The Plan
She was a true expert, renowned and outspoken in her field; Cara Castanga had been studying the ancient practice of Roman crucifixion for years, and had long suspected that the place of execution for women was not just a means of punishment, but also a source of entertainment for the Romans. Her proposal to the university was to conduct an expedition to the south quarter of the city, where she hypothesized the main place of crucifixion for women was located. She had submitted her plan to have a room rented at a building overlooking the South Gate, known as the Daphne Gate, and observe the proceedings from a distance, making sure to leave no trace of her presence.
But Cara had her own motivations for this expedition, and her own plan would be quite different.
Professor Castanga had always been fascinated by the history of Rome and its many dark and shadowy corners. She had spent years studying and researching, delving into the stories, poetry, histories, and legends. Antioch was once considered a cradle of christianity, but from a time traveler’s perspective, it was a cradle of much more than that. Cults, messianic, apocalyptic, mystery or otherwise, sprouted like weeds in the libertine fora and agora of the city.
There were older, more powerful, and more secretive religious traditions than those of Jupiter and Apollo in the Antioch. Tales that had been destroyed by the later Christian empire of the oracles and their power struggles with the Romans had all been lost to time, only to have been recovered into the present by one of her colleagues. The colleague, Professor Moore, had nearly gotten herself executed in the process, a fact which was neatly omitted in her groundbreaking paper. Ms. Moore had, of course, suggested just how close she came with death to Ms. Castagna after a few drinks during a holiday party. While inebriated she also described her own private research, where she had discovered the tale of an obscure woman, a would-be prophetess named Yalizah who had conspired with these so-called oracles to overthrow Rome, or so the story went.
Intrigued by this hitherto unknown story, Cara had made it her mission to research more to uncover her story and discover the truth of her fate. And as she delved deeper into Professor Moore’s research, she realized that this woman's path had led her to a most tragic end; hanging on a nearly forgotten cross between two thieves.
Determined to understand the full extent of Yalizah’s story, and not just the notes of her colleague, Cara knew that she had to experience it firsthand. She made the decision to follow in her footsteps, to follow the path of the cross, and to see for herself what it was like to endure the agony and shame of the crucified.
I make
props for all of your torture needs.
✞✞✞ I also make
erotic art of crucified women✞✞✞
My Personal Thread
SUPPORT THE FORUM!
The Scout
The plan was simple; Cara would rendezvous with her first contact in the city on the third floor of an inn in the Southeastern Jewish District, just north of the Daphne gate. They had both rented adjoining rooms on the fourth floor of the inn, on either side of each other.
The bottom of the inn was a meeting point for the various thought leaders of the city. They talked and drank, and sometimes conspired in private. No doubt there was a great deal of history unfolding on the first floor, but it was best to be focused when exploring the past. After all, you could spend a lifetime on only one life. It was best to be choosy.
Cara walked towards the table of ledgers. The innkeeper raised a curious eye to the woman dressed like a patrician, but as she said her name, he simply confirmed in his ledger that her room had paid in full already. No doubt he was suspicious of a woman dressed like her having a private room rented out in the inn by a wealthy single man, but no doubt he had seen it before, so she had gathered the right kind of suspicions.
As Cara entered the room on the third floor, she couldn't help but notice this handsome young man standing at the window’s edge, leaning over the balcony. His brown eyes seemed to take in everything around him, rapidly flicking around the world, but not in a hurried way. His wild curls framed his face in a way that was both rugged and charming.
It was a damn shame that he would have to be dealt with, Cara thought.
He was dressed in the finest handmade clothing, the kind that only the university of Emilia could produce. He looked like a modestly wealthy merchant, with a well-made disguise that blended seamlessly into the surroundings. Despite the casual way he leaned against the concrete banister, Cara could sense a sense of intensity and purpose in the way he carried himself.
As she approached him, it was clear that he was an analyst of some kind, someone who was used to thinking on his feet and adapting to new situations. He would be a formidable obstacle for her.
Daniel, her handler.
"So, Cara," He turned towards the beautiful woman as he spoke, "I've been here for a few days now, scouting out the city and learning about the local laws, courts, and the schedules for the executions," Daniel began as he unpacked a bag of supplies onto the table. "I've arranged for us to have a room here at the inn, and I've made a few contacts that should be useful to us during our stay. So far everything has gone to plan."
"That's great, Daniel," Cara replied, her eyes scanning the room as she took in their surroundings. "What have you learned so far?"
"Well, the most important thing to know is that the city is divided into four quarters, with a large colonnaded street running from northeast to southwest, very typical for the time; it’s a straight, wide road, three and a half kilometers long, but it’s paved, as a show of the wealth of the city; the shine of the stones is stunning in the sunlight of the Levant, now that I’m seeing it in its prime…” Daniel trailed off, recognizing that his joyous appraisal of Selicud city planning was not terribly compelling. He pulled out a piece of parchment, with a hand drawn map of the city.
“Anyways: We are here,” he continued as his finger struck the map towards the bottom, “in the southmost quarter here, in one of the Jewish districts.. but I’m sure you already knew that from our briefings," Daniel explained.
"What is more curious is the number of gates. There are more than we thought, based on the historical record," Daniel rapidly jotted additional portas along the length of the city walls.
"And which gate should we be most concerned with?" Cara asked, her curiosity piqued.
"That would be the Daphne Gate, it’s south out of the
Via Triumphalis, the wide, paved colonnaded street through the center of town," Daniel replied, a grave look in his eyes. "It's where they do the crucifixions for women specifically.”
“So I was right after all!” her reaction was immediate, and Cara couldn’t help but smile, perhaps a little too eagerly.
Daniel showed no reaction, and simply replied. “I would advise against going there unless there's a large crowd present, and even then, it's best to observe from afar."
"I see," Cara said, a shiver running down her spine at the thought of witnessing a crucifixion firsthand. "And who are the important people in the city? Is there a centurion in charge of the garrison?"
"Yes, there is a centurion stationed here," Daniel confirmed. "His name is Marcus Flavius, and he's known for being a “fair but strict” leader. You know, that type. Plenty of torture happening under his watch. There are also a few other key figures to be aware of, judges, religious leaders, senators. It’s best to keep your head down, and talk to as few as possible. We aren’t doing a biography, we are doing an ethnography."
"I see," Cara said, her mind swimming with all of this new information. "Well, it sounds like we have a lot to learn and explore while we're here. I'll be sure to stay away from the South Gate, I promise, and I'll keep an eye out for these key figures. You've been here since what… Friday?" Cara asked as she took a seat on the edge of the bed.
"Yes," Daniel replied, turning to face her. "I arrived a few days before you to scout the city and make sure everything was in place for your arrival."
"And you'll be leaving on Friday, right?" Cara asked, her brow furrowed in feigned concern.
"Yes, I'll be heading back to the present on Friday," Daniel confirmed. "Which means that you'll be on your own for the next four days. I won't be able to keep you safe during that time."
"I understand," Cara nodded.
"Just remember to leave no trace of yourself here," Daniel cautioned. "Even a single bracelet or button could be tremendously destabilizing, and cause untold problems for the tether or the past itself."
"I'll be careful," Cara promised, her mind racing with the implications of Daniel's words. "I won't do anything to jeopardize the mission."
“I know you hear the standard safety procedure often enough. But it never hurts to remember.” Daniel continued, “Remember that only small changes can get erased in the quantum foam, and that’s all you can do.” His tone was grave. “You can return if a few people had slightly different conversations, or if a few things are moved slightly to the left. But anything big, any changes that can’t be smoothed out over time; that is a one way ticket to an alternate reality.”
“Don’t die, don’t make big changes. I know.” Cara surmised
“No. You need to understand Professor Castanga. We’ve lost people, good people who never came back to our reality. And we can only hypothesize what happens if that is the case. Maybe you get lucky, they also have a tether in that reality, just like we do, and you can arrive back to an alternate timeline — I don’t think that is the case. We’ve never gotten anyone from another dimension, it's just too unlikely. Most likely you won’t get a tethered reality, and we can only speculate.”
“And what’s your speculation, Daniel?”
“Death by quantum disintegration over the next two thousand years as the universe tries desperately to achieve recoherence.”
