UPRISING

King Gaius and his soldiers hit the soil of Athena all drenched and poised for action in the twilight of the day, during which the moon was getting set to take centre stage in the firmament. As soon as he descended his stallion, King Gaius scurried across the flight of broad steps that led into the palace. He was closely followed by Patroclus and a couple of maids who came bearing trays perched with a mug of water and a new garb for the king to change into. Gaius rolled up his his wet sleeves and steeled his heart while committing himself forward as his arrival was greeted by more soldiers. For a moment, he stopped short to pick one of the mugs of water and gulped it down his throat in a single pour. It was not long before the soldiers, who had been manning the palace, came at attention and rose to their feet at the sight of the king. Advancing towards Gaius was a tall, huge man dressed in the armour of a warrior. He scurried up towards the king with a show of ur

The soldiers cleared the Balkans in their numbers seeing as they harboured no such treasure that king Gaius sought. The travelling merchants were set in motion again as the gate to the city was unsealed. Gradually, the travellers trooped out beyond the city's gate on their horses and chariots which were laden with bulk cargoes and consignments of large volume. Bojan could heave a sigh of relief, feeling at ease with the fact that he had been able to fool the soldiers back in the city, thanks to his magical wits. He could feel the tensed atmosphere drastically subdued the moment he and his entourage were declared free and clear to leave the city. Somehow, he felt his confidence on the rise upon achieving the new feat of aiding Limah and her new-born to escape the city. For Bojan, it was a sheer privilege as much as honour to have aided the famous priestess of temple Nuh in such a time of difficulty. He wouldn't baulk at the chance to repeat the feat over and over for Limah's sake.Bojan

Chapter 5The moment was palpably tensed as Bastian commanded his soldiers to ransack the travellers; this time, in a rigorous and aggressive way. But as fate would have it for Limah who clung her infant between her breasts to maintain quiet amidst the commotion and tensed moment, she soon lost control of the situation by a little lapse in concentration as she accidentally let her baby let out uneasy shriek and whimpers in a moment of discomfort. Limah's infant screeched letting out a high-pitched cry which brought the soldiers to a halt to switch focus on Bojan's chariots. The pitch of the baby's cry was high and had been borne out of sheer discomfort. At hearing the shriek, Bojan snatched the infant from Limah who struggled to shush the noise. Of course, the soldiers were drawn towards Bojan's chariots as Bastian and his troop readied to siege the chariots to sate their curiosity. As they advanced towards Bojan's chariots, the clever Balkan merchant instantly made a little fire til

Bojan proceeded to lay Limah down on her back and he loosed the cashmere fabric from his body, upon which he laid the baby. ''You must be thirst now, M'lady,'' Bojan said, looking at Limah's reddened eyeballs and tired face as he made to head to the ocean to fetch some water. ''I should get you some water.''In the nick of the moment, Limah feebly grabbed Bojan by the arm before he set forth for the ocean. She looked at the Balkan with her eyelids almost dropping close. ''Thank you, Macho-man,'' Limah muttered, managing a smile and looking bereft of energy. ''You lost it all for me. Long may your fortunes be.''Bojan only crumpled his face and nodded in response. Limah requested that he sustain her on his knee and the baby should be brought into her arms. Limah cradled the baby in her arms and managed a smile at her child. She, then, passed the baby to Bojan and said, ''Maximus. His name is Maximus.''''Maximus.'' Bojan repeated arching his eyebrows in awe of the name.''Yes, Maxim

The infant was sold to the noble senator from Thrace for 500 Denarius. Rhesus wouldn't baulk at staking prized asset on little investments in a bid to eventually make fortunes off such investment. It was his principle of accumulating wealth and, of course, he had been a success at it, amassing a pool of wealth, riches, bounties, and a large coffle of slaves and gladiators. The house of Rhesus Decimus was renowned for its glamour and explicit grandeur amidst the city of Burgas in Thrace. The fame identified with the Decimus Family was even sustained by its gang of gladiators who had proven themselves masters of the art in the arena. From Magna to Pompeii, down to Pula and to the magnificent Colosseum and Olympia in Rome, gladiators from the house of Decimus had hit the best of arenas, taken the beasts of the arena games to the cleaners and brought glories upon glories to Rhesus and his family. The Arena games were one of Rhesus Decimus's ways of relaxing and the aristocrat could boast