Finally, the last cart was counted and added to the account scroll. Lucius Tarquinius Lepidus dropped some melted wax onto the list and pressed it with his signature ring, verifying the numbers.
"Ok, now give me your supporting documents," he told Mark Atilius. "I hope everything is in order here?"
"You see..." Mark Atilius hesitated a bit and then replied, "we are short six carts of iron." "The carts axes broke all at once and we had to leave the cargo there."
"Six carts?" asked Tarquinius Lepidus suspiciously.
"Yes, six carts," confirmed his old friend. "And three carts of clay."
"So, clay too?" snapped the architect.
"Yes, clay too," the caravan driver confirmed. "And five carts of crop."
The place fell silent. The chief imperial architect looked on the trade caravan with a mournful expression.
"What did you do with the carts, Mark?" Tarquinius asked point-blank.
"The rulers of neighboring regions took them," Mark Atilius confessed. "They demanded them as a fee for safe passage through their lands."
Their conversation was interrupted again. A horn sound could be heard over the land.
" It seems the prefect is calling for an urgent city council meeting." Tarquinius frowned. "I need to go."
Soon the whole city council had gathered in the main hall of the residence, and the prefect immediately started his speech.
"You all know we're close to the frontier. Ten minutes ago I received a dispatch from our scouts. The news they brought to me is very important and requires immediate action. One of our archenemies, the Gaul city, has sent an attack our way - a huge army accompanied by rams and catapults. First, we need to get our defenses ready. Second, the best defense is actually a counter-offense. I guess we might be able to destroy that village before their army arrives here. Taking into account their speed, the enemy will be here in ten hours. The architect, Gods bless him, already constructed the tournament square and it’s already a quarter upgraded too, so I hope we have a good chance that our catapults will arrive at this Gaul village faster than their army gets here. The centurions need thirty minutes to prepare the plan and we need another two hours for our army to gather together and launch an attack! Let's not waste any more time!
Task:
Will the Roman catapults be able to destroy the Gaul village before the Gauls attack them? What will be the time difference? (Server: RoA, speed: x2. Keep in mind that the tournament square on RoA gameworlds has a stronger impact on speed than on regular servers).
Post your answers in the thread below.
Only your first answer will be counted so don't make more than one post.
All posts are moderated so others cant see them, posts and answers will be revealed tomorrow