[b]79 AD[/b]

The crowd cheered on the gladiators, thirsty for blood. The clash of metal on metal rang throughout the Colosseum as the two men fought for their lives in front of hundreds of people. Marcus didn't cheer with the crowd. In truth he was bored. The son of a rich merchant, he had seen more than his fair share of gladiatorial fights and he couldn't help but feel Rome did it better. He was his Father's heir and as a result his Father was starting to send him away to attend to business he was too busy to see to, he always missed the home comforts of the capital, but at least this time he was still in Italy. 

A scream brought he back to reality from his thoughts of home. The sand of the arena was now splattered with blood and one of the two gladiators lay on the floor, his left arm laying a couple of feet further away. Marcus sighed and stood up to leave. He had lost 5 Aureus on the fight, by no means a modest sum. Leaving the Colosseum he stepped out onto the busy streets of Pompeii. The sound of drums and flutes could be heard in the distance and with little else to do, Marcus decided to see where the sounds were coming from. He had only been in Pompeii for two days and had yet to see much of it.