sabonidie

//**Pompeii**// By: Robert Harris

MARS--

Conticinium [04:21 hours]
 * A young engineer "Attilius" has taken charge of the Aqua Augusta. The Aqua Augusta is an enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to the people around the Bay of Naples. Since newly coming into this honorable position, none of Attilius's men have respected him. In this chapter, Attilius wakes up six men two hours before dawn to climb the hills overlooking the port. The men, clearly upset to be woken up at such an hour, declare this mission "a fool's errand". Corax is the overseer. He has no respect for Attilius what-so-ever. Once at the top of the hill, Attilius uses a "chin block" given to him by his ancestors and an old story told to him when he was young to find where vapor is rising from. Corax thinks Attilius is seeing things because there is no vapor or water visible anywhere around the dry earth. Attilius insists he did see vapor and while Corax goes on to make rude remarks, Attilius starts digging. What he finds is indeed a spring of water, but everytime they dig and find water, the water retreats back into the ground and the soil becomes dry once again. Finally, Attilius gives up and leaves, telling Corax to round up the others and find their own way back to the village.

Hora Undecima [17:42 hours]
 * A millionaire, Ampliatus, sentenced one of his slaves to death because either by malice or incompetence the slave had killed all the red mullet. One red mullet was worth 6,000, five times as much as the slave was worth who was supposed to look after them. Immediately, Ampliatus announced that the slave was to be fed to the eels. The slave insisted that it was not the food, it was the water and that they should fetch the aquarius. Ampliatus showed no mercy and only confirmed the sentence. Atia, the slaves mother who worked in the kitchens asked Ampliatus's daughter, Corelia, to help her fetch the Aquarius because Atia knew her son was innocent. Corelia agrees and they run down hill to the Aqueduct where they find Attilius. As Corelia explains what has happend, Attilius is reminded of his wife who had died at age 22. Although he knows its better not to get involved, he can't resist the woman. He follows Corelia and Atia back up the hill to the Villa Hortensia. Arriving at the villa, Attilius yells for the slave to be pulled out. Ampliatus gestures for the steward to summon the slave with the boat hook to pull the slaves body out of the eel pond. Unfortunately, the slave is obviously already dead. Attilius quickly made his way over to the pipes. Ducking his head down to where the water ran out of the pipes he could immediately locate the problem. Sulfur was infecting the water. As Atia ran over to her dead son's body and relished in grief, Ampliatus ignored her and instead went to approach Attilius. They started an argument but it was disrupted by the swearing language of Atia. As Ampliatus turned to face her and laugh at her pity, Corelia nodded to Attilius to run off; and so he did.

Hora Duodecima [18:48 hours]