I.
The Dudius gentes have served Lentria for generations; the family being rich and popular among the patricians and plebeians alike. It was a great blow to Lentria when five of the six Dudius children, the exception being Publius Dudius Dives, all fell in battle. Tacitus Dudius Valerianus , the last princeps senatus who was the last elected princeps senatus, died suddenly after his eldest son, Crispinus Dudius Cnaeus fell in battle. Many Lentrian’s suspect the honorable Tacitus Duduis Valerianus died of a broken heart; for five of his six sons have died on the battlefield. After the senior Duduis died, he left his middle child Publius Dudius Dives his estate. Publius was born into a military family, the deeds of Tactius known throughout all of Lentria, and Publius had a somewhat successful career in the military, and served as part of the Military tribune. Publius studied many of the ancient battles and tactics, and even suggested to his cousin General Dudius Tatius Cato different tactics to help in the war effort. His ideas fell on deaf ears and the legion he was attached to was all but destroyed in combat. This combat also saw the death of his eldest brother, who also served as part of the Military tribune. After inheriting the Dudius estate, Publius spent his time trying to become active in politics; Publius also saw the ineptitude of many of his counterparts, but his age and politics prevented him from moving any further in rank. Many in the senate felt as if Publius was a nothing but a child, one who was inexperienced and arrogant.
II.
After losing many elections, and not being able to progress in rank Publius became depressed and his hope of success dwindled greatly. Because of his love of knowledge, Publius acquired a large library with tales from around the world. His heart yearned to explore the various places on the planet, places he could not even fathom. It was around this time that Publius began reading different excerpts and tales from well known adventures and heroes from around the world. Having money and little power in Lentria was great, but he soon realized there were hardly any true Lentrian heroes. Wanting to bring glory and honor to Lentria, Publius sold most of his estate, freed his slaves, and began travelling alone. He rides his father’s horse white horse, Decima across the continent looking for adventure. Recently he and his guide were ambushed by barbaric thieves, wanting to steal Publius’ gold and armor. Unfortunately Publius’ guide was killed in the attack, but Publius easily killed the sixteen attacking barbarians. Mea anima est cum te. Nostra animae sunt cum vobis.
III.
Without a guide, Publius wondered the foreign countryside, looking for shelter for the coming night. Packing what he could onto his horse, he began exploring on his own. Without fear, and with the glory of Lentria at heart, Publius was guided by Shemac to some sort of an old bandit hideout so that he could rest and recuperate. As he was resting, he noticed other horses in the area, and began to wonder if he was actually alone. Showing unmatched bravery, Publius quickly ventured further into the bandits hideout. On his way through the bandit’s lair, he found the bodies of what appeared to be human mutated with crows. Finding this odd, Publius ventured further into the lair, eventually hearing the sounds of combat. He entered the area after a fierce battle between the Crow People and four unique adventures. Among them, was a battle hardened plebian Lentrian, a mystical Chiatze and a barbaric Nadiri and a fourth was a famous warrior whose nationality is still unknown. It was not obvious how these three met, but upon careful skill and perception, it was soon apparent that the Lentrian and the Nadiri have known each other for some time. It is still a mystery as to how the other two joined the group. At the time of Publius’ arrival, it seems a fifth member, a Ventrian died a horrible death at the hands of monsters that are made of nothing but what appears to be a thick, clear oily substance. Upon hearing those in the adventuring group discuss this matter, these “Oil Cube” creatures are invisible to human perception, and the Lentrian even charged into one of these hidden beasts becoming stuck and slowly dissolving as he stayed inside. The unlucky Venrian met a similar fate, but was unable to be saved. When Publius saw the deceased body, he was nothing but bones covered in what is assumed to be acidic oil slime. The Nadiri performed a religious ritual over the body and placed his bones into a mystical bag that has no end. It seems, aside from the Ventrian that was killed in battle, there was another Lentrian that was killed in a separate battle outside of the bandit hideout.
IV.
After speaking with the adventuring group, Publius decided to aid their quest by offering his services, which consisted of years of military training by the magnificent Lentrian army, to their quest. Soon, he learned they were on a quest to get some sort of a gem for a client. This gem had been lost years ago, and they were tasked at retrieving it. This job, to one not as observant as Publius, seems as if it was busy work. But seeing the strange monsters and Crow Men littering the ground around him, Publius knew in his heart that there was more to this seemingly simple quest. Shemac lead Publius to this location, which indicates that this quest is for the betterment of the entire Lentrian Empire. After a short rest, the party found themselves in a rather large burial chamber, with the mummified remains of a giant dragon half in a cave wall. This seemed to be where the strange Crow Men had their barracks. The Crow Men, however, were not alone in their fight; they had somehow gained control of the spirits of the dead. Ghosts began to attack his party, and it seemed as if there was no hope in defeating the magnificent monsters. Through supreme courage, however, the party eventually persevered, Publius using his cunning intellect and tactics to win the battle. After the fall of many of the ghouls and many of the Crow Men’s brethren, three Crow Men surrendered to the mighty Lentrian, Publius. His soldiers, especially that of his fellow Lentrian, who he learned was named Vorenus from overhearing a conversation between Vorenus and the Nadir, proved to be most useful on the battlefield. On behalf of Publius, and the Lentrian Empire, Vorenus questioned the Crow Men. It seems, if these Crow Men are to be believed, that they were once normal men who were transformed into Crow Men. This information made some of the group uneasy, but it was decided that the quest was more important than the safety of the party members. After the battle, and a quick rest, Publius instructed his party to explore the catacombs, in which Vorenus discovered a key made completely out of Platinum. The Crow Men were then tied up and forced into a corner. Night passed, and the rest was good on Publius’ soul.
V.
The next day saw strange devices that Publius and his comrades have not seen before. There seemed to be a great door made of magical energy, which was defused by the Platinum key found earlier. After moving through the barrier, the party stumbled upon a door leading into a hallway that was rigged to shoot arrows at all who passed through. Being quite the athlete, Publius was able to jump across the trap, and help aide in turning off the trap. The trap, which was meant to kill any who tampered with the area, led to another area with massive lightning shooting from a large metallic object in the center of the room. Publius was able to help the exotic Chiatze defuse the strange magical lightning, and the party ventured through into the next area of the long forgotten halls. Behind the doors stood a magnificent brazier; on all four corners of the room, there were sickly green colored mystical sigils carved into the floor. Quickly, and with deep knowledge, the mystical Chiatze informed her counterparts and Publius that the room was a magical trap, and that creatures would be summoned if the trap was tripped. Bravely standing watch, along with the Crow Men, Publius watched as strange rock creatures engulfed in flame began to appear on the green sigils. These were obviously hostile, and began attacking the party. Even though Publius was severely injured due to defusing the lightning trap in the previous room, Publius rushed inside to aid his comrades. Charging toward the giant brazier, Publius sent nightmares into the minds of his enemies, and killed two creatures with one stroke. He also destroyed the brazier, which turned the trap off, meaning that there would be no more creatures that would appear on the sigils anymore. Defeating one more of the strange fire creatures, the battle was over. Only a Lentrian Patrician could have killed three of the six creatures, and defuse the trap in a matter of minutes. His party members performed with great vigor and courage, and the other Lentrian, Lucious, fought like a true Lentrian. Exhausted from battle, the group began to rest for the night; when a strange sound was heard; the sounds of a person coming from the inner halls, echoing into the room the party decided to camp for the night. Publius commanded the Lentrian and the Hero to accompany him to intercept the possibly dangerous person or monster that decided to prowl the secret halls. Upon interception, Publius learned that it was nothing but a large barbaric, and extremely simple, Nadir by the name of Mongo. Because this pitiful creature had no Lentrian’s to educate him, he was stupid and had poor hygiene; but Publius accepted him into the party regardless, for the brutes strength could come in handy in the future. Perhaps with some Lentrian culture, the brute could become like the other Nadir that was currently in their party. If a Nadir that had befriended a plebian could become cultured and civil, there was no reason why it would not work again on the brute known as Mongo.
