Soldier of Rome: Heir to Rebellion (The Artorian Chronicles) Read Online Free Page B

came upon the slave market at Four Corners Road. The stockades reminded Artorius of the ones they had hastily erected following the Battle of Augustodunum to handle the large number of prisoners they had taken. He expressed this to his friend who simply shrugged.
    “Slaves are slaves, nothing special,” Magnus stated. “To tell the truth, I’ve always had little use for them.”
    “Do your people in the high country use slaves much?” Artorius asked as he gazed at the mournful faces that stared from behind the bars while patrons eyed them for possible purchase.
    “Of course,” Magnus replied, “though not on the scale you see here. Mostly priso ners of conquered tribes are all you see. While my native people don’t exactly oppose slavery, they don’t market human beings on the scale like you see within the Empire.”
    They then reminisced about the consequences suffered by the nobles who had been dragged into Sacrovir’s rebellion. Thousands of noble youths had been killed in battle; and of those who survived, dozens had been sold into slavery when their fathers refused to pay their ransoms. The ransoms had been severe, and had cost many a noble family their lands and treasure. The lands confiscated had been auctioned off, with many Roman nobles taking advantage of the deals. Centurion Proculus had even taken part, purchasing lands and an estate, which were now under the care of one of his cousins. He had already bought himself a grand villa on Esquiline Hill; however he was quick to jump on the opportunity to buy him and his wife a nice estate in the country. Artorius remembered seeing this cousin once, a rather fetching lady named Diana. He had not had the opportunity to see her up close, as he was on a patrol that morning; though even from a distance he could tell she was absolutely radiating. So enraptured had Artorius been that once off duty he had rushed to the nearest brothel and bought himself the most expensive courtesan he could find, just to get her out of his mind.
    “A month’s pay blown in one night!” Magnus heckled as they arrived at the Principia.
    “Well I didn’t require a wank for about a week after that, so I think it was well spent!” Artorius retorted as he went inside for his monthly meeting with the Tesserarius to go over the Century’s duty roster for the next month.
     

     
    Drusus sighed as he walked down the corridor with some reports in hand for his father, the Emperor. He worked to stifle a cough, his health still weakened by a recent illness. It was this very illness that had brought about the death of a man named Caius Lutorius Priscus, who had in recent years rewarded by Tiberius for a stirring poetic tribute he had done to the memory of the Emperor’s nephew, the late Germanicus Caesar. Drusus coughed once more before knocking on the door to his father’s study.
    “Enter!” the voice inside boomed. Taking another deep breath, Drusus walked in and saw Tiberius seated at his desk, hands folded in contemplation.
    “Message from Lepidus,” Drusus said, handing a scroll to the Emperor. Tiberius scowled as he read the message. He set the scroll on his desk and walked over to the window, his hands clasped behind his back.
    “The more the senate tries to please me, the more they earn my displeasure,” he said at length. “At least Lepidus had the good sense to try and save us from an unnecessary slaying.” The issue at hand was that Priscus had written another poem of remembrance as a precaution in case Drusus succumbed to his illness. He had then read said poem in the presence of a number of ladies of rank, who were then frightened into testifying against him when an informant appeared and accused Priscus of seeking the death of the Imperial heir in order to fatten his own purse. The Senate, hastily trying to show its solidarity with the Imperial family, invoked the death penalty on the accused. Haterius Agrippa, the consul-elect, had made the motion for the maximum