Outside the walls of Numantia, the you wait on horseback with the other junior officers while the general, Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, decides whether to mount a direct assault or to lay seige to the city. A conversation among the officers on the best course of action ensues.
Beside you a centurion in the infantry is [itching for fight:]<hook1| (Click: ?hook1)[
"Ladders, artillery, and fire! That's how to take a city and teach rebels a lesson! These wretches have few possesions to bring home, other than the glory of taking their lives! I say we mount a direct assault."
Another man, in the cavalry like you, [takes a more patient approach:]<hook2| (Click: ?hook2)[
"Horses don't climb ladders and glory is in victory, not in death. Especially not mine. Starvation also dissuades rebels. I vote for a seige."
[How do you respond?]<hook3| (Click: ?hook3)
[Do you advocate for a [[direct assault]] or for a [[seige]]?]]]
The [cavalry officer goes on:]<hook1| (Click: ?hook1)[
"Let's not forget, most of our forces are mercenaries, and many of them are Numidian horsemen. Again, horses don't climb.]
Despite the the centurian's full throated defence of Roman honor, among the officers the overall the [[consensus is for seige]]. Despite correctly understanding the situation and guessing Scipio's strategy, you are dreading its beginning. Every seige starts with digging, lots of digging. First creating a rampart and a wall around the city, Scipio then ordered that the nearby swamp be drained into depression between the Roman and Numantine walls. Knowing external aid was his people's only hope, the Nmantine hero Rhetogenes attempted to break out, but was unable to breach the Roman circumvalation.
One month into the Seige, while serving with a foraging party you are hailed by a local man. He tell you that he has urgent news that might change the course of the war.
["Can you be trusted? Are you a true man of Rome?"]<hook1|
(Click: ?hook1)[You reply you are, but ask in return if he is a true friend of Rome?
["I can only claim to be, as can you," replies the man.]<hook2|
(Click: ?hook2)["But if I am true, then you will want to meet with my master, who knows the plans of Rhetogenes to defeat you."
What will you do? Will you agree to [[meet with the spy]] or [[dismiss him, believing his meeting to be a trap|stay at his post]]?]]
Moments later a messenger arrives from Scipio's camp: the general has decided upon a [[seige-2]].
With a laugh, the cavalry officer [shouts out to the rest of the cohort:]<hook| (Click: ?hook)[
"I vote that those who wanted to take the fight to the enemy, take the fight to the night watch!" To jeers, you are put on the night watch and are diminished in the eyes of your peers.]
Believing the information too important to pass up, you abandon your duties and follow the man to where his master is hiding. There, a large man in a dark cloak, his face hidden beneath a deep hood, [begins to speak]<hook1| (Click: ?hook1)
["Rhetogenes has escaped your walls and he meets with the Lutians. Their council of elders are now debating who to side with, the Numantines or you, the Romans."
["But you can influence their decision."]<hook2| (Click: ?hook2)
["Rhetogenes's plan relies on secrecy, carry this information to Scipio, and I will carry the fact that he knows back to the Lutians. They will have no choice but to surrender Rhetogenes and his men."
You report this information to your commander and [[return to your post|Numanties are captured]]]]
"Why this secret meeting with me?", you reply. "Why not simply go straight to Scipio himself with this information? [You are a spy, but not for Rome!"]<hook1|
(Click: ?hook1)["You wish to capture me and torture me for what I know!" As you reach for your sword the man flees into the darkness. You report his attempt to [your superior, the Military Tribune]<hook2|
(Click: ?hook2)[The next morning you are awoken from your short slumber to the sounds of cheering and the clattering of swords on sheilds. Standing over you is the Military Tribune, [the creases of rage obvious across his forehead.]<hook3| "That spy was telling the truth. Rhetogenes was captured and the war will soon be over."
(Click: ?hook3)[[["But not for you!" |serves many more years in the army]] he growls.]]] The next morning you are awoken from your slumber to the sounds of cheering and the clattering of swords on sheilds. Standing over you is the Military Tribune, [a tight smile creasing his face.]<hook1| (Click: ?hook1)["That spy was telling the truth. Rhetogenes was captured and the war will soon be over. The whole camp knows and knows who found the spy." the Military Tribune exclaims. ["Now Scipio wants you to dine with the senior officers tonight!"]<hook2|
(Click: ?hook2)[Sitting at dinner in the general's tent, you feel the weight of his fame and his power. With this latest victory - not to mention the sack of Carthage only 13 years ago - Scipio is one of Rome's greatest men.
"What will you do now that you've won, general?" asks one of the officers. "Who in Rome could rise to equal your accomplishments?"
"Perhaps this man," Scipio says, placing his hand on your sholder. "Fortuna favors <i>virtus</i>, and so do I. "Your days in the barren plains of Hispania are at an end," Scipio tells you. "The rich kingdom of Pergamon was been bequeathed to Rome in the will of King Attalus and good men are needed to secure his kingdom. [You will sail for Asia tomorrow."]<hook3|
(Click: ?hook3)["But you will take with you the rank of [[Military Tribune"|military tribune]].]]]
For four long years you are assigned to a small garrison at Numantia to guarentee the peace. These years give you plenty of opportunity to examine your mistakes, to learn from them, and gain experiece as a leader.
Finally in 129 BCE, and by acclaim of your troops, you have been [selected for reassignment]<hook1|
(Click: ?hook1)["At last", your commander announces, "your days in the barren plains of Hispania are at an end. The rich kingdom of Pergamon, bequeathed to Rome in the will of King Attalus, is under attack from the dead king's brother. [You will sail for Asia tomorrow]<hook2|
(Click: ?hook2)[But you will take with you the rank of [[Military Tribune|military tribune]].]]
<a href="http://orbis.stanford.edu/" target="_blank"><img src="Orbis2Peramum.png" height=pixel 300"></a>
[With a fast horse and favorable winds, the journey from Hispaina to Pergamon takes you only a month.]<hook|
(Click: ?hook)[Traveling first to the naval base at Misenum, near Neapolis in Italy, you gain bearth on a warship to Corinth in Greece, which is still recovering from its destruction by Rome in 146 BCE. Crossing the isthmus on the Diolkos, the ancient road joinnig the Adriatic and Aegean seas, a merchant ship carries you to Ephesus on the west coast of Anatolia. [A few days ride brings you to Pergamon.]<hook|
(Click: ?hook)[And now this text has appeared]]
Describe the work of the military tribune, give the choice to [[do one thing as MT]] and to [[do another thing as MT]]result is positive and moves to [[next step in MT]]result is negative and results in going to [[next step in MT]] in a lesser state.
Double-click this passage to edit it.Following the defeat of Carthage in the second Punic war in 202 BCE, much of the land it previously controlled in Spain became Roman territory. The native towns and tribes now became Rome's neighbors. In following century, Rome fought three wars, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtiberian_Wars" target="_blank">first and second Celtiberian Wars</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numantine_War" target="_blank">the Numanitine War</a>.
It is 133 BCE and the Numantine War is underway. You are an ambitious, young cavalry officer in the Roman army, dead-set on advancing through the ranks of the Roman political structure, the Cursus Honorum. Before you can become Consul, Praetor, Aedile, or even Quaestor, you have to gain leadership experience and the trust of both your men and your commanders. The [[The Battle of Numantia]] is your chance for advancement.
Every seige beings with digging, lots of digging. First creating a rampart and a wall around the city, Scipio then ordered that the nearby swamp be drained into depression between the Roman and Numantine walls. Knowing external aid was his people's only hope, the Nmantine hero Rhetogenes attempted to break out, but was unable to breach the Roman circumvalation.
One month into the seige, while still serving on the night watch you are approached by a local man. He tell you that he has urgent news that might change the course of the war.
["Can you be trusted? Are you a true man of Rome?"]<hook1| (Click: ?hook1)[You reply you are, but ask in return if he is a true friend of Rome?
["I can only claim to be, as can you," replies the man.]<hook2| (Click: ?hook2)["But if I am true, then you will want to meet with my master, who knows the plans of Rhetogenes to defeat you."
[What will you do?]<hook3| (Click: ?hook3)[ Will you agree to [[meet with the spy|meet with the spy]] or [[dismiss the man, believing his meeting to be a trap|stay at his post]]?]]]
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