Our Eternal Curse I

by Simon Rumney

  “We must return you to Rome as soon as possible, your husband will be glad to see you again,” Marius had replied.

  “You are such a gullible fool!” shouted Julia in another fit frustration and anger.

  This time Gavius ignored her as he placed the full jug on her table saying, “I am going to supervise the unloading of cargo at Ostia. I will not be back today.”

  Ignoring the fat man’s pouting Julia shook her head in disbelief as she read Clitumna’s next words.

  “Yes my husband will be quite surprised to see me.”

  Julia’s spirits lifted as she read about a delegation of captains who came hurrying forward after the battle and told Gaius that the Roman woman had actually been the leader of the pirates. They told him that it was she who planned everything and if any of their number ever disobeyed her they had been put to death at her orders and they demanded the same fate for her now.

  Young Gaius ordered his men to form a cordon around Clitumna as some of the captains unsheathed their swords and advanced on her. The sailors’ anger was palpable and many had to be physically restrained while shouting hate-filled curses.

  Young Gaius could not believe what he was witnessing and the peculiar circumstances completely unnerved him. The woman had clearly done something to upset these men so badly but he could not be responsible for the death of the daughter of a Senator. Unlike his father, Young Gaius was not known as a man who could make wise decisions rapidly, he was accustomed to fighting battles against clearly defined opposition on clearly understood battlefields, determining the guilt or innocence of a civilian was far too intangible, so, in his confusion he hesitated.

  Julia understood that without strong leadership a situation such as this one could get completely out of hand and after reading his description of a much heated argument she was not surprised when Young Gaius lost his composure and shouted, “Just take her back to Rome!”

  Clearly fed up with the whole business he told the captains, “Two of my centurions will escort her back to Ostia when they arrive they will take her to my father Gaius Marius and tell him what you have told me, he will know what to do.”

  He was obviously out of his depth and wanted nothing more to do with the big woman so having made his decision Young Gaius walked over to his brave lads who cheered him for commanding his first victory.

  Julia was totally frustrated by his incompetence. He would rather receive the love of his soldiers than make a difficult decision. Clitumna should be dead. His immaturity was going to place Julia in real danger and she was beside herself with anger when she realized with a start that the letter was written on the day of Clitumna’s arrest. If she had traveled on the same galley as the letter she must already be in Rome.

  Calming herself Julia took comfort in the knowledge that Gaius Marius would know what to do. He would not hesitate like his son, no, he would put this dangerous woman to death and remove her from Julia’s life completely.

  Clitumna in Rome

  Gavius happened to see Clitumna while walking along the quay marking off cargo with one of his foremen and, because Julia had decided not to tell him about Clitumna’s predicament, the fat man received a terrible shock. For he observed Clitumna being escorted down a gangplank by two armed soldiers.

  In shock, Gavius tore the corner off of an inventory and wrote a short note. Handing the folded paper to one of his employees Gavius snapped, “Send this messenger to the address written here as a matter of the utmost urgency!”

  Leaving his foreman Gavius walked directly over to the galley from which Clitumna had so recently disembarked. He stood impatiently waiting while the crew ran what they called a spring line from the bow to the bollard set in the quay at the stern of the ship. In order to perform this task the crew had temporarily removed the gangplank and Gavius could not get on board. He did not want to draw attention by shouting so he waited impatiently rolling from one foot to the next until the plank was returned. It was a frustrating delay but Gavius had to know why Clitumna was in Rome and how it affected him.

  “I must apologize for your delay in coming aboard my vessel,” said the man in command bowing his head as a sign of respect. He like all mariners who came to Ostia knew that Gavius was now a very powerful man.

  “Who is that woman?” demanded Gavius with no regard for any of the usual formalities.

  “Her name is Clitumna. She is the leader of the pirates.”

  The seamen went on to tell Gavius the story of what happened on the dockside at Saguntum and finished by saying, “She is being taken by my captain and two centurions to Gaius Marius to receive justice.”

  In his haste Gavius almost bumped into the boy who stood at the top of the gangplank holding a bucket of scrolls. “More mail from Hispania Master,” he said politely.

  “What do you mean more?”

  “I sent two buckets when we first arrived but this one was overlooked. I am very sorry.”

  “Place them in my carriage,” replied Gavius too occupied with his own problems to scold the boy’s tardiness.

  Instructing the driver of his wonderfully ornate carriage to make all haste for Rome, Gavius lumbered aboard.

  Until recently the gold-leaf embroidered vehicle had been the prized possession of one of the most successful, wholesale market traders in Rome. The poor man could not fully understand how his business became so suddenly insolvent after so many lucrative years with the carriage confiscated when he could no longer pay his debts. The out-of-pocket moneylender had no use for something as ostentatious so he sold it to the man who was now fumbling through the bucket of scrolls as he was being carried to the city.

  Upon arrival at his shop Gavius left his coach which Julia hated. She said it draw attention to him, and therefore, her. Thinking of how it annoyed her made Gavius smile as he walked inside. Yes it was childish retaliation for all she had put him through, but it was retaliation none the less.

  Sitting on a stall in her back room Julia sipped a beaker of wine while holding Gavius’s torn note, seemingly deep in thought. Looking up Julia asked, “What is so urgent that you keep me sitting here?”

  “The pirate queen is in Rome! She has been arrested I have just seen her larger than life on the dock at Ostia! She is on her way to be interviewed by Gaius Marius!”

  “You ruin my morning for this?” was all Julia said in response.

  “I don’t think you understand what I am telling you. The pirates have been smashed! Our only source of cargo galleys has been taken away from us! And, what’s even more important is that woman knows who I am.”

  “Calm down!” chided Julia. “I have to go?”

  “How can I calm down? My livelihood is no more!”

  Julia moved menacingly close to Gavius. He could smell the wine on her breath as she snarled, “The pirates and Clitumna were in my way! I now own over two hundred galleys? Even as we speak they are plying the Hispania route exclusively for me, so your livelihood, as you call it, is secure. Now, get out of my way, I am late.”

  Gavius studied Julia’s angelic beauty and wondered if he would ever get in her way. “Do you have something to do with Clitumna’s downfall? Is this more of your work?”

  “Clitumna will be put to death by Roman justice. Have no doubt that Marius will see to that, then all will be forgotten.”

  Not quite fully reassured Gavius remembered the mail bucket and stopped her leaving by handed Julia the letter addressed to her.

  Julia untied the ribbon and broke the red seal on the parchment roll. It was from Young Gaius written at the docks on the day after the pirates met their end and Julia found it contained news which she did not want to read:

  Great news my darling because of my success at Saguntum my General has granted me leave and I am returning to Rome. I cross the great ocean in one month from today.

  Noticing the date of the letter Julia realized that much to her annoyance it was too late to delay him, he would already have left. Sitting down, Julia wondered why this news
made her so uneasy. Young Gaius posed no threat. She could easily second someone to do his work in Hispania. She liked him and his presence would not get in the way of her business activities, so why did it trouble her so?

  In order to keep the true answer hidden Julia’s denying mind instructed her to refill the beaker with wine, put it to her lips, take a deep sip, and repress. She would soon have to spend time with a man that she was simply too afraid to love and the fear of losing someone close was too overwhelming for her damaged mind to even think about.

  Julia considered her options and thinking out loud she said, “I can’t send you. I need you in Rome because of your links to the money lenders.”

  “Pardon?” Gavius only had half the facts but that was enough to worry him.

  “Young Gaius is coming home.”

  Realizing that he was only one maniacal contemplation away from another tour of Hispania, Gavius said nothing for fear of provoking her.

  With only a second’s further thought Julia gave him an order, “Send Antonius to Hispania immediately—we need eyes and ears on the ground.”

  “But he has a baby due in just a few weeks,” pleaded Gavius on behalf of the man who had become a friend.

  “Do it now!” was her angry reply to his pathetic display of compassion.

  Still protesting Gavius walked out of his shop. Julia poured herself another large goblet of red wine. She had no idea that Antonius had a wife and when she thought of the commitment and responsibility required to have a baby it sent a spontaneous shiver of fear through her entire body.

  Returning within an hour Gavius noticed that Julia had nearly finished a whole jug of his finest wine. Amazed at her capacity and annoyed by her presumptuousness he spoke defiantly, “Antonius has categorically refused to go!”

  “That can’t be!” Julia was clearly shaken by the news. No one had ever questioned any of her manipulations before and she did not like the unsettling feelings that his rejection provoked. Unlike Gavius, Antonius had no sword of Damocles hanging over his head. She knew of no wrongdoings to use as leverage and it both frustrated and frightened her. Julia had learned everything she knew about man management by watching the techniques of Bromidus and her ever-growing empire relied entirely on bullying and fear. She could not be seen to show any signs of weakness so lifting herself unsteadily from her stool Julia gave Gavius an order, “Return to the docks where cargo will be arriving on the same galleys as before. The only effect this change will have on us is you no longer need to pay the galley crews any money for the pirates.” With that Julia lifted her hood and walked directly to the markets.

  As he trundled back to Ostia, Gavius longed for a return to his simple life in the old oil shop. Even his wonderful carriage no longer gave him pleasure; he was totally cured of his greed. All the money in the world was not going to please Julia since he was quite convinced that she had become obsessed with power. What course of action could he take to save himself and his dear friends Antonius, oh, and Young Gaius for that matter?

  Finding Antonius at the market no words of greeting passed Julia’s lips just a curt sentence, “I need someone on the ground in Hispania — you leave tomorrow!”

  “You can’t make me go to Hispania,” he replied defiantly.

  Very threatened by the fact that Antonius was not allowing himself to be manipulated like other men Julia snapped, “I have made you who you are and I can break you just as easily! You will be on the galley tomorrow or return to poverty!”

  Antonius had only met Julia twice before and this medusa standing before him was not the person her remembered. Fearing for his newfound wealth he moderated his anger and tried to reason with her, “Please don’t send me I must be in Rome for the birth of my first child.”

  Ignoring his pleads Julia snarled, “It is your choice but do not expect to be able to feed your growing family if you are not on that galley!”

  Having said all she had come to say Julia turned and left before her knees gave way. Pretending to be an adult in authority took far too much out of her and more wine in great quantity was needed to deaden the horrible feelings which such confrontation provoked. The problem was Julia had no time for wine. She had to get to the home of Gaius Marius. The fact that Clitumna was still alive gave Julia an opportunity to meet the woman who had controlled the great ocean for so many years and she was keen to get there before the effects of Gavius’s best wine wore of.

  Clitumna should have been killed resisting arrest in Hispania but there was no cause for concern Marius’s justice would be swift and nothing linked Julia to any of the recent events, or so she thought.

  Mithridates

  The daily income from the sale of Julia’s foodstuffs was without precedent and bags of coin were filling her little room at the back of the oil shop. Other than bolstering her insecurities and the destruction of Sulla, Julia had no use for money so Gavius was instructed to distribute all of it among the moneylenders of Rome.

  Julia also made arrangements for her future income to be sent directly to moneylenders who loaned the money to others and paid her interest at what they referred to as a compound rate.

  Much of the money was being distributed by Calpurnius who had been instructed to offer generous fiduciary reward to any moneylender who could bribe a Senator to speak against Sulla becoming the next Consul of Rome.

  Men of finance were as greedy as they were intelligent and in no time they had found enough corrupt officials to guarantee that the Senate echoed with a constant verbal attack upon Sulla. Her corruption cost Julia millions of sesterces but money for this cause was always in great supply.

  When he was elected to his coveted role as Consul, Julia flew into a rage then slumped immediately into a deep depression. Neither her money nor the constant protests of Marius could prevent Sulla’s elevation to the most powerful position in the Republic.

  The vote had been a close run thing but Sulla had charmed, bullied and paid enough Senators to overcome Julia’s unsophisticated inducements. Unfortunately for Julia, Sulla was simply a more accomplished politician and knew how to win favor in the Senate.

  Completely incensed by her failure Julia spontaneously withdrew her vast funds from Calpurnius. The fact that it was not his fault and the fact that he carried out her instructions to the letter meant nothing; anyway she reasoned, he had let her “lions” go and it was time for retribution.

  Calpurnius begged Julia not to withdraw all of her money because he had lent a great deal on the back of her seemingly endless river of cash. “Losing your support will expose me to cash flow shortages and the possibility of total failure,” he pleaded.

  Unmoved Julia had looked him in the eye and spoke with controlled anger, “If I do not receive my funds in full within seven days your Senatorial bribes will be made public.”

  “But they were your bribes!”

  “You are going to look very stupid accusing a penniless house girl!”

  Within a week he had paid Julia’s money back by borrowing from other moneylenders and by doing this he placed himself in a very precarious position.

  When the agents of Gaius Marius went to him and demanded that all of the great man’s investments be returned in full, Julia had deliberately broken a man for no stronger reason than a tantrum.

  Of course, Calpurnius had no idea that Julia had influenced Marius. He had been managing the great man’s funds for many years and he assumed that his withdrawal was simply a cruel coincidence, so he faced his oblivion without mentioning her name to anyone.

  Like the warehousemen, food wholesalers, black-marketeers and pirates Julia had calmly destroyed yet another person without so much as a thought for the pain she was causing. It was true that some of her victims deserved suffering whilst others were innocent but none of them meant anything because her increasingly unbalanced and paranoid condition dictated that she was the only vulnerable person — everyone else would exploit her if she let them.

  Unaware of Julia’s influence, Sulla spe
nt his first weeks in office resolving the problems which now threatened the Republic. The most pressing was an Asian king who had become more and more hostile to Rome. News had recently reached the Senate that every Roman in the Asia province had been massacred by the army of Mithridates. Eighty thousand Romans of all ages had been hunted down in a single month of bloodshed and the logistics of such a feat were mind boggling. The planning of this cull must have taken years of careful work and it simply could not be allowed to stand.

  Sulla spoke passionately in the Senate proclaiming his intention to raise an army to fight Mithridates and much to his surprise and amazement Marius stood and announced that it was he who should be going to fight the murderous dictator in the East.

  “Why you and not I?” shouted Sulla angered by this ridiculous outburst.

  “Because Rome is bankrupt and I can afford to pay for the twenty legions that are required to perform the task properly!”

  “Twenty legions!” Almost every Senator gasped the words at once. They were all shocked by such an ostentatious display of wealth. Marius was proposing to fund one of the biggest expeditionary forces Rome had ever dispatched with money from his own estate. Many of them could afford to fund an army of one or two legions, as Marius had during the Marsic war, but none of them could pay for twenty.

  In reality, there were only two people in Rome who could afford to keep twenty legions in the field for two years. The Senators now knew that one of them was Marius but, although the wealth of the second was derived from the same source, Julia’s identity remained a well-kept secret.

  Sulla feared that his head was about to explode. A lifetime of dealing with Marius had taught him to prepare for every contingency but this was too wild an idea to have imagined.

  “If you pay for the army will it not then be yours and no longer that of Rome!” Sulla shouted across the floor of the Senate.