“I find nothing here that makes any sense at all,” I moan as I push aside an old papyrus, some that I instantly regretted as it tore a bit as one of its corners stuck in a small crack of the wooden desk. I was with Aegidius and Silvius in the library, each sitting at our desks. We had a class with Rogatus, and with the philosophy professor, while Silvius had Arcadian classes with the younger students and after lunch, we went to the library. I wanted to read more of the Orontides, to offer my speech on their culture, while Aegidius was reading some old laws about taxes and how citizens of Sestinum used to pay less than the rest of the Empire, but he was clearly getting extremely bored of it all as he was just sighing and absently looking outside through one of the windows above him. Gabinus was further away, on the hallway, repeating again and again an old speech given in the senate by a long-gone dictator, centuries ago, because he was told by the rhetoric professor that he won’t give his approval for graduation unless he memorizes perfectly a speech. Silvius came too and he was scribbling his Arcadian conjugations and declension on a wax tablet.
“What?” Aegidius asked absently, but as he turned to me, I could see that he was happy to have something catching his attention.
“My Arcadian is merda, or this is written badly,” I say. I wanted to continue but I was interrupted by a curator who was passing by, who was copying a tome, but went outside for a bit and now was returning.
“Language, dominus! You don’t need to cuss like a pleb,” he said as he passed us by. Seeing that he made us quiet, made him probably believe that we learned our lesson and he left, going back to a desk where he was doing his work.
“I mean, I could have told you that your Arcadian is horrid, but somehow you convinced the professor that you mastered it,” Aegidius said, and I rolled my eyes. He may have been joking, but I could really feel deep inside that there is a little bit of truth in there. He took the papyrus I looked at and then chuckled. “What are you even reading?” he asked.
“Officially, the History of the Peoples of the Viridian Sea… the volume about the people on the Orontide Coast, but looking at it makes me wonder if it’s that or just some garbage written satire,” I said annoyed. Aegidius started laughing as he began reading it, or better said, as he managed to decipher it enough to read sentences, rather than, like me, recognize a word here and there.
“Listed to this merda,” he said, but in a lower voice to not have the curator call us out again. “Once a year… in all villages… all the maidens as they came to age are collected… brought together into one place, with a crowd of men standing round…. Then a crier would display and offer them for sale one by one, first the fairest of all… then when she had fetched a great price… put up for sale the next comeliest, selling all the maidens as lawful wives…. Rich men of Orontia who desired to marry… outbid each other for the fairest… the commoners, who desired to marry and cared nothing for beauty… could take the ill-favored damsels and money therewith; for when the crier had sold all the comeliest… he would put up her that was least beautiful, or crippled, and offer her to whosoever would take her to wife for the least sum, till she fell to him who promised to accept least; the money came from the sale of the comely damsels… so they paid the dowry of the ill-favored and the cripples,” he said, reading discontinuous and intermittently as he tried to remember some translation here and there, while also chuckling and shaking his head.
“Yes, some good old wife bidding in these lands,” I said moaning. But that’s when Aegidius outright burst into laughter, as he turned the scroll some more. “It makes no sense… why bid for the beautiful women, if they in the end give the money to the poor ones? Why can’t they just dome something civilized, like here in Sestinum, a program to aid poor families and not bid for wives as they are slaves?” I asked exasperated.
“You overthink it, as always,” he said but then he burst against into laughter as he turned the scroll even more, to the annoyance of the curator who was giving us an angry gaze. “It gets even better, listen to this: This then was their best custom…but it does not continue at this time… since the conquest by Sestinum made them afflicted and poor… every one of the commoners that lacks a livelihood makes prostitutes of his daughters,” he read.
“So, I need to talk about some propaganda against the Empire, written by some Arcadian nobody, who probably still hated, going as far as to write this, that his own homeland was conquered by us…” I said absently.
“Let’s be honest here, Durans, it’s not as bad as the stuff you read yesterday about the weirdness of the people in the northern coast of Meridia and how the women were the ones working, and peeing standing, while the men idled around and peed sitting down,” Aegidius said chuckling. “I for one know, that my talk about how the Law of Emperor Marcus Numerius to give Sestinum citizenship to the freed men of all municipia broke the Empire’s treasury will be an extreme bore, but I can’t wait for your talk on the Orontide Empire, where you will have to tell all knowledge curators and professors about the peeing and daughter bidding customs of the barbarous Orontides,” he said, this time seriously, and I couldn’t but just put my head in my arms and sigh. This time, the curator came again.
“Iovines, if you want to talk more than read, you can do it outside,” he said and this was our signal. We took the papyri scrolls and parchment tomes and put them back on their shelves. Silvius remained, because he was barely managing to write in the Arcadian alphabet, let alone know the declensions and conjugations, but Gabinus decided to come with us, when he saw us packing up.
We went outside towards the fountain and its basin in the middle of the yard to drink some water. It’s been two weeks since Rogatus told me to prepare a speech about the Orontides, and I feel more lost than ever. This country is probably in an even worse state than Sestinum. It feels as poor as us, but it lacks the past glory we have and the Sestinidad. There is no Orontide as a people. Orontia is just the name of the eastern coast of the Viridian Sea where Iopolis and Sarepta and other of their big cities are located. They are this insane mosaic of populations, with the Cantians living around Iopolis and its nearby coast, the Daramites living around Sarepta and the northern interior and the Memrians living in Meridia, each with their complex cultures. Cantians are great merchants, as they were the founders of the now Sestinian city of Bagradas, one of the early rivals of Sestinum. They are the ones who invented the alphabet and gave it to the Arcadians who then gave it to us. Daramites are great craftsmen, but they too have their own complex language and culture, while the Memrians are probably the oldest civilization ever, with their monumental architecture around Rhapta. And don’t get me started on the small communities of Arcadians who are peppered around the Empire and play kingmakers. How could I even condense information on them, when all I find written about them is only about the weirdest quirks. Probably the author of that shitty treatise didn’t even travel to see the lands. By Sol and the gods before, I would so much love to see them for my own.
Two weeks have passed and the weather started to be more and more autumnal, with more overcast and rainy days, and with leaves starting to get a golden hue. I started wearing a chlamys when outside, a mantle to keep me comfortable. Aegidius stood down on the dirt, beneath a large oak tree in the yard and I joined him, while Gabinus preferred to stand.
“You’ll destroy the tunic in the dirt,” Gabinus said. He was from a merchant family that was specialized in selling textiles from the east, from the steppes of the Saka, through the Pepper Road, to the Empire. The professors always said that he wasn’t intellectually gifted, but I had my own theory regarding him. In my eyes, he was just uninterested. He knew his father sent him to the Quintilian to offer him a prestige boost and with enough gifts, they will all approve of his graduation with no issues, with one exception, the rhetoric professor. On the other hand, he could play you like a lyra in any business negotiation. In response to his comment, Aegidius shrugged and I just ignored him.
“I don’t get why you want to study the Orontian coast and its polity so much. They are just… I don’t even know how to describe them,” Gabinus continued, changing the subject, probably wanting to chat to relax and take his mind of from the speech he has to memorize and recite. “They barely understand each other as they all speak their own language, somehow, they all decided to abandon a nice language like Sestinian and adopt Arcadian as this 2nd language everyone has to learn if they want to make themselves understood. It’s from there that the Fiery Hands have appeared, saying that its blasphemous for Sol to have such temples and statues, and wanting to concentrate on the moral punishments and the end of the world with the permanent eclipse. The only good thing they have is the Pepper Road. Other than that, they are just a bunch of nutters and impoverished religious fanatics,” he said. I looked at him explaining it, and only then it hit me. Gabinus might be my salvation. His father is a merchant and is so rich that he has an outright merchant fleet that crisscrosses the Viridian Sea. Of course, he will know how is Orontidia and the realities there. I was ready to despair and I totally ignored my savior. Honorius too, but I needed to take care as he is one of the Fiery Hands, how these angry fanatics call themselves, so I need to be careful with him.
“I’m bored of Universitas talk. All I hear is cultural quirks and aspirations to see the world from Durans, religious proselytism from Honorius, the same speech by Dictator Geminus from you, Gabinus and all I do is check to see if I can find some taxation archives to see how citizenship laws affect them…” said Aegidius exasperated, interrupting Gabinus as he was preparing to say some more. I knew the time has passed, but probably in the next week I will have to inquire Gabinus about all of his father’s stories from Orontidia.
“Okay, if you want to talk something else, how’s your puella?” I asked him and immediately Aegidius’ face turned from bitter exasperation to a guilty smile and then he smirked. I knew Gabinus enough that throwing this bait out there, he will lead the discussion from here on, as he did enjoy a good sexual story, while Aegidius probably has something of an exhibitionist in him, but he really enjoyed telling them.
“Two days ago, I met with her and we walked by the forum and then along the walls,” Aegidius said.
“I don’t care of that. If I’d want romance, I’d read Sappho, give me some good stuff,” Gabinus said with a libidinous smirk. Of coursed Aegidius was happy to provide. I did follow his story on how he took the merchant’s daughter behind the Sun tower of the Temple, how he kissed her and how she even started purring when he kissed her neck. I wasn’t sure if he was using a metaphor or not, but when he went on with describing the penetration itself, how it felt, how he lasted so much that he was like a love god, I knew he was just being delirious. I could imagine probably the merchant’s daughter being turned on by his nice words and kisses but I could also imagine him lasting five to ten thrusts and then finishing, to her annoyance and then his desperation to win her back. Of course, Gabinus was eating up all of Aegidius’ stories with joy, but the image made me chuckle, which made Aegidius turn to me.
“What about you, Durans? Got any good story like that?” he asked a bit defensive and I could feel my chuckle made him nervous a bit.
“Not really. Unlike you, I didn’t manage to escape the Universitas so easily and I’d rather not risk it, than be chastised so close to graduation,” I said. Of course, while I used a bored and matter of fact tone, I was a bit jealous of him, because he did manage to have this secret exit and entry way that someone allowed him to go around the city with no issue. I was jealous of his stories too, because while I thought that much of his stories were invented, I did imagine he enjoyed himself at least in the lupanar and that merchant’s daughter that he always talked about, whose name now eludes me, clearly existed.
I looked at Aegidius. At times he reminded me so much of Quirinus, but he was less rebellious than my brother. Aegidius would clearly listen to his father, Gaius Caelius Marsus, when he would ask him something and or order him something for the sake of the family. Quirinus on the other hand, decided midway that he wants to just escape everything and turned to libations and to becoming a regular customer to the brothers in Vallum, to mater’s desperation and to pater’s annoyance. I for one probably lacked Quirinus’ courage and Aegidius’ libido, or better said, both of mine were probably suppressed so much by all the teachings I’ve been given about being a patrician and how my actions reflect on the image of the gens. All the stories pater given me about how debauchery and drunkness and excesses of all sorts are hubris that brought the end to entire nations, less alone families or just simple persons, all that mantra that was given to us at the Universitas, about being Sestinian: “Libertas, Pietas, Virilitas, Auctoritas, Sestinitas, are the marks of a real Sestinian man.” They just come to me and suppress any will to do what Quirinus or Aegidius are doing, for I feel I could lose so much face by being caught doing them, something I’ve always been taught to never allow to happen. Probably that is why I want to see the world too. I want to be free, and liberate myself from all of this, somewhere where I know I don’t carry on my shoulders the name of gens Sergia, or if I do, people just shrug as just another Sestinian name, like many others.
“You know what, Durane?” Aegidius said with his face changing from the annoyance of my interruption to a more paternalistic “mentor and student” gaze that annoyed me as it made me believe he had a superiority complex. “For your sake, and our dear raucous Gabinus here, I’ll take you in the city this evening, if you’d like,” he said, quite proud of himself, as if he was doing a great good deed for the both of us. I was a bit concerned, by previous fears coming again, but I looked at Gabinus who was excitedly nodding and even biting his lip.
“Come on, Durane! Let’s enjoy this last season at the Universitas, before we return home and need to be married and serious and all that,” Gabinus said and seeing his excitement and the smug nods of Aegidius, as if that was his whole idea since forever, and he was just putting it into words for our sake. I knew that if I reject this proposal, I would have to spend the evening with the likes of Honorius, who would annoy me with his religious talk and prayers, and with Silvius, who while isn’t such a bad company, his shy nature and young age made him quite a lacklustre presence. I nodded, agreeing to go with them, to the hails of the two.
For the rest of the afternoon, Gabinus and Aegidius faffed around with former continuing to repeat his speech like a poetry that he wanted to know by heart, before deciding on what gestures and intonation would go the best for each part, while the latter taking a wax tablet and trying his luck at writing some poetry. I went to look for Honorius to see what he could tell me about the Orontides.
“They’re a great model for us, their pietas should fuel ours too,” he said, after I told him what I wanted to do and hold a speech on.
“A model?” I asked, a bit confused, because from the writings of the old scrolls, I was disgusted by the stories of how families treated their daughters like slaves and bid them like livestock, while Gabinus was saying they were impoverished and because of that they were at times animalic.
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“Yes, think of the faith of the people in Sarepta, where Sol or how they call him there, Sham, first showed the people that he is the true God. He offered them the promise of life, and the laws by which they need to reach salvation, over eternal darkness. He told them to be honourable, to pray, to respect the sun, and not give in to corruption and sin. And the most important of them all, he warned them of the end of the world through the eternal eclipse and reminded them that only prayer and faith to him kept the sun forever on their skies,” he said, quite happy that I asked about what seemed to be a favourite subject of his.
I spend a few hours listening to him, to my own desperation, which felt like an unending sermon about the corruption of Sestinians and the piety of the easterners from the Orontide Coast. His talk about how they are the chosen people because they were the ones who first turned against the old gods and adopter the true faith. He also praised the Fiery Hands for their call to end out corruption within the religion and the empire, while also condemning the syncretism and how in Sestinum, Sol is presented through statues in their temples, rather than be this aethereal presence which can only be seen in the sky, and which also blinds you if you try too much to gaze at it. At this moment, I was still caught between Gabinus calling the Orontide Empire a shithole, Honorius praising it as heaven on earth and old writers presenting it as the weirdest of all places on the coasts of the Viridian Sea. How could I present something that felt natural and normal to the professors, I don’t know.
“Excuse us, Honorius,” Aegidius said, interrupting Honorius’ unending rant. Gabinus was behind him and I could feel my salvation finally name, not from Solar mythology, but rather the promise of sinning. “Can we take good Durans here with us, as we plan to make him a bit less of a saint,” he added. That took Honorius by surprise and make me blush, because as much I did enjoy a good joke, I wouldn’t say I would call myself an aspiring sinner in front of what clearly was a religious fanatic. And with that, the fear of losing face again made way into me. I wasn’t sure if Honorius was merely surprised or outright taken aback by it all. I knew he was bullied at times by Gabinus and intimidated by Aegidius, so probably the view of these too surprised him too. He just nodded and bit his lit. “Come on now, Durane, the wine and women await,” Aegidius said, clearly as a sting to Honorius more. I rolled my eyes and muttered an apology to him and then turned and followed the two back to our bunkhouse. We changed in less rich tunics, going for grey and beige ones and took some chlamyses as the nights started to get cold.
“This is my great secret on getting out of here, which you two idiots never managed to uncover,” said Aegidius as he all but pulled us through the central yard, through the outside eating area, a patio situated between the library and the storehouse, with the kitchen a bit father way, and then he lead us through the quite overgrown pathway between the storehouse and the wall, leading to an opening that lead to the backdoor of the storehouse and a small gate on the wall. It was where the carts that brought goods came in. There a man working in the kitchen greeted us.
“You know the drill, Licinius. If we’re discovered, you saw some movement along the pathway and thought that we wanted to jump over the wall,” Aegidius said and gave some coins to the man. I did wonder if he gave him some brass Eagles, or something more. The man just nodded and slowly opened us the gate to sneak out.
“Wait, that was it?” I asked as we were on the streets.
“Yeah, you really were naïve enough to believe it was something more complicated?” he asked. Of course I was, as I feared that the amount I would offer a bribe would be less for one of the workers to risk their job at the Universitas, especially as the Arch-Curator didn’t want to see young patricians running around the city that was funnily called right after them, Patricium, and get killed or robbed over idiotic stuff, while their families were paying exorbitant amounts to the Universitas to keep them safe.
“And when we go back?” I asked a bit concerned.
“Licinius is on guard at the kitchen the whole night, and if we go back at least a good hour before sunrise, nobody will say a thing for not even the bread makers start working by then,” Aegidius explained, clearly showing that he did this more times than you would expect. I looked at Gabinus, who seemed to be quite unphased by it all, showing that it wasn’t the first time he sneaked out.
“So, what’s the plan? Get some drinks in a popina?” I asked. Gabinus shrugged but Aegidius gave me an impish smile.
“We’ll start with that, and I know the perfect place.” Aegidius said, putting his arm around my shoulder and pushing me, as if to encourage me. We went down the Mensa Hill, from the centre of the city towards the port. The streets were getting quiet, even if there were people going around, as it got dark. Compared to Vallum, Patricium didn’t have a big port, so while there was some activity, it didn’t compare to the nearly non-stop anthill that were the ports of the other cities I’ve been in. We entered a small taberna, where a woman wearing a dress so finely made that you could see her forms through it was singing a rowdy song. Looking at the other customers, who were some rich travellers, it wasn’t some low-class establishment and the dress clearly was a gift from a very rich client.
“What can I do for you, domini?” an elderly man sitting behind the counter said. I looked around the big pottery jars that were encrusted in his counter. I knew that he had a system where hot steam was coming from beneath and keeping what food he had there warm. At this late time of night there was very little left.
“Do you have any conditum?” Aegidius asked and the man nodded. “The special one too?” he insisted and the man nodded again. “Perfect. Give us three cups,” he said and paid the man six brass eagle coins. The man offered us three cups and then filled them to the brim with a concoction that that was similar to spiced wine, but it was shockingly dark in colour and cloudy.
“This is no conditum,” I say to Aegidius, after the man left us alone at a table. I knew my wines and conditum was a spicy wine with herbs and ginger and pepper. It never would have looked disgusting like this.
“It’s special, take a sip,” Aegidius said and pushed the cup towards me. I rose it to my mouth and took a sip. In that very moment, my gag reflex got triggered and I struggled to not spit it out and start vomiting too. It was a horrendously bitter and extremely spicy drink, based on a very cheap and sour wine. Usually I would have preferred no wine over a sour one, but this was outright disgusting.
“What in death’s name is this merda?” I asked and both Gabinus and Aegidius laughed.
“It’s conditum, but it’s special. It has your typical spices to which you add some mastic, some pitch, resins and seawater,” he said proud of himself.
“For Sol’s sake this is horrid,” I say, still struggling with the bitter and sour tasted that strained my mouth and my tastebuds.
“It is an acquired taste,” Gabinus said, taking a sip like it was just normal potable water.
“Why would they put pitch and resins in it?” I asked, still disgusted, checking the liquid in the cup, but I couldn’t see much but a black drink in the low light coming from the oil lamps.
“To give it its taste and its properties. It’s also a special drink that you need for tonight,” Aegidius said.
“Properties? Special drink?” what are you on about, and I felt like an idiot as I should have seen where this is going when Gabinus started grinning.
“Yes, it’s got aphrodisiacal properties,” Aegidius said and my jaw just fell open.
“You’re fucking joking. Please tell me you do,” I say a bit desperate.
“No, we’re making you a man tonight, so you can know what do expect and rise up to the occasion for when Ursinus will get you married in a few months’ time, after you graduate,” Aegidius said with an impish smile. “So, drink up, because we need you to perform like a bull,” he said as he was nearly pushing the cup to my face.
I took another sip. This time, knowing what to expect it wasn’t so bad, but the bitter-sour taste made my eyes tear up.
“It’s part of the process,” Gabinus said, laughing as he drank it with no issue. I wanted to protest but I probably came with the worst ever excuse.
“What about your puella? The merchant’s daughter?” I asked, thinking I was very smart making Aegidius think of her, as clearly, buying the same allegedly aphrodisiacal drink for all of us meant that he wanted to have some fun too, but he wasn’t caring of that.
“It will never be a thing. My father would never agree to such a marriage, and probably by now he already has some senator’s daughter ready for an arranged and political marriage. It was just summer fun,” he said as he took a big gulp of the drink. Compared to Gabinus who had no issue with it, even Aegidius was grimacing because of its taste. By now, the latter has finished it, and I decided to end my suffering with this once and for all. I took a big gulp to finish it. Trying to quickly swallow it was probably worse, as I felt it how it stopped right in front of the stomach, before finally settling down, leaving behind an aftertaste of bitterness so strong that I felt like it was bile. It made me nauseous and I thought that I would vomit it all, but managing to hold my composure, I calmed myself down. Aegidius decided to do the same and after some more grimacing and a burp that made us all laugh, he was fine too.
“Okay, time to go, I start to get excited,” said Gabinus as he rose and we followed him back on the street. We went up on the Mensa Hill back, because as Aegidius said, the chances of finding a decent brothel down by the port was slim, especially as in the early part of the night, they were all full. In the city centre we went around the entry of the Universitas, out of fear that some curator patrolling around would recognise us and we ended in the main square of the city, where the forum was, the administrative palace, the Sun Temple, some high-end stores that at this time were closed up and some brothels and tabernae. There were quite some people in the forum, some conversing, other playing games. We stopped in front of a brothel that Aegidius seems to know and he all push pushed me in.
“Salve, matrona!” He said to the woman holding the establishment.
“Young dominus! What can I serve you with?” she said. Aegidius took a small satchel he had hidden in his tunic, behind the chamlys and gave her three golden Sol coins.
“My friend here,” he said as he pushed me in front, towards her. “I want to help him be a man, if you understand what I mean, would you have a nymph for him, something to not intimidate him and show him everything he needs to know?” he continued, as I blushed and felt all the blood in my body burning with shame. The woman smiled and chuckled.
“Of course, young dominus,” she said.
“We two would have some company too,” he said and the woman smiled, took his money and turned towards a man and ordered something to him that I didn’t understand. She told Aegidius and Gabinus to follow him and take their picks, while she took me by the shoulder and led me upstairs.
“Young dominus, I will bring Claritia to you. Don’t be ashamed, everyone has their first time, and she will be very happy to show you anything you need to know,” she said as she brought me into a bedroom. She lightened two oil lamps that stood on some stands and then left. My heart was beating like crazy and my stomach was growling, revolting against the drink. I thought of it for a bit but didn’t feel anything aphrodisiacal about it, only nauseating. Maybe it worked if I would be aroused, I thought and that was when I observed the erotic and outright pornographic frescoes within the room, with men and women, men and men, women and women having sex, and even orgies and all sorts of positions and acts, some of which I found extremely uncomfortable and outright impossible anatomically.
“Dominus?” a woman’s voice made me turn towards the door. She looked a bit older than me, with a long chestnut hair and a freckled face. I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded, which made her laugh. “Don’t worry, let me help you,” she said as she came to me and took off my chamlys and then the tunic. My mouth felt extremely dry and my heart was continuing to beat like crazy and I wasn’t sure what do, so I just left my hands to hang aimlessly, which made her chuckle even more. “Don’t worry,” she repeated. She took off my trousers too and when she took a long look at my naked, scrawny body, she nodded and took off her dress. Naked, she went towards the bed and thrown herself in it, laying there, waiting for me, but I wasn’t moving. I wasn’t sure what to do, because everything I knew or I though I knew on how to do it, made me feel that I looked ridiculous and pathetic.
“Everything alright?” she asked and when I nodded, she decided to raise and, on her knees, she came to the edge of the bed and started kissing my neck, and my chest, going down. When I finally felt that something would happen, and that I could do this, some screams outside caught our attention.
Shouts, yells and chanting could be heard from the forum. She stopped, looking at the window and I decided to go see what was happening. Needless to say, the extremely short moment where I could feel the passion, was long dead.
Outside, I could see a column of men, wearing long tunics, marching with torches in their hands along the forum, towards the Solar Temple. They were chanting a prayer about Sol saving the world from the Permanent Eclipse, should we purge sin and corruption from the world.
“What is that?” I muttered, more to myself.
“They do it every night,” she said, like it was the most normal thing. “They come, hold prayers in front of the Temple and then hold a speech condemning the clergy and the Empire and us for the sins,” she continued. “Come back to bed,” she insisted, but I was more fascinated by what was happening outside.
But it wasn’t really as ordinarily as she was presenting it. Of course, with the Universitas close, we could hear stuff like this happening, sometimes the procession was larger and we could hear their chants, but this time, something was weird, as there was palpable tension in the air, and there were much more people in the forum, who didn’t seem to be joining the marchers.
“Damn Fiery Hand and their fanaticism,” I mutter. Claritia saw that I wasn’t moving so she came back to me, putting an arm around my shoulder and another on my chest. I could feel a little pressure from her trying to pull me back, but I was more hypnotised by what was happening outside. The marchers started chanting their prayer, but it quickly devolved into a crazed speech by one of them talking about the destruction of the world, which can be felt from shorter summers, to rising poverty, to epidemics and plague and all that, and while around him, his followers were chanting slogans in agreement, around the temple another group was forming. Claritia saw that didn’t work so she started kissing me and that was when I turned to her for a bit, but again, it didn’t last long, for the scene on the forum devolved into chaos.
The two groups started fighting, and the screams and chaos made Claritia scream too, as she was frightened by the quick escalation. The shock of seeing an outright battle take place a floor beneath me, on the streets, made my stomach churn and right then my body rejected the whole drink and I could feel it coming back up. I looked around and there was a bucket, probably used as a night potty, and that is where I ran and vomited all that cursed wine.
My mouth was burning from the bile, as Claritia put her dress on and went outside the room, probably looking for the matron, when Aegidius came in, followed by an angry Gabinus.
“Come, Durans, we need to leave, because if these zealous stultes attack the brothel, they will lynch us,” he said, ignoring me sitting on my knees besides the bucket and went to the bed where my clothes were and he threw them on me. I barely managed to put my tunic on, when he pulled me outside the room and ran downstairs. The matron, who as telling to armed bouncers to guard the main door, showed us to a back room, where we managed to get unto the street.
“The aedile probably mobilised the city guard,” Gabinus said.
“These fucking animals,” Aegidius cursed them. “Let’s go back, and quickly,” he said as we started running towards the back entry of the Universitas, from where we went outside.
If anything, I felt this taught me three lessons. Never look into Honorius’ stories, because if he shared the fanaticism of these zealots, I’d rather not discover this twisted world view, never allow Aegidius tell me what do drink anymore and lastly, I should probably be emotionally invested in the person, if I wanted to sleep with them, rather than financially.