"Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Olivia 1 - A Flame in Byzantium" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yarbro Chelsea Quinn)

PART I


Belisarius

Text of a dispatch to Belisarius near Roma.



Hail to the General Belisarius on the feast of the Holy Spirit in the Lord's Year 545.
We have scouted the villages around Roma as you have required us to do and it is agreed that
siege is the intention of Totila. His forces have already attempted it with some success, which has
given these barbarians a taste of success.
Drosos has taken a small party of five men and is currently foraging. The local farmers do not
welcome us, claiming that we are as bad as the Ostrogoth fighters, which has already caused a
few unfortunate events that we were unable to avoid. The foraging is necessary for Totila's men
have reduced the game in the countryside, otherwise we would not be driven to this extremity.
There is a monastery not far from here, and the monks are cenobites, and so are little help to
us. We have not been able to persuade them to provide us more than a shelter from the rain, and
that was granted grudgingly. Some other arrangements are necessary if we are going to be able to
remain in the field for much longer, as we had intended to do. We will await your instructions
before moving on.
Two days ago we encountered an Ostrogoth scouting party of considerable strength and from
what we were able to overhear, they are part of a larger contingent sent to establish themselves
with the peasants so that they will be supported when they strengthen their assault on Roma itself.
We are trying to gain confirmation on this now, but we do not expect to have more information
for some little time since you specifically ordered that we were not to engage these men in
combat, no matter how much we might wish to do so. It was no easy thing to have the enemy
close at hand and to do little more than cower in bushes and listen like slaves at a keyhole.
We pray that God will continue to aid Roma, no matter how she has fallen into evil, and that it
will be given to us to save her from the rapine and pillage of these barbarians. Surely if God can
pardon all sin, He will rescue this whore of a city as He welcomed the harlot Maria into the
company of Heaven.
From the hand of Captain Chrysanthos and carried by the man-at-arms Iakobos, two hours
before sunset.

1

At Neapolis there was chaos as those who could flee Roma came to this port seeking escape. Carts,
wagons, litters, and every beast of burden had been pressed into use for the rout, and reports from
Belisarius' forces indicated that the flood of refugees ran all the way back to the walls of Roma itself.
"What has become of the Romans, that they do this?" Belisarius asked the officer who rode beside
him against the surge of terrified humanity.
Drosos shrugged. "They're frightened. Small wonder."
"Romans were supposed to be made of sterner stuff than this," Belisarius said, a faint regret in his
words. He shielded his eyes against the sun and squinted down the road through the dust.
"Perhaps they were once," said Drosos, dragging on the reins to keep from running into a heavily
laden oxcart.
His horse quivered with dread as the vehicle lumbered by them.
"That beast of yours is as bad as the Romans," said Belisarius, doing his best to make light of the