Cry for Jerusalem - Book 4 69-70 CE: Final Siege by Ward Sanford

Author:Ward Sanford [Sanford, Ward]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-02T22:00:00+00:00

LXXXVI

APRILUS 70 CE

CAESAREA

GESSIUS FLORUS’S VILLA

Gessius Florus studied the three thin sheets of parchment, carefully passing his crystal lens over the surface. They were considerably smudged with charcoal, but the characters had been deeply incised and formed distinct letters. Drusus had not rushed his work. The rubbing had yielded legible text.

“When the tribunus, the Syrian auxiliary, and the two Jews left the town,” Drusus explained, “their movements and voices carried among the rocks of the gulley. My men and I followed them from atop the ridge. Good thing the townspeople had scurried to their caves when the Romans appeared. That warned us to let them pass and then get above and ahead of them, to see who entered and left the town. It was a dark night, but the Roman wore armor that caught enough of the lamplight to show us he was with them. Him and the Syrian. They all went inside a cave far past the others. I could hear enough talk between the tribunus and the Syrian to tell the two Jews were doing something important inside. Finally, just before daybreak, I gathered my men above the cave they had entered, and we made enough noise to draw them out. Instead of just killing them, I thought it best to see what was inside the cave they’d spent so long with. I slipped inside after they fled as my men readied to follow and kill them.” Drusus rubbed his face with the palms of his large hands.

“The only thing that seemed of value inside the cave was a sheet of copper filled with lettering, like some kind of ledger.”

Florus lifted the crystal and set it aside. “Why didn’t you just take it with you?”

“It’s hard to carry a stiff sheet of metal that size. And I thought it must be important to be carved into the metal. I didn’t want them to know I had the information if it was about the treasure.”

Florus looked up at the thickset, exhausted man, impressed with his forethought, though he would not say so.

Drusus continued. “So, I did the next best thing and brought you the rubbing.”

“Did your men kill them… both Jews, the tribunus, and the Syrian?” Florus asked.

“I don’t know, lord. The Romans had camped on the other side of the town, so they could not interfere if my men struck swiftly. There were only four of them against ten of our men. And the two Jews were not fighters. I heard a man scream—one of the Jews, I’m sure—and then the sound of a body falling through the crevice they had climbed to reach the cave. The rubbing took me some time, and I wanted to protect the sheets I rolled and carried. When I came out of the cave, my men were down on the gorge’s floor… going after them. They called me, but I thought it best to bring this to you as soon as possible instead—not get caught up in the fighting. Except for brief breaks to water and rest my horse, I rode straight here.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.