140AD - The Rise to Empress || [GxG] ||

Chapter 27

Notes:

This update came faster than I anticipated I could write it and I may have neglected some of my classes but oh well, I hope it's a good one!

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Just when Egypt started to feel dull, something half exciting happened. If it could be deemed exciting. It was more a pain in the ass to the four Generals. Jake was stepping on their toes for the most ridiculous situation that could ever take place and Lexa was considering teaching the scouts a thing or two herself about how to actually keep watch. This was the second time they were breached and the gods alone knew how some could just walk out with something as large as the Griffin. As heavy as the Griffin even.

Somewhere in the last few nights, no one was exactly sure when, did someone sneak into their camp and managed to steal the golden Griffin that they marched with during the battle and throughout the city, before the entire war started. The Golden Griffin statuette perched up on a long oak rod was something of extreme importance to Emperor Jake. Without his Griffin, he could be perceived as weak and incompetent, unable to even protect something so dear to him. Something so seemingly insignificant, yet it was the only thing that kept morale tangible.

The last few weeks went excruciatingly slow as the Romans and Greeks decided to wait for the Egyptian fleet to wither away with time. It was a waiting game, the most tedious and petulant of all. Though, as days passed the scouts reported that the Egyptians were indeed deserting their cause, as the traitor said they would. Unfortunately, he had already become crow food though, and was eliciting a foul smell until he was finally taken down and cremated in the most unceremonious way possible.

Just two days before the Greeks and Romans would march on the city of Alexandria, did they realize the Golden Griffin was missing, meaning according to Roman law and tradition, that they couldn't march into battle. Lexa tried to sidestep this notion, suggesting that they didn't have to march with an official purpose. She was willing to go herself, alongside the three Generals and twenty trusted men.

She was willing to guarantee that they could probably wipe out the remaining men in the Egyptian camp by themselves. It wasn't a hard task if it was done right. Lexa had been reading up on war tactics scribbled down on parchment that sat on the many makeshift shelves in the war tent and she was positive they could pull it off. All they had to do was kill the Generals first, those important to the cause and the other leaders who led the men. Without the Generals, the Egyptians would be clueless, brainless animals that would likely desert even faster knowing that they couldn't continue on by themselves.

To further the initiative, they just had to start a very large fire. Nothing a few fire torches drenched in olive oil or candles couldn't fix. Nothing burned better than poorly tempered canvas tents which were littered all across the Egyptian camp.

Even with the foolproof plan, Jake denied the notion, insisting that they would rather try to find his dear golden Griffin. "Roman law is Roman law and that's it." It infuriated the four Generals, especially Elena who often muttered Greek obscenities. She didn't understand the Emperor's way of thinking; her father the Monarch would never wait so long to destroy his enemies, especially not when they were so vulnerable.

She even suggested that they should carry on with the plan, without the Emperor's say so. If they were successful then he would understand and if they weren't successful then well ... no one would be alive to be punished. In the end, Magnus raised his hands in the air, his face contoured in an annoying manner. "If the Emperor wants his Griffin, then we find his Griffin. Or at least we try to. If we don't find it then that's that but we would've at least tried. With that knowledge, Jake would be forced to make another plan and he'd likely choose ours."