Completion of Fort at Rough Castle
The Roman fort at Rough Castle is completed, marking a strategic expansion of the Antonine Wall. Soldiers and engineers celebrate their achievement, but remain vigilant against potential threats from
Setting
Rough Castle, a newly completed Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in northern Britain. The fort is perched on a ridge overlooking the surrounding landscape, with a clear view of the wall stretching east and west. The immediate surroundings include freshly dug defensive ditches, wooden palisades, and a newly constructed gatehouse.
Characters
Centurion Marcus Valerius
primary
A battle-hardened soldier in his late 30s, with a muscular build and weathered features. His short-cropped hair is beginning to gray at the temples, and a jagged scar runs from his left eyebrow to his cheekbone, a souvenir from his campaigns in Britannia. His piercing brown eyes constantly scan his surroundings, assessing threats and progress alike.
Engineer Lucius Fabius
primary
A wiry man in his late 30s with sun-weathered skin and close-cropped dark hair showing early streaks of gray. His hands bear the callouses of decades handling tools, and his sharp brown eyes constantly assess structural details.
Auxiliary Soldier
secondary
A young man in his early twenties, of average height with a lean but muscular build, typical of a local Briton recruited into the Roman auxilia. His sun-tanned face bears a few faint scars from training, and his dark brown hair is cropped short in the Roman military style. His keen brown eyes continuously scan the horizon.
Slave Laborer
background
A gaunt man in his late 20s, with sunken cheeks and a weathered complexion. His unkempt, dark hair is matted with sweat and dust, and his arms bear fresh scars from labor. His posture is hunched from years of hard labor, and his movements are slow but deliberate.
Dialog
Centurion Marcus Valerius
Good work on the gatehouse, Lucius. The reinforced posts will make those northern bastards think twice before testing us.
Engineer Lucius Fabius
Eighteen pedes thick at the base, Centurion, and the lintel follows Vitruvius' ratio exactly. Even a battering ram would find this gate troublesome.
Centurion Marcus Valerius
Troublesome won't be enough when the Caledonians come howling. That ditch needs another foot of depth before winter.
Engineer Lucius Fabius
The ditch follows the natural slope perfectly - any deeper and we risk undermining the palisade. Trust in geometry, Marcus.
Centurion Marcus Valerius
I trust in my eyes and twenty years of watching barbarians climb what engineers said couldn't be climbed.
Engineer Lucius Fabius
Then let us hope they respect Roman stone as much as they fear Roman iron.
Centurion Marcus Valerius
Aye. Now let's check those watchtower sight lines before dusk.