All roads lead to Rome

Days were counted in boredom. Hardly did anyone want anything from Vincent, that however was not the problem.

His magic studies were creeping along with the pace of a snail. At least he managed to deform the metal, flattening the coin ever so slightly. Not that it did anything useful.

He had tried asking around for his second element, but not even the mages ever heard of it. They only ever directed him towards the academy, as if he did not know already.

The great Roman academy academy, at the centre of the city. The place for one to learn magic.

All books and knowledge found during the conquests of the empire went there.

Well technically It was not only build in Rome. Vincent heard that The great Academy was in reality a coalition between three big places of learning. The school of mathematics and science in Athen, the great library in Alexandria and the academy of war, tactics and magic at the centre of the empire.

He was eager to visit them all.

Maybe there he would find a good clean laboratory to continue the project he left behind in his old world. This summer even he had seen a wasp. And rats. And those small annoying fleas and ticks.

How much he needed to work in the past to get rid of them once and for all, only to be faced with the terror again.

~

"Tell me about him, your brother." Svend looked curious, expectant. "I will try to ask my contracts if they can find him. If he is a citizen he should be in the register."

Vincent played with the cold piece of iron in his hand, the emblem his father had given him.

"My brother is called Arminius, the family name is irrelevant, I doubt he still uses it."

Svend nodded and wrote it down, the feather quill scratching over the white paper.

"Arminius, the name sounds familiar."

Suddenly he stopped writing, dead in his track. "Where you born in the forest we found you. It is important!" His voice was erratic, exited.

Vincent nodded, not quite understanding the question.

"I should have known. Your eyes, you have the same cold blue eyes. And the same black hair and sharp features. Had I known this."

He stood up, abruptly took the paper encased it in ice and shattered it with his hands.

"Boy, I would love to send you there personally. Sadly my presence is required in the army. Follow me."

When they went out of the tent, fresh air and a blue sky greeted them. It was spring.

The camp was erected outside of genua, a city in the south of italy. Mages had discovered bursts of mana from the ocean signalling a monster wave. They, the seventh Legion was called to reinforce the walls.

It was an important trade city they could not afford to loose for no reason.

Svend signalled Vincent to wait before the commanders tent into which he steped with a stern look.

After a few moments he came rushing out, a smile etched in his face.

"Follow me, we will be going towards the port."

The small boy furrowed his brows. "Do you plan to send me by ship? Will I not get killed by the monsters."

He shook his head. "You should learn to trust adults more. Although I must say, the Greek madman will like your undying curiosity. Jokes aside, the monster wave will take at least a month to come and knock their heads against our walls, if not longer."

Vincent's mind was already somewhere else, striding through the open fields looking up the sky.

The city was impressive. Sure it was not a modern metropolis but the architecture, even the one without magic was ahead of its time.

Vincent really wanted to visit one of the hot bathes, it had been ages since he last enjoyed such luxury.

Sadly they had only time to take some food from a street vendor and visit one of the great masons. Apparently a friend lived there.

White marble statues of muscular men looked down on them, as if judging the groups lack of physical fitness.

Well to be exact they were only critical about Vincent.

The deal was straight forward. A well fed middle aged man somehow knew Arminius too and decided to finance a boat ride to the capital.

The deal was wrapped without discussion, not that Vincent had much say in it anyway.

It took only half an hour of waiting, during which Svend and the merchant drunk some wine and had a good time.

Then they went to the port, and after a goodbye, the young boy was left in the care of a bodyguard taking care of him.

He was on the ship with a few merchants, a young man and his wife and a well protected black haired kid in a similar age. Sadly he did not manage to speak with him during the entire voyage.