Trouble is brewing in the dark forests of Germania, again. Six years ago, this was the center for some of the fiercest resistance to the Empire. Savage bands of barbarian warriors, striking from camps located deep in the forest, gave the 21st Rapax Legion quite a hard time. In the end, the barbarians of the Condrusi and Menapii tribes couldn’t stand up to the awesome might that is Rome. After nearly a year of fighting, they were broken. More than a hundred of these brigands were eventually captured and hanged, the rest falling to or fleeing from the legionnaires in battle. The troops moved on to other hot spots of the Empire and peace settled into the region. The problem was solved, until now that is. Things are starting to go well in the lands around Xanten, the riverside fortress where the 21st legion is stationed. The local people are getting accustomed to Roman rule. Roads, built for military purposes, are now being used for travel and commerce. Trade routes are being established to deliver Germanic goods to the markets of Rome: fine furs, woods, and amber from the Baltic regions. The road the Legion’s engineers built through the dark forest, called the Accius Path, was originally constructed to conduct patrols along a series of small bases. Now it has become the most used trade route in the region. The road connects Xanten, the empire’s main market in the region, with several villages beyond the forest. Money, in the form of profits and taxes, is starting to flow in and out of the region when the attacks began.