A Bridge Too Far
July, 120 AD
Limes Germanicus
The men of V Contubernium, under their Decanus, Adalricus Praeconicus were tasked with going to a stone bridge several miles north of Cohort Castrum 18. Reports indicated Germanic barbarians had been spotted near the bridge. Crassus Longinius, a gruff veteran centurion who led the III Century, ordered Adalricus to take his contubernium to the bridge and route out any barbarians they encountered there. Adalricus's contubernium was known in the legion as the "Dirty Half-Dozen". Normally, a contubernium consisted of seven legionaries and a decanus. However, the "Dirty Half-Dozen" had gained a reputation in Cohort V as a band of misfits. Some whispered the contubernium was cursed with a bad batch of soldiers who couldn't otherwise fit into any other Legion cohort. Truth was, whenever two more soldiers were added to the contubernium to complete its ranks, something disastrous would happen to two of the contubernium's soldiers dropping its number back down to six legionaries. Not wanting to tempt Fortuna, Marcus Tiro, the castrum's commander, had ordered the V Contubernium to maintain its standing number of legionaries at six and not a soldier more. When the V Contubernium arrived at the bridge around noon, they encountered a small group of five German barbarians armed with battle-axes, longswords, and javelins. Each carried a round wooden shield for defense and wore meager clothes or rough hides. Calix Calussa, whose name means "Most beautiful" was the first to spot the barbarians hiding on the east side of the stone bridge. The bridge had been constructed by the men of Castrum 18 and had taken an entire summer to complete. It was built to make crossing the wide river at the forest's edge easier. And Tartarus be damned if the Romans were going to let the barbarians destroy the bridge! The V Contubernium fought the barbarians on the bridge, with four barbarians being slain. A German woman among the four slain. A second woman, presumably the small group's leader, fled into the forest to the east. Adalricus ordered the others to search the area for any more barbarians while he inspected the bridge for any damage. He didn't find any. However, the others did find a single strange footprint which seemed very odd to them. The footprint was easily three times the size of a normal man's. Equally strange was the footprint found was that of a single foot, not two. It also seemed that whoever left the footprint hopped about on a single foot with three large toes and a large heel. The prints were also spotted anywhere from six feet to over 70 feet apart! How anyone with a single leg could hop that distance was a mystery. Not seeing signs of more barbarians, nor what could have made the strange footprint, the contubernium marched back to Castrum 18. They arrived before sunset. After returning to Castrum 18, Adalricus reported this discovery to Crassus Longinius who dismissed it as some as yet unknown forest animal.
The men of V Contubernium, under their Decanus, Adalricus Praeconicus were tasked with going to a stone bridge several miles north of Cohort Castrum 18. Reports indicated Germanic barbarians had been spotted near the bridge. Crassus Longinius, a gruff veteran centurion who led the III Century, ordered Adalricus to take his contubernium to the bridge and route out any barbarians they encountered there. Adalricus's contubernium was known in the legion as the "Dirty Half-Dozen". Normally, a contubernium consisted of seven legionaries and a decanus. However, the "Dirty Half-Dozen" had gained a reputation in Cohort V as a band of misfits. Some whispered the contubernium was cursed with a bad batch of soldiers who couldn't otherwise fit into any other Legion cohort. Truth was, whenever two more soldiers were added to the contubernium to complete its ranks, something disastrous would happen to two of the contubernium's soldiers dropping its number back down to six legionaries. Not wanting to tempt Fortuna, Marcus Tiro, the castrum's commander, had ordered the V Contubernium to maintain its standing number of legionaries at six and not a soldier more. When the V Contubernium arrived at the bridge around noon, they encountered a small group of five German barbarians armed with battle-axes, longswords, and javelins. Each carried a round wooden shield for defense and wore meager clothes or rough hides. Calix Calussa, whose name means "Most beautiful" was the first to spot the barbarians hiding on the east side of the stone bridge. The bridge had been constructed by the men of Castrum 18 and had taken an entire summer to complete. It was built to make crossing the wide river at the forest's edge easier. And Tartarus be damned if the Romans were going to let the barbarians destroy the bridge! The V Contubernium fought the barbarians on the bridge, with four barbarians being slain. A German woman among the four slain. A second woman, presumably the small group's leader, fled into the forest to the east. Adalricus ordered the others to search the area for any more barbarians while he inspected the bridge for any damage. He didn't find any. However, the others did find a single strange footprint which seemed very odd to them. The footprint was easily three times the size of a normal man's. Equally strange was the footprint found was that of a single foot, not two. It also seemed that whoever left the footprint hopped about on a single foot with three large toes and a large heel. The prints were also spotted anywhere from six feet to over 70 feet apart! How anyone with a single leg could hop that distance was a mystery. Not seeing signs of more barbarians, nor what could have made the strange footprint, the contubernium marched back to Castrum 18. They arrived before sunset. After returning to Castrum 18, Adalricus reported this discovery to Crassus Longinius who dismissed it as some as yet unknown forest animal.
Session played on June 12, 2021
Players: Ron S. Matt Z.
Comments