It took a few days for me to recover from that little fracas but I was finally on my feet and rarin’ to go. Only problem was, we still had no solid idea what we were up against. That was going to take some up close and personal investigation.
Real close.
For that, an armed invasion was going to be a necessity. Another problem was who to pick for said invasion. After what I’d been through with Smelly Two, no ordinary bunch of Praetorians would be able to survive, let alone attack. I’d need some guys my size or better.
One problem. Guys like me were very hard to find. However, I had a good idea where to look. The Arena.
In my earlier days I’d known some gladiators about my size and strength. The crowds liked them that way. The bigger the better. There were a few Praetorians, Germans and Britains, who also fit the bill. Well, to make a long story very, very short (I’ve always hated long winded explanations), we found our recruits very fast.
Turns out Caesar’s empire shrinkage plan had crowded a lot of legions and auxiliaries in a fairly small, so to speak, amount of territory. Three centuries were put together, about two hundred fifty men, plus officers. The smallest one in the group was six foot two, two hundred fifty pounds. The other guys fondly referred to him as ‘shorty’.
The senior Centurion or Pilus Prior was a friendly sort known as Acteus. It helped that he was six foot six, three hundred some odd pounds. His size, however, didn’t affect his sense of humor. In fact, he turned out to be the practical joker of the group. However, he never let his tomfoolery get in the way of performing his duty. The other Centurions knew him well. Two of them, a Greek known as Philos and and a Roman by the name of Marcus, knew Acteus well and deeply respected him. It also helped that Acteus had been one of my officers during my rebel days.
Armor was another matter entirely. Standard Roman Lorica could be seen at a distance and was really not suitable for our purpose. Cuir bouilli, or boiled leather, was more practical for the mission as it was lighter than it’s metal counterpart, and when blacked, would make us hard to see let alone hit. The rest of the armor was also blacked to match.
Our weapons were the standard ones. The Pilum, or spear,and the short stabbing sword or Gladius. In addition, we all carried long swords which were ideal for soldiers our size.
A round shield was also included for defense. So it was that we had the best of both worlds. A perfect attack and a perfect defense. That concept would soon be soon tested to it’s fullest, with mixed results.
And so the wait before our adventure grew shorter.
The Roman View 