AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
Italy—161 AD
The sun beat down on Rufus’s back as he waited outside the mud brick house. Inside, and out of earshot, his friend consulted the venerable seer. Rufus didn’t believe in fate. He lived haphazardly and grabbed whatever opportunities came his way: food, fighting, or women. Any of those three were good enough.
He paced between the shadows of two fig trees. It was taking longer than he thought. At last, when the sun reached the highest point in the azure sky and the baking ground heated the soles of his sandals, the curtain, which was draped across the doorway, parted to reveal his friend. Felix, his lips pressed into a frown, looked troubled by the consultation.
“So?” Rufus asked cautiously.
“The omens are not good.”
“Oh.” His friend’s disappointment was evident in the slump of his shoulders. “Why?”
They wandered down the hillside.
“The land is poor. The seer believes my unfortunate past has drained it of virility.”
“I see.” He didn’t. Priests, soothsayers, oracles: all of them spoke in riddles. “There is nothing you can do to appease the gods?”
The dust kicked up in front of them and floated down the hill in a golden cloud. In the wide valleys ahead of them lay the great city of Rome.
“According to the wise man, I must sow my seeds.”
Obviously, if he intended to become a farmer. Rufus rested his hand on his friend’s broad back. “That is true, Felix.”
They’d come to a crossroads. Felix chuckled. “He did not mean grains of wheat.”
Rufus halted and spun Felix about to face him. Now, he appeared amused, almost relieved by Rufus’s lack of understanding. “Your seed?”
Felix nodded. “Mine. Before the goddesses of fertility.”
“You plan to take a free woman with you? Julia? Clementine? They would not take kindly to the climate of the northern isles.” Julia was a divine creature, but spoilt, while her younger sister was a talker. Both of them lived a life of social frivolity and plenty of sex.
Felix shook his head this time. “I’ve already said my farewells to them. No, the sage was particular about the girl. A native one. Comely with hard nipples. Bountiful of hair and shaped like the neck of a fine vase around the waist.”
Rufus thought the old man in the hut had too much imagination and little practical experience.
“And you must claim her to ensure your lands are made as bountiful as her hair?” Rufus was struggling not to grin. However, Felix appeared sombre once more. “You’re not convinced you’ll find such a woman?” Rufus asked. “My friend, the walls are covered with your name. You’ve never been short of offers.”
