Chevi

Alexius produced some wine, which was good. Lucius drank. He had gotten up early at dawn, after not much sleep anyway, and now he was running mostly on anger, determination, and the knowledge that they had leads. "I didn't know the girl who got killed. But I heard about a murder near the circus, unsolved, so I went to find out more. I met this slaveboy, Azarion, who knew her. Found her, even." A girl had been killed. Lucius shuddered as he took notes. That could have been Ovinia... he did not want to think about that. What kind of a monster just went around... cutting and killing women? "And we spoke to his master too. Nothing had been stolen from this girl. She hadn't been violated either. Just... killed. Brutally. That's why I think it may be connected to the attacks." "That's... possible. Why kill her though, and not the others?..." Lucius wondered, making a mark in his notes. Maybe she resisted?... He pondered the list, the list of victims and the list of people to talk to, as he drank more wine. Alexius' next question jolted him out of his thoughts. "How do you know Ovinia anyway? Right. "She... my brother courted her." That was the easiest way to explain, right? "I... my family's patrician. My brother is a senator. I decided to join the vigiles. Long story... I know Ovinia from before." And definitely not after. Making out in an alley or anything. Lucius cleared his throat. @Atrice

"Uh, Domine - you probably shouldn't hang around here on your own," “He has a point… Tiberius.” Oh, this was a thing now. The three of them, chiding a fucking imperial chief person about going out alone. Saturnalia was wild sometimes. Azarion felt glad his own dominus was not around to see it. "I'm not going back to the Palace. It's so removed from everyone, and it's boring as fuck." Oh, he is definitely getting killed. "I heard there are some parties in the Senatorial Domii on the hill, that's where I'm going. Want to come with me?" Azarion blinked. He had... already been sent to one of those parties. It was a disaster, nice blonde lady or not. The last thing he wanted to do was hang out with more rich people on a feast day. He turned to look at Tiranes. I have hemp. The sign he used was commonly known among the tribes; everyone knew what it was used for. The good kind. Maybe getting a chief smoked was a smaller mistake than messing up a fancy party? Or letting them get killed... @Sarah @Atrice @Sharpie

Tiranes noticed his hesitation. He spoke in their own language as he leaned closet. "I don't care what it looks like under your tunic, you're still you, and the Romans are still bastards." Azarion looked away. He didn't like it that Tiranes was right, but he was right. He did not want him to see how he had changed since they last met. At home, he would have had tattoos, maybe battle scars by now... but instead, he just had scars. He sighed. Don't say anything. He took off his clothes, avoiding his cousin's eyes. He had many scars the tunica could not cover up - his arm and his tongue among them - but under it was worse. He had been beaten and lashed many times for running, or trying to run away; burned, branded, broken. Most of the scars were lash marks though, some faded, some deeper, crisscrossing each other, punctuated by other kinds of injuries. Some new ones too, from training, and from the attack in the alley. It was a whole story, and not a good one to read. "Are everything... alright?" Oh. The other guy was still there. Azarion quirked an eyebrow at his cousin, grateful for the distraction. Who is he again? @Sharpie @Atrice

"Archery? And horses? I'm presuming before you were made a slave...which must have been recent enough, if you're proficient at both?" No, I was born that way. He sighed, shrugging it off. Try explaining Sarmatia to the Romans. Or whatever she was. He held up eight fingers. Had it really been that long?... He was a grown man now. Back home, he would have been a warrior. She answered his unspoken question in return. "A lack of fortune and a desire to get one. You realise how much I'm paid, right?" He shrugged, giving her an innocent look. How the hell would I know? Women made a fortune here for fucking senators?... Yeah, alight, he could see that. "And I enjoy it. And it's not forever. I'm a musician too...and a good one. Not just a pretty face." Azarion arched an eyebrow. Sure. People would obviously pay more to listen to music than to have sex with someone like her. Once again, his sarcasm seeped through without any words. And I am a great archer and yet here I am. @Sara

"Ovinia... I met near the Piscina Publica, I think. I don't know who this Jason is? We'll need to find out." "Tiberius will know" Lucius waved a hand, not really taking the time to explain how a vigiles recruit would know an imperial. He made note of the Piscina Publica, he already knew approximately when it happened. "My friend Didia, who lives here, got attacked. Near the Via Lata I think? She said her attacker just wanted to cut her. And it was something about a broken glass vial, that the man had. It had a scent to it of some sort. Some kind of expensive oil? With citrus. Who would have that? And want to cut someone, for fun?" Lucius kept taking notes. Dida. Lived here. Via Lata. Broken glass vial. Expensive citrus oil... He looked up. "Really?..." Oil. Scents. Cutting... there was something there, but he could not quite put a finger on it. "A very sick person, obviously." He frowned. "And the girl who got killed? Did you know her?" @Atrice

It would not have been fair to pretend he fit into his new vocation right away. It would have been neat, to say he was right where he needed to be, but in truth, neither his family nor his comrades believed that just yet. He did, but proof was still forthcoming. "Actions speak louder than words. The vigiles will view you as one of their own in time, if you act the part. I'm sure I don't have to tell you never to expect others to do something you're not prepared to do yourself." Lucius smiled. "That's the reason I live in the barracks with the other recruits." Technically, once his adoption was legal, he could have gone straight to centurion, with the right connections. He didn't want to. The only way to do this was from the groud up. "The bridge might be a little shaky, but you don't have to be the only column supporting it. I am one of Caesar's advisors, and I am of a mind to form my own, small concilium, comprised of those who can give me a more direct view on our people and their concerns. As I'm sure you've discovered, it is all too easy for the Senatorial class - never mind Imperial class - to become distanced from those who are the heart of Rome. I'd like you to be one of my councellors." Lucius blinked, genuinely surprised this time. "Me?" They barely knew each other. Sure, they had met at the party through Silanus, and he had a lot of respect for the young imperial. But all Tiberius knew about him was from that brief encounter, from Silanus, and from no doubt gossip. And yet, he wanted Lucius to... advise him? About the concerns of the people?... Maybe he could do that. It was a chance he would have never dreamed of, in his new position. It dawned on Lucius that in his own way, Tiberius was just as unique in his family as he was in his own. A royal misfit. "That... that would be an honor." he nodded slowly, with a smile. "Are you sure it won't cause trouble... me, instead of one of the tribunes?" @Sarah

"It's a bath, you generally start by taking your clothes off," Azarion swore without words and looked around. Indeed everyone seemed to be naked, except for some slaves that no doubt worked there, running up and down; those were wearing loincloths. A few people had towels wrapped around their hips, but most didn't bother. He should have been used to it by now because no one cared, but Azarion hated undressing in front of people. And he especially did not want to in front of his cousin. "I don't know if it's a good thermae," "We will learn, then." The stranger undressed, and Tiranes started taking his clothes off too. Azarion frowned, folding his arms. Stupid Romans. He took off his sandals, so that he'd be doing something at least. Maybe he could just dip his feet in the pool. I'm fine. @Sharpie @Atrice

"I want him to suffer." "He will." Lucius wanted the same. He had never even considered torturing another person before, but after Ovinia's words, and seeing the look in her eyes, he had absolutely no doubt that he deserved it. They still held on to each other. Lucius wished it was under different circumstances. "I don't. I don't know where to find you, I don't know your new family." "I live in the barracks at the moment" Lucius told her with the same faint smile. "You can send a message there. Just tell them to look for the idiot that used to be rich." Or just the idiot, really. News among the vigiles traveled fast. They let go the moment the slave girl entered, and soon after her came the centurion. Lucius stood up from the chair. "Well...I...understand that our recruit knows your family Ovinia," "My domina is Ovinia Camilla to you." Lucius bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling. He liked this girl. "Of course, my apologies Ovinia Camilla. I'm not sure how much Lucius here has managed to... Has managed to glean about what happened last night but I would like you to recount everything that happened. We will catch whoever did this, of course, but we need to know what he did." Oh no. Ovinia did not need to recount all of that again. Lucius cleared his throat. "I have... already gotten that part, sir. I think we need the place, the time, and... a description. And then we can let the domina rest." @Sara

"A different name - you might know her as Cynane?" Yes, that was it. Azarion gave the amazon a small smile. Fancy meeting her here again, and as a blood sister of Tiranes', too. This Saturnalia was looking to be interesting. "So what are we going to do, then?" Azarion was starting to gesture the answer, but they all got distracted as someone familiar walked by. “Isn’t that… your master? What's he doing here?" "Getting out of the Palace. No masters tonight remember, it's Saturnalia. Here, season's blessings. Have fun, I hope to." Now way. That young man... he was the chief? Azarion arched an eyebrow at his cousin. Even during Saturnalia, it was rare to see someone so important just... walking around alone. Especially around here. He still remembered being attacked in this same alley. And the man was even throwing coin around. He signed at Tiranes. He's going to get murdered. @Sharpie @Sarah @Atrice

Alexius rummaged around and found a writing tablet. The wax was worn, but clear, and there was a stylus too. Lucius set it down on the table. "I found this. Why? Did Ovinia tell you what he looked like?" "Some, yes." he nodded "And we know he has attacked others. So, for each one, we have a place, a time, and an informant." He jotted down some words as he spoke. "Ovinia, the day before yesterday. Abandoned building on the Esquline. And before that, the first attack, where you helped." He glanced up, waiting for Alexius to fill in the when and the where. "Then there is Tiberius' slave... um, Jason? She said his brother, or something, was attacked too. We need to go talk to him." He took more notes. "And then there is you. Who else do you know that got attacked?" @Atrice

"Recognising where one's strengths do and do not lie is a valuable insight. Having the courage to act on it is rarer." Sometimes Lucius had the feeling that the young imperial was wiser than some of the seasoned senators. Lucius certainly liked him better, based on their short acquaintanceship. Which was why he dared to be completely honest around him. "The path of government is not for everyone. But that is why I wanted to speak to you." "Oh?" Lucius arched an eyebrow. So, this was not going to be a lecture about bringing shame to the entire patrician class. Great. "I feel that it is too easy to have a disconnect between the common people of the Empire, and those who govern her. You are amongst the Plebians and Equites, but you understand the ways of the Senate. That means that you can act as a bridge, if you will." Lucius smiled a little. He liked the idea, and he liked the young man's idealism even more. "Maybe, in time? Right now, the vigiles don't trust me because I'm a patrician, and the patricians don't trust me because I joined the vigiles... that bridge is a little shaky at the moment." @Sarah

Well, the woman was truly a professional. She did not only come here looking for clients, she also knew the kind she wanted, and she had the freedom to pick them. Azarion could respect someone who was good at her job, even if said job was getting off rich pasty Roman senators. Which still made him shudder. He followed her into the garden, and as she reclined on the couch, he unceremoniously sat down on the ground next to her. She was like a statue, with her clothes and hair falling all over the place. She did look... nice. "But colour me intrigued. How did somebody like you end up as a charioteer?" Azarion arched an eyebrow. Someone like me? What? Mute? Small? A slave? Sarcastic? Sarmatian?... He shifted, pulling up his leg to show off his tattoo. Some people knew from that he was a barbarian, but not many guessed Sarmatia. He mimed arrows, and horse riding. Good with horses. He sat back, sipping strong wine from his cup, and motioned at her. How did someone like you end up as a hooker?

"It seems he mostly frames... insignificant people. Not that that should matter, but clearly, it does. I'm surprised the murdered girl's employer didn't send word back then." Lucius hated the idea that some people were more significant than others. Or that anyone was insignificant at all. It was not a very patrician way of thinking about it, but then again, he was not a patrician anymore. He liked people. People were interesting. Except for some, like that vile murderous motherfucker they were about to hunt down. "Maybe he did. Wouldn't be the first one to slip through the cracks." He had been with the vigiles long enough to know. "But... there's so little to go by. We don't even know what the man looks like. And it seems all of Rome is his hunting ground." "We do know some." Lucius noted, taking a deep breath. "Ovinia had seen him. Maybe others know some too. Between the two of us, we know quite a lot, I think... actually, do you have something to write on?" @Atrice

Alexius jumped up as soon as he sat down, and started to pace. He was clearly upset by the news. Did he care for Ovinia? Or did he care for his own reputation as a bodyguard?... "Yes... we do need to find him. It does sound like it's the same. The same man pays to cut girls at the Elysium, I'm sure. And I think he may have murdered a girl near the circus too, over a year ago. He's been around for awhile. I don't know..." "A year ago?..." Lucius frowned. The man had been on a spree for a year, and no one was out in force to get him? "I don't know why no one else but me has looked for him before! And now he cut Ovinia! Fucking... Sorry, but... it's just... it makes no fucking sense!" "Oh believe me, I know." He was not going to offer any details on how he knew Ovinia. "Why has no one told the vigiles yet? If a man is running around cutting and killing woman, this is like... our entire goddamn job!" @Atrice

"Why would they want you? Same reason a man wants any man or woman - old and sagged and wrinkled they might be. Power." Azarion frowned. She was not wrong. Th thought also made him want to spit, but he knew someone might punish him for being too rude at a nice polie orgy or whatever. He had been in other people's power long enough to not want any more of that, thank you. He unfolded his arms, showing the woman the FVG brand on his arm. Fuck power. "Come on. I'll keep you away from lecherous matrons." Azarion looked a little surprised, but he followed her towards the gardens, grabbing a new cup of wine as he went. And something that looked like a pastry. He nodded back over his shoulder with a questioning look. Shouldn't you be working?... @Sara

The apartment was small - much like many of the places Lucius had patrolled in the past weeks, putting out or preventing fires, or carrying burnt debris outside. He had never really been a guest in one before, though. Alexius checked to see if they were alone. He was cautious. Good. Lucius took a seat. "Attacked? How? Did you find the attacker?" "No." Lucius sighed, clearly frustrated with that answer. "I will need your help to find him. Apparently he had attacked her before, and you stepped in? She says it was the same man. And that he's attacked others before too, someone you knew, and someone know to... the slave that helped her this time? Tiberius' body slave. From the Palatine." It was complicated. Lucius waved a hand and frowned. "He cut her. Twice. She is... hurt, and terrified. She said I can trust you. We need to find that man." The intentions did not need to be elaborated. @Atrice

"Very well, Lucius... you found Alexius." As he had suspected. The man did look like a bodyguard... also, he was quite handosme, which explained why he was out and about this early in the morning on Saturnalia. Lucius felt a pang of frustration along with that thought. Why had he not been with Ovinia when she was attacked? Women walking alone on Saturnalia, that should not have happened... He swallowed his accusations. "Do you want to come in? Or find a popina to talk? I can imagine... this must be something serious?" "It is very serious. Let's talk inside." He did not want to discuss any of this at a popina where anyone could hear. Instead, he followed Alexius inside the insula and up the stairs to the apartment where he was apparently living. He barely looked around, but waited until they were inside with the door closed. "Ovinia Camilla sent me. She has been attacked."

Lucius suspected that he had the right man, but there was no way of making sure until they introduced themselves. The other man looked suspicious, which only made sense, since, as Lucius was recently learning on a visceral level, really no one liked the vigiles in this godsdamn city. "Oh? And this friend... Why would they send someone like you, looking for Alexius?" "Because Alexius works for her a bodyguard, as far as I understand." Lucius noted, then added "My name is Lucius. I am not here on vigiles business. I just happen to be one of them."

Lucius noticed the tall man approaching the building. He looked like he could be a bodyguard, or an ex-gladiator. Or maybe just someone blessed by the gods. He also looked like he had had a good night. Lucius almost forgot Saturnalia was still in full swing. He did not feel very festive anymore. It was the other man that spoke first. "Salve... is anything happening? Do you need help?" "I am looking for a man named Alexius." Lucius said cautiously, looking him up and down. "... A friend sent me." @Atrice

December 22, 76 AD It was early morning, the carts just having cleared the City. Lucius stood at the door of the insula, watching the first people wander out into te light of dawn. Workers hurrying, merchants carrying their wares, women running to the fountain for water. The city slowly waking up. He had left the barracks an hour earlier, and now he was waiting by the door, wrapped in his cloak, dressed like all the other rank and file vigiles in the city. The slave girl could tell him the insula where Alexius lived, but not the door. So he was determined to be there before the man would leave (or come home) in the morning. There was no time to waste. Ovinia trusted this man; all Lucius knew was that he was her bodyguard, used to be a gladiator of some sort, and that he knew someone else who had been attacked. And that he had saved Ovinia from an attack before. Maybe, just maybe, they could hunt down the attacker together. @Atrice

"I am damaged!" Lucius winced as she snapped, louder than she should have, maybe, but the slave girl was still holding the centurion outside, or the other way around, whichever of them was smarter. Lucius guessed the girl. Ovinia's words hurt like lashes, even though she was torturing herself, not him. "He might not have raped me. But I am damaged, Lucius! I'll have a scar on my back as long as my hand forever, I'll have one as long as my thumb on my hip from where he pushed the knife back in after I'd begged him to stop, I'll have the memories of him pressed up against me, what he felt like, what I thought he was going to do before I couldn't breathe anymore and my vision went dark and I thought I was dying." It was... horrible to hear. To imagine. It must have been a thousand times worse to go through it; he could hear the fear and the pain in her voice, see it in her eyes. Some of it would never go away. Lucius would have given anything to be able to hold her again, through the tears she was trying to hold back. He didn't know what to do. His look probably spoke volumes, but she had misread him before. In the end, she reached out to him again. He curled his finger around hers, like it was a link in a chain. He did not want to let go. "I'm...I'm sorry. You should find Alexius. You should tell him what happened, he will keep it to himself. I trust him. And the slave...Jason, he works for Tiberius at the palace but he is sworn to secrecy on his honour." Lucius nodded, committing all the information to memory. He'd do it right away. Alone. The vigiles were useful patrolling the streets for the man, if they knew enough. But before they could hunt, they needed to know about victims who were not Ovinia. Because she needed to be kept a secret... "Beyond that I... Just don't... There isn't anything. Just find him." He nodded again. "I will. We will. You'll see him dead." Not for revenge, although she could have that too if she wanted. Lucius had never been a violent man, but in this moment, he was ready to kill. More than that, he wanted Ovinia to feel safe. To know that man would never hurt her again. "I'm here, Ovinia. You know where to find me. If you... need anything." Please don't leave.

It was a horrible question to ask, but it needed to be asked. Before the centurion came in, because if... because if the answer was yes, no one could ever know. It was the reason the father called them in secret, but honestly, Lucius did not trust his centurion either, with something like this. But he needed to know. To know how bad it was. And to know how slowly he was going to murder that man. "No. But it doesn't matter that he didn't... Because if anybody finds out what actually happened they w-won't believe me when I say he didn't and everybody will look at me the way you just were; damaged goods, right?" Lucius' eyes widened. She drew her hand back, and looked... miserable. In pain. And lost. "That's not..." How the hell was he even going to convince her?... Her words came tumbling out. She knew too, the reason why her father insisted on secrecy. They were going to have to do this without anyone ever finding out what the man had done in the first place. "My father mentioned Crete. Thought I could go away for a few months, a little longer maybe to our villa there. It would get me out of the city, get me out of the rumours and... I don't feel safe here anymore." He desperately wanted to reach out for her again. He didn't. She did not want him to, and he was not going to touch her again without permission. "Ovinia, that's not at all what I meant." he sighed "You are not damaged. You have been hurt, because some awful person attacked you... I know people might think... and I am so sorry that you have to... deal with all of that. On top of being hurt." Gods, now he was scrambling for words. "I want you, to feel safe. I don't... I will make sure no one finds out. Just... tell me. Tell me what I can do. Anything to... make you feel safer."

Lucius knew they did not have much time. The centurion was going to come in soon, and from then on, it was an official investigation. Before that, he needed to know what happened. And who did this. So he could personally find them and kill them. If he had done it before to people... "He tried before, in the summer." Lucius' face turned a shade paler as the real meaning of her words sank in. "He's done it... to you?" "It's how I met Alexius - he interrupted him and Alexius said something happened to a friend of his, a woman, had been held with a knife and... Cut. And then the slave - the slave who took me home, his cousin was assaulted he said by a man with a knife." Lucius frowned, watching her hands shake. Her entire body was shaking as she recounted the events. Other people were hurt too. He'd have to go talk to them later. This Alexius first. "I can't believe I was so stupid." "Ovinia, no..." she dropped the cup. It clattered to the ground, spilling wine everywhere. The slave girl peeked around the door, and Lucius waved to her. The wine did not matter. The girl frowned, giving Ovinia a questioning look before retreating. Lucius reached out, folding Ovinia's hand into his, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, before he looked her in the eyes. This next part... was going to be even worse. "Ovinia, none of this is your fault. I need you to know that. We don't have much time, and I have one more question before they come in. I know it's bad, it's... I'm so sorry, but you need to tell me the truth." He squeezed her hand, a meager attempt at encouragement. "Did he... hurt you in any other way?"

"Not that bad." "Ovinia..." he sighed. She was trying to hold it together, and appear strong. But he could see she was not alright. "A cut, on my back. It has been stitched. And on my hip. That's it." That was not it. He could see her wrists, and the scrapes. The worst injuries were cuts, but not the only ones. The burns on her hand were still visible, and now she had other scars to match them. She asked for wine and he poured her a cup, handing it over and making sure she was holding it securely. He could feel she was trembling. "You won't find him. He's done this b-before." "I will turn this whole city upside down if I have to." It was a statement of fact. This was the very thing the vigiles existed for. And even if they did not put in the effort, Lucius sure as hell would. "How do you know he has done it before?" @Sara

He wanted to hold her like this for a very long time. He wanted to let her cry and cling to him. Something horrible had happened, and he had not been there to protect her. It was killing him to see her hurt like that. He pressed a kiss to her temple before she let go. It was not fair that he couldn't stay. He sighed, moving to the chair next to the bed, putting polite distance between them. "What did my father say?" "That... you were attacked. And that no one should know." Lucius shook his head. Clearly the father was more concerned with reputation than how his daughter was doing. He looked her over, noting bruises and scrapes, and the raw marks on her wrists, the bandage showing under her tunica. His hands twitched, reaching out for hers. "You're injured. How bad is it?" @Sara