No

The distance to the mansion is barely more than a hundred feet, and the only problem you encounter during your short journey there is the fact that you have to go up through the alley and out on the other side in order to avoid exposing yourselves to the archers covering the bridge. Speaking of which, the sounds coming from the bridge inform you of the fact that the fight is still raging.

Silently, you wish the poor people good luck, although you do wish that they won’t secure the bridge and the houses covering it before you and your party have taken control of Nicator’s mansion.

You move slightly spread out along the east side of the wide, cobbled street which is completely abandoned save for your little group, with all of you walking close to the high walls which surround each of the mansions that lie alongside the street.

Your sympathy for the poor people is strengthened by the knowledge that they must have endured years of squalor and hardship even while in sight of some of the richest households in the city, and you can imagine that many of them have spent a moment or two of their lives looking across the canal and cursing those that live on the other side of it.

“This is it,” Calyce’s voice is tense as she informs you that you’ve reached your destination when you come within a few yards of a gated gap in the thick stone wall, her body close enough to yours that you can feel her breasts brush against your back.

The gates have been left open, and you can sense Calyce drawing a deep breath as you all spot the dead man who lies facedown in a pool of his own blood between the two iron gates, clad in expensive robes and holding a short sword.

Raising a hand to signal the others to halt, you peek round the corner and raise an eyebrow upon first seeing the splendour. You quickly pull back into cover when you spot two armed men standing in the middle of the flagstone-covered yard, one of them resting his spear against the walled-in and raised circle of earth from which a tree reaches up towards the sky while the other is checking the straps of his strengthened leather armour.

You use your fingers to tell your brothers about the two guards and where they’re positioned, and then brace yourself for the moment when you’ll go charging round the corner.

“Calyce, wait here,” you tell the buxom woman.

“Are there any children in there?” You suddenly ask her, remembering that you would prefer it if there weren’t a lot of panic-stricken civilians running around aimlessly while you and your men try to take control of the school.

“No, Nicator buys his slaves from other schools when they’ve already reached adulthood, and then spends a year ‘perfecting their training’ before selling them.” Calyce informs you.

You whisper out a laconic “Good” and then raise your left fist into the air, holding it there for a few seconds before pulling it down and go charging round the corner.

There are no battle cries coming from you and your brethren as you all come charging out onto the yard, all of your sporting grim, determined expressions as you endeavour to cover as much ground as possible before the two guards spot you.
One of them finally does, and lets out a startled cry as he reaches for his spear.

He has just managed to grab hold of his weapon when you reach him and swing your sword downwards until it connects with both his arms, the momentum of your attack pushing the blade of your sword through the leather armguards and down through his flesh until it collides with his bones, shattering one of his forearms and breaking the other.

Klytius comes up next to you and ends the life of your victim by sinking his axe into his head, the mercenary probably wishing that he had been professional enough not to go on guard duty without his helmet.

The other mercenary, meanwhile, is equally unfortunate, having had just enough time to draw his gladius and meet Leotonis’ attack before Horris slams his axe into his chest and Leonoris thrusts his sword into his side.

It has taken but a few seconds for you to defeat the two guards, and as Calyce comes running up to you from behind her cover you take command of the situation again.

“Leotonis, Horris, you’ll close the gate and guard it, the rest of us will storm the mansion.”

You can see that Leotonis is quite displeased at not getting to be part of the **** group, and you try to console him by adding “Don’t worry, we won’t divide our winnings without you.”

Leotonis grins and nods at you as you turn your attention to Klytius, noting that his wooden shield looks much inferior to the metal one used by one of the dead mercenaries.

“Klytius, pick up that guard’s shield,” you order the young warrior, hoping to have the opportunity to mount his old shield on the mansion’s façade, as a sort of beacon for other Galatians to rally around, you’re much more willing to ensure that your countrymen get their just rewards than that they fall into the hands of those foppish southerners, and as a sign of the fact that you and your lot now control this mansion.

Klytius does as you tell him to, and the five of you move towards the school’s main entrance, with your hopes being that any eventual guards left inside will be distracted by watching the battle for the East Canal Bridge.