Secret Histories Chapter I: From a Scout

This tale comes to us from a scout, who served under Pomerlane from around 1103. I met with this scout by happenstance when traveling from Aquileia to Trinitas (the Former city of Tsunami). He owned a quaint tavern along the roadside called "Invicta", in which one could find a decent room for the night for rather cheap. It was quite the desolate place when I arrived on that winter night, with only myself and the owner's family occupying the small tavern. As we conversed at the dining table next to warm fireplace, drinking beer and eating delicious venison, he remarked to me when he was younger and spryer, he served as a scout under Pomerlane. His story, which I recorded, goes as follows:

I was just a hunter and trapper, like my father and his father were before me. We lived our simple lives out in the wilderness, occasionally going into town (Bellona) for drinks and to sell our wares several times a year. It was honest living, and we took pride in it. Aside from the dangers of wildlife, we occasionally would have to fight off bandits, ya see, because the Republic never bothered to help the frontier folk. My brother, Junius was killed during one of these bandit attacks and when my father went to call for some action against them rascals, we were simply told by the magistrate that nothing could be done. This was expected from us, we truly knew that the magistrate had his hands in knots thanks to them corrupt sons of bitches down in Atalanta.

Anyway, when word of this Liberator came to us, who promised to rid the Republic of its corruption and provide security towards frontier folk like us; Me, my younger brother Marcus, and a few cousins rode off to Aquileia to serve under this man. When we arrived, we were accepted as Scouts for his army, and before we truthfully were ready, we were already on the campaign trail.

I enjoyed being a scout, and it was somewhat natural to me. The lush wilderness and countryside was my homeland after all, and I quickly rose through the ranks thanks to my skills. One day, we were tasked to scout out this area near Posiedonia when we were joined by a man with a limp, wearing garb that made him out to be a woodsman like myself. He told my commander, Laelius, that Pomerlane himself request him to lead us during this mission and told us his name was Gaius Regulus. With orders in hand, Laelius begrudgingly had to accept. Laelius was not the type of man who liked this kind of interference in his duty but he also trusted his commander enough to agree.

Now, let me tell you, this Regulus was quite the charming fellow and didn't seem like no woodsman to me. But damn, this man was brilliant at scouting. As we approached the enemy position, he was able in just a few minutes to tell us the size of the enemy force, where they were likely headed to and had come from, their likely supply status and their readiness for battle to name a few. Quite honestly, i didn't understand how he could make some of these conclusions based on the information he had and when we got back to camp, I asked the man how he had came to these conclusions. He told me that the number of tents and wagons told him everything he needed to know about the size and supply of the force before us, and that the way the camp was arranged told him that this was likely not a commander expecting action anytime soon, thanks to the lack of guards and sentries. Furthermore, he showed me on a map their location and that the wagon tracks lined up with where they came from and that the next course of action was naturally for them to advance to this other position he pointed out. With confidence, he said that if our army made quick, this enemy force would be surprised and destroyed.

At this point, I had reckoned that this man before me wasn't no scout or woodsman like he claimed to be, but Pomerlane himself. I had heard how perceptive he was before and no man i knew could have come to such conclusions without having that kind of perception. I bluntly told him that I didn't believe he was Gaius Regulus, but Pomerlane himself. With a chuckle and a smirk, the man replied "You're quite observant yourself to make that conclusion" as he stood up and began to mount his horse, he asked for my name so that he could reward me for my "scouting" abilities and then rode off.

The next day, just as Pomerlane had said, he caught this small force off-guard and destroyed it, and I received a bonus to my pay and a promotion. Now I led my own squad of scouts and this role I served until I was discharged after the fall of Atalanta.

A. Claudius Caudex