Date: August 15, 1999
Place: Atrium - Thanatos Household - Palladium
Cast: Cassius, Leonidas
Scene: After hearing that House Tritonis is offering coin and free passage to the refugees of the Tent City, to encourage them to leave for Edessa, Cassius panicked, and rushed to meet with the Princeps. He is convinced that the plague is in danger of raging out of control and escaping the boundaries of Haven, and he urges Leonidas to take a more aggressive stance on the matter.

Atrium - Thanatos Household - Palladium:
      A long, narrow room lined with columns, the atrium is a meeting place for the family and guests. Lit by a four-sided opening in the roof, the compluvium, which serves as both a chimney for the hearth and an inlet for the rain, which is collected in the impluvium, a pool sunk into the marble-tiled floor. Both before and behind the impluvium are large, marble tables, the one to the rear of the room devoted to dining, while the other serves as a desk for conducting business, or, in more unfortunate times, where the family's dead are laid out in state. At the very rear of the room, just before the door to the thalamos -- the master's bedroom -- is the hearth and an altar to the lares of the house of Thanatos. Doors line both walls, leading into cells devoted to cooking or storage. Some of these rooms are also used as secondary bedrooms: with the andronitis, or men's rooms, to the left, and the gynaikonitis, or women's rooms, to the right.

The ordinarily quiet halls of Thanatos are no longer so. Servants bustle from room to room, adding to piles of neatly folded linens, clothing, and cloth draped baskets. None look fresh-faced, but those with wings strive not to let the tips drag the floor, and those without attempt not to stumble.

It's not an official, per se, who greets the Deus Augustin's arrival, but rather a young mongrel girl with her hair twisted up beneath a bandanna, wisps escaping, that lets out a little squeak, and stumbles backward, hand pressed over nose and mouth before remembering to drop a curtsey. Her voice comes out as pinched as her nose.

"I must speak with the Princeps," are Cassius' abrupt words. Dawn is just lightening the sky outside in the Palladium, and it is barely time for the normal 'socializing' hours. The patriarch's hair looks a little windblown, as if he ran (or flew) from wherever he was to the doors of Thanatos. Stepping into the atrium, his pale eyes make a quick circuit of the room, taking note of the activity while he waits, less than patiently, for the girl to rush off and fetch her master.

Rush is the right word. The girl drops another quick curtsey and flies down a hallway, feet barely touching the ground as she goes.

It's only another handful of time before the Princeps' voice can be heard, and one more before he's seen, with his ever-present man, Atreus at his side, and another older man, silver shot through his hair and wings of faded ivory. "Use common sense, Phaon. Keep back enough for the House, send the rest." The girl who went for him is nowhere in sight, but as the older man bows and heads off toward a cluster of those collecting and stacking, Leonidas' heads for Cassius. "Deus Augustin. It is good to see you well."

Cassius' manner is brusque, though it likely stems from urgency rather than rudeness. "Princeps," he answers, bowing his head. His wings extend from beneath the cloak he's wearing, urging it to fall between them before his plumage once again aligns itself along his back. He is garbed for the outdoors, and faint lines of fatigue on his face hint that whatever his daily errands might have been -- they were not pleasant ones. They also support the rumors that he himself took ill recently, though he shows no signs of sickness now.

"I apologize for the interruption, Deus," Cassius begins. "But I came as soon as I heard the rumor. Do you know what Tritonis is doing?" A thread of anger works its way into his voice, though he tries hard to suppress it.

"Everything in its power to do to end this epidemic, I should hope, Deus, though I admit that I have not had opportunity to speak with the Dea." Leonidas arches an eyebrow. "Why?"

"End?" Cassius repeats. He shakes his head, first slowly, then with more vigor. "No, Princeps... Dea Kalypso is offering coin to the refugees -- coin and transports. She wants to send them to Edessa. Deus, don't you see? She is spreading the disease!"

"Edessa?" A faint smile tugs at one corner of Leonidas' mouth. "You must have heard incorrectly, Deus. If the refugees are being sent anywhere, it is to Arelate. Dea Kalypso would not knowingly spread this thing. I am certain that any refugees Tritonis helps are being properly screened before being sent out."

"'Properly screened?'" It is Cassius' turn to play the parrot again, repeating that phrase with another slow shake of his head. "By whom, Princeps? The few healers we have are overworked and ready to drop where they stand. Do you want to place the fate of our nations in their hands, for if even one disease-ridden refugee gets past their defenses and is allowed to travel to Edessa -- for I did hear, clearly, that it was Edessa and not Arelate -- then our entire Empyre could well face the same epidemic that now sweeps Haven." He hauls in a steadying breath before plunging on, "I have already advised the Emperor as to my stance, but I feel I should impress upon you the gravity of this situation. As of yet, there is no cure for this disease. And until we find one, we cannot risk spreading it beyond this city's walls. I will speak with the Varati, with Delphi, with the other governments if I have to, but I insist that we stop all traffic to and from Haven until a cure can be found."

Leonidas' eyebrows climb even higher as his chin lifts. Wings shift out and aside to allow him to clasp his hands at the small of his back before settling again. "If the few healers that we have are already overworked, Deus, might I point out that shutting the city down shuts off any influx of additional healers we might encourage to help? If we exhaust those healers here, and cannot supply them with reinforcements, what should we expect? Your own House has had fires in the courtyard. Should we burn down the whole of Haven to cleanse it, if the healers fail? Sacrifice everyone within in order to preserve the Empyre?"

The question may have been rhetorical, but Cassius answers nonetheless -- quietly, gravely, and with utter conviction. "If need be." He sets his jaw, gaining that stubborn, belligerent look he displays when he is determined to win a debate. "We can send for healers and herbalists, Princeps, but no more. Anyone else who comes into Haven is in danger of catching the plague, and in danger of spreading it when they leave. It is the leaving, especially, that I wish to avoid. The Emperor fears we may cause widespread panic by closing down the city, but I can assure you, that panic would be far worse should this disease be loosed upon our nation."

Leonidas' lips thin into a line. "We are in a delicate situation here, Deus Augustin. I assure you that I am as loathe as any other man to inflict this illness upon the Empyre as a whole. I am as loathe to close my people inside a city that houses the instigator of the attack. This disease began in Haven, Deus. As you say, there is no cure, no sure way to fight it. Would you lock yourself in close quarters with one of the Varat--" He cuts himself off, and amends instead with, "It makes me distinctly uncomfortable."

"A disease does not care about race or station, Princeps," Cassius replies tersely. "Like it or not, we are all equal in its eyes."

Leonidas answers as coolly, "Yes, Deus, I am aware of this, but to isolate ourselves..." He stops again, takes another breath, and tilts his head a little to one side. "A question, then. With the healers taxed already to the point of exhaustion, where do we begin? Close the city walls? Cut off all escape or entrance? Who then do the healers tend to first? How do they stay abreast of the disease's spread? And how many of them do we set to determining a cure?"

Nodding, Cassius answers, "I propose that we close the city, first. We must meet with Delphi and insist that they warn the ships away from Haven's port -- that they keep the trade caravans from entering or leaving the city, and that we shut down traffic from the roads. I do not know how long this will last... a matter of days, or perhaps weeks. Longer than that, and we risk mass-riots and food shortages. But perhaps it will buy us enough time. Once the city is shut down, we gather the most skilled of healers, physicians, and herbalists, from all the races--" he flashes a glance at the Princeps, gauging his reaction, and remarking, "--for they might use herbs or medicines that are foreign to us, and which could yield better results. Set them to working on a cure, while the remainder of our healers continue the task of purging the refugees of sickness. It will require cooperation -- a tremendous amount. But at this point, I feel that it is our only hope."

Leonidas is incapable, it seems, of beginning any speech without going over points already made. "Take the best of the healers and find a cure, while those less talented work twice as hard, regardless of race, to contain what has already begun. Mmn." A single nod, and then a breath. "It bears consideration. You are correct, though, in being concerned, if Dea Kalypso is indeed sending the refugees to Edessa. It should be to Arelate. I'll speak with her ... unless you'd rather?"

"Regardless of where she's sending them," Cassius answers, "she must be stopped. The plague could still be passed to our nation from the mongrels in Arelate, and we are then faced with the same dilemma that we must overcome here." He inclines his head in a nod. "I will speak with her, Princeps. But I need your authority and support in convincing the Emperor to cease traffic to and from Haven. Delphi and the other governments will have to be convinced, as well. I believe we must be unified in this, Deus, or we risk looking uncoordinated and sloppy, and that will hardly inspire trust in our plan."

Leonidas points out, after clearing his throat, "The Emperor has banned himself from the Palladium, Deus Augustin. I do intend to tour Haven myself when the sun is up. If I can find him, and arrange to bend his ear for a moment or two, I will ask his opinion on the matter, and give him my own."

Nodding again, Cassius answers, "May Tyche favor your efforts, Princeps. I call upon her now, for I fear that luck is the only thing that will see us through this catastrophe." Then, tipping his head, he offers, "Thank you for meeting with me. Fair winds, Princeps. Vale." And then he turns on his heel to depart.

FIN  

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