Session 1

Session 2

It had been a long and bloody night for Caesar’s victims. Left to die in the bowels of the emperor’s villa, they had been hunted by monsters, asphyxiated by roses, and bound in geas to a terrifying shadow-demon. However, most of them were alive and all had now managed to secure sort some of weapon to defend themselves. Their next step was to access the villa above. Two routes lay open to them, one guarded by Caesar’s notorious Hyrcanian guardsmen, the other through a fetid latrine. Favouring a battle with excrement over Caesar’s veteran bodyguards, the party opted for the latrine.

Entering the undergound cesspit that could be their route to freedom, the party noticed a halo of light from far above them, as well as snoring from the same direction. Knee deep in effluent, the noxious odour that pervaded the cesspit became too much for most of Caesar’s victims. All, apart from the criminal Carraco the Dog and the imperial scion Titus Pullo, were overwhelmed and paralysed with wretching. As most of Caesar’s victims succumbed to the stench, a mournful cry of ‘Love me!’ rang out from the corridor behind them as they found themselves once again facing the relentless boar-headed killer.

With most of the party temporarily paralysed, they were helpless to save the life of Titus, who was pierced by the creature’s short sword. Recovering from the initial effects of the cesspit’s miasma, the senator Marcus Salvius presented the creature with a bottle of wine, held above his head in supplication as he were making an offering to the Gods. Caesar’s son eyed the wine with curiosity before consuming the entire bottle, glass and all. What the creature had failed to notice was the small vial of powder that the canny Salvius had placed in the bottle earlier. Almost immediately, the creature was affected by the concealed cyanide, writhing with pain as blood poured from his porcine mouth. The monstrosity roared his displeasure and charged.

The party were left with no other option but to fight.

And fight they did.

Most of their crude and makeshift weapons failed to damage the creature. Carraco the Dog however, blessed with superhuman boxing abilities by the mysterious onyx ring he had acquired, struck the creature remorsely with his fist, sending teeth flying through the gloom. The monstrosity – now grievously wounded by surprisingly determined foes – fled from the party.

An arrow from Juliana missed the creature as it escaped into the darkness of the dungeon. For a moment, the party considered pursuing the wounded monster but the urgency of flight and the possibility of further losses dissuaded them. Escape was paramount and danger still lurked in the subterranean darkness.

Interlude: The Strange Death of Liutenant Walagash

Arsaces Walagash always landed on his feet. The fifth of fourteen children born to crofters on the northern slopes of the Daramand mountains, his prospects had been limited. Luckily, the forestfolk of Hyrcania were regarded as natural warriors and the stocky and muscular Walagash had had little trouble securing a military commission and the opportunity to escape the poverty of his upbringing.

Nobody would have called Walagash ‘brave’. Four years of service with the Shahanshah of Fars had ended in a dishonourable discharge when he abandoned his post during a raid by marauding Hephthalites. Unwilling to return to his family and take up the backbreaking agricultural labour that had left his father half-crippled by his fortieth year, Walagash tried his hand at gambling. Alas, his love for cards was never matched by his luck and, within a year, he had lost most of his savings to more fortunate and more capable players.

With only a handful of silver coins left to his name, Walagash had received a letter from a former comrade. The Emperor of the West was recruiting bodyguards and had a particular preference for the hard-living and hard-drinking Hyrcanians. The failed gambler used the last of his coin to secure a place in a caravan heading for Caesar’s capital.

His two years in the emperor’s service had been profitable ones for Walagash. Caesar paid well – enough to ensure that the Hyrcanian Guard would be immune to bribery. Moreover, Walagash didn’t have to deal with the pain and discomforts of real war. All he and his comrades needed to do was look big, scary, and barbaric in the imperial presence and, occasionally, to slay conspirators (some real – most imagined by the dissolute and increasingly paranoid emperor). Discipline was loose. Caesar liked to drink to excess and cared little when his bodyguards did the same.

This night had been a particularly wild one. Walagash had begun drinking during his afternoon watch and kept going afterwards. By the time night fell, he was completely intoxicated. The Hyrcanian was practically comatose by the time he reached the latrine. As he sat in the small marble room, he had made a valiant effort to remain awake but sleep had overtaken him.

Dreams of rain-drenched mountainsides and Hephthalite horse-archers were interrupted by a sudden forceful shove to the floor. Blinking sleep from his eyes, Walagash was shocked to find a hard-faced figure in leather armour clambering out of the toilet. Instinct kicked in and Walagash reached for his spear, struggling with the stranger as an arrow tied to a rope came flying up from the privy. The drunken Hyrcanian managed to wrest his spear from the stranger, only to receive two blows to the head as more armed strangers crawled up from the cesspit below.

Outnumbered, Walagash attempted to flee, bursting through the latrine door and into the moonlit courtyard of the villa. He called twice for help before he felt something sharp, cold and metal pierce the back of his neck.

As he choked to death on his own blood Walagash experienced one last thought:

Maybe I should have stayed on the farm?

And now back to our heroes

Disposing of the Hyrcanian’s body was not easy. It took two of Caesar’s victims to lift the broad-shouldered corpse to the latrine and four to stuff it into the cesspit beneath. The guard’s chainmail cuirass, shield, and spear would prove useful though and were quickly distributed amongst the party. Returning to the courtyard, the survivors inhaled the balmy summer air and looked with relief upon the twinkling stars above. A few hours ago, most of them had thought they would never see the night sky again.

Relief gave way to trepidation. The party had escaped the dungeon but, wearing mismatched armour and covered in blood and faeces, they were utterly conspicous. They needed disguises and they needed them fast. A bath wouldn’t go astray either.

Carefully, they began exploring nearby rooms. A candlelit shrine to Janus yielded a strange helm that allowed the wearer to see in all directions at once. A small storage room yielded a collection of poisons, explosives, and narcotics. Searching a well-appointed bedroom provided the party with dresses and jewellery that could provide useful disguises for Julia and Juliana and perhaps even for the petite and androgynous spy Antonios Cosmas (should he manage to acquire a wig). Their planning was interrupted by pained screaming from a door to the north. Both Julia and Juliana had gripped the hands of sisters, mothers and neighbours during the pangs of labour. Both knew the sounds of childbirth when they heard it. Beyond that door, if what the lemure had told them was correct, Caesar’s sister was about to birth a monstrosity, second of a demonic progeny that would drown the empire in blood . . .

Magic Items Acquired

Helm of Janus: The wearer can see clearly both in front of and behind them, as if they had a second pair of eyes on the back of their heads.

Chemicals Acquired

3x vials of Laudanum: Ignore all damage for one round.
1x jar of Errys Milk: Heal 1d4 damage.
1x bottle of Samnite Rage: Induces a wild fury for 2 combat rounds. +5 to attacks and damage but all attacks against the imbiber automatically hit.
1x flask of unstable Chtonium: Dangerous explosive. Explodes on contact with fire (3d6 damage in a 25’ radius). Liable to explode prematurely if shaken or dropped.
4x boxes of Mefite’s Venom: Powerful toxin. Odourless and tasteless. If consumed, save versus poison or immediate death. Each box contains enough to fatally poison ten grown men.

Treasure Acquired

Garnet ring (120 gp), pearl necklace (300 gp), gold fibula (400 gp), 5x beautiful dresses (50 gp each)

Deaths

Titus Pullo, the imperial scion: Stabbed to death by Caesar’s son