B2 Chapter 16: Getting Amped UpWhen Marcus had initially offered to take Tiberius through the ruins, he’d pictured a slightly different situation. One where he’d go on a nice hike with the big boss, perhaps use the time to talk about some of the less important matters on his mind and use the opportunity to further ingrain himself into the man’s good graces. Once they got there, maybe the men would set up a pavilion for their emperor and investigate while they relaxed.That was not what he got.He supposed he should have known better, that that was a stupid wish. Perhaps he’d been lulled into a false sense of security by the comforts the Romans had been constructing at home, such as those magnificent baths he was growing so fond of. But when it was time to work, they were consummate professionals.The ruins were only about an hour’s walk from the town, albeit hidden deep in the forest. To them, that was a comparatively short twenty-minute march at a sedate pace. For Marcus, it was practically a long-distance sprint, which he was not exactly cut out for. Especially not so early in the morning.So he started the day sweaty and irritated, with aching feet and a strange pain in his side that felt like someone was stabbing him every time he tried to breathe.On top of that, all Tiberius hadn’t even bothered to come. Instead, he’d sent his second-in-command, Gaius, to make sure that everything was documented and anything important would be brought back. He certainly liked Gaius, but still. The young officer was already quite positively disposed toward him. It felt like a wasted opportunity.The one glimmer of relief he experienced was that Gaius didn’t seem completely (...)