"Have you? Didn't that shake you up?"
"No. " I glanced back at him. "Not really. I've heard it before. Caius and Luceiia and I have talked about it often. " I stopped walking and turned to face him. "But you hadn't encountered this before. Tell me, did you believe what they were saying? What you were hearing?"
Plautus's face was troubled. He looked away from me, towards the lighted buildings on our right, his lips pulled down in a grimace. I waited, saying nothing, until he turned back to me.
"Yes, damnation, I did, " he said, his voice sounding tight and strained.
"And it scared me. "
I nodded, and we started walking again, coming finally to the walled latrine, where we did our business quickly, wasting no time in distancing ourselves from its odorous dankness.
Back in the cool night air, I paused again. "Listen, " I said, "I'm going to go and say good night to my wife. I haven't seen much of her today, and I'd hate to have her thinking I prefer your company to hers. I'll join you back at the fire. But before I go I want to say this, just between you and me. You say you're scared. I think you've got good reason to be. We all have.
"I believe Caius, Plautus. I believe he's absolutely right. The Empire is finished. Everything's breaking down. I know it seems inconceivable. It did to me, too, for years, but there's just too much evidence that can't be ignored. What Terra and Firma told us is true, and they were among the biggest marine traders in the world. Now they're finished, not because they were incompetent, but simply because the system has collapsed. And their business is only one aspect of the mess. The rest of the world's in the same condition. "
Somewhere in the darkness, quite close to where we stood, a woman laughed aloud, her voice subsiding into giggles and whispers. I took Plautus by the elbow and began to walk with him again, heading towards the flaming torches by the main doors to the house. He walked in silence, his head down, obviously grappling mentally with this concept of coming chaos.
"Hey!" I said, pulling him to a sudden stop so that he looked me in the eye. "I don't want you to be suicidal, soldier. It's not all bleak. Believe me, Caius has a plan to survive the chaos. I don't know exactly what it involves, but I'm sure it's a solid proposal. And no matter how outlandish it might seem tonight, it will work, believe me. Have I ever lied to you? Plautus?
Have I?"
He looked at me and heaved a great, gusty sigh, grinning sheepishly at his own fears. "No, comrade, you never have. Not about anything important. "
"Right. And I don't intend to start now. The world as we know it won't end tomorrow, or even next year. It might take decades. Go and listen to Caius, what he has to say. I'll join you in a few minutes. Listen well. And count yourself into whatever he suggests. "
I watched him walk away to rejoin the circle around the fire and wondered about the unseen but terrifying dimensions of any information that could have this kind of profound effect on a man as basic and straightforward as Plautus. I had known him ever since my first military posting. Plautus was a bulclass="underline" nothing daunted him and he feared no man. When he had gone, I went to my wife to tell her I would be late. I was already late. She was soundly asleep and lusciously warm beneath the covers, and I was sorely tempted to join her there, but I kissed her gently without waking her and contented myself with lying on the bed beside her for a few moments. When I was sure she would not awaken I slipped one cautious, caressing hand beneath the covers and snuggled my face carefully into the hollow of her shoulder, revelling in the warm, perfumed scent of her. The few moments stretched into an appreciable time span, and I almost fell asleep, so that I had to force myself to get up again. I went on my way then, reluctantly, with the memory of the warmth of her breast caressing my palm.
By the time I got back to the fire, Gallo had produced what seemed like a wagonload of fresh food and drink, and everyone was clustered around it. The meeting had already resumed by mutual consent, even before the food's arrival, and things had moved on so far that Plautus had to bring me up to date while everyone was eating.
"You were right. Your friend Caius there has the whole thing sewn up like a mummy's gut. "
"How? What's his plan?"
He grunted, wrestling the thigh bone of a large fowl from its joint. It came free with a voluptuous ripping sound that started my own saliva flowing. He slapped it onto a wooden platter and picked up half a loaf of bread, wiping his greasy fingers on it before taking a bite and speaking through a full mouth.
"Bagaudae. He ever talk to you about them?"
I laughed and looked across at Caius, who was standing alone, pouring himself some mead. "Yes. frequently. Caius admires them. He thinks their way of life is a good one. "
"Hmmph, " Plautus mumbled, swallowing the food in his mouth.
"Good? He makes them sound like they own the universe. "
"You think he plans to set up a Bagaudae community here?"
"Sounds like it. Sounds like it might work, too, until some son of a whore decides to come along and upset the whole cart. That's the only drawback I can see, but it's a big one. I wonder if he's thought about that?
About the impossibility of defending the place?"
I smiled at him. "Plautus, if he hasn't thought about it, it will be the first time I have ever known him to miss anything important. Caius is a meticulous animal when it comes to details. "
He quaffed half a cup of wine and ripped off a mouthful of succulent cold fowl, speaking around his mouthful again. "Well, we'll see. It's the first thing I'm going to ask him about. Right now. " The others were all moving back to their seats by the fire and I loaded a platter hastily, ripping off the other thigh of the fowl that had looked so good and sprinkling it liberally with salt. By the time I had poured a flagon of ale and turned back, they were into the discussion again, and Plautus was talking to Caius.
"Don't misunderstand me, " he was saying as I sat down. "I think your concept is a good one. I like the idea of everyone pulling his weight and contributing. No parasites. That's good. But — and I think this is a big but — where will you find the right people to make it work? And how would you define your priorities in setting up this community?" Surprised at the unusual fluency shown by the normally taciturn Plautus, I glanced around the faces of the group and saw that they were all endorsing his questions.
"All right, Caius, " I thought, "I've been wondering about that, too. " Caius was smiling. "Valid questions, Plautus, and I'll try to answer them as clearly as I can. " He looked around the group again. "But let's be clear in our understanding of the context, all of us. Bear in mind that we are doing more than merely talking about survival here. We are now planning for it! This is real. We are talking about the end of the world we know. We believe, each of us, that, like it or not, that end is going to come, and when it does happen, when the Empire falls, nothing that we know today will ever be the same again. Nothing! The legions will be gone — gone completely. That means there will be no law. Think of that! The law will be gone! That means no judicial system backed by the force of arms or government. No civic law, because the towns and cities will have no garrisons and no system of enforcement. On the bright side, there will be no taxes to pay, and no bureaucrats to demand them.