[Mkguild] MKGuild Digest, Vol 149, Issue 6

[Indagare .]

I've been liking the story so far. I think you did an especially nice job
with Bitt's culture shock!

On Thu, Jan 9, 2020 at 11:49 PM <mkguild-request at lists.integral.org> wrote:

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>    1. Roman story Part 4 (cokane8116 at aol.com)
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> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2020 04:42:21 +0000 (UTC)
> From: cokane8116 at aol.com
> To: furry-lit at Lists.Integral.org, mkguild at lists.integral.org,
>         jackthefrilledlizard at gmail.com
> Subject: [Mkguild] Roman story Part 4
> Message-ID: <1464863196.6174066.1578631341149 at mail.yahoo.com>
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> Withthe ceremony done Bitt?s group was led off to the left while the prey
> specieswere led off to the right. The fox turned and looked back at the
> prey tiros. Hewondered if he would ever see the rabbit again.??? ?Bitt,?
> the centurion ordered. ?You?re nothere to gawk.???? ?Yes sir!???? They were
> lined up on one side of the paradeground so that the centurion was standing
> in the shade of the only tree.??? ?Here is your uniform,? the centurion
> said.??? A legionnaire walked down the line ofrecruits. He came to Bitt and
> shoved a pile of clothes into the fox?s hands.??? Bitt found it consisted
> of:1Tunic, linen, red.1Cape with hood.1belt, leather with dangly bits in
> front1pair sandals,1wooden canteen2pieces of oddly shaped linen cloth.???
> He held up the tunic and found it was prettyshort. It wouldn?t even go down
> to his knees. ?Where is the rest????? ?You?ve been issued everything,?
> thecenturion snarled.??? He eyed the tunic carefully. On closerexamination
> it didn?t seem to get any bi
>  gger. ?Where are the pants????? ?Pants? You don?t need any pants,?
> thecenturion countered. ?A tunic is good enough for me and its good enough
> foryou.???? The wolf was wearing a red tunic held inplace by a leather belt
> whose buckle was of silver chased with gold. All he hadon below the tunic
> was a pair of sandals on his paws.??? Bitt had traveled light. Aside from
> severalshirts and tunics he had three pairs of pants and a pair of shoes.
> Also he hada knife, fork, spoon of pewter, a small bronze bowl to eat from
> and brush andcomb all of which were stuffed into a large satchel made of
> linen.??? ?This is Vinius,? the centurion said andpointed to one of the
> people standing nearby. ?He is the Decanus of your newContubernium.???? The
> figure that stepped forward was acanine. The dog had thin fur the color of
> bleached sand and a bushy tail thatcurled up so much its tip rubbed the
> back of the red tunic he was wearing.??? ?Do you speak Aramaic?? The canine
> asked in somewhatstilted Latin
>  e.??? ?A little,? the fox responded. ?I do speakLatine well.???? The
> canine just scowled at him. ?You?d bestlearn it. Not only do all the
> civilians speak it but most of the legionnairesas well.???? ?I?m good at
> languages,? Bitt responded.?? ??Ihope so,? Vinius responded darkly. ?What
> did you bring with you?? Vinius askedas they walked. ?Aside from that
> satchel.???? ?Just the essentials,? Bitt answeredhonestly. ?Some boots, a
> few tunics and pants and a knife, fork and spoon. Ohand a brush and
> comb.???? The Decanus nodded. ?Traveled light? Good.You?ll need to get an
> extra tunic or two and another pair of sandals,? Viniuscommented.? ?Also
> you might want a decentchest to store things in. There?s a place outside
> the gate I?ll show you.???? Thebarracks was a long low, one story structure
> with white plastered walls andlined with doors. The place was alive with
> people. Wolves, dogs, lions,leopards and other species that Bitt didn?t
> recognize were moving about. Somewere in armor and
>  some weren?t but all were plainly legionnaires. The fox triedto take it
> all in and noticed one fact.??? ?No Long Ears?? Bitt asked.??? ?What?? The
> canine asked.??? ?Sorry,? Bitt responded. ?All I see arecarnivores. No
> herbivores????? Vinius pointed to across the open paradeground. ?They are
> in the second century.???? ?They two don?t serve together?? Bitt
> wassurprised.??? Vinius cocked his head to one side. ?Ofcourse not. They?re
> in different centuries.???? ?They do in the Tenth,? The fox countered.???
> The canine came to a halt. ?Well. This isn?tthe Tenth. Now is it?? He
> snarled.??? He shook his head. ?No sir. No it?s not.?And the two kept
> walking.??? They were greeted at the door by a tall lionin full armor and
> weapons who was just leaving.??? ?This is Tossius,? The Decanus said.???
> Vinius pointed to a leopard seated on abunk. The feline was wearing a
> somewhat battered tunic and was cleaning hisarmor. But the feline seemed to
> be more interested in the jug next to him on theb
>  ed. ?That is Eteiwi.???? He pointed to the fox. ?Eteiwi, this isBitilus
> our newest Tiro,???? ?Most just call me Bitt.???? Bitt bowed to the feline
> who only nodded hishead in response. ?Another Tiro to worry about.???? ?As
> warm and friendly as always,? Viniussnarled.??? Decebalus was relatively
> tall and fromlooking at him Bitilus was reminded of the gray wolves back
> home. But he wasthinner and could be described as lanky. His fur was a
> light brown except alonghis back where it was dark to the point it could
> almost be black.??? Their part of the barracks and Bitt?s newhome was a
> large room. The walls closest to the door were lined with racks andtables
> holding the legionnaires equipment, weapons and armor. The back part
> wascrowded with five sets of bunk beds. Against one wall was a small stove.
> It wasreally just some stones carefully mortared into a little walled fire
> pit barelyankle high. To boil water you placed a pot filled with water on
> the stones andit was positioned so th
>  e flames just touching the bottom. Just the rightheight. To grill
> something they used either a wire grill or a metal plateplaced on the
> walls. Simple but practical and it worked fine.??? Bitt was assigned 2
> pegs, a section of shelfand square of floor space for his tunic & cape,
> helmet and shieldrespectively.??? ?What is this?? Bitt said and held up one
> ofthe odd, roughly triangularly shaped pieces of linen.???? ?That is your
> subligaculum,?the hyena answered.??? ?And exactly what is a subligaculum??
> Heasked.??? ?It?s a loin cloth,? The hyena explained.?Haven?t you ever worn
> one before????? ?I?m from the north? Bitt explained. ?Wecover the important
> body parts. What isn?t covered in deep winter will freezeand fall off.????
> Several of the legionnaires winced and theothers laughed.??? ?Your biggest
> enemy here,? the lionexplained. ?Is the heat. Trying to keep cool.???? ?How
> do I put this on?? The fox asked.??? ?First, tie the strings around your
> waistwith the long part hanging do
>  wn back, covering your butt. Next, bring the longpart between your legs
> and pull it up behind the knot you tied in front. Thendrape it over the
> ties so it forms a loincloth,? the lion responded.??? Bitt stripped out of
> his pants and tunic andstood naked for a moment as he looked at the loin
> cloth. It seemed to be allcords and odd shapes. He fumbled with it for
> several minutes as everyone elseoffered (unwanted) advice. Finally he got
> it on in something he believed wasthe right way.??? It seemed mighty small
> and left more of hisbody exposed than he would have preferred.??? ?How does
> it feel????? ?Drafty,? the fox responded. ?I?m not usedto being this
> naked.???? ?I thought all you barbarians fought naked,?the jackal
> laughed.??? Bitt shook his head. ?We stopped runninginto battle naked a
> long time ago.???? ?They really did it?? Kegan asked.Surprised. ?I thought
> it was just a story.???? The fox shook his head. ?Oh no. It wastrue!????
> ?Why? Why run into battle naked????? ?It was a
>  n ego thing,? the fox explained.?I?m so tough I don?t need armor.? He
> waved his hands. ?Makes no sense to me.If I am going into battle I?m making
> sure all the important parts are covered. Noone does it anymore. Except my
> uncle Keagan. He NEVER wears any clothes.???? ?Ever?? The hyena asked
> nervously.??? ?Never. Even in midwinter,? the fox shookhis head. ?But Mom
> says he caught a fever as a child and it effected his mind.???? ?Maybe you
> should send him a few loinclothes?? the hound joked.??? ?The whole clan
> would be grateful if he didwear them,? Bitt responded.??? The lion pointed
> to the fox?s right armwhere there was a long thin scar.??? ?That,? the fox
> said and ran a finger slowlyalong the scar. ?A Mintiri spear did that.????
> ?The Mintiri are?? The hyena asked.??? ?Rude neighbors to the north,? the
> foxanswered. ?They?ve always been trouble. Raiding and stealing but lately
> they?vegrown bolder and more violent.???? The rest of the group nodded in
> agreement.?We all know how th
>  at feels.???? ?A good-sized group had raided clan farmsalong the border,?
> the fox explained. ?They weren?t just looting and stealingcattle. They were
> killing people. So we had to stop them.???? ?It was decided that I was
> finally oldenough to take part in real combat,? the fox said. ?I was to go
> on a raid tostop the Mintiri.???? ?How did you feel?? The lion asked
> softly.He was watching the fox intently.??? ?Excited, nervous, confused,
> proud andterrified!? The fox answered. ?So, with a score of my family and
> friendsincluding my father, two elder brothers and fourteen cousins we set
> off.???? ?It was two days of running and searchingbefore we caught up to
> them. There were only a few ways to cross the river. Sothe 10th legion set
> themselves up at two of the fords and we guardedthe third. It was our luck
> that they came to ours.???? ?The fight was chaotic,? the fox shook his
> head.?I remember a lot of screaming, shouting and running around. Suddenly
> a tallwolf came charging at me wi
>  th a spear.??The fox shivered. ?I still remember how he looked. Down to
> the smallestdetail.???? ?Did you kill him????? Bitt shrugged. ?I don?t
> know. He stabbed meand I stabbed him. I stumbled backwards and lost him in
> the confusion. I meantto kill him then with all my heart. But now I hope I
> didn?t.???? ?Just remember one thing Bitt,? Vinius saidfirmly. ?This is not
> a duel. The point is to simply kill the enemy. In battleyour opponent is
> there to kill you. You have to kill him before he can killyou.???? ?And if
> you don?t,? the hyena added. ?You?llget yourself and probably some of us
> killed too.????? Bitt leaned forward, closer to the hyena.?I am aware,? he
> growled. ?Of that fact. But it?s one thing to say you willkill someone and
> another to do it for real for the first time.???? ?All that will come with
> time and training,?the decanus said interrupting the two.??? ?During the
> swearing in,? the fox said. ?Wewere standing in front of that statue. ?The
> Legatus didn?t say the emp
>  eror?sname."??? "He couldn't remember the name of thedead emperor,? the
> lion commented.??? ?So who is the emperor on the statue?? Thefox asked.???
> The lion and hound both shrugged. ?We don?tknow either.???? ?You don?t
> know?? The fox askedincredulously. ?Isn?t it inscribed on the base?????
> Shaking of the head was their answer. ?Itwas there once but someone
> chiseled it off.???? Thefox gave a bark of laughter. ?I guess someone
> didn?t like him.???? The hyena shrugged. ?Just some long deadrabbit.????
> ?Where are you from?? The jackal asked andpassed a jug to Bitt.??? Bitt
> took a sip from the jug and found itcontained a white liquid that tasted
> like a fruit drink. But this one had astrong kick to it.??? ?What is this??
> Bitt asked as he handed thejug back.??? ?Date Palm wine,? Grattius
> explained as hetook the wine jug.??? ?Interesting taste,? the fox asked.
> ?What?sit made from? Not grapes.???? ?It?s made from dates,? the
> jackalexplained.??? ?Where are you from????? Bitt pointed off
>  to the north west. ?Theempire calls it Magdaburgum.???? Rolozius leaned
> toward the fox. ?And what doyour people call it????? ?Tirontach. It?s
> always been called that andno long dead, Imperial, Long ear is going to
> change that,? Bitt said with moreanger than he had intended.??? The hound
> laughed. ?Sounds like you are madat the empire.???? ?Notthe entire empire,?
> the fox explained. ?Just one of its rulers.???? ?A long dead one I hope,?
> the hyena asked.??? ?Of course. I?ve got no grudge with thecurrent one,?
> Bitt answered and hesitated. ?Ah.???? ?You don?t know the current emperors
> name doyou?? The hyena commented with a touch of humor in his voice.???
> Bitt leaned closer. ?Do you?? He asked in acold tone.??? A cold silence and
> tension filled the room.??? ?Does it matter?? Philippus interjectedputting
> himself between the two. ?They change emperors so fast why bother?Besides
> we haven?t had an order from the capital in decades. We fight and dieto
> protect the empire and it?s like w
>  e don?t exist.???? The fox laughed a humorless laugh. ?I knowthe feeling.
> Last year we received a message from the Emperor for governorPlebinius.????
> ?And?? The fennec asked.??? ?Plebinius, May God rest his soul, diedfifty
> years ago,? Bitt explained.??? The hyena just shook his head. ?I thought
> wewere the only ones the empire forgot.???? ?No memory, no gratitude,? the
> fox muttered.??? Kegan took a sip of wine. ?The locals hereare grateful for
> all we do.???? ?We ARE the locals,? Tossius countered. ?Athird of us here
> are the children of legionnaires. And the rest were all bornhere.???? Bitt
> nodded. ?That?s the 10thback home too.???? The lion stood and held up his
> cup. ?Here!Here! To governor Plebinius and all those who serve.???? Bitt
> lifted his own cup. ?To all of us whohold back the chaos.???****************
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