It is Ruleus Generlus

"General, I need to speak with you," I heard the man call out.

As the man drew closer I relaxed, I realized that it was Ruleus Generus, the Quaestor of Tarraco. I stopped walking and said, "What can I do for you honorable Quaestor."

He answered as if he was giving a battlefield report, "I had men trail the barbarians and they did not run far. They seem to be massing in the hills for another attack. We apparently fought only the scouts of this **** today. What should we do?"

"I will send my best scout, a man named Horus. He will find out for us what is going on in the hills. The rest of my legion should arrive in the next few days so we should have sufficient **** to meet the barbarians on equal footing. I think you should go to the party, and we will meet in the morning to discuss our plans."

The Quaestor smiled at me and said, "I think I will do just that. I thank the gods for sending you and your men to the defense of our city. Good evening General."

With that I headed on back to Olivia's estate. I made it back fairly quickly, only getting lost one time in the narrow streets of the town. I approached the darkened house as quietly as I could. I did not want to wake the women if they had already retired for the night. It was shortly before midnight, and the lamps were all out, the fire stoked low as I made my way through the central rooms of the house. I sat down in front of the fire and stared at the flames thinking of what a strange day it had been.

I was not really tired though I should be. I was sore from the battle, several small cuts stung, and I my shield shoulder was bruised, it would probably take a couple of weeks to get back to normal. I had another battle coming it sounded like if the Quaestor was correct about the forces in the hills around the city. I hoped the power of my legion would be sufficient to defeat the powerful, but unorganized barbarians.

The XXVII legion was a powerful ****, almost 5,000 men strong; it was a seasoned legion, a solid core of men who had been with me for the five years since we had come to Hispania. The XXVII had been dispatched by the emperor to defend his interests in the region. We were on a ten year tour of duty, and then we would be able to go back to Rome to a hero's welcome. The old men would retire to farms granted by the emperor, and I would gain land for an estate in a nice quiet imperial province. That was all in the future, for we had many battles to survive. I knew that we had been lucky today. We surprised the barbarians with our sudden appearance. We would not get that chance again. We would pay dearly for our future victories. I had ultimate confidence in my victory, my men were too well trained, and too battle hardened not to win. The real question was what would our victory cost?

My dark musings were broken by the sound of voices. My hand went instantly to my hip to draw my sword, but I had left my arms in my room. I need not have worried as I soon realized the voices were women's. I crept down the hallway leading away from the great room and the voices became louder. One woman was yelling at another. I still could not quite make out the words so I kept moving silently down the hallway until I came to an opening leading into a private bedroom that was dimly lit by candles and a fireplace. What I saw there shocked and at the same time excited me.