Heir of Aurelian

In the following days, Mitra contacted Sigefrida and informed the woman of her need for Germanic mercenaries. Which the Suebi spymaster was quick to agree to. The borders of the Roman Empire were stabilizing, and the barbarian kingdoms which sought to carve their own piece of the Mediterranean were being pushed back.

The result of this was that many of the Germanic tribes were busily warring among each other for those lands that were left in Europe. Naturally Marcellus had not been idle since he reunited the Empire under one banner, and had been using his influence with the Germanic tribes to hire mercenaries for the conflict which had been brewing in the east for some time.

The Vandals, in particular, were more than willing to kill for gold and silver. And who better to kill than a bunch of filthy Persians? Or so they thought. It did not take long before a meeting was established between Marcellus and one of the more powerful Vandal chieftains. The man was large, with pale skin, and a long red beard, with a matching head of hair.

Braulio was the chieftain's name, and he had come all the way to Rome to meet with the mighty Emperor, who had halted his people's advance, as well as those of all the other major tribes. Much like Marcellus, the man wore his armor, even in times of peace. He sat across from the Imperator with a wide grin on his face as the two men stared at one another, examining their capabilities.

Finally, after some time had passed, Marcellus was the first to speak, as he pulled out a small chest filled with gold bullion. He handed it over to the Vandal warlord with litter regard for its worth, before informing the man of his task.

"An advance in payment for the job I want you to fulfill. You can expect far more where that came from if you complete the task I have in mind for you."

Braulio scratched his red beard as he gazed upon the gold in the open chest with avarice in his blue eyes. He could hardly believe that Marcellus was just willing to give this good to him from the start. Though he had to admit, this tactic did succeed in garnering his interest. The large man closed the chest and tossed it aside so that it would no longer distract him from the conversation before posing a few questions of his own.

"So, what's this task you have for me?"

A wide grin appeared on Marcellus' face as he pulled out two gilded chalices and filled them with one. He handed one off to Braulio before taking a sip from his own. It was only after the two men had drank from the wine did the Roman Emperor state the details of the job.

"First and foremost, as far as the Persians are concerned, you and I have never met, and you are not under the employ of the Roman Empire. If you keep this secret, not only will you receive a bounty in gold and silver from Rome, but also from the next Sassanid King himself. Consider this double payment for one job.

I will make this brief. I am secretly backing a candidate for the Sassanid throne and he has found himself in need of experienced warriors. I want you and your men to travel to Ctesiphon, where you will meet with a young Persian woman by the name of Mitra. She will introduce you to her brother Narseh, as mercenaries that she has specifically sought out.

You will present yourself to Narseh as the capable warriors you are and convince him to hire you. Where you will then officially fight under his banner, in his conflict with his older brother Bahram. Emerge victorious and you can expect great rewards from Narseh and myself.

Aside from the fortune you will be paid, there will also be glory to gain in battle. I don't know if your tribe still follows the old gods, but if so, then I can assure you that your men will enter Wuotan's hell without trouble.

So what say you? Do you believe you and your tribe are up to the task of slaying some Persians?"

Braulio gulped down the rest of his wine in a single go. He then slammed his chalice on the wooden table before sticking out his arm in agreement with Marcellus' job. This caused the Roman Emperor to smile and grasp hold of the man's forearm, where the two men solidified their agreement. After doing so, Braulio began to speak.

"I'll slay your Persians for you and make sure your puppet sits on his fancy throne. Gold and glory are all my people ask for. I must say, for a filthy Roman, you sure think like one of my people."

Marcellus simply scoffed when he heard this and shook his head. He was quick to deny these allegations.

"I assure you, I am and will always be a Roman.... But I have known Goths for most of my life. I have served alongside thousands and slain tens of thousands more. Since your people are related to the Goths in some way, naturally, I can understand how you think. So when do you think you will depart for Ctesiphon?"

Braulio ignored Marcellus' comments about slaying goths and focused on the task at hand. He scratched his beard once more than he thought about the answer to the Roman Emperor's question. it appeared to be a habit of the man. After several moments of silence, he smiled and nodded his head before responding.

"Give me two weeks to rally my warriors, and we will depart for Ctesiphon. Once we arrive, I will do as you have said and contact this woman. You don't need to worry about our silence, it's included in the price. After all, we Vandals know how to be discreet."

With this said, the hulking barbarian rose from his seat, and departed from Marcellus' palace, where he would make the necessary preparations to fulfill his task. As for Marcellus, he felt a lot less nervous knowing that Narseh would have some proper warriors following him into battle.

You see, Marcellus may not like the Germanic tribes, but he respected their ability in warfare. The same could not be said for the Persians, who he looked upon with a deep sense of disdain. However, in order for this peace to last, Narseh needed to be crowned King, and thus Marcellus had turned to a group of professionals to ensure this transition of power in the Sassanid court occurred as intended.