'Information is power, it can give you the edge, it is a turning point. How do I know this? A little bird told me.'
[][][][]
Cicero was in the palace garden playing with his map of empire when the news came to him of a strange and fast moving warship. It had been sighted sailing freely in the middle sea. It was not a heavily armed battleship, but a sleek, agile and fast moving warship of no type or category. It had somehow managed to elude the patrolling ships of the empire and was now making for the strait between Corsica and Sardinia. The well protected garden was an evenly proportioned rectangle and had high protective walls around it with a doorway at each far corner. From each corner two paths formed a cross, on the intersect of which was a large mosaic, on which sat the great map.
'How did this ship get through? I want to know. Someone is going to answer for this'
'No one knows sire, it has already outrun three patrol boats and has been unable to be captured by several of our warships' Julianus calmly replied. Cicero stared at his aide, a thin looking man, an intellectual, who had never been into battle. A scholar who had worked his way up through the ranks by cunning and guile, one who had probably never left Rome.
'Any suggestions then Julian?'
'Um, well no sir. More ships?' The meek looking aide replied, not really knowing what to say. Cicero was disappointed and angry, he felt on his own, surrounded by idiots. Why did employ these people he thought. He looked around the garden, two of his generals stood back, but one was standing over the map and pointed to the strait of Sardinia and then cautiously looked at his Emperor. He put his finger over the small body of water, represented by a thin strip of painted blue. In the painted blue here and there were white flecks representing surf and in other places fish spouting water.
'Let's set a trap in the strait of Sardinia'
'Yes sir. The ship is thought to be from Briton sir'
'Use as many little boats as you like and I don't care where its from' Cicero shouted.
'Yes Sir'
'Capture the damn vessel and bring the captain and crew here to me. I want an example made of them'. Julianus left the garden and walked back through the court room leaving Cicero to play with his models of war and to talk to his generals in waiting. Behind carefully manicured shrubs and small trees were small statues of the gods and ancient heroes. The map now showed forty small wooden blocks on Lyon, each represented a legion. Each block had a number from one to forty.
[][][][]
Behind one of the garden walls was the Falconry and every falcon house was empty bar one. That wooden house had a very beleaguered looking falcon in it. The falcon was panting and attending its damaged wing that had been struck by an arrow of ash. It was Buddy, he had made it back from Briton and in his talon was the canister containing messages from Roberto. The large wooden birdhouses were on high wooden poles making the birds unreachable without a ladder. Only the Falconer, who lived with the birds had a ladder and he was slow to realise that a bird had returned that day. From his little bed in the shelter of the stone floored courtyard below he looked up in a blurry haze in disbelief at the sight of injured Buddy and felt more concerned about his welfare than the importance of the message he had. He knew he only had a few short minutes before he would have to alert the guard who would run to the chief of the house guard staff.
'Hello Bud, you're back early' He said slowly mounting the ladder against the thick wooden pole. Buddy looked skittish as though he might fly off, so his movements were slow, measured and calm. 'Good boy Buddy, you stay where you are and I'll have a nice mouse for you. Stay there good boy' He got up three rungs so his head was level with the table in front of the house and placed a dead mouse on it. Then he ascended the next two rungs, listening to Bobby hacking and gulping and as he did he reached for the hanging leather strap. Drawing up level with him, he slowly slid the strap around his right foot with his ungloved hand while holding his gloved hand up to his beak. 'Thank-you Buddy, oh you've got a message for me, lets have a look.' As he untied the small cylindrical canister Buddy instinctively pecked at the gloved hand before him. 'Ow that hurt' he said with a smile smoothly getting down.
'Guard are you there?' He knocked on the bright blue gate.
'Yes' a muffled voice replied 'Message?'
'Yes' He held a small scroll of paper up over the top of the gate. The guard read the label on the canister, it read:
::::::::Roberto Macia - Southern Briton::::::::
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