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Sharpie

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"You're in for a bit of a shock. About two weeks. There will be paths through the mountains, at least."

Felix blinked. Two weeks? He'd never been on a journey that long. He spent his days on his feet from dawn till dusk, but running errands around the household was very different from walking across mountains as a traveler. He was beginning to grasp just how large the Empire, or even just Italia, really was.

"I doubt anyone will think to look for us there, and anyone following us will have to be on foot as we are; mountain paths are not the best footing for horses."

Would they follow? There was no good way to ask, so Felix kept his mouth shut. Asking if they expected company of the dangerous kind would be asking if his master was important enough, or loyal enough, to warrant a man hunt. And it was a stupid question anyway. Clemens wanted all loyalists dead or at least captured, that was the word in Rome.

"So. What drudgery have I dragged you away from for this crazy adventure?"

Felix blinked, not sure how to answer. As the son of the pater familias, Aulus knew about his household well enough. He certainly knew to pick Felix, for whatever reasons he had in mind, even if it was solely because he was the most expendable. Other than that, there was not much to tell.

"Nothing important" he replied, then caught himself "I mean... I run errands around the household. Usually things that require lifting, or carrying, or... labor. I help around the stables, in the garden, that kind of thing. My father works in the stables" he frowned a little, Aulus probably knew that already, it was stupid to point out "He was hoping to train me to do the same."

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"From running errands to body-slave for a wanted man, Felix. Quite the step up for anyone." Something he said caught Aulus' attention. "If you help around the stables, do you know how to ride?" It might not help their journey across Italia, but if Felix could ride, it would certainly help once they reached Cilicia.

"I suggest you sleep for a bit, if you can," he added. He wouldn't be able to, himself, but he hadn't long been a serving soldier, he was used to broken nights. Tomorrow night - tonight! - he would try to find them somewhere sheltered. If they needed to sleep in turns, so be it, they would sleep peacefully soon enough.

He wondered briefly which god it was that had inspired him to choose Felix, out of all the household slaves, to accompany him. Quiet he might be, but that was no disadvantage in a slave, especially one serving a man in Aulus' position. And it was easy to underestimate him, it seemed people had been doing so for years, if all he was expected to do was provide muscle. Aulus would value that, but he would also value the sharp mind it seemed the slave possessed.

 

@Chevi

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"From running errands to body-slave for a wanted man, Felix. Quite the step up for anyone."

Felix knew what sarcasm was when he heard it. It was not a step up... if anything, it was a step sideways. He was still a slave, his life in the hands of someone else, doing things no one else was willing or expendable enough to do. If it truly was a step up, like his father had hoped, there would be a long road ahead before anything came of it. Sure, he was a body slave now, but also sitting on the bare ground at night, heading for the mountains.

"If you help around the stables, do you know how to ride?" 

"I know some. I can stay on top of a horse." Felix said cautiously. The horses in the stables were not for slaves to ride, even though his father had him learn the basics when he was younger.

"I suggest you sleep for a bit, if you can," 

"I'm good" Felix shook his head. He couldn't sleep if he tried, too riled up from the sudden escape, and besides, he was not going to let his master watch over him while he took a nap. That just would have been wrong. "I'll keep watch if you want to sleep."

@Sharpie

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"Well, that's better than nothing - it'll be a while before you have to try, though." He lay down, draping an arm over his face. "I'm just going to say two things - three things. One, take rest when you can, like a soldier. Two, we are going turn and turn about on this journey, we both need to sleep. Three, if something happens while you're on watch and I'm needed, I give you permission to rouse me. That last will be a standing order for as long you're serving me as my body-slave, just so you're clear. If you're not sure, wake me anyway. For right now, wake me in an hour."

If he was asleep. To be rested didn't necessarily mean you'd slept, not in this situation. There were too many details, too much to think about, too much that could go wrong, after the things that had gone right in the night.

 

@Chevi

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"Well, that's better than nothing - it'll be a while before you have to try"

Better than nothing. Felix was certain he could stay on top of a horse if his life depended on it, but that did not mean that he was looking forward to the experience. 

Watching over his master, however, that he could do. 

"I'm just going to say two things - three things. One, take rest when you can, like a soldier. Two, we are going turn and turn about on this journey, we both need to sleep. Three, if something happens while you're on watch and I'm needed, I give you permission to rouse me. That last will be a standing order for as long you're serving me as my body-slave, just so you're clear. If you're not sure, wake me anyway. For right now, wake me in an hour."

"As you wish" Felix nodded, wrapping himself in his cloak. Aulus had military experience; he was not just some spoiled rich man who did not know how to survive on the road. Felix had no military background, but he did not have a lot of demands either. 

It was strange, watching his master sleep on the ground. It was the closest Felix had ever gotten to freedom. All he would have to do was walk away quietly; it would be weeks, maybe never, before the family had time to bother looking for him. The thought was fleeting, however. His parents were back at the household, and besides, Aulus was not a bad person, and he had trusted him with his live. Contrary to popular belief, slaves had a sense of honor too. 

When he woke up his master an hour later, the sky was already turning lighter in the East. The carts had returned home, but people were already heading to Rome for the morning markets. Felix stretched, warming his limbs. 

"Looks like a clear day today. We can make good time until the road gets worse..." 

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If Aulus was surprised to be woken by Felix, that the man hadn't made his escape when he had a chance to, he didn't show it. "If you need a piss, I suggest you take one. Admittedly, we're not going to be quite as disciplined as a cohort of soldiers would," he said, tearing another chunk off the loaf from his bag, and passing the loaf across to his slave.

"Ancona is more north than east of here," he added, looking back at the roughly-drawn map of Italy he'd scratched out in the night. "We'll take the Via Flaminia - Ariminum would be closer. Just straight down the Via Flaminia."

The one would be harder to reach, even though they could go cross-country; there were the Apennines marching down the length of Italy that would need to be crossed if they headed to any port on the east coast. The Via Flaminia took a (relatively!) easy route through the mountains... it would not be so choked as the more southerly roads down to Campania, and was less likely to be watched, especially at its eastern terminus. That wasn't to say it wouldn't be watched at all, of course. Aulus wouldn't breathe easy until he was aboard ship. Probably not until he was within Quintus' camp in Cappadocia.

They needed a proper port, not just a mere fishing village. He needed a trading ship heading east and those were only to be found in the larger ports.

"Eat up, if you want anything, we need to be moving soon," he said. He'd make his final decision about their ultimate Italian destination when they were much nearer and he could size up what sort of watch would be on the ports.

 

@Chevi

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Dawn was breaking on a brand new day. After the dream- or rather nightmare-like events of the night, with the morning light came a bit of clarity. Felix was beginning to understand that he was on this journey for real, heading into the unknown for the first time in his life.

"If you need a piss, I suggest you take one. Admittedly, we're not going to be quite as disciplined as a cohort of soldiers would,"

Felix got up, stretching his limbs after sitting under the tree in the cool night air. His blood was slowly warming up, and he rolled his shoulders as he walked away a few steps to take a piss. It was weird, being like this with his master, but there were no choices or luxuries out here, and as Aulus had said, they might as well be soldiers on the march.

"Ancona is more north than east of here. We'll take the Via Flaminia - Ariminum would be closer. Just straight down the Via Flaminia."

"You know best." Felix nodded, biting the domine off the end of his sentence. He barely knew anything about geography, they had already established that. Aulus made the decisions.

"Eat up, if you want anything, we need to be moving soon," 

"I can walk and eat" Felix took the piece of bread and took a bite, looking down the road. He did not expect much comfort on the run, and as long as they walked at a steady pace, he could chew on the bread just fine. They might as well get going while the day was early.

They had a lot of ground to cover.

@Sharpie

(The story continues here)

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