Cilicia

”Their men and ships would be even better. Hemmed in as we are, it is our only chance at receiving reinforcement for the present.”

Replied Sulla, glad to see his colleague seemed to amenable to the plan.

”If you were to return with a fresh alliance with Egypt, I dare say the previous events of the war might be forgotten.”

Felix smiled thinly.

A missive arrives in Cilicia, addressed to Sulla, signed and sealed by Proconsul Mugillanus. He requests a naval detachment to aid his siege of Athens, so the rebellious city and Mithridates' foothold in Greece can be put down once and for all.

When he was not engaging with the men or ordering his subordinates, Sulla busied himself in his command quarters. He had begun writing a history of the war in Greek, or more accurately, was dictating to his learned slaves what they would be writing on his behalf. If all went well, it would be published in Roma upon his return, naturally extolling his virtues as a commander and warrior. In many ways, it was a history of himself, documenting his cunning capture of Jugurtha, his feats against the Cimbri, and then finally his triumphs in Hispania and Crete. In the privacy of those pages, he mused on the fate of those before him who had campaigned in Asia, with the shadow of Megas Alexandros looming over them all. The Macedonian King made all feel inadequate, as the old adage went, but Sulla reckoned that he had been given his army and kingdom by the whims of good fortune.  It was a mere accident of birth that he had been made king of Macedon, albeit he had made the most of it in leading them to conquer half the world. In his work, Sulla Felix reflected on the virtues of Romans, in that a good citizen must earn that which he has through hard toil and sweat. No birth right had given him command of this army, or made him Consul of Rome. But even still, like Alexander, he considered himself felix. Lucky. A trait prized more than even genius.

But, all good, and even lucky, commanders must beware of hubris. He had not defeated Mithridates yet. In his usual pragmatic fashion, Sulla sent Lepidus out beyond the Cilician gates with a small alae of cavalry, with a task to survey all that he saw in terms of terrain, enemy presence, and to note down any good, rough ground that would favour the flexible legions over the clunky and immobile Phalangitai that the Diadochi so favoured.

Lepidus is rewarded by Sulla with promotion from Tribune to Legate upon his return, and prepared the legions to move out. The Crassan legions would hold their ground in Cilicia, with Sulla figuring that seven thousand men would be enough to defend the near impenetrable Cilician gates from the enemy force.

Gathering his own legions and auxiliaries, Sulla marched out of the Cilician gates with the cavalry in the vanguard. Missives were sent to the Galatians, Rome's last ally in the region, asking them to prepare some men to drive Mithridates into the sea. Lepidus was sent out with the horse to forage and loot the Cappadocian kingdom as the Romans made their way northwest, while a messenger was sent to Mithridates requesting peace talks with the King of Kings. The Romans would avoid Mithridates army for the time being, and pillage their way through Cappadocia towards Galatia. A sizeable party of cavalry shadows the column to keep an eye out for any approaching Pontic force.

To prove himself, Lucius is given a post among the scouts that shadow Sulla's army. While a seemingly minor role, success in this area is of great importance to the commander.

Sulla keeps half of the goats to be sacrificed or slaughtered for provisions, while the other half makes for a gift for the Galatian chieftains. Felix reminds them of their existing obligations to the Republic as an ally and protectorate of the Roman people. Nonetheless, The Pro-Consul is in a generous mood. He offers plunder, loot, and land gains after the wars conclusion should the Galatians provide men and supplies to the Republic. There is no 'neutral' sides, all will either come under the sway of Mithridates or remain friends with Roma. If they do not aid Sulla, then Mithridates will come for them eventually regardless.

While waiting for an answer, Sulla constructs a fortified camp and has the scouts keep watch from the east. Should no response come from the king of kings, then he would march on Cappadocia from the north.