Read Casca 7: The Damned for Free Online

most of what was said in the inner chambers and relayed it to Casca.
    When he asked Vergix how she knew so much, he was reminded that slaves are rarely considered people with any intelligence and their masters tend to talk too freely around them. To them they are no more than another piece of furniture that can move and do their bidding.
    Honorius adamantly refused to return to Rome even when he received word that the city was certain to come under attack. He would not leave the safety of the mountains and the walls that surrounded Ravenna. Rome would have to take care of itself. He was not about to expose himself to the embarrassment of being captured by savages or even to suffer personal pain. It was much better, he thought, to save the empire the indignity of having the imperial person placed in jeopardy by remaining where he could give hope to all of his desperate people. As the father of his country he was not expendable.
    The commander of the praetorions did try to make something of a showing, and reluctantly Honorius gave permission for patrols to be sent out to the countryside to reassure the masses that he was still in control of the situation and promise them that the savages would soon be driven out and back across the Danube.
    Vergix snorted through his sweeping mustache. He was too wily not to see how deep the rot had set in among the Roman forces and their commanders. It was with regret that he reconciled himself to serving on the side he was least disposed toward. But the Norns will have their way as they weave the threads of man's existence until the time when they take their shears and snip his life. He would just have to go along with whatever it was that they had planned for him.

CHAPTER TWO
    Alaric didn't understand why the Romans kept breaking their word to him. He had lived up to his end of their bargain, but time and again the Empire had shown bad faith and treachery to one who wanted to be a friend. This time they had gone too far, and he would teach them the meaning of honor if he had to march all the way to the walls of Rome itself.
    When he had asked them for lands to settle his people on, the Senate had granted him territory in Moesia between the Danube and the Balkans. He knew the reason he was given permission was for his Visigoths to provide a buffer zone between the Empire and the expansions of the tribes of savage Scythia.
    It was because of these tribes that he wanted to move his people out of their homelands. For three seasons there had been bad weather with small harvests. This, combined with the constant pressure of the Huns and others, led Alaric to decide that, rather than go to war when his tribes were just barely above starvation level, he would appeal to Rome.
    There had been one treachery after the other. The food his people were to receive was stolen by the Roman administrators. The gold to be paid him for guarding their borders was withheld. He had needed this to pay his warriors who, while they were away from their homes guarding the frontiers, could raise no crops or cattle. The gold was necessary for them to feed their families.
    Then the final stroke. During a meeting to discuss his problems, the Romans had struck without warning, killing thousands of his people including women and children. That was too much. In a rage, he had struck blindly out with his warriors, not seeking conquest, only to avenge the slaughter of his innocents.
    It was to his surprise that the Roman forces opposing him fell apart under his attack. The foul deed of the Romans brought to him others who had suffered under the imperial yoke, swelling his forces with those who wanted revenge or the chance to plunder.
    Alaric was no ignorant savage; he was descended from the noble house of the Balti and was an Arian Christian, as were most of his tribe. Perhaps it was the Church of Rome that caused them all this trouble. He knew the Roman church considered them heretics.
    He drew much of his strength from those