The Portal
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)
Chapter Seven
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek
Now on with the story.]
After depositing Clark's pack in the strongroom, they ran into Marcus on their way back to the front entrance of the palace. Marcus was walking down the hall chatting with a stoutly built man in his late thirties. When Marcus saw them, he said, "LHi, Coelia. I thought you were headed to the baths?"
Chloe smiled, "LThat's our next stop. I had some things we needed to drop at your strongroom, first."
Marcus turned to the man with him, "L Coelia Dionysia Flavius, this is Henricus Gallienus Caracalla, the magistrate of the Tolosa district."
Caracalla stepped forward and bowed. "LIt is an honor to meet you, Coelia Dionysia Flavius." Chloe respond with a polite nod of her head.
Caracalla turned back to Marcus, "LIf you will excuse me, I will attend to the matters we discussed." He then turned and headed out into the central courtyard of the palace.
Marcus watched Caracalla walk away and then turned back to Chloe. "LWell, my meetings went faster than I expected and I am finished up for now. How about if Marina and I join you at the baths?"
"L Marina is here with you? It would be wonderful to see her. Please do join us."
Marcus smiled. "LLet me go find her. I'll be right back."
As he headed off, Chloe turned and explained, "Marcus' wife, Marina, is in town and they are going to join us at the baths. Marina and I were good friends back in Rome. While we are at the baths, I will get their help in trying to locate the professor. Who knows, if we are lucky we will locate him today and be on our way home soon."
They spent a few minutes enjoying the tranquillity of the central courtyard with its fountain and shade trees. One of the servants had just brought them a plate of cakes when Marcus returned with his wife. Chloe ran up to her. "LMarina, it is so good to see you." As she gave her a hug, she realized what the robe was hiding. Stepping back Chloe exclaimed, "LCongratulations. Marcus, you should have told me. Marina how far along are you?"
Marcus grinned a very happy grin; "LShe would have killed me if I had said anything before she was here."
Marina ran her hand up Marcus' arm. "L Coelia, it is great to see you. When Marcus said you were here, it was such a pleasant surprise." Running her hand over her belly, "LFive months. We have so much to talk about. Come, walk with me." With that Marina turned and headed for the front door with Chloe in tow.
Since the girls had things to talk about, Marcus stepped up beside Lex leaving Clark and Lana to bring up the rear. As they proceeded out the front entrance of the palace, six bodyguards and two personal slaves of the governor formed up around the party.
Crossing the forum, Clark asked Lana, "How are you holding up?"
"Ummm," responded Lana, "it's nice to finally have some comfortable shoes after what feels like two thousand years."
Clark smiled for a moment. "Seriously, are you okay?"
Lana hesitated for a minute. "I don't know. Slowly freaking out, I guess."
Clark turned and looked carefully at her. She did seem to have a little of that 'deer in the headlights' stare about her. "Is it finding out about Chloe?"
"A little, but I don't think that has really sunk in yet." Lana answered looking ahead at Chloe and Lex. "It is more the shock of being here and feeling so helpless and dependent on others. Look at Chloe, she fits right in. Okay, she has been here before so she should. And Lex, he knows one useless dead language, Latin. So where do we end up? The one place where everyone speaks Latin. Plus with his thriving on adversity, he will make out okay here."
"Hey," said Clark, "what about me? I don't speak the language like Chloe or Lex. And I have never been here before. If I can cope, so can you."
"I don't know, Clark. I don't have that unstoppable Clark Kent inner strength. I am very afraid we will all end up separated. This is a very scary place to be lost and alone."
Clark understood how serious she was and took her hand. "I will do everything I can to look out for you." Giving her hand a gently squeeze. "Trust me."
By this point the baths were in sight. It was a large, two block wide structure spanning the street ahead. On one side it had a stone water tower with a pipe leading to a nearby aqueduct. Even on a hot day like today, great quantities of smoke could be seen billowing from several chimneys where the furnaces heated water for the hot bath in the caldarium and for the moist and dry saunas.
Clark thought it was time to try and cheer Lana up or at least distract her from her thoughts. "Let's talk to Chloe about starting some Latin lessons for us. It will be fun." He glanced at her to catch her eye and then grinned. "And speaking of fun, do you think the baths are coed or separate? We know Lex and Chloe aren't shy, but what about us? Are you ready to have someone rub fragrant oils all over your body?"
Lana thought about Clark's strong hands rubbing oil all over her body. Why, in all the years we have been neighbors didn't I ever noticed him? Only in the past few months, when the strange meteor rock events kept throwing us together, have I gotten to know him. And maybe care for him more than I will even admit to myself. But Clark and Chloe are together now and somehow that seems right. Even if Chloe is 17,000 years old, there is something different about Clark that still makes it okay. I need to get out of this dark fugue state. Perhaps I need to talk to Chloe; she must have gone through many dark times before. I know her 21st century solution would be 'chocolate'. Hmmm, I wonder if they have chocolate in the Roman Empire?
Smiling a little at the thought of them all sitting around in their togas eating Marble Slab double chocolate ice cream, Lana decided to try and act a little more cheery and perhaps the mood would become real.
"As Chloe would say, when in Rome. I have never had someone rub oil all over my body, maybe it would be fun." She cocked her head, batted her eyes seductively, and looked at Clark. "Are you volunteering?"
Clark's Adam's apple bobbed up and down a couple of times. If only she had asked me that a week ago, he thought.
Lana watched the emotions roll across Clark face and grinned. "It's okay, Clark, I remember your show from the pond yesterday and know its Chloe's naked body you want to rub oil on. Just be sure to mix in a little Pond's anti-wrinkle cream. After 17,000 years those wrinkles are going to show up any day now."
Clark allowed himself a moment to daydream about Chloe lying naked on a concrete bench while he massaged oil into her shoulders, back, and butt.
Whoa, Clark, he thought. Get your mind back on the task at hand of cheering Lana up. As he was working on a snappy repartee, the party reached the bath. Chloe turned back and motioned Lana forward.
"Lana, come and joined Marina and me. This is where we separate the boys from the girls," called Chloe.
With obvious relief in her voice, Lana replied, "You mean the baths are not coed?" with a quick glance at Clark who shrugged.
Catching the eye contact Chloe shook her head. "What have you two been talking about? Of course, in a public establishment like this the men and women bath separately. Oh, there are some common places like the exercise area, the gardens, the library, and the hall used for live performances, you know plays and singers and the like. But the actual bathing areas are separate. Anyway, come along Lana, we'll rejoin the guys in the exercise area after we change."
With that the girls and the female slave that had walked over from the palace with them headed through the passage to the left. Clark walked over and joined Lex and Marcus who were headed through the passage to the right.
As Clark caught up with him, Lex turned and said; "Marcus has been telling me about the version of handball they play at these baths. It is called 'expulsim ludere' and sounds similar to single-wall handball back home except the ball is about twice the diameter as I am used to. Marcus asked if we were interested in a game of doubles. How about it Clark?"
Clark grinned, "Sure, it sounds like fun. I have played a few times at the Y with Pete. How about you, Lex?"
"I played on the college handball team my first year before I discovered fencing. I may be a little rusty, but it seems safer to try handball with these guys than swordplay."
The room the men entered was the unctuarium. Upon entering Marcus paid the attendant three copper coins to cover their entrance fee and received three wicker baskets to stow their gear. After stripping off his clothes, Marcus took a quick dip in the small pool to rinse of the sweat and grime as the first step in an afternoon at the baths. Not wanting to look like this was their first time at a Roman bath; Lex and Clark quickly followed suit.
The water was cool and had a noticeable current. As Clark swam lazily around he realized it had relatively large inlets and outlets to keep the water clean.
They had been in the water hardly five minutes when Marcus climbed out and dried himself with a towel handed to him by the slave he had brought along. He proceeded to wrap his loins in a small white triangle of material, which he picked up from the bath attendant that would barely qualify as a G- string back in the 21st century.
His slave then held out towels for Lex and Clark before walking back over to Marcus. As Lex and Clark started to dry themselves off, the slave began rubbing oil into Marcus' shoulders and upper back. The boys were figuring out how to put on their own small triangles of cloth when Marcus called them over.
"L Let Doigenes here oil you up before we hit the handball court. He is one of the best finds I have made since coming to Gaul. Of course, he is Greek as they make the best personal attendants."
Lex thanked him and then translated for Clark. As Lex stretched out on the bench for his turn, Marcus said, "LI'll meet you out by the courts. They're through that door, you can't miss them. I am going to see who is here that would like to be a fourth." With a wave he headed out the passageway to the exercise area.
While Lex was enjoying the rub down Clark said, "So we are going out into the common area wearing just these little thongs."
"I didn't see you complaining yesterday when Chloe was swimming around naked with you." retorted Lex. "Time to grow up Clark. In this time you were considered to be an adult at 14, not at 18 or 21 like back home."
"Well, trying to behave more like an adult, I have to say I am a little worried about Lana. We had a chance to chat on the walk over and all of the shocks in the past two days are starting to get to her. I think the worst of it for her is feeling trapped in a barbaric society with no ability to communicate."
As Clark and Lex exchanged places, Lex said, "Any suggestions on what we should do?"
"Not really, I just think we need to keep an eye on her and try not to let her become too depressed."
"How about you, Clark? You don't speak Latin either. Are you holding up okay?"
"Yeah, but then Chloe and I seem to be making a real connection on this trip."
"What about the whole 'living forever' thing with her? I thought my jaw was going to hit the ground when she called out Marcus' name and ran and gave him a hug," commented Lex.
"At least you understood the conversation and had some idea what was happening. Lana and I were standing there with no idea and the conversation just went on and on." Said Clark. After pausing for a minute, he continued, "What did you think of Chloe's nanotech story. Are we close to the kind of 'bots she was talking about?"
"I haven't pursued nanotech research much," said Lex with a thoughtful expression. "I would guess about 40 years. Although with some sample 'bots it may be possible to shave a number of years off that."
Remembering his conversation with Chloe, Clark answered, "If you are talking about samples from Chloe, I think if you ask very nicely she will offer her help. However, I get the strong impression she doesn't like people trying to take advantage of her. With 17,000 years of watching her back, I think you always want to make sure she stays a friend."
Lex was surprised. Was that Clark's idea of advice, a warning or a threat? Something was definitely going on between Clark and Chloe that went beyond just new boyfriend and girlfriend. I need to tread lightly in this area.
While he was still pondering this, Clark jumped up from the bench saying, "I need to burn off some excess energy. Let's go see if we can kick some Roman butt."
Glistening with oil like two bodybuilders during a competition, Lex and Clark headed for the exercise area.
The exercise area was large and open with a high ceiling. Just below the roof were two long rows of windows. The windows had shutters for inclement weather, but today they were wide open to let in the plenty of fresh air.
The exercise area wasn't that much different from a modern health club. On one side a group of twenty or thirty women were performing a coordinated dance routine, not unlike a modern jazzercize class. Of course, they were performing to a small three-piece band rather than a boombox.
Another area had a mix of men and women working out with free weights. No modern weight machines, but still a lot of buff and toned guys and girls.
Along a third wall were the handball courts. Three courts, all in use. Two courts were being used for doubles while the remaining court was being used for a game of singles. All of the courts had benches for spectators, but only the singles game had drawn a crowd. About fifteen men were sprawled out on the benches, laughing, having a good time, and obviously betting on the outcome.
Another area was covered with thick mats and a group of men were practicing a martial arts form that looked like a cross between judo and wrestling.
The exercise area was L-shaped. Clark and Lex wandered down around the corner into the other leg of the 'L'. Along the left wall were three more game courts, although neither Clark nor Lex recognized this game. Each court consisted of two concentric circles. The inner circle was about six feet in diameter and the outer about twenty feet in diameter. Five to seven players were arrayed around the outside of the outer circle. After watching for a couple of minutes it became apparent that points were scored by bouncing the volleyball-sized ball in the inner circle and then out of the outer circle without anyone catching it. Whoever caught the ball got the next turn. From listening to the scorekeeping for a while Lex determined that you lost a point, if your initial bounce missed the inner circle. Also if it bounced a second time before getting out of the outer circle, you got zero points. It was a fast paced game, particularly with fewer players. One game was being played by a group of young men and looked quite intense. The other two games were being played by a mixed group of men and women and were more social in nature, lots of laughing and joking was going on.
Along the other main wall were a group of women tossing various sized medicine balls around. Like the other women scattered through out the exercise area, most of these women were dressed similar to Lex and Clark, small triangular bottoms that left most of their butts exposed plus small gauzy bandanna tops that similarly left most of their breasts exposed. Even some of the women from Baywatch would have been nervous being seen in public in attire like this. Clark looked forward to seeing Chloe and Lana dressed like this and no longer felt quite as embarrassed in his own skimpy attire.
Finally, along the far wall was a snack bar with a number of low couches and tables with people eating a variety of fruits and drinking an assortment of fruit juices and ale. All in all, several hundred people were in the exercise area this afternoon.
After scoping out the various activities and the cute girls, Clark and Lex drifted back towards the handball courts noticing the decor as they went. Most of the walls were covered with large frescoes honoring the sporting activities of the baths. Girls using hand-weights. Young men wrestling. Women playing catch with a ball. And the like. The main difference about the frescoes was the outdoor pastoral setting.
By the time they had inspected all of the frescoes, they had reached the handball courts. They settled on a pair of benches to learn the nuances of the game. It was very similar to the modern version except the ball was twice as large about midway between a baseball and softball. Also it had less bounce. Most of the men playing were wearing open fingered gloves with padded palms to protect their hands.
Lex asked one of the players just finishing a doubles match about the gloves. He pointed to the attendant just beyond the courts and explained that he had spare gloves and balls and also scheduled the court times. Lex and Clark walked over to the attendant and sorted through the box of gloves. The largest pair barely fit Lex, so Clark said his hands were pretty well callused from the farm and he could go without.
The guys selected a ball and found an unused section of wall to warm up. They had been practicing for about ten minutes and were getting the feel for the bounce of this ball when Marcus walked up with another younger man.
"LAhh, Lex, I see your getting ready. Good. This is Julianus Caracalla, the magistrate's son, and the current city handball champ."
"LSo Marcus, you felt you need to bring in a ringer just to beat a couple of hicks from Britannia?" said Lex with a grin.
"LNo, Lex" said Marcus with a shake of his head. "LThis is just going to be a nice friendly game. Besides, if I was going to set you up, I wouldn't have told you about Julianus. Now if you are ready, I am going to pull rank and cut to the top of the waiting list and grab the next available court."
The four of them walked over to the courts. The remaining doubles game which had been playing when Lex and Clark first entered the exercise area was nearing the end. A pair of men in their mid-30s was playing a pair of teenage boys who turned out to be their sons. The older men were leading 19-15 and needed only two more points to win. It was quickly over as the boys played overly aggressively trying to make up for their fathers' lead. They had yet to learn that the best strategy when you are behind in handball is to play conservatively and try not to make any errors.
After a few minutes of warming up, the men began a game. The Romans jumped out to an early lead based on long experience with the game. But eventually Lex and Clark started scoring a few points. At one point Clark made a long diving save to bring the score to 12-7. Right then a loud female voice shouted, "Way to go, Smallville!"
The players looked back and saw Chloe, Lana, and Marina sitting in the front row clapping and whistling. Clark and Lex hadn't been that close to Marina back at the palace, but now her pregnancy was obvious in her very immodest attire.
And speaking of immodest attire thought Clark. Wow, Chloe and Lana were both hot. Even though Chloe had rubbed her naked body against him yesterday, it was still exciting to see her in a skimpy outfit she would never have been caught dead in, back in Smallville.
The game paused briefly as the guys walked over to say hello.
Chloe asked, "How is it going?"
Clark said, "I think the hardest part is playing with bare feet."
"Definitely," agreed Lex. "I have already stubbed my toes several times. The game would be a lot more even if we had our tennis shoes."
"So what is the score?" asked Lana.
"They are leading 12-7 and the game is to 21." said Lex.
"Can you win?" asked Chloe.
Clark glanced at Lex. "What's in it for us, if we do?"
"Hmmm," said Chloe. She leaned over to Lana and whispered in her ear. Lana smiled and nodded, before Chloe continued. "How about a massage from us, if you win? You both look very hot, all oiled up in those little thongs. We would both enjoy rubbing our hands over your bodies, but you are going to have to earn it."
"You better warn Marcus and Julianus that they are about to have their butts kicked," said Clark as he turned and walked back onto the court. Focus, Clark thought to himself, nothing that looks more than, oh, 120% of normal human ability. But we definitely want to win.
Lex just shook his head and walked out on to the court. Julianus was definitely out of his league and Marcus was no slouch. The score wouldn't even be this close, if Marcus hadn't let a couple of easy ones go. Now all of a sudden Clark is all charged up and motivated to win. Well, I will have to give it the old Luthor try and hope for the best.
As play resumed, the whole tenor of the game had changed. The Romans understood the wager had cranked up the other's motivation. But as hometown favorites, it was a matter of honor that they couldn't let a pair of barbarians win.
Within the first couple of points it was apparent that Clark had raised his game to a whole different level. Whereas previously his eight inch reach advantage over the Romans had been his best weapon, suddenly he seemed to hustle twice as fast as before. No matter where the Romans hit the ball, Clark seemed to be waiting there with a kill shot all lined up.
Almost before they knew what hit them, the score was tied 16-all. The Romans tried to play a conservative, error-free game assuming Clark's luck couldn't hold. But Clark's luck did hold until on the final point he managed an 8-foot overhead smash in combination with a 16-foot diving cross- court return that was so hard and fast, the ball almost seemed to blur. 'Good thing that was the last point' thought Clark. 'Anymore shots like that and people would begin to wonder.' In the end, Clark and Lex won the game 21-18.
Chloe and Lana were whooping and screaming. They ran out onto the court and threw their arms around Clark and gave him a simultaneous hug. Somehow they both ended up with one of their hands on Clark's naked, oily butt. It only seemed fair that Clark lowered his hands to their naked butts, too.
"Hey," said Lex, "I was part of the winning team, too."
After a few more seconds with Clark and a quick kiss from each, the girls turned gave Lex a hug running their hands over his butt as well. Wow, thought Lex, once again I should have remembered to never underestimate Clark when he sets his mind to some goal. Perhaps we should have made the stakes in the wager even a little higher.
Clark said, "I have worked up a thirst. Let's go down to the snack bar and see if we can find something interesting to drink."
After shaking hands with Marcus and Julianus, Clark asked Chloe to invite the others down to snack bar for a drink on him. After Chloe had past along the message, Clark put his arm around her and headed for the other end of the exercise area.
As they walked, Chloe asked, "So was that remarkable turn around in the game a sample of your 'secret'?"
Clark spoke in a low tone, "Only a very small sample."
Chloe stopped, pulled Clark's head down, and appeared to nibble on his ear. "How small a sample, Clark." She whispered.
Clark whispered back. "At top speed, I can move so fast I am virtually invisible."
Chloe pulled back and exclaimed in a much louder voice, "What?" Thinking she had misunderstood.
"You heard me," said Clark still speaking in a quiet tone. "And even that is only a small part of my secret."
Seeing that Lex and Lana had almost caught up with them, Chloe said, "We have to find some time to talk. Finding out about it in little dribbles is driving me crazy."
"Now you have some feeling what Lana and I were going through when you had your first conversation with Marcus and we had no idea what was going on."
As they started walking, Chloe was wondering about Clark's secret. It was starting to sound like a doozy. What exactly did moving so fast he was almost invisible mean? There had been a lot of times when during some meteor freak event, Clark did seem able to disappear in the time you could turn your head. Let's see, what other weird things had happened around Clark that could be attributed to his 'secret'?
Chloe was still thinking of past incidents when they reached the snack bar. While the others picked out a table, she grabbed Lana to help her pick up drinks.
"So," asked Lana, "What are the drink choices?"
"If they have all the ingredients, I think we are going to have the Chloe Special," answered Chloe.
Lana arched her eyebrows, "Something I should add to the menu at the Talon?"
"Sure, if you find it interesting, but it is not remotely in the coffee category." said Chloe as she turned and started talking to the man working behind the counter.
Since Julianus had wanted to go hang with his friends, the barkeeper pulled out six glasses. He filled them half full with crushed ice then added a tablespoon of honey to each glass. While the honey was slowly coating the ice he took an empty pitcher and filled it half way with lemonade. Then he filled it the rest of the way with orange juice. After mixing, he topped each glass of honeyed ice with the mix to complete Chloe's concoction. Chloe passed three of the glasses to Lana and said, "Voilà, a bumble-bee with sting ala Chloe."
"Looks intriguing, but how do they have ice without refrigerators?" asked Lana.
"They cart it down from the mountains in the winter and store it in special straw insulated underground rooms for use in the summer. A long time go the Egyptians had a technique for making thin sheets of ice at the bottom of deep trenches out in the desert in the middle of summer when the nighttime temperature never fell below forty-five degrees. I remember reading a science article about it a few years ago explaining the physics of it, but at the time it really did seem like magic." Chloe explained. It was kind of fun to have people she could share her memories with, without appearing to be crazy.
Everyone tried Chloe's special drink with varying degrees of appreciation. Lex sort of summed up the majority opinion, "I don't think it will replace Gatorade, but it does fill that post-game sugar rush need."
With everyone comfortably relaxing after the match, Chloe looked over at Marcus and asked, "L When we were walking into town this morning, we came past this walled-off canyon with a group of guards standing at the entrance. None of us could guess what that was all about. Do you know?"
Lana and Clark didn't know what Chloe had asked, but they could see Lex tense up slightly and start paying more attention to Marcus' face. Lex and Chloe had been conversing intermittently with Marcus and Marina in Latin ever since they left the palace, but this was the first time they had seen this reaction in Lex. It was still difficult to adjust to some of the role reversals. Lex had always been the calm, unruffleable one while Chloe had been the excitable, easy to read one. But ever since they had realized they were lost in ancient Roman times, Chloe had become the calm, in-charge leader of the group. It was more than just her experience with having lived through these times before. A large part of it was her newfound freedom to tell her friends a few of her secrets.
"L Ahh," said Marcus, "L you have only been here a few hours and already you stumbled on the big 'Mystery of Tolosa'."
"LThe 'Mystery of Tolosa'?" asked Chloe. "L I don't remember hearing about any big mystery."
"L A big mystery by local standards, but not big enough to be noticed back at Rome. I never heard of it until I got here either," answered Marcus. "L It all began about 50 years ago, so only a few old timers have any memory of the events. It started with strange lights and noises coming from far up that canyon at night. The local magistrate sent a detachment of guards to investigate, but only one man returned. And he was half crazed with a wild story about demons with bright lights coming out of their heads. The magistrate sent several larger detachments of guards, but none of these returned. Eventually, he just started to guard the entrance to the canyon and after several months the noises and lights stopped."
Lex looked at Chloe and said in English, "That sounds like the crew that constructed the Professor's complex, but it doesn't help us find him now."
Chloe nodded and asked Marcus, "LAny more recent weird things associated with that canyon?" Weird things thought Chloe. It sounds like we are back in Smallville.
"LNothing for about thirty years. The original magistrate was reassigned back to Rome about a year after all of the excitement. Since there had been no activity from that canyon for many months, the new magistrate sent a troop of guards up the canyon to investigate. They found nothing unusual anywhere in the canyon. When they returned, the magistrate discontinued the guard. Slowly the events in the canyon receded from memory except for stories told late at night in the taverns."
"L Nothing more happened until about 20 years ago. One day this stranger showed up in town. His name was Antonius Octavius Carius." At this Chloe gave an obvious look of recognition. "LAhh, I see you recognize the name."
Chloe nodded, "LNot just recognize the name, I met him several times at parties thrown by Augustus Tiberius."
"LOf course, you do mingle in the highest circles," continued Marcus. "LThese events all occurred before he became the emperor's official soothsayer, but did lead to his coming to the attention of Rome. When Carius showed up in Tolosa he said that he was on a pilgrimage resulting from a visit to the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle told him to go to western Gaul and find a place with legends involving demons and strange lights. When he found such a place, he would be given a vision where to build a temple which would lead to great rewards for him."
"L He had spent several months wandering western Gaul when he heard the story of 'The Mystery of Tolosa'. On his arrival he told his story and people pointed him towards the canyon. After spending a nighttime vigil in the canyon he returned to town saying he had had a vision of where to build the temple. Now, it turned out he was a wealthy merchant in Antioch before his visit to the Oracle. So he had money and hired a crew to build his temple way up the canyon."
"LAfter the temple was built, Carius started to get more visions. Visions involving local people. Visions that came true. He spent about two years in Tolosa while word of his abilities spread. One day he said he had a vision he was to go to Rome and left." concluded Marcus.
"LSo he left for Rome about 18 years ago," said Chloe thinking hard. L"Has he ever been back?"
"LApparently, he comes back every few years to visit the temple. He even has a villa in town for use when he is here. On one of his visits about ten years ago, after he became Tiberius' soothsayer, he had the wall built across the entrance to the canyon and installed the guards to keep everyone out." said Marcus.
"LHas he been in town recently?" asked Lex.
"LI think it has been about a year since the last time. Why so much interest in Carius?"
"LNo special interest in him. We were merely enjoying your story," said Chloe a little too quickly.
Marcus was sure they had some special interest in Carius from the intensity of their questions. But if Coelia didn't want to explain, he would let it slide until she was ready. Marcus said, "LCoelia, let's continue this over dinner. Several of the leading citizens have been trying to catch my eye for the past few minutes and I really should go mingle for awhile." Extending his hand to his wife, "LCome along Marina, I see Constantius Mallius and his wife."
As she stood, Marina leaned over and spoke into Chloe's ear. "LI'll find you in about an hour to go have a soak and a chat. In the meantime, there are some private massage rooms between the entrances to the men's and women's baths." She grinned towards Clark as she stood. Then taking Marcus' arm they walked off.
End of Chapter Seven
Disclaimer: The standard words that someone else owns all of the main characters in this story.
Rating: R (Where's the fun, if you can't push the boundaries a little further.)
Chapter Seven
[Author's Note: Like several of the characters, I assume many of the readers don't read Latin or Ancient Greek. So the readers can follow the dialog and still know which characters know what is being said and which ones don't, I am implementing the following simple method: " Text " = English "L text " = Latin "G text " = Greek
Now on with the story.]
After depositing Clark's pack in the strongroom, they ran into Marcus on their way back to the front entrance of the palace. Marcus was walking down the hall chatting with a stoutly built man in his late thirties. When Marcus saw them, he said, "LHi, Coelia. I thought you were headed to the baths?"
Chloe smiled, "LThat's our next stop. I had some things we needed to drop at your strongroom, first."
Marcus turned to the man with him, "L Coelia Dionysia Flavius, this is Henricus Gallienus Caracalla, the magistrate of the Tolosa district."
Caracalla stepped forward and bowed. "LIt is an honor to meet you, Coelia Dionysia Flavius." Chloe respond with a polite nod of her head.
Caracalla turned back to Marcus, "LIf you will excuse me, I will attend to the matters we discussed." He then turned and headed out into the central courtyard of the palace.
Marcus watched Caracalla walk away and then turned back to Chloe. "LWell, my meetings went faster than I expected and I am finished up for now. How about if Marina and I join you at the baths?"
"L Marina is here with you? It would be wonderful to see her. Please do join us."
Marcus smiled. "LLet me go find her. I'll be right back."
As he headed off, Chloe turned and explained, "Marcus' wife, Marina, is in town and they are going to join us at the baths. Marina and I were good friends back in Rome. While we are at the baths, I will get their help in trying to locate the professor. Who knows, if we are lucky we will locate him today and be on our way home soon."
They spent a few minutes enjoying the tranquillity of the central courtyard with its fountain and shade trees. One of the servants had just brought them a plate of cakes when Marcus returned with his wife. Chloe ran up to her. "LMarina, it is so good to see you." As she gave her a hug, she realized what the robe was hiding. Stepping back Chloe exclaimed, "LCongratulations. Marcus, you should have told me. Marina how far along are you?"
Marcus grinned a very happy grin; "LShe would have killed me if I had said anything before she was here."
Marina ran her hand up Marcus' arm. "L Coelia, it is great to see you. When Marcus said you were here, it was such a pleasant surprise." Running her hand over her belly, "LFive months. We have so much to talk about. Come, walk with me." With that Marina turned and headed for the front door with Chloe in tow.
Since the girls had things to talk about, Marcus stepped up beside Lex leaving Clark and Lana to bring up the rear. As they proceeded out the front entrance of the palace, six bodyguards and two personal slaves of the governor formed up around the party.
Crossing the forum, Clark asked Lana, "How are you holding up?"
"Ummm," responded Lana, "it's nice to finally have some comfortable shoes after what feels like two thousand years."
Clark smiled for a moment. "Seriously, are you okay?"
Lana hesitated for a minute. "I don't know. Slowly freaking out, I guess."
Clark turned and looked carefully at her. She did seem to have a little of that 'deer in the headlights' stare about her. "Is it finding out about Chloe?"
"A little, but I don't think that has really sunk in yet." Lana answered looking ahead at Chloe and Lex. "It is more the shock of being here and feeling so helpless and dependent on others. Look at Chloe, she fits right in. Okay, she has been here before so she should. And Lex, he knows one useless dead language, Latin. So where do we end up? The one place where everyone speaks Latin. Plus with his thriving on adversity, he will make out okay here."
"Hey," said Clark, "what about me? I don't speak the language like Chloe or Lex. And I have never been here before. If I can cope, so can you."
"I don't know, Clark. I don't have that unstoppable Clark Kent inner strength. I am very afraid we will all end up separated. This is a very scary place to be lost and alone."
Clark understood how serious she was and took her hand. "I will do everything I can to look out for you." Giving her hand a gently squeeze. "Trust me."
By this point the baths were in sight. It was a large, two block wide structure spanning the street ahead. On one side it had a stone water tower with a pipe leading to a nearby aqueduct. Even on a hot day like today, great quantities of smoke could be seen billowing from several chimneys where the furnaces heated water for the hot bath in the caldarium and for the moist and dry saunas.
Clark thought it was time to try and cheer Lana up or at least distract her from her thoughts. "Let's talk to Chloe about starting some Latin lessons for us. It will be fun." He glanced at her to catch her eye and then grinned. "And speaking of fun, do you think the baths are coed or separate? We know Lex and Chloe aren't shy, but what about us? Are you ready to have someone rub fragrant oils all over your body?"
Lana thought about Clark's strong hands rubbing oil all over her body. Why, in all the years we have been neighbors didn't I ever noticed him? Only in the past few months, when the strange meteor rock events kept throwing us together, have I gotten to know him. And maybe care for him more than I will even admit to myself. But Clark and Chloe are together now and somehow that seems right. Even if Chloe is 17,000 years old, there is something different about Clark that still makes it okay. I need to get out of this dark fugue state. Perhaps I need to talk to Chloe; she must have gone through many dark times before. I know her 21st century solution would be 'chocolate'. Hmmm, I wonder if they have chocolate in the Roman Empire?
Smiling a little at the thought of them all sitting around in their togas eating Marble Slab double chocolate ice cream, Lana decided to try and act a little more cheery and perhaps the mood would become real.
"As Chloe would say, when in Rome. I have never had someone rub oil all over my body, maybe it would be fun." She cocked her head, batted her eyes seductively, and looked at Clark. "Are you volunteering?"
Clark's Adam's apple bobbed up and down a couple of times. If only she had asked me that a week ago, he thought.
Lana watched the emotions roll across Clark face and grinned. "It's okay, Clark, I remember your show from the pond yesterday and know its Chloe's naked body you want to rub oil on. Just be sure to mix in a little Pond's anti-wrinkle cream. After 17,000 years those wrinkles are going to show up any day now."
Clark allowed himself a moment to daydream about Chloe lying naked on a concrete bench while he massaged oil into her shoulders, back, and butt.
Whoa, Clark, he thought. Get your mind back on the task at hand of cheering Lana up. As he was working on a snappy repartee, the party reached the bath. Chloe turned back and motioned Lana forward.
"Lana, come and joined Marina and me. This is where we separate the boys from the girls," called Chloe.
With obvious relief in her voice, Lana replied, "You mean the baths are not coed?" with a quick glance at Clark who shrugged.
Catching the eye contact Chloe shook her head. "What have you two been talking about? Of course, in a public establishment like this the men and women bath separately. Oh, there are some common places like the exercise area, the gardens, the library, and the hall used for live performances, you know plays and singers and the like. But the actual bathing areas are separate. Anyway, come along Lana, we'll rejoin the guys in the exercise area after we change."
With that the girls and the female slave that had walked over from the palace with them headed through the passage to the left. Clark walked over and joined Lex and Marcus who were headed through the passage to the right.
As Clark caught up with him, Lex turned and said; "Marcus has been telling me about the version of handball they play at these baths. It is called 'expulsim ludere' and sounds similar to single-wall handball back home except the ball is about twice the diameter as I am used to. Marcus asked if we were interested in a game of doubles. How about it Clark?"
Clark grinned, "Sure, it sounds like fun. I have played a few times at the Y with Pete. How about you, Lex?"
"I played on the college handball team my first year before I discovered fencing. I may be a little rusty, but it seems safer to try handball with these guys than swordplay."
The room the men entered was the unctuarium. Upon entering Marcus paid the attendant three copper coins to cover their entrance fee and received three wicker baskets to stow their gear. After stripping off his clothes, Marcus took a quick dip in the small pool to rinse of the sweat and grime as the first step in an afternoon at the baths. Not wanting to look like this was their first time at a Roman bath; Lex and Clark quickly followed suit.
The water was cool and had a noticeable current. As Clark swam lazily around he realized it had relatively large inlets and outlets to keep the water clean.
They had been in the water hardly five minutes when Marcus climbed out and dried himself with a towel handed to him by the slave he had brought along. He proceeded to wrap his loins in a small white triangle of material, which he picked up from the bath attendant that would barely qualify as a G- string back in the 21st century.
His slave then held out towels for Lex and Clark before walking back over to Marcus. As Lex and Clark started to dry themselves off, the slave began rubbing oil into Marcus' shoulders and upper back. The boys were figuring out how to put on their own small triangles of cloth when Marcus called them over.
"L Let Doigenes here oil you up before we hit the handball court. He is one of the best finds I have made since coming to Gaul. Of course, he is Greek as they make the best personal attendants."
Lex thanked him and then translated for Clark. As Lex stretched out on the bench for his turn, Marcus said, "LI'll meet you out by the courts. They're through that door, you can't miss them. I am going to see who is here that would like to be a fourth." With a wave he headed out the passageway to the exercise area.
While Lex was enjoying the rub down Clark said, "So we are going out into the common area wearing just these little thongs."
"I didn't see you complaining yesterday when Chloe was swimming around naked with you." retorted Lex. "Time to grow up Clark. In this time you were considered to be an adult at 14, not at 18 or 21 like back home."
"Well, trying to behave more like an adult, I have to say I am a little worried about Lana. We had a chance to chat on the walk over and all of the shocks in the past two days are starting to get to her. I think the worst of it for her is feeling trapped in a barbaric society with no ability to communicate."
As Clark and Lex exchanged places, Lex said, "Any suggestions on what we should do?"
"Not really, I just think we need to keep an eye on her and try not to let her become too depressed."
"How about you, Clark? You don't speak Latin either. Are you holding up okay?"
"Yeah, but then Chloe and I seem to be making a real connection on this trip."
"What about the whole 'living forever' thing with her? I thought my jaw was going to hit the ground when she called out Marcus' name and ran and gave him a hug," commented Lex.
"At least you understood the conversation and had some idea what was happening. Lana and I were standing there with no idea and the conversation just went on and on." Said Clark. After pausing for a minute, he continued, "What did you think of Chloe's nanotech story. Are we close to the kind of 'bots she was talking about?"
"I haven't pursued nanotech research much," said Lex with a thoughtful expression. "I would guess about 40 years. Although with some sample 'bots it may be possible to shave a number of years off that."
Remembering his conversation with Chloe, Clark answered, "If you are talking about samples from Chloe, I think if you ask very nicely she will offer her help. However, I get the strong impression she doesn't like people trying to take advantage of her. With 17,000 years of watching her back, I think you always want to make sure she stays a friend."
Lex was surprised. Was that Clark's idea of advice, a warning or a threat? Something was definitely going on between Clark and Chloe that went beyond just new boyfriend and girlfriend. I need to tread lightly in this area.
While he was still pondering this, Clark jumped up from the bench saying, "I need to burn off some excess energy. Let's go see if we can kick some Roman butt."
Glistening with oil like two bodybuilders during a competition, Lex and Clark headed for the exercise area.
The exercise area was large and open with a high ceiling. Just below the roof were two long rows of windows. The windows had shutters for inclement weather, but today they were wide open to let in the plenty of fresh air.
The exercise area wasn't that much different from a modern health club. On one side a group of twenty or thirty women were performing a coordinated dance routine, not unlike a modern jazzercize class. Of course, they were performing to a small three-piece band rather than a boombox.
Another area had a mix of men and women working out with free weights. No modern weight machines, but still a lot of buff and toned guys and girls.
Along a third wall were the handball courts. Three courts, all in use. Two courts were being used for doubles while the remaining court was being used for a game of singles. All of the courts had benches for spectators, but only the singles game had drawn a crowd. About fifteen men were sprawled out on the benches, laughing, having a good time, and obviously betting on the outcome.
Another area was covered with thick mats and a group of men were practicing a martial arts form that looked like a cross between judo and wrestling.
The exercise area was L-shaped. Clark and Lex wandered down around the corner into the other leg of the 'L'. Along the left wall were three more game courts, although neither Clark nor Lex recognized this game. Each court consisted of two concentric circles. The inner circle was about six feet in diameter and the outer about twenty feet in diameter. Five to seven players were arrayed around the outside of the outer circle. After watching for a couple of minutes it became apparent that points were scored by bouncing the volleyball-sized ball in the inner circle and then out of the outer circle without anyone catching it. Whoever caught the ball got the next turn. From listening to the scorekeeping for a while Lex determined that you lost a point, if your initial bounce missed the inner circle. Also if it bounced a second time before getting out of the outer circle, you got zero points. It was a fast paced game, particularly with fewer players. One game was being played by a group of young men and looked quite intense. The other two games were being played by a mixed group of men and women and were more social in nature, lots of laughing and joking was going on.
Along the other main wall were a group of women tossing various sized medicine balls around. Like the other women scattered through out the exercise area, most of these women were dressed similar to Lex and Clark, small triangular bottoms that left most of their butts exposed plus small gauzy bandanna tops that similarly left most of their breasts exposed. Even some of the women from Baywatch would have been nervous being seen in public in attire like this. Clark looked forward to seeing Chloe and Lana dressed like this and no longer felt quite as embarrassed in his own skimpy attire.
Finally, along the far wall was a snack bar with a number of low couches and tables with people eating a variety of fruits and drinking an assortment of fruit juices and ale. All in all, several hundred people were in the exercise area this afternoon.
After scoping out the various activities and the cute girls, Clark and Lex drifted back towards the handball courts noticing the decor as they went. Most of the walls were covered with large frescoes honoring the sporting activities of the baths. Girls using hand-weights. Young men wrestling. Women playing catch with a ball. And the like. The main difference about the frescoes was the outdoor pastoral setting.
By the time they had inspected all of the frescoes, they had reached the handball courts. They settled on a pair of benches to learn the nuances of the game. It was very similar to the modern version except the ball was twice as large about midway between a baseball and softball. Also it had less bounce. Most of the men playing were wearing open fingered gloves with padded palms to protect their hands.
Lex asked one of the players just finishing a doubles match about the gloves. He pointed to the attendant just beyond the courts and explained that he had spare gloves and balls and also scheduled the court times. Lex and Clark walked over to the attendant and sorted through the box of gloves. The largest pair barely fit Lex, so Clark said his hands were pretty well callused from the farm and he could go without.
The guys selected a ball and found an unused section of wall to warm up. They had been practicing for about ten minutes and were getting the feel for the bounce of this ball when Marcus walked up with another younger man.
"LAhh, Lex, I see your getting ready. Good. This is Julianus Caracalla, the magistrate's son, and the current city handball champ."
"LSo Marcus, you felt you need to bring in a ringer just to beat a couple of hicks from Britannia?" said Lex with a grin.
"LNo, Lex" said Marcus with a shake of his head. "LThis is just going to be a nice friendly game. Besides, if I was going to set you up, I wouldn't have told you about Julianus. Now if you are ready, I am going to pull rank and cut to the top of the waiting list and grab the next available court."
The four of them walked over to the courts. The remaining doubles game which had been playing when Lex and Clark first entered the exercise area was nearing the end. A pair of men in their mid-30s was playing a pair of teenage boys who turned out to be their sons. The older men were leading 19-15 and needed only two more points to win. It was quickly over as the boys played overly aggressively trying to make up for their fathers' lead. They had yet to learn that the best strategy when you are behind in handball is to play conservatively and try not to make any errors.
After a few minutes of warming up, the men began a game. The Romans jumped out to an early lead based on long experience with the game. But eventually Lex and Clark started scoring a few points. At one point Clark made a long diving save to bring the score to 12-7. Right then a loud female voice shouted, "Way to go, Smallville!"
The players looked back and saw Chloe, Lana, and Marina sitting in the front row clapping and whistling. Clark and Lex hadn't been that close to Marina back at the palace, but now her pregnancy was obvious in her very immodest attire.
And speaking of immodest attire thought Clark. Wow, Chloe and Lana were both hot. Even though Chloe had rubbed her naked body against him yesterday, it was still exciting to see her in a skimpy outfit she would never have been caught dead in, back in Smallville.
The game paused briefly as the guys walked over to say hello.
Chloe asked, "How is it going?"
Clark said, "I think the hardest part is playing with bare feet."
"Definitely," agreed Lex. "I have already stubbed my toes several times. The game would be a lot more even if we had our tennis shoes."
"So what is the score?" asked Lana.
"They are leading 12-7 and the game is to 21." said Lex.
"Can you win?" asked Chloe.
Clark glanced at Lex. "What's in it for us, if we do?"
"Hmmm," said Chloe. She leaned over to Lana and whispered in her ear. Lana smiled and nodded, before Chloe continued. "How about a massage from us, if you win? You both look very hot, all oiled up in those little thongs. We would both enjoy rubbing our hands over your bodies, but you are going to have to earn it."
"You better warn Marcus and Julianus that they are about to have their butts kicked," said Clark as he turned and walked back onto the court. Focus, Clark thought to himself, nothing that looks more than, oh, 120% of normal human ability. But we definitely want to win.
Lex just shook his head and walked out on to the court. Julianus was definitely out of his league and Marcus was no slouch. The score wouldn't even be this close, if Marcus hadn't let a couple of easy ones go. Now all of a sudden Clark is all charged up and motivated to win. Well, I will have to give it the old Luthor try and hope for the best.
As play resumed, the whole tenor of the game had changed. The Romans understood the wager had cranked up the other's motivation. But as hometown favorites, it was a matter of honor that they couldn't let a pair of barbarians win.
Within the first couple of points it was apparent that Clark had raised his game to a whole different level. Whereas previously his eight inch reach advantage over the Romans had been his best weapon, suddenly he seemed to hustle twice as fast as before. No matter where the Romans hit the ball, Clark seemed to be waiting there with a kill shot all lined up.
Almost before they knew what hit them, the score was tied 16-all. The Romans tried to play a conservative, error-free game assuming Clark's luck couldn't hold. But Clark's luck did hold until on the final point he managed an 8-foot overhead smash in combination with a 16-foot diving cross- court return that was so hard and fast, the ball almost seemed to blur. 'Good thing that was the last point' thought Clark. 'Anymore shots like that and people would begin to wonder.' In the end, Clark and Lex won the game 21-18.
Chloe and Lana were whooping and screaming. They ran out onto the court and threw their arms around Clark and gave him a simultaneous hug. Somehow they both ended up with one of their hands on Clark's naked, oily butt. It only seemed fair that Clark lowered his hands to their naked butts, too.
"Hey," said Lex, "I was part of the winning team, too."
After a few more seconds with Clark and a quick kiss from each, the girls turned gave Lex a hug running their hands over his butt as well. Wow, thought Lex, once again I should have remembered to never underestimate Clark when he sets his mind to some goal. Perhaps we should have made the stakes in the wager even a little higher.
Clark said, "I have worked up a thirst. Let's go down to the snack bar and see if we can find something interesting to drink."
After shaking hands with Marcus and Julianus, Clark asked Chloe to invite the others down to snack bar for a drink on him. After Chloe had past along the message, Clark put his arm around her and headed for the other end of the exercise area.
As they walked, Chloe asked, "So was that remarkable turn around in the game a sample of your 'secret'?"
Clark spoke in a low tone, "Only a very small sample."
Chloe stopped, pulled Clark's head down, and appeared to nibble on his ear. "How small a sample, Clark." She whispered.
Clark whispered back. "At top speed, I can move so fast I am virtually invisible."
Chloe pulled back and exclaimed in a much louder voice, "What?" Thinking she had misunderstood.
"You heard me," said Clark still speaking in a quiet tone. "And even that is only a small part of my secret."
Seeing that Lex and Lana had almost caught up with them, Chloe said, "We have to find some time to talk. Finding out about it in little dribbles is driving me crazy."
"Now you have some feeling what Lana and I were going through when you had your first conversation with Marcus and we had no idea what was going on."
As they started walking, Chloe was wondering about Clark's secret. It was starting to sound like a doozy. What exactly did moving so fast he was almost invisible mean? There had been a lot of times when during some meteor freak event, Clark did seem able to disappear in the time you could turn your head. Let's see, what other weird things had happened around Clark that could be attributed to his 'secret'?
Chloe was still thinking of past incidents when they reached the snack bar. While the others picked out a table, she grabbed Lana to help her pick up drinks.
"So," asked Lana, "What are the drink choices?"
"If they have all the ingredients, I think we are going to have the Chloe Special," answered Chloe.
Lana arched her eyebrows, "Something I should add to the menu at the Talon?"
"Sure, if you find it interesting, but it is not remotely in the coffee category." said Chloe as she turned and started talking to the man working behind the counter.
Since Julianus had wanted to go hang with his friends, the barkeeper pulled out six glasses. He filled them half full with crushed ice then added a tablespoon of honey to each glass. While the honey was slowly coating the ice he took an empty pitcher and filled it half way with lemonade. Then he filled it the rest of the way with orange juice. After mixing, he topped each glass of honeyed ice with the mix to complete Chloe's concoction. Chloe passed three of the glasses to Lana and said, "Voilà, a bumble-bee with sting ala Chloe."
"Looks intriguing, but how do they have ice without refrigerators?" asked Lana.
"They cart it down from the mountains in the winter and store it in special straw insulated underground rooms for use in the summer. A long time go the Egyptians had a technique for making thin sheets of ice at the bottom of deep trenches out in the desert in the middle of summer when the nighttime temperature never fell below forty-five degrees. I remember reading a science article about it a few years ago explaining the physics of it, but at the time it really did seem like magic." Chloe explained. It was kind of fun to have people she could share her memories with, without appearing to be crazy.
Everyone tried Chloe's special drink with varying degrees of appreciation. Lex sort of summed up the majority opinion, "I don't think it will replace Gatorade, but it does fill that post-game sugar rush need."
With everyone comfortably relaxing after the match, Chloe looked over at Marcus and asked, "L When we were walking into town this morning, we came past this walled-off canyon with a group of guards standing at the entrance. None of us could guess what that was all about. Do you know?"
Lana and Clark didn't know what Chloe had asked, but they could see Lex tense up slightly and start paying more attention to Marcus' face. Lex and Chloe had been conversing intermittently with Marcus and Marina in Latin ever since they left the palace, but this was the first time they had seen this reaction in Lex. It was still difficult to adjust to some of the role reversals. Lex had always been the calm, unruffleable one while Chloe had been the excitable, easy to read one. But ever since they had realized they were lost in ancient Roman times, Chloe had become the calm, in-charge leader of the group. It was more than just her experience with having lived through these times before. A large part of it was her newfound freedom to tell her friends a few of her secrets.
"L Ahh," said Marcus, "L you have only been here a few hours and already you stumbled on the big 'Mystery of Tolosa'."
"LThe 'Mystery of Tolosa'?" asked Chloe. "L I don't remember hearing about any big mystery."
"L A big mystery by local standards, but not big enough to be noticed back at Rome. I never heard of it until I got here either," answered Marcus. "L It all began about 50 years ago, so only a few old timers have any memory of the events. It started with strange lights and noises coming from far up that canyon at night. The local magistrate sent a detachment of guards to investigate, but only one man returned. And he was half crazed with a wild story about demons with bright lights coming out of their heads. The magistrate sent several larger detachments of guards, but none of these returned. Eventually, he just started to guard the entrance to the canyon and after several months the noises and lights stopped."
Lex looked at Chloe and said in English, "That sounds like the crew that constructed the Professor's complex, but it doesn't help us find him now."
Chloe nodded and asked Marcus, "LAny more recent weird things associated with that canyon?" Weird things thought Chloe. It sounds like we are back in Smallville.
"LNothing for about thirty years. The original magistrate was reassigned back to Rome about a year after all of the excitement. Since there had been no activity from that canyon for many months, the new magistrate sent a troop of guards up the canyon to investigate. They found nothing unusual anywhere in the canyon. When they returned, the magistrate discontinued the guard. Slowly the events in the canyon receded from memory except for stories told late at night in the taverns."
"L Nothing more happened until about 20 years ago. One day this stranger showed up in town. His name was Antonius Octavius Carius." At this Chloe gave an obvious look of recognition. "LAhh, I see you recognize the name."
Chloe nodded, "LNot just recognize the name, I met him several times at parties thrown by Augustus Tiberius."
"LOf course, you do mingle in the highest circles," continued Marcus. "LThese events all occurred before he became the emperor's official soothsayer, but did lead to his coming to the attention of Rome. When Carius showed up in Tolosa he said that he was on a pilgrimage resulting from a visit to the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle told him to go to western Gaul and find a place with legends involving demons and strange lights. When he found such a place, he would be given a vision where to build a temple which would lead to great rewards for him."
"L He had spent several months wandering western Gaul when he heard the story of 'The Mystery of Tolosa'. On his arrival he told his story and people pointed him towards the canyon. After spending a nighttime vigil in the canyon he returned to town saying he had had a vision of where to build the temple. Now, it turned out he was a wealthy merchant in Antioch before his visit to the Oracle. So he had money and hired a crew to build his temple way up the canyon."
"LAfter the temple was built, Carius started to get more visions. Visions involving local people. Visions that came true. He spent about two years in Tolosa while word of his abilities spread. One day he said he had a vision he was to go to Rome and left." concluded Marcus.
"LSo he left for Rome about 18 years ago," said Chloe thinking hard. L"Has he ever been back?"
"LApparently, he comes back every few years to visit the temple. He even has a villa in town for use when he is here. On one of his visits about ten years ago, after he became Tiberius' soothsayer, he had the wall built across the entrance to the canyon and installed the guards to keep everyone out." said Marcus.
"LHas he been in town recently?" asked Lex.
"LI think it has been about a year since the last time. Why so much interest in Carius?"
"LNo special interest in him. We were merely enjoying your story," said Chloe a little too quickly.
Marcus was sure they had some special interest in Carius from the intensity of their questions. But if Coelia didn't want to explain, he would let it slide until she was ready. Marcus said, "LCoelia, let's continue this over dinner. Several of the leading citizens have been trying to catch my eye for the past few minutes and I really should go mingle for awhile." Extending his hand to his wife, "LCome along Marina, I see Constantius Mallius and his wife."
As she stood, Marina leaned over and spoke into Chloe's ear. "LI'll find you in about an hour to go have a soak and a chat. In the meantime, there are some private massage rooms between the entrances to the men's and women's baths." She grinned towards Clark as she stood. Then taking Marcus' arm they walked off.
End of Chapter Seven