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 Ten
[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.]
Shit, thought Lex again to himself. Think faster, how am I going to get us out of this before I get Clark and myself killed. I never should have let the others come through the portal with me.
As Lex was thinking furiously of a way to get them out of there, Clark too was thinking hard. How was he going to stop these swordsmen without giving away his 'secret'? If came down to it, he would gladly sacrifice his 'secret' to save Lex.
The swordsman were still approaching and when the closest was ten feet away Clark started to move to place himself between Lex and the others. Just then the door to the tavern slammed open and a squad of Roman soldiers marched in.
As the armed men who were approaching Lex and Clark paused to look at the soldiers, a man who had been standing by one of the windows walked up to the soldiers and conferred briefly with their leader. Then as the soldiers started to disarm the men with the swords, the man from the window walked up to Lex.
Reaching out his hand he began, "LGreetings, I am Nicholas Boccaccio, the captain of Governor Martialis' personal guard. I presume you are Alexandrum Luthorius?"
With a sigh of relief Lex nodded and clasped the proffered forearm. "L What a lucky coincidence that you happened to be here with a squad of men waiting outside."
Nicholas gave a good-natured laugh. "LOh, no coincidence, as I am sure you guessed. The governor's sister-in-law asked that someone keep an eye on you. After the first couple of stops tonight, I could guess you were going to end up here, so I got here first. However I never expected them to make a move against you so fast. Someone certainly has it in for you. You're lucky your friend has the fastest reflexes I have ever seen."
"LClark?" said Lex with a glance towards him, but Clark, who wasn't able to follow the conversation, just continued to watch the soldiers while keeping a restraining hand on the would be assassin.
"LYeah," said Nicholas. "LHe didn't seem to be that close to you when the knife was thrown, then 'bam' he is standing right behind you with the dagger caught in his fist. And then the speed with which he turned and threw the dagger back, I am surprised he missed."
Lex took another quick look at Clark and thought 'Once more Clark saves me from certain death. If Nicholas and soldiers hadn't showed up, I wonder how he would have saved me from the swordsmen.'
Turning back to Nicholas, Lex shook his head, "LI am sure if my friend Clark missed it was intentional. You must be aware we are here looking for information. What better source of info than one of your enemy's hired killers?"
'Did I just say enemy about Professor Carey?' thought Lex, 'Well, he did try to kill me. At least I assume the guy with the dagger works for the Professor. Him and then the swordsmen; too organized to be a random act of violence against a couple of strangers.'
"LYes," responded Nicholas, "LI am sure the Governor will want to question this man who tried to kill a friend of his sister-in-law. I think it is time we escort you back to the Palace."
Lex nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I think this guy is going to give us all of the useful information we are going to get from this crowd tonight. Let me explain the situation to my friend, Clark, and then we can be on our way."
-------------------
"L So, anyway, Marcus, that's why it is urgent that we find Carius," Chloe finished explaining just as the door to the formal dining room opened.
Chloe, Marcus, and Marina all quickly looked up from the divans on which they were reclining as Clark, Lex, and Nicholas strode into the center of the room.
Clark plopped down on Chloe's divan and started helping himself to the remains of her dinner, while Chloe looked back and forth between Clark, Lex, and the third man who she didn't recognize.
"Lex, what happened?" asked Chloe.
"Oh, just another typical evening on the town for us. I am starting to lose count, Clark. Is this the seventh or eighth time you have saved my life?"
Clark just shrugged his shoulders with his usual 'slightly embarrassed over the attention' expression on his face.
"Lex, what happened?" Chloe asked again.
"Some guy tried to throw a dagger into my back, but Clark managed to catch it in mid-flight. Then there was this big group of guys approaching with drawn swords."
Chloe gave Clark a quick look and raised one eyebrow. Clark gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, but Lex caught the interchange. 'What does Chloe know that I don't know?' thought Lex.
"So how did you handle the guys with the swords?" she asked.
"Fortunately, Nicholas here," and Lex nodded his head towards the third man, "showed up just in the nick of time with a squad of soldiers."
When he saw her look at Nicholas without any recognition in her eyes, Lex switched to Latin and continued, "L I thought you knew him since you had him sent. This is Nicholas Boccaccio."
At this point Marcus jumped into the conversation, "LLet me make the proper introduction, Coelia. Coelia, this is Nicholas Boccaccio, the captain of my personal guard. Nicholas, this is my sister-in-law, Coelia Doinysia Flavius. Coelia, Nicholas is my best officer, that's why I asked him to fulfill your request to have someone watch Lex and Clark's back."
Turning to Nicholas, Chloe gave him a quick once over before speaking. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes indicating some German blood in a not too distant branch of his family tree. Also at an even six feet, he was taller than most full-blooded Romans Chloe had known. And he was kind of cute in a surfer dude sort of way.
"L Thanks for your help, Nicholas," said Chloe with a generous smile.
"L Glad I could help," responded Nicholas. "LAlthough for some reason I get the feeling they would have managed even without my help."
"LMaybe, Clark is very resourceful in a tight situation," said Lex. "LHowever I am very appreciative of your help in the interrogation of the prisoner. Clark doesn't speak the language and I think he is a little squeamish about hard interrogation."
"LLex, what prisoner? What 'hard' interrogation?" asked Chloe with a tilt of her head and her own 'hard' look in her eyes.
"LOh, didn't I mention that Clark grabbed the guy who threw the dagger and managed to hold on to him throughout the fun with swordsmen? Well, I don't feel any remorse for being a little rough on someone who just tried to kill me. Besides, Coelia, don't tell me you haven't done some 'hard interrogations' in your life."
"LOkay, Lex," admitted Chloe, "LI do have some dark moments in my past. Perhaps sometime when we are sitting around a campfire telling scary stories I'll tell you about some of my 'hard interrogations'. Now, did you find out anything that will help us locate Carius?"
"L Good news and bad news. Good news is that we have a good idea where he is headed. Bad news is that he has a big lead and it is going to take some time to catch up with him," responded Lex.
Just then several slaves entered the dining room and Marcus directed them to arrange a couple of additional divans for Lex and Nicholas, as it was apparent Clark was going to share Chloe's. Also he sent them for another round of desserts and wine.
Lex continued, "L Perhaps, it would be best if Nicholas explains since he has some history with these people." At this remark Marcus shot a glance at Nicholas, who nodded his head. "L Before we started the questioning I explained to Nicholas that it was urgent that we locate Carius."
"LHowever you never explained why you are looking for him," responded Nicholas.
"LI was just explaining that to Marcus and Marina when you arrived." said Chloe.
At this comment Lex leaned forward slightly, curious to hear what story she had concocted to explain their current situation.
"LAs I explained to Marcus when we first arrived in town this morning, Lex works for my family running some of our mining operations in Britannia. At the time I said that Clark and Lana were sons and daughters of a couple local chieftains who I had taken on as servants. Actually, the truth is a little more complicated."
"LWhen I arrived in Britannia to inspect the operations, Lex started discussing the negotiations he had been carrying out with some Caledonians. The Caledonians, who live many days travel north of Britannia, apparently have found some very rich gemstone deposits, based on the samples they had shown to Lex. Lex had made several trips to their homeland attempting to secure the distribution rights within the Roman Empire for us. Unfortunately, the Caledonians are very traditional and would only sign a treaty with an actual member of the family rather than with an underling. Since I had already traveled all the way to Britannia anyway, I agreed to accompany Lex.
"L After several weeks of travel we finally arrived in the Capitol City of Caledonia just in time for a large festival in honor of Lana's coming of age. While she is traveling with me she is trying to maintain a low profile, but actually she is the only child of the King of Caledonia. Anyway after several months of celebrations the final step for her to become the legal heir to the throne is the presentation of the hereditary mystical jewels that have been handed down through the royal family for over a thousand years. Unfortunately, when the king, Elvis the Great, went to retrieve them from the royal storeroom, they had disappeared. So until they are found and recovered, Lana can't inherit the kingdom and it has become her responsibility to retrieve them."
During the long conversation in Latin, Clark had finished off all of the food on the low table in front of Chloe's divan. After that he had stretched out next to her and mostly focused his attention on running his fingertips up and down her left arm in a most distracting manner. Finally, having heard a word he recognized, Clark spoke up.
"Elvis?" he remarked.
Chloe turned to him and said softly, "I am just explaining we come from a land where Elvis is the king and Lana is his daughter."
Clark started to get this big grin on his face and even Lex looked like he was going to start laughing.
"Come on guys," said Chloe. "This is serious. If Elvis really was the king where we came from it would be most inappropriate to be laughing at his name."
"You started it, Chloe," said Lex. "You could just as easily pick a more traditional name like . . . Richard, or Arthur, or Louis, or even Charlemagne."
"Sorry, sometimes the words just start pouring out when I get in storytelling mode. Why do you thing I love journalism so much?"
"And Lana, the daughter of a king?" asked Clark.
"I just want her to have a little more fun. You know 'live the fantasy'. Since she was a princess in that photo on the cover of Time, why not let her be a princess while we are here?" said Chloe. "Therefore when we are around others everyone needs to stay in character. Clark, you and Lana are from the same land and even though you are pretending to be equals, in little ways you need to make it obvious that you consider her to be several stations above you. Lex, within the Roman empire you have only second class status, however that still leaves you above any outsider in the eyes of other Romans, but Lana's wealth and power colors your attitude and behavior towards her."
"Chloe, you are just loving this opportunity to change up our roles, aren't you?" asked Lex. When Chloe nodded, he shrugged his shoulders and continued. "Okay, I guess I will bow to your wishes. You and Lana will be in charge. You, because of your knowledge of these times and Lana because she is royalty."
"Speaking of Lana, where is she?" asked Clark.
"She ate earlier and decide to retire complaining that it has been a long couple of days. I think she wanted to give me some time to chat with Marcus and Marina without having to stop and translate everything for her. Now let me finish my story, so we can get on to discussing the professor."
"Okay, I guess I can go back to playing with your body," said Clark.
"Just don't distract me too much or I'll have to get even."
Smiling, Chloe turned back to the others. "LSorry about the distraction. Now where was I? Oh, yes, the missing royal gems. After seeking guidance from the gods and some old fashion detective work, it was discovered that Carius is the one who made off with the royal gems. Apparently, they do have some mystical powers he is trying to harness to maintain the influence in Rome like he had with Tiberius. Since Carius was heading back into the Roman Empire and Lana doesn't speak the language, Lex and I were recruited to help."
"LRecruited?" asked Marcus.
"LLet's just say Lana made me a financial offer I couldn't refuse. Particularly since I was heading back this direction anyway," answered Chloe.
Marcus tilted his head with a decidedly hungry look on his face.
Chloe smiled back, "LYou are family, I am happy to cut you in for a part of the deal. We will need to arrange some well armed caravans to pass through the wilds of Britannia at regular intervals to transport trade goods north in exchange for the Caledonians' gemstones."
Marcus nodded.
"LWhat about Clark?" asked Nicholas.
"LWell," said Chloe starting to blush. "LThe king wasn't comfortable with Lana heading off alone with a couple of almost complete strangers. I had been flirting with Clark a little at these games they were having as part of the festival and I sort of put the bug in the king's ear that Clark should accompany us."
Lex was impressed how well Chloe could stay in character while telling the story. Even blushing right on cue, but then you would have to assume she had tons of practice. Hopefully, the rest of us can do as well.
"LWhat event was Clark competing in at the games?" asked Marina.
"LLet me guess," said Nicholas. "LKnife throwing?"
"LYeah," said Lex jumping in to support Chloe's story. "I saw him throw ten bulls-eyes in a row from twenty five paces."
"LThat's the short version of why we are looking for Carius. We need to retrieve the royal gems so Lana can claim her inheritance and once she is in power we can conclude our trading pact," said Chloe.
"LSo why did Carius put the bounty on Lex's head and how did you end up here in Tolosa?" asked Nicholas. "LThis doesn't seem like the most direct route from Britannia to Rome."
"LWe almost caught up to him in Dubria on Britannia's southern coast. Well, Lex did catch sight of him in the harbor and they recognized each other from the festival in Caledonia. Apparently, Carius realized Lex was following and tried to lose him by taking a ship to western Gaul rather than just crossing the channel.
"LWe managed to discover that he came ashore south of Burdigala and that he had connections to the Tolosa area," continued Chloe. "LI don't know if he knew Lex was still on his trail or if he was just being cautious. However Lex is pretty distinctive looking and he may have left orders to take out anyone who matched his description."
"LOh, he definitely knew Lex was on his trail according to what Patricus told us," said Nicholas.
"LWho?" asked Chloe.
"LThe guy we have been interrogating," said Nicholas as he started to explain what they had learned from the would be assassin.
"LI guess I should explain," began Nicholas. "LI grew up here in Tolosa. About five years ago, long before I started to work for Marcus, I did a stint as a guard for Carius. Lots of the young men in Tolosa have done it at some point. Easy way to pickup a few extra coins. But not much chance of advancement when you work for a man who is seldom around."
"L I left after eighteen months and did other things until I hooked up with Marcus two years ago, but I still know some of the guys who work for Carius here in Tolosa.
"LThat's why after overhearing Lex's questions in the first couple of taverns I knew he would end up at the Green Chariot, it has always been the hangout for Carius' guards.
"LAnyway," Nicholas continued. "L According to Patricus, he happened to be on guard duty yesterday when about noon Carius showed up walking down the canyon towards the wall. Now Patricus had never met him before, but happened to be on duty with Gaius, an old-timer who has worked for Carius it seems like forever. None of the guards knew Carius was here or how he got up the canyon without anyone noticing, but Carius has shown up unexpectedly before so no one was too surprised.
"LCarius had a short meeting with Gaius saying that it was urgent that he get back to Rome as quickly as possible. Also that a bald, young man was probably going to show up either in the canyon or in town asking for him. He offered 50 pieces of gold to the man or squad who killed him. Within an hour of first arriving at the wall, Carius and a small group of bodyguards had set out on horseback."
As Nicholas wound down, Chloe signed for him to pause and then turned and summarized to Clark what he had said. Clark thought over the timing in his head and realized the professor had been gone from the wall for several hours by the time he first reached it yesterday afternoon. So there had never been anyway he could have nipped this whole adventure in the bud.
"Looks like your comment earlier about all roads leading to Rome is going to hold true for us after all," said Clark.
"Yeah," responded Chloe. "With a day and a half head start we might not catch him until Rome unless we push a lot hard than he does. I have a feeling that we won't be able to catch him, but we better give it our best try. The sooner we have the meteor rocks back in our possession, the better I will feel. Let me talk to Marcus and see if we can make arrangements to head out early tomorrow morning."
Chloe turned back to Marcus. "L We want to set off at first light towards Rome to try and catch Carius. Can you make arrangements for horses for the four of us? And an imperial seal, so we can use the imperial relay horses, at least as far as Arelate? If we push hard, we should be able to reach my family estate in Arelate by tomorrow evening and, if necessary, I came come up with other arrangements from there."
"L Certainly, Coelia," answered Marcus, "L Anything I can do to help a member of the family. Would you like me to escort you along with a squadron or two of my guards?"
"L Hmm, no I think I want to keep the party small so we can move fast, but an escort for the first few miles until we are well clear of Carius' men here in Tolosa would be appreciated," said Chloe. "LPerhaps one more favor?"
Marcus nodded.
"L After we catch up to Carius and retrieve the royal jewels, we will probably return through here on the journey back to Lana's and Clark's homeland. I hate to leave Carius with a power base here. Since you're having all the troubles with the Druids just now, could you perhaps conscript all of Carius' guards into the Legions and send them into the hinterlands in search of the Druid's main encampment until the current situation is past?"
Marcus got a big grin on his face. "LCoelia, I always liked the way you think. Solving your problem and at the same time helping me with one of mine. I think a proclamation can be arranged for tomorrow afternoon after you are well clear of town. If I have them all on their way out in three days, will that be good enough?"
Chloe nodded, "LThat would be great. Well, off to bed for us. Tomorrow looks to be a long day in the saddle."
As Lex stood to follow the others out of the dining room he marveled at how easily Chloe and Marcus worked as a team, finding solutions to their problems that benefited both of them. How much stronger would Luthor Corp. be, if he and his father could work as a team rather than always as adversaries?
Just as Chloe reached the doorway out of the dining room, Nicholas called out. "LCoelia!"
Chloe turned back and looked expectantly.
"LI know you said you want to keep your party small to travel fast, but I would like to accompany you, at least to your estate in Arelate. With all the current unrest a third sword to protect you and the princess would seem wise."
Chloe looked over towards Marcus, who gave her a nod. "LI would be happy to have your services as guide, since it has been quite some time since I have been in this area west of Arelate. In the morning then," Chloe concluded and turned to head off to bed.
End of Chapter Ten
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 Ten
[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.]
Shit, thought Lex again to himself. Think faster, how am I going to get us out of this before I get Clark and myself killed. I never should have let the others come through the portal with me.
As Lex was thinking furiously of a way to get them out of there, Clark too was thinking hard. How was he going to stop these swordsmen without giving away his 'secret'? If came down to it, he would gladly sacrifice his 'secret' to save Lex.
The swordsman were still approaching and when the closest was ten feet away Clark started to move to place himself between Lex and the others. Just then the door to the tavern slammed open and a squad of Roman soldiers marched in.
As the armed men who were approaching Lex and Clark paused to look at the soldiers, a man who had been standing by one of the windows walked up to the soldiers and conferred briefly with their leader. Then as the soldiers started to disarm the men with the swords, the man from the window walked up to Lex.
Reaching out his hand he began, "LGreetings, I am Nicholas Boccaccio, the captain of Governor Martialis' personal guard. I presume you are Alexandrum Luthorius?"
With a sigh of relief Lex nodded and clasped the proffered forearm. "L What a lucky coincidence that you happened to be here with a squad of men waiting outside."
Nicholas gave a good-natured laugh. "LOh, no coincidence, as I am sure you guessed. The governor's sister-in-law asked that someone keep an eye on you. After the first couple of stops tonight, I could guess you were going to end up here, so I got here first. However I never expected them to make a move against you so fast. Someone certainly has it in for you. You're lucky your friend has the fastest reflexes I have ever seen."
"LClark?" said Lex with a glance towards him, but Clark, who wasn't able to follow the conversation, just continued to watch the soldiers while keeping a restraining hand on the would be assassin.
"LYeah," said Nicholas. "LHe didn't seem to be that close to you when the knife was thrown, then 'bam' he is standing right behind you with the dagger caught in his fist. And then the speed with which he turned and threw the dagger back, I am surprised he missed."
Lex took another quick look at Clark and thought 'Once more Clark saves me from certain death. If Nicholas and soldiers hadn't showed up, I wonder how he would have saved me from the swordsmen.'
Turning back to Nicholas, Lex shook his head, "LI am sure if my friend Clark missed it was intentional. You must be aware we are here looking for information. What better source of info than one of your enemy's hired killers?"
'Did I just say enemy about Professor Carey?' thought Lex, 'Well, he did try to kill me. At least I assume the guy with the dagger works for the Professor. Him and then the swordsmen; too organized to be a random act of violence against a couple of strangers.'
"LYes," responded Nicholas, "LI am sure the Governor will want to question this man who tried to kill a friend of his sister-in-law. I think it is time we escort you back to the Palace."
Lex nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I think this guy is going to give us all of the useful information we are going to get from this crowd tonight. Let me explain the situation to my friend, Clark, and then we can be on our way."
-------------------
"L So, anyway, Marcus, that's why it is urgent that we find Carius," Chloe finished explaining just as the door to the formal dining room opened.
Chloe, Marcus, and Marina all quickly looked up from the divans on which they were reclining as Clark, Lex, and Nicholas strode into the center of the room.
Clark plopped down on Chloe's divan and started helping himself to the remains of her dinner, while Chloe looked back and forth between Clark, Lex, and the third man who she didn't recognize.
"Lex, what happened?" asked Chloe.
"Oh, just another typical evening on the town for us. I am starting to lose count, Clark. Is this the seventh or eighth time you have saved my life?"
Clark just shrugged his shoulders with his usual 'slightly embarrassed over the attention' expression on his face.
"Lex, what happened?" Chloe asked again.
"Some guy tried to throw a dagger into my back, but Clark managed to catch it in mid-flight. Then there was this big group of guys approaching with drawn swords."
Chloe gave Clark a quick look and raised one eyebrow. Clark gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, but Lex caught the interchange. 'What does Chloe know that I don't know?' thought Lex.
"So how did you handle the guys with the swords?" she asked.
"Fortunately, Nicholas here," and Lex nodded his head towards the third man, "showed up just in the nick of time with a squad of soldiers."
When he saw her look at Nicholas without any recognition in her eyes, Lex switched to Latin and continued, "L I thought you knew him since you had him sent. This is Nicholas Boccaccio."
At this point Marcus jumped into the conversation, "LLet me make the proper introduction, Coelia. Coelia, this is Nicholas Boccaccio, the captain of my personal guard. Nicholas, this is my sister-in-law, Coelia Doinysia Flavius. Coelia, Nicholas is my best officer, that's why I asked him to fulfill your request to have someone watch Lex and Clark's back."
Turning to Nicholas, Chloe gave him a quick once over before speaking. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes indicating some German blood in a not too distant branch of his family tree. Also at an even six feet, he was taller than most full-blooded Romans Chloe had known. And he was kind of cute in a surfer dude sort of way.
"L Thanks for your help, Nicholas," said Chloe with a generous smile.
"L Glad I could help," responded Nicholas. "LAlthough for some reason I get the feeling they would have managed even without my help."
"LMaybe, Clark is very resourceful in a tight situation," said Lex. "LHowever I am very appreciative of your help in the interrogation of the prisoner. Clark doesn't speak the language and I think he is a little squeamish about hard interrogation."
"LLex, what prisoner? What 'hard' interrogation?" asked Chloe with a tilt of her head and her own 'hard' look in her eyes.
"LOh, didn't I mention that Clark grabbed the guy who threw the dagger and managed to hold on to him throughout the fun with swordsmen? Well, I don't feel any remorse for being a little rough on someone who just tried to kill me. Besides, Coelia, don't tell me you haven't done some 'hard interrogations' in your life."
"LOkay, Lex," admitted Chloe, "LI do have some dark moments in my past. Perhaps sometime when we are sitting around a campfire telling scary stories I'll tell you about some of my 'hard interrogations'. Now, did you find out anything that will help us locate Carius?"
"L Good news and bad news. Good news is that we have a good idea where he is headed. Bad news is that he has a big lead and it is going to take some time to catch up with him," responded Lex.
Just then several slaves entered the dining room and Marcus directed them to arrange a couple of additional divans for Lex and Nicholas, as it was apparent Clark was going to share Chloe's. Also he sent them for another round of desserts and wine.
Lex continued, "L Perhaps, it would be best if Nicholas explains since he has some history with these people." At this remark Marcus shot a glance at Nicholas, who nodded his head. "L Before we started the questioning I explained to Nicholas that it was urgent that we locate Carius."
"LHowever you never explained why you are looking for him," responded Nicholas.
"LI was just explaining that to Marcus and Marina when you arrived." said Chloe.
At this comment Lex leaned forward slightly, curious to hear what story she had concocted to explain their current situation.
"LAs I explained to Marcus when we first arrived in town this morning, Lex works for my family running some of our mining operations in Britannia. At the time I said that Clark and Lana were sons and daughters of a couple local chieftains who I had taken on as servants. Actually, the truth is a little more complicated."
"LWhen I arrived in Britannia to inspect the operations, Lex started discussing the negotiations he had been carrying out with some Caledonians. The Caledonians, who live many days travel north of Britannia, apparently have found some very rich gemstone deposits, based on the samples they had shown to Lex. Lex had made several trips to their homeland attempting to secure the distribution rights within the Roman Empire for us. Unfortunately, the Caledonians are very traditional and would only sign a treaty with an actual member of the family rather than with an underling. Since I had already traveled all the way to Britannia anyway, I agreed to accompany Lex.
"L After several weeks of travel we finally arrived in the Capitol City of Caledonia just in time for a large festival in honor of Lana's coming of age. While she is traveling with me she is trying to maintain a low profile, but actually she is the only child of the King of Caledonia. Anyway after several months of celebrations the final step for her to become the legal heir to the throne is the presentation of the hereditary mystical jewels that have been handed down through the royal family for over a thousand years. Unfortunately, when the king, Elvis the Great, went to retrieve them from the royal storeroom, they had disappeared. So until they are found and recovered, Lana can't inherit the kingdom and it has become her responsibility to retrieve them."
During the long conversation in Latin, Clark had finished off all of the food on the low table in front of Chloe's divan. After that he had stretched out next to her and mostly focused his attention on running his fingertips up and down her left arm in a most distracting manner. Finally, having heard a word he recognized, Clark spoke up.
"Elvis?" he remarked.
Chloe turned to him and said softly, "I am just explaining we come from a land where Elvis is the king and Lana is his daughter."
Clark started to get this big grin on his face and even Lex looked like he was going to start laughing.
"Come on guys," said Chloe. "This is serious. If Elvis really was the king where we came from it would be most inappropriate to be laughing at his name."
"You started it, Chloe," said Lex. "You could just as easily pick a more traditional name like . . . Richard, or Arthur, or Louis, or even Charlemagne."
"Sorry, sometimes the words just start pouring out when I get in storytelling mode. Why do you thing I love journalism so much?"
"And Lana, the daughter of a king?" asked Clark.
"I just want her to have a little more fun. You know 'live the fantasy'. Since she was a princess in that photo on the cover of Time, why not let her be a princess while we are here?" said Chloe. "Therefore when we are around others everyone needs to stay in character. Clark, you and Lana are from the same land and even though you are pretending to be equals, in little ways you need to make it obvious that you consider her to be several stations above you. Lex, within the Roman empire you have only second class status, however that still leaves you above any outsider in the eyes of other Romans, but Lana's wealth and power colors your attitude and behavior towards her."
"Chloe, you are just loving this opportunity to change up our roles, aren't you?" asked Lex. When Chloe nodded, he shrugged his shoulders and continued. "Okay, I guess I will bow to your wishes. You and Lana will be in charge. You, because of your knowledge of these times and Lana because she is royalty."
"Speaking of Lana, where is she?" asked Clark.
"She ate earlier and decide to retire complaining that it has been a long couple of days. I think she wanted to give me some time to chat with Marcus and Marina without having to stop and translate everything for her. Now let me finish my story, so we can get on to discussing the professor."
"Okay, I guess I can go back to playing with your body," said Clark.
"Just don't distract me too much or I'll have to get even."
Smiling, Chloe turned back to the others. "LSorry about the distraction. Now where was I? Oh, yes, the missing royal gems. After seeking guidance from the gods and some old fashion detective work, it was discovered that Carius is the one who made off with the royal gems. Apparently, they do have some mystical powers he is trying to harness to maintain the influence in Rome like he had with Tiberius. Since Carius was heading back into the Roman Empire and Lana doesn't speak the language, Lex and I were recruited to help."
"LRecruited?" asked Marcus.
"LLet's just say Lana made me a financial offer I couldn't refuse. Particularly since I was heading back this direction anyway," answered Chloe.
Marcus tilted his head with a decidedly hungry look on his face.
Chloe smiled back, "LYou are family, I am happy to cut you in for a part of the deal. We will need to arrange some well armed caravans to pass through the wilds of Britannia at regular intervals to transport trade goods north in exchange for the Caledonians' gemstones."
Marcus nodded.
"LWhat about Clark?" asked Nicholas.
"LWell," said Chloe starting to blush. "LThe king wasn't comfortable with Lana heading off alone with a couple of almost complete strangers. I had been flirting with Clark a little at these games they were having as part of the festival and I sort of put the bug in the king's ear that Clark should accompany us."
Lex was impressed how well Chloe could stay in character while telling the story. Even blushing right on cue, but then you would have to assume she had tons of practice. Hopefully, the rest of us can do as well.
"LWhat event was Clark competing in at the games?" asked Marina.
"LLet me guess," said Nicholas. "LKnife throwing?"
"LYeah," said Lex jumping in to support Chloe's story. "I saw him throw ten bulls-eyes in a row from twenty five paces."
"LThat's the short version of why we are looking for Carius. We need to retrieve the royal gems so Lana can claim her inheritance and once she is in power we can conclude our trading pact," said Chloe.
"LSo why did Carius put the bounty on Lex's head and how did you end up here in Tolosa?" asked Nicholas. "LThis doesn't seem like the most direct route from Britannia to Rome."
"LWe almost caught up to him in Dubria on Britannia's southern coast. Well, Lex did catch sight of him in the harbor and they recognized each other from the festival in Caledonia. Apparently, Carius realized Lex was following and tried to lose him by taking a ship to western Gaul rather than just crossing the channel.
"LWe managed to discover that he came ashore south of Burdigala and that he had connections to the Tolosa area," continued Chloe. "LI don't know if he knew Lex was still on his trail or if he was just being cautious. However Lex is pretty distinctive looking and he may have left orders to take out anyone who matched his description."
"LOh, he definitely knew Lex was on his trail according to what Patricus told us," said Nicholas.
"LWho?" asked Chloe.
"LThe guy we have been interrogating," said Nicholas as he started to explain what they had learned from the would be assassin.
"LI guess I should explain," began Nicholas. "LI grew up here in Tolosa. About five years ago, long before I started to work for Marcus, I did a stint as a guard for Carius. Lots of the young men in Tolosa have done it at some point. Easy way to pickup a few extra coins. But not much chance of advancement when you work for a man who is seldom around."
"L I left after eighteen months and did other things until I hooked up with Marcus two years ago, but I still know some of the guys who work for Carius here in Tolosa.
"LThat's why after overhearing Lex's questions in the first couple of taverns I knew he would end up at the Green Chariot, it has always been the hangout for Carius' guards.
"LAnyway," Nicholas continued. "L According to Patricus, he happened to be on guard duty yesterday when about noon Carius showed up walking down the canyon towards the wall. Now Patricus had never met him before, but happened to be on duty with Gaius, an old-timer who has worked for Carius it seems like forever. None of the guards knew Carius was here or how he got up the canyon without anyone noticing, but Carius has shown up unexpectedly before so no one was too surprised.
"LCarius had a short meeting with Gaius saying that it was urgent that he get back to Rome as quickly as possible. Also that a bald, young man was probably going to show up either in the canyon or in town asking for him. He offered 50 pieces of gold to the man or squad who killed him. Within an hour of first arriving at the wall, Carius and a small group of bodyguards had set out on horseback."
As Nicholas wound down, Chloe signed for him to pause and then turned and summarized to Clark what he had said. Clark thought over the timing in his head and realized the professor had been gone from the wall for several hours by the time he first reached it yesterday afternoon. So there had never been anyway he could have nipped this whole adventure in the bud.
"Looks like your comment earlier about all roads leading to Rome is going to hold true for us after all," said Clark.
"Yeah," responded Chloe. "With a day and a half head start we might not catch him until Rome unless we push a lot hard than he does. I have a feeling that we won't be able to catch him, but we better give it our best try. The sooner we have the meteor rocks back in our possession, the better I will feel. Let me talk to Marcus and see if we can make arrangements to head out early tomorrow morning."
Chloe turned back to Marcus. "L We want to set off at first light towards Rome to try and catch Carius. Can you make arrangements for horses for the four of us? And an imperial seal, so we can use the imperial relay horses, at least as far as Arelate? If we push hard, we should be able to reach my family estate in Arelate by tomorrow evening and, if necessary, I came come up with other arrangements from there."
"L Certainly, Coelia," answered Marcus, "L Anything I can do to help a member of the family. Would you like me to escort you along with a squadron or two of my guards?"
"L Hmm, no I think I want to keep the party small so we can move fast, but an escort for the first few miles until we are well clear of Carius' men here in Tolosa would be appreciated," said Chloe. "LPerhaps one more favor?"
Marcus nodded.
"L After we catch up to Carius and retrieve the royal jewels, we will probably return through here on the journey back to Lana's and Clark's homeland. I hate to leave Carius with a power base here. Since you're having all the troubles with the Druids just now, could you perhaps conscript all of Carius' guards into the Legions and send them into the hinterlands in search of the Druid's main encampment until the current situation is past?"
Marcus got a big grin on his face. "LCoelia, I always liked the way you think. Solving your problem and at the same time helping me with one of mine. I think a proclamation can be arranged for tomorrow afternoon after you are well clear of town. If I have them all on their way out in three days, will that be good enough?"
Chloe nodded, "LThat would be great. Well, off to bed for us. Tomorrow looks to be a long day in the saddle."
As Lex stood to follow the others out of the dining room he marveled at how easily Chloe and Marcus worked as a team, finding solutions to their problems that benefited both of them. How much stronger would Luthor Corp. be, if he and his father could work as a team rather than always as adversaries?
Just as Chloe reached the doorway out of the dining room, Nicholas called out. "LCoelia!"
Chloe turned back and looked expectantly.
"LI know you said you want to keep your party small to travel fast, but I would like to accompany you, at least to your estate in Arelate. With all the current unrest a third sword to protect you and the princess would seem wise."
Chloe looked over towards Marcus, who gave her a nod. "LI would be happy to have your services as guide, since it has been quite some time since I have been in this area west of Arelate. In the morning then," Chloe concluded and turned to head off to bed.
End of Chapter Ten