupted or drawn into large parties." I nodded.
"The thing is, I'm meant to be on vacation with my family and I highly doubt my wives will appreciate you sending me to handle any more problems."
"I understand but know you will be well rewarded for your services and from what I'm told, despite Incasabil giving so little to the Roman treasury it is still a wonderful city to visit so you can tell your wives you are merely taking your family on a trip to a new city." I rubbed my chin in thought.
"That could work." I then shook my head. "No, the girls would know something was up, and they would not be happy to find out I was hiding it from them."
"Then just be honest with them and let them know why you are doing this and how it can be used to see a bit more of the magnificence that is Rome while also enjoying a trip in the countryside." I rubbed my chin in thought.
"I suppose that could work but I will have to discuss it with my wives before I can give you a proper answer." He nodded.
"I understand as I know as a man that family should always come first." I smiled and nodded before I left to discuss things with my wives.
Nightfall
I was up in the sky with Toothless, enjoying a moonlit flight while going over the events of the day that came after my meeting with Caesar who gave me the request to see what was going on in Incasabil. When I told the girls about the idea, they weren't too big on the thought figuring something might go wrong but I was able to explain to them that this was a simple checkup on things for an old friend, not a battle against some great beast. Once I brought up how we would be going there by travelling the country side and how it would be a nice experience for the kids, they accepted it under the condition that when I go to face the governor, they accompany to make sure if something happens I have backup and they can yell at me for getting into trouble. After that we began discussing what the best way to get to the city and decided it was best to travel using my carriage since it would allow us to travel in comfort while also giving us a safe place to stay on our travels and to keep the kids when we're out. Of course, because of this I intend to bring Shāndǐng over from the island to both pull the carriage and act as its guard should we ever be attacked on the road. I sighed knowing these were things I'd need to worry about tomorrow since for tonight, I needed a good rest to prepare for what is to come in the morning.
City of Incasabil
Governor Flavius's mansion
Nobodies POV:
The mansion of Governor Flavius was a large building with huge rooms and a massive courtyard and although each of the rooms were made for different purposes, they all had people in some form of disarray within them. It was in one of the lower floors where things were most active with people partying like wild animals either drinking their weight in wine, eating sauce covered food with their bare hands or dancing like idiots as slaves brought in more food and amphoras of wine. The guests took very little notice of them though as they were more focused on enjoying themselves and the food that was offered, not caring how messy it was for them or what was going on around them. In front of them all was large pit that had a huge bonfire within it where they'd throw their leftover bones or wine, giving strength to the flames and increasing the smoke that rose to the ceiling and out the windows.
In the middle of all this chaos was none other than Governor Flavius himself, lying on silk pillows that were resting on a light blue cline with a thin woman that had her face painted green, wearing a pink dress with a pink dress holding a hand on his right shoulder while pressing out a golden goblet of wine to his lips. To describe Flavius himself, he was a man who was about Hiccups size in height but Stoick's size in weight, with curly red hair and wearing a white tunic that was stained with sauce but had thin golden belt around the waist, a light blue toga around the back clipped together with a golden fibula and sandals on his feet. Each of his middle fingers had a ring with a gem on them but in his left hand was a leg of roast boar that was dripping with sauce that was falling onto his tunic and this same sauce covered all his fingers. It was then he held up the leg of boar and announced.
"BRING FORTH THE DANCING GIRLS!"
As soon as the words left his lips women who were the same weight as your typical Viking women, wearing orange dresses and different colored face paint danced in and performed in front of the fire while the partiers clapped at the performance. As everyone enjoyed the performance a young blonde servant walked in and up to Flavius before leaning in and saying.
"Master, the man you have been expecting has arrived and is waiting for you upstairs in your study." He nodded and stood up. "BRING OUT THE BLACK BEAR PUDDING AND FRIED BOAR DRIZZLED WITH HONEY." After making this announcement some drunk man said.
"You're spoiling us Great Flavius." He ignored this and continued to make way to the stairs as he said.
"Have fun friends, I shall return soon."
He made his way up the stairs but those around him took no notice of his absence as they were all to busy either indulging themselves or were too drunk out of their minds to notice. When Flavius arrived in his study which was the only place without some drunk idiot laying and was actually and was instead decorated with fine statues of women, a bust of Flavius himself at the back by a chair with a few torches on the wall, two red clines with silk pillows on them, a large wooden chest with gold bindings and handles shaped like lions heads with rings in the mouth and a desk with golden legs and green marble top with a small golden box sitting on top of it. Flavius himself was greeted by a man with a black beard and black hair on the sides of his head with a bald head in a grey tunic with a navy-blue toga that had black and white lining. Sitting in front of him was a large bag of roman gold aureus as the man raised his hand and said.
"Ave, O Flavius." Flavius raised his hand in greeting.
"Ave, Livius." Both men lowered their hands. "I trust things are going well." Livius nodded and gestured to the bag full of gold.
"These are this week's taxes from the various business' and the collected fees people have paid to gain entrance to the city." Flavius smiled as he opened the chest that was revealed to be empty.
"Excellent!" He picked up the bag and proceeded to pour all of its contents into the chest. "This is for me." When the bag was empty, he tossed it aside before taking two large handfuls of the gold in the chest and handing it to Livius who smiled as he took it. "This is for you." Livius placed the gold back into the bag as Flavius picked out five gold aurei. "And this is for the Roman treasury." He walked over to the table and dropped the aureus into the chest.
"Are you sure this is wise since they might send someone to investigate why so little money is coming from this city."
"Do not worry my friend, I am only posted here for two more years and in the one year I have been here, I have had no trouble other than the occasional inspector sent to investigate my actions but they were easily dealt with." Livius raised an eyebrow.
"How so?"
"I offer them a drink of wine that has a special ingredient in it that makes one forget their worries and desire to enjoy themselves and if they turn down the wine, I give them food with a special spice that will put them in so much pain that they'll be begging for death." He gave an evil giggle at this before looking up and smiling. "By the time the next person they send to inspect me comes, I will be rich and far away from Rome where they'll never be able to find me, and my entire life will be one big party." He then took Livius by the shoulder and gently lead him to the stairs that lead to the party. "Now come my friend, by now they probably brought out the roast boar, drizzled in honey." Livius smiled at this and allowed himself to be led down the steps.
3 days later
Hiccups POV:
It's been three days since I received the request from Caesar to go to the city of Incasabil to see what was happening with the city and to see if this Flavius guy is pocketing the cities tax money and responsible for what's happened to all the nobles sent to investigate it. To describe our journey to the city, I had to say it'd been peaceful for the most part with us stopping a few times to feed Shāndǐng, give everyone a little time outside and of course to rest at night which is when I was able to rest and talk with my family and take Toothless out for a flight. There has been one problem though in the form of a small group of highway bandits who wanted to rob us off all our belongings, but they were easy to deal with. Along with this we all got a good laugh at the look on their faces when Shāndǐng went from his horse form to his dragon form since they looked ready to wet themselves and some of them actually did. We quickly dealt with them and after placing them into my mystic Celtic bag, we were on our way again and when we reached the next town, I handed them over to the local guards who gave me a reward for them since it turns out they were wanted for their crimes.
Now we'd arrived on the outskirts of the city and had parked in a large field on the outskirts of the city of Incasabil and I had to admit that it looked like a great city and was bound to make a lot of money which made my suspicions grow. I took a breath as I looked out at the city as a croon from my side drew my attention and I turned to see Toothless looking up at me in concern making me smile and rub his head to calm him down. I turned back to the city and said.
"I'm fine bud, just wondering what happens in that city to turn good men into drunk idiots like Caesar said." He gave a croon of concern making me smile. "Don't worry bud, I don't get drunk so easily thanks to my time in Valhalla." I chuckled at the memories. "Now those warriors really know how to drink." He growled and shook his head before the sound of Astrid's voice came from behind me saying.
"It has been said that one of the main things to do in Valhalla is get drunk until you can't stand straight anymore." I smiled and turned to face her and Blanca.
"We were wondering what the plan for the day is since it's still only late morning." I shrugged.
"I figure we should check out the city to see how things are going before late afternoon which is when we'll go to confront Flavius about what's happening with the tax money." They nodded before Blanca said.
"If this is what you intend to do, it may be best if I stay behind with the children as we are unaware what this city is like and we do not know what may happen to them if they went with you." I nodded at this as I glanced at Toothless.
"You raise a good point Blanca; it might also be best if Toothless remain here to avoid the attention of the people." He growled but I rubbed his head. "I know you want to go with us bud but it would be best if we keep a low profile in the city since chances are the governor will be informed about us and that'll cause trouble." He growled and looked down but I could tell he understood making me smile and give his head one more rub before turning to Astrid. "Let's go take a look at this city." Astrid nodded and we took off.
Late afternoon
It's been a few hours since Astrid and I went to investigate the city and I had to say it looked like any other Roman city and by that, I mean it was completely booming with business. There were large crowds of people walking into the city and as expected, the businesses were thriving with the merchants doing their best to gain the attention of the passerby's in order to show off and sell their wares. Astrid and I were no different to the rest of the crowd when it came to the items since there were some interesting things on sale, so it would've been a waste to not take this opportunity to buy some things. There were some problems though, like with the slave traders who thought Astrid was my slave and offered to buy her which resulted in Astrid threatening to gut each of them like a fish as she told them how she wasn't my slave but my wife.
They each backed off when this happened and then one of them told me where I could buy some good slaves if I was in the market for some new slaves for my home and as expected, Astrid dragged me away from the direction the man pointed. The thing that worried me about this city though is what we saw when we scouted the Governor's mansion, the guards were leaning on their spears drunk and inside I could hear people yelling and partying. This only strengthened my suspicion that Governor Flavius was pocketing the funds that were meant to go to the Roman treasury for his own reasons.
All of this brings us to now with me and my wives making our way down the streets in roman attire with our gear still on us like it was at the party Caesar threw us when we first arrived. The kids however were back in the carriage on the outskirts of the city with the dragons watching over the outside, Wind and Metal watching them on the inside while the others were also on the outside. Before we left, we did give them both a bath and prepared dinner for the kids and let them know we'd be back and to be good for those watching over them. I just hoped when we get back, we'd all be alright since chances are Flavius would try to get rid of us some way to ensure we didn't get the chance to investigate his actions when it comes to the taxes.
It was then we arrived at the mansion of Flavius and made our way up to the door where a guard who looked ready to collapse from drinking too much stood but that might be too strong a word since his spear was being used to keep him up. We walked up to him before I said.
"We are here to speak with Governor Flavius by order of Julius Caesar." I showed him the seal Caesar gave me to prove my identity.
"And who are these two ladies accompanying you?" He looked my wives up and down making me want to punch him in the neck but I resisted. "Slaves you hope to gift to Governor Flavius for his services?" I glared at him.
"Actually, they're my wives and they are with me as they wished to see how I work." He nodded.
"Alright then but I'm going to need your names to announce you."
We each gave him our names before we were led into the mansion and down a long hall eventually being lead down a large flight of stairs but as we got closer I had to cover my nose due to the stench of greasy foods, smoke and strong wine. When we reached the bottom, the guard announced our arrival to the multiple people in the room with most of which being too drunk or wrapped up in what they were doing to take notice of us. It was then an overweight man who I assume was Governor Flavius walked up with arms spread wide as he said.
"Welcome to my humble home." He gestured to the party around him. "You find us celebrating the capture of a group of bandits who have been plaguing the roads leading to the city." He then stepped back. "Please, you and your charming wives come and join us in our merry making." I was about to turn him down, but Astrid stepped forward and said.
"We'd love to join you since it has been a long journey for us." Flavius smiled and turned to a slave with an amphora.
"Hurry and get our newest guests some of our top-quality wine." The servant nodded and walked away as Flavius turned back to us. "Please enjoy yourselves and the show my dancing girls are putting on while the slave gets you each your wine." He then walked away to join the party while I turned to Astrid for answers on what she was doing when we were mean to be investigating things but before I could ask, she said.
"Don't worry, this way we'll be able to make him think we can be tricked, and he'll let his guard down so we can silently search the place to find out what he's doing behind Caesars back." Hearing this I smiled.
"Smart move babe but none of us should let our guards down since as far as I'm concerned, we're still in enemy territory and we've just walked into the lions' den." They both nodded before Blanca asked.
"What do you think we should do?"
"Keep our guard up but split up to cover more ground since this is a big house." They nodded as the slave from before walked up with a tray holding three golden goblets with wine as he said.
"Your wine sir and madams." We each nodded and took a goblet before the slave walked away.
"I'll check the rooms upstairs while you two stay here and keep an eye on Flavius and his group." Astrid raised an eyebrow. "I don't trust him to not try something like he did with the others who were sent here to investigate him." They both nodded. "Let's do this thing ladies." They both nodded and with that we split up.
4 hours later
In the time we've been here I've been constantly in and out of the party downstairs to avoid any suspicion but when I wasn't down there, I was setting up a jewelwig in each of the house rooms to keep an eye on things. Sadly, in the time we've been here the party that was happening has gotten completely out of hand and turned into one massive mess that made a loud Viking celebration look clean and quiet. Honestly, I'd never seen such a wild and disgusting party in all my life since wherever I looked there was someone acting in some disgusting way that everyone else enjoyed and those who weren't were passed out from drinking too much.
Honestly there were people laying pillows, tables and clines alike while others were eating sauce covered foods with their hands, drinking wine right out of the amphoras, lying around drunk. There was also wine getting poured on people's heads as they laughed about it and women now wearing makeup all over their faces that made them look ghastly. There was also a guy lying down with his mouth wide open as a slave sprayed wine from a giant water skin down his throat as a man above him tried to lap at the wine on all fours. The sad thing is he wasn't the only one on all fours as there was also another man on all fours but he was drinking wine from a bowl like a dog while a women who was thick as any Viking women rode him, holding onto his toga with one hand and cracking a whip with the other. There was also a group of four men riding women of the same weight, around the room having a race while people drunkenly cheered them on.
Now I'd done what needed to do and let Flavius know we'd be heading out to which he said goodbye and invited me to the next party which I accepted before I began looking for the girls. This brings us to now with me walking around the party, trying to find my wives while doing my best to not step on one of those past out on the ground, avoid the women who were trying to flirt with me and avoid the women who were trying to outright seduce me. The women who fell into this last category were the worst ones to deal with and also the ones who I not only tried to avoid speaking with but also avoid looking at since most of them had dropped their tops, exposing their chests to me while some were going completely naked. I knew if Astrid or Blanca found out about me even just looking at the bodies of these women, they'd skin me alive, even if they were the ones jumping right in front of me to offer themselves.
It was then at that moment that I found both Astrid and Blanca but I had to do a double take to make sure it really was them and when I confirmed it, my blood ran cold because at some point they'd joined the party goers who were drunk. Blanca's face had been painted purple while Astrid's face had been painted green, so they looked like the other drunk women in the room. To make matters worse their dresses were stained with meat drippings and a bit of wine and the worst part is the top of Blanca's dress is half off, exposing her cleavage while she danced with some fat girls and lifted her skirt up as a man poured wine down on them. Astrid was in no better condition since her dress top was ready to fall off, completely exposing her and to make matters worse, she was on top of a fat guy who was on all fours as she cracked a whip with one hand and fed the man a goblet of wine with the other giving those watching a show as they yelled at her to let the dress top drop.
It took every bit of my will power not to kill each of those men for shouting such things at my wife, but I knew I couldn't let Flavius know something was up. With this in mind I walked up to Blanca and said.
"Come on Blanca, it's time to go home." She giggled.
"Hiccup, please I'm having fun and making so many new friends." I sighed knowing I wasn't going to get anywhere with her this way and tried to figure out how to get her out of there. "Why don't you let yourself have some fun and go join some those men over there with those women." I turned to see where she was pointing and saw a group of naked men having wine poured on them by fat women from above and it was then I decided that there was only one thing to do, so I let out a small puff of my knockout gas into Blanca's face, knocking her out but catching her limp body in my arms. "Sorry all but it seems she's had too much to drink." There were a few moans of disappointment, but I ignored them and gently carried Blanca towards Astrid who looked at me with a smile as she said.
"Hey Hiccup, these Romans really know how to throw a good party." I nodded as she gestured to the fat guy. "It's not every party I get to ride a pig." She cracked the whip again, but I held up my prosthetic, blasting her with my knockout gas and catching her before getting both her and Blanca out of there and back to the carriage.
10 minutes later
I was making my way across the field where the carriage was parked and I could not be more grateful to see it since getting back here with the girls resting on my shoulders had garnered a few dirty looks from those who were still out. Along with this I had to deal with the girls murmuring things that would make Spitelout Jorgenson blush which made me hope the kids were asleep in bed since I did not want them seeing their mothers in this state. It was then Fire, Water and Earth appeared in front of me making me smile as I handed Astrid over to Fire and Blanca over to Water as I said.
"Put them on the beds in the guest room and guard the door since I do not want them to be disturbed, not even by the kids." They nodded and took the girls inside as I turned to Earth "You continue to guard the carriage out here." He nodded as Toothless and Shāndǐng in his horse form rushed over to me making me smile as I rubbed their heads. "Do not ask what happened tonight guys because you are way better off not knowing." They each just looked at me confused before I stretched. "Well, happy as I am to see you both, I need to get to bed and prepare for tomorrows problems that'll start with the hangover both my wives will be having." They both stared at me. "Yeah, don't ask and you might want to stay away from them in the morning." They tilted their heads. "Trust me guys, I've had my share of dealing with those who are dealing with hangovers." They just tilted their heads as I made my way into the carriage for a goodnights sleep.
5 days later
It's been five days since the night of that filthy party and that time has been spent using my jewelwigs to spy on Flavius and his group but some of the things I saw were things I wish I could erase from my mind, they were so disgusting. I did have to spend the morning after the party, catching the girls up on what happened at the party after they got drunk and of course helping them nurse their hangovers. Anyway, what I saw confirmed Caesars suspicions of Flavius was pocketing the majority of tax money by placing it in a hidden treasury in a rundown bar he owned while the money he didn't place there, he used on his parties or on himself to ensure he had a comfortable life. Along with this it was also revealed he was getting rid of those sent to investigate him by either poisoning them to make them sick or giving them an incredibly strong wine that could make even the most sober man, drunk in just a few sips which explained what happened to the girls.
To ensure the security of his gold he kept the treasury hidden with him possessing the only key and he was the one to drop off the gold himself, little by little in small chests but doing it multiple times in one night to avoid people getting suspicious if they found the gold. I wasn't complaining though since this made accomplishing the mission Caesar gave me a lot easier since this meant we could catch him in the act of stealing the taxes. To ensure Caesar saw what was happening I'd created a portal door on the outskirts of the city to bring him and ten of his guards through to save us time and so we'd be able to catch Flavius in the act.
This brings us to now with me standing by Caesar with his guards behind us with me using my illusion spider to hide us while we all waited in the basement of the rundown bar where the treasury was hidden. For the past hour we'd been watching Flavius place the taxes in the treasury while giggling about how easy it was to hide the taxes and how he was disappointed at how he wasn't able to poison me like others who were sent to investigate him. It was then he poured the last of the gold into a large bag making him smile and place the chest down before clapping his hands together as he said.
"And that takes care of that." He closed the door. "Another load of tax money stored for my use only." I decided it was time to reveal myself and everyone else, hidden in the room by dropping the illusion and saying.
"Is that so?" I smiled as the color drained from his face and turned to see all of us looking at him before I turned to Caesar. "I trust this is enough to prove your suspicions and have him arrested for stealing the taxes?" Caesar nodded.
"More than enough Hiccup." He turned to the guards. "Guards, arrest Flavius for stealing tax money." The guards were quick to do as Caesar ordered while Flavius tried to make excuses, claiming he could explain everything but everyone just ignored his cries and dragged him away while Caesar turned to me. "Hiccup Haddock, it seems I am once again indebted to you for what you have done."
"I was just following your orders O Caesar but what will you do now that this city has nobody to govern it." He rubbed his chin in thought before giving me a smile that I didn't like and it only took a second to figure out what he was thinking so I quickly raised my hands. "No, I can't run a city."
"Hiccup, you are a natural leader and it shall only be for a few days, a month at most." Knowing there was nothing I could do to get him to let it go so I sighed and nodded.
"Alright but only a month at most." He smiled and nodded before we left the room to handle the issue with Flavius.
AN: And that brings an end to this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it because now I need to warn you all I intend to do a slight crossover with one of my favorite childhood story series, 'Asterix and Obelix' but if you have any concerns with it either review or PM me about it. Till next time have a nice day and review kindly.
