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 Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:53 pm
The rich have made this a town of luxury. Proud buildings are displayed here. Along with the Magistrate's home. Domina's and Dominus' can request audience with him here.
Only those well behaved and perfect slaves are ever put on display here, or gladiators who have already proven themselves; may be put up for bid. Their glistening oiled bodies standing proudly and awaiting to be chosen to go to a well kept Ludus.
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:52 pm
Vibius Atia Calidus What could be better then the feeling of pure silk sheets against unclothed flesh and two women slaves underneath them? To Vibius there was nothing. After his wife had passed he indulged even more fully in the pleasures that came with having so much money. A grunt came from him as he rolled from the bed, stealing one of the layers of covers as he did so. He stood regal and still held some handsome appeal even though he had aged greatly. Yet the years had been kind instead of mean. The gods had obviously blessed him. He cleared his throat and the women who were still sleeping began to wake and scuttled out of the room in a hurry. The Magistrate went to one of the huge windows over looking the Villa. He parted the crimson curtains, raining light into the brilliantly furnished room. Every item was an import. From the mahogany wooden dressers to the golden statutes and highly sought after velvet lounge seats. The walls were immaculate white and trimmed with gold around the borders.
Looking out he could see the busy townspeople going about their routines. Many seemed to be roaming in the direction of the marketplace. Something of interest must have been taking place there. Yet he wasn't one to make a move so easily. Let the people have their fun, he thought. The two women returned, clad in lengthy white gowns, the cleavage horrendously low, yet elegant. One carried red robes, the other a tray of grapes. They approached in reverence and when the man nodded, but interrupted them with a mild wave of a hand.
'To the baths my lovelies.'
He said with a rugged smooth voice. Immediately at his command they nodded and carried the items out of the room and through a spacious hallway. The best dressed slaves were positioned on either side. Made to be statutes and most often their only job was to stand there motionless and look beautiful. A smile lingered on the man's face as he journeyed through his well kept home. Not a speck of dust was ever seen. Even if there was a slave would probably eat it before he had the chance to spot it floating about. They arrived in the baths and the door would be closed behind them.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:38 pm
~Trip to the market place~
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:46 pm
Vibius Atia Calidus Returned to the villa. The box was placed down and the Magistrate was helped out. Fan over head to shade him from the sun. He made his way up the path without much of a second look to the male who was taken from the market. Until he was about to go inside. He turned around to give orders concerning the man.
'Have him shown to square to assist with building a small arena that will be used to hold the presentation. I expect it done by tomorrow. After it has been erected clean him up and oil him down.'
The guards had presented the man with the slave's things and looked at Vibius with questioning faces.
'Shine up the helm and armor. He can wear them on the day of the Presentation Games. As long as he gives no trouble I see no need in melting the pieces down.'
He said this both as a warning and a compromise. He waved his hand to dismiss the group and went inside the large building. The guards would motion for the man to follow them...to be taken to the building sites. After the building some female house slaves would come to take him to the baths.
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:23 pm
 All awaited on the man as he ascended the path without so much as a glance at his new possession. Only when he had reached the entrance did he turn and order the guards and other slaves to their tasks. Tiberus listened with curiosity to the man's orders. He was still unsure as to what his purpose was, but as soon as the order was given he was ushered off to be cleaned up a little before passing through the house to get to the square where the arena was being built. He wasn't thoroughly cleaned, but it was enough to keep him from leaving dirty foot and hand prints on anything he touched.
The slave was glad they were keeping his armour. In Germania, each suit was crafted personally for the man it was intended. Each piece was shaped to fit every curve and edge exactly to the form of the body. With better fitting armour, a soldier would have more maneuverability and be able to fight with a wider range of motion with less bulk to get in his way. The helmet was very unique to each tribe. Tiberus was native to a more mountainous region with many big-horned sheep. His clan used the horns on their helmets to help scare the enemies and also to provide a sort of camouflage. Other clans used deer antlers, boar tusks, and wolf skulls in their helmets with each symbolizing another tribe and another story. Many times when killed in battle, the helmet of slain warrior was kept as a trophy instead of any body part. Back in his home, Tiberus had collected ten different helmets which were displayed within his hut.
Along with unique helmets, the body of the armour was also different. It was a variant of the roman lorica segmentata. Each piece of metal was bent to provide layers of sheet metal, but each layer was encased in thick leather and sewn together to provide more movement. The only uncovered metal part of the body was the pauldrons covering the shoulders which shone dimly in the light. The germanians liked to smoke their armour to blacken the shining armour and help camouflage from the sun. If the enemy could not hear you (for the leather did a good job of silencing the sound of metal upon metal) and could no see the shine of your armour, you would have the advantage over him. Tiberus was proud of his suit and was glad that it would be kept in good condition for him. When he was shown at the arena for the fight, he would look to be a true barbarian fighter. Alas, minus his old swords, taken from him when he was capture and not returned since. No slave was to have a weapon in the presence of a master. It was too risky a situation. Tiberus could deal with that though. New swords would be acquired with time.
The guards lead the German through a hallway then turned a few times before entered into a large opening where the sun shown down upon barren sand and dirt. Alread some construction had been finished and two sides had been walled off with one door and some bars as an opening. Above the walls was a balcony where the viewers would sit and view the proceedings. The area was in a square shape and the balcony surrounded all above. Below was only open hallways and the sandy dirt. One section of balcony was sticking out a little further than the rest and provided better view of the grounds below. The warrior presumed that was where the more important figures would sit. Behind the finished section of wall was a make-shift wooden cells to hold slaves who were to fight. It would be improper to allow them to run free in the house. In front of those cells was the walkway where each warrior was to enter onto the arena ground. There would be another door opposite the one already made. More cells would be made as well to accommodate slaves as well as a small room offset for a medicus to do his or her work in peace. Small wooden benches already were in place to be used as tables for injured fighters.
As he looked around, the guards talked to the architect who was in charge of constructing the arena. More slaves were already hauling in lumber and others were nailing them into place. The planks were thick and sturdy, they would withstand much damage and not break. The sound of construction was rather quiet, as all were aware not to make any unnecessary noise that would upset the magistrate. Bars of iron were being set into slots to allow some slaves to view the fights as well. The guards came back over to Tiberus and unshackled him. He had behaved himself and shown that he would be no trouble to them. Still they would keep an eye on the German.
"Alright dog sh*t, you are to haul logs in for the workers," the guard grunted at him. Tiberus looked over at the men carrying in the beams of wood. It would be just like training for him, nothing new. The guard smacked him firmly across the cheek "Look here when I'm talking to you, you dumb f*ck. I want no funny business. There's a schedule to keep. Do your work and do it quick. Understand?" Tiberus only nodded then turned to do as bidden. The other slaves were scrawny and badly kept. He could easily outwork all of them and finish the job on time. He moved into line, an awkward sight as he was bigger than the rest and seemed out of place. Following them out through an open archway, he saw a large pile of fresh lumber ready for construction. There were several guards placed around the area to keep the slaves in line. The looked at the new guy with curiosity, but said nothing to him. He heard one snicker to another guard about him, but he couldn't understand what they had said. The man hefted one plank to a shoulder and moved along to deposit it at the work site. This would continue many times until all the materials had been moved to the arena.
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Finally, sweat covered and tired, the german slave sat down in the sand and admired the newly constructed arena. He had never been inside one before, but he had seen a few fights when still with his previous master. The man had been a bit of a gambler and owed some money to a few people. He originally waned to keep Tiberus as a spoil of war, but ended up selling the man to pay off depts. This would be the first time Tiberus had stepped inside the arena. Too bad he would not be fighting with anyone anytime soon. His new master had not asked him of anything like that yet. Hopefully he would be able to prove himself sometime soon. He was eager to learn and to please. It was a trait most Germanians carried in their blood. Don't get him wrong, he was not thrilled to be a captive, but in his eyes, the better he was at serving, the sooner he would earn freedom to return home. The best road to take would be to earn his freedom with blood. There was more honor in that and he would return home a champion among the Roman gods.
He sat, day dreaming about future victories he would win, all surrounded by strong walls with sand beneath him and sun above him. This was where he would earn his freedom. Other slaves sat resting while some guards conversed with each other. Soon he would have to be moved again, but right now he could rest for a while.
Eventually two guards moved towards him. Tiberus rose to his feet and held out his arms in anticipation to what they wanted. One guard grinned and mentioned something about a dog to his mate before slapping on the shackles and leading the slave out into the now dark tunnel leading out of the cell block. They opened a door and lead the man back the way they had first entered. Hopefully the magistrate would be pleased with the work and would send invitations to the Luduses to begin the event soon.
The germanian was a little confused as he was being led back to the marketplace. Was this all that the man had needed? Then why had they taken his armour? He had a puzzled look upon his face as they reached the marketplace once more and one guard went to talk about housing arrangements. The other guard still with Tiberus mumbled to him, "You will stay here the night. The magistrate does not keep filth like you in his home. Someone will be sent to bring you back when needed." That was all the guard said before he was shoved down the stairs and placed in a rather large cell. It was a nicer one than he had been kept in before and didn't smell as bad as the cells further down the row. He looked through the bars to see the other slaves. He noticed two new ones, twins it seemed, but he would have to wait until morning to get a better look. Turning around, he inspected his new 'bed'. It was only a pile of bundled straw, but it was better than nothing at all. It looked fresh too. With a sigh, the tall blond lay down, to weary to do much else.
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