It was late, the sun hung low in the sky and would soon give way to the rising moon. Agron had arrived in Picentia well after noon and had sought to fill his belly before he sought to locate the whore. He had spent some hours roaming the streets, speaking with locals, enquiring where a man new in town might look for the companionship of other men and had been recommended several different establishments. If he was to locate the boy he would need to be more direct. Mentioning Tiberius by name had yielded better results. The boy was seemingly well know in the area and all those he spoke to were, more or less, in agreement as to where he could be found.

Now Agron watched the inn from the other side of the street until the parade of patrons entering and leaving and the raucous sounds that came from within assured him that this was indeed an establishment that offered pleasures beyond drinking and gambling. His mind revisited the responses that had met his enquiries, directions given and other visual means by which he might recognise the exact place. Once he was as certain as he could be that this was the particular establishment he sought, he drew his cloak around himself and crossed the street.

Once inside, he gave pause to survey his surroundings. He was not a man who frequented brothels often but he was not a stranger to them either and this one was, as Spartacus had said, finer than most. That is to say it was not caked in layers of filth and the boys that writhed and bounced upon the laps of older, rougher men were pretty and did not appear riddled with disease.

One boy in particular caught his eye. Could this be Tiberius he wondered? He currently straddled the thighs, not fucking, just sitting, of a much larger man, dark skinned, broad of chest and with braided hair that fell below his shoulders. The boy was dark of skin too, slender in the hips, hair curly and wild and sticking up in all directions and though he was not the rare beauty Agron had expected, he was a beauty none the less. Certainly the boy would have stirred his cock to life in another time, a time before Spartacus and the rebellion had caused him to think of such base desires as dangerous distraction. Now, instead of raising his cock he raised little more than an appreciative eyebrow.

Carefully, he weaved his way between the tables and those at them who drank, fucked and gambled, and found a space at the bar.

"Wine." He ordered, leaning back and stealing another glance at the boy. "Your finest." The boy seemed content, happy even, in the other man's arms, his smile was unforced, he gazed upon him with obvious affection, smiling and leaning into each touch and touching back whenever he could.

"You seek company as well as wine?" A gruff voice asked behind him as he set a cup down at his elbow.

Agron turned now and addressed the inn keep directly.

"I spend much time upon the road. It has been a while since I found opportunity to indulge in more than the cheapest of wine." He took a sip from his cup and grinned. "I hear tale of a whore named Tiberius. People say there is none to rival him in beauty or skill." He continued.

The inn keep guffawed loudly.

"Everyone had heard tale of Tiberius. And people speak the truth. Men come from far and wide in search of his company, even praetors, but few can afford him. He does not come cheap."

The mere mention of the praetor raised fucking hackle but a swift reminder of his mission enabled him to temper his loathing of the man.

"I have the coin." Agron said tersely, reaching into the purse at his waist for said coin and slapping it down on the bar.

The inn keep eyed first the coin, then Agron.

"He is choosey too. Coin alone might not be enough." He took the coin anyway, then stuck his fingers in his mouth and produced a shrill whistle. The boy Agron had been watching turned abruptly. When the inn keep beckoned him over he disentangled himself from his companion and made his way towards them. "Pietros." So, not Tiberius then. "Take this man upstairs and see if Tiberius will have him."

"Yes Master." The boy nodded obediently.

"And when you return, tell Barca if he wishes to avail himself of your company for any longer this day, he will have to fucking pay for it like everyone else."

Some of the light vanished from the boys eyes at that, but he nodded once again.

"Yes Master." He repeated, gesturing to Agron to follow him. "This way." Pietros led him towards the rear of the building, along a short corridor and up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was another corridor and at the end, a door. "Tiberius has a private room. His Praetor demands it." He explained at Agron's surprised expression. It was not usual for whores to have private rooms, even those of some privilege, and he had expected upstairs to be nothing more than an extension of what was below.

"And your master allows it?"

"The Praetor pays him well enough." Agron winced and ground his teeth at further mention of Glaber but the rising tide of hostility was stemmed when they came to a halt outside the door. "Here we are." Pietros rapped lightly upon the door. "Tiberius." He called. "You have a visitor. The master wishes to know if you will see this one or not."

There was a moment of silence, in which Agron prayed to the Gods that the whores answer would be yes or his journey had been for nought. Then movement could be heard from the other side of the door and seconds later it swung open.

Agron was struck dumb at first sight of the boy. Tiberius' beauty was beyond rare, it was impossible, almost God like. He was small, slender but well muscled, his dark skin shimmered in the candlelight like a bronze dusted with gold, his mouth was wide, his lips were full and moist, his jaw was as a blade and around it, in loose waves hung hair the colour of a ravens wing. But most striking of all were his eyes. Dark, like spiced honey and warm like an early evening sun they had a depth that was almost unfathomable, promised everything, yet revealed nothing. Agron was mesmerized.

Tiberius looked him up and down, though he hardly noticed, then a small smile curled the corners of his mouth and he answered…

"Pietros, tell the master I shall be very pleased to see this one."

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