<em>Ostia, 2 years earlier.</em><br/><br/><strong>"Tie that rope firmly"</strong>, Orion shouted at Thesmistocles, one of his sailors, hanging at the top of the mast without any guardrail to protect him. He did not want any of his young sailor, recruited in Naucratis from a family of traders, to die away from home. Orion knew that the art of knotting was particularly complicated for inexperienced sailors and he could pay attention to other important things while being that high: there were knots for keeping the sail up when the wind was mild, when the storm was blowing strong, when there was need of swiftly removing the sail or, just like that occasion required, when the sail should be removed in a harbour and the ropes coiled and hung on the cleat.<br/><br/>Orion had lost the count of how many times his large trireme entered Ostia bay coming from Alexandria, loaded with wheat. Selling Egyptian wheat for the starving Romans was a profitable business. Indeed, many things had changed since Orion arrested the traitor Lucrepus and was awarded with a 10,000 Denarius bounty. At first, Orion became partner with his ancient shipmaster in a small galley trading in the Delta Nile. However, as he was ambitious, two years later he bought a larger trireme and started the profitable business route between Egypt and Italy. He could have become much richer had he not opted for salary men rather than the slaves, who were becoming the standard in the ship crews by that time given the abundance of wars won by the Romans. After reading some intriguing scrolls from Alexandria Library, Orion did not agree with Aristotle's thoughts: for him, men were born free and nothing could justify slavery. Freedom was not a property like a real state. On the contrary, freedom could not be sold. Sticking to his ideas cost him a lot from a purely financial perspective. Even so, he could sleep in pieace in his own ship: he knew no slave would try to murder him, because all his crew was happy to find a job to make their living in a time when most work was starting to be performed by slaves.<br/><br/><strong>"Sure, Orion"</strong>, the young Themistocles replied, as he swiftly came down to the prow, where Orion was maneuvering the trireme. Orion's eyes pondered how different Thesmistocles looked from himself at the same age. With a fierce determination and an amazing work ethic, the young sailor gained 10lbs of solid muscle in his first months due to the hard work in the trireme and then, he probably weighted in at a rock solid 180lbs, which can be considered quite impressive compared to Orion's own 240lbs. Themistocles was proud of his strength and did not fear showing it off whoever wanted to challenge - in reality, he was always after a fight: Orion had to rescue him from a a fight in Crete when the trireme harboured there. At his age, Thesmistocles was the strongest and would have certainly bullied Orion, specially because the young sailor's height was 6', just shortly below Orion's 6'1/2.<br/><br/>After some hours, Orion was in a tavern, drinking a cup of bitter ale to stay awaken after a stormy night. Not that Orion was tired, but he was bored. If he could chose the company, his ignorant sailors would not certainly be invited to a table. Not only was he unease with the companions, but also was he upset with the content of the conversation. His sailors were around talking where they would waste their coins: whether with the naughty Roman girls, with the recently arrived Celtic female slaves or simply with more beverage. Nothing meant to improve themselves as men could be saved or inferred. More and more, Orion felt like a fish out of the pond when he was away from Alexandria and from the small circle around its impressive Library. He liked Alexandria's Cosmopolitan atmosphere, the academic discussions in the Library and the girls in his personal harem - all of them recruited and selected among the best by the loyal Phoenician slave whose life Orion had saved from Lucrepus.<br/><br/><strong>"Athens also needs wheat"</strong>, someone in the other table spoke without caring to share his business secrets. Orion's attentive ears caught his words and started to pay attention. The pay was not so good, but it was possible to carry olive oil back to Egypt - most of times, Orion's trireme returned empty to Egypt. That was the first time he had heard about good business opportunities in his homeland. Nevertheless, soon did he discard the idea of going to Athens. As an orphan, he was raised with no comfort. He knew no one there and the memories of his home town were not the most pleasant: bullies and beating was all that Orion remembered. Not even the learning from Plato and his academia enticed his curiosity: Alexandria offered far better opportunities. Maybe the only thing he had to thank Athens was the opportunity to learn how to read Why would he go back? Just an odd curiosity to see how decaying the city was could motivate him.<br/><br/><strong>"And you, Orion? What will you do? As the richest, you certainly have higher standards?"</strong>, one of the sailors mocked, aware of the recently acquired gorgeous Celtic girl in his harem, and caught him in the only moment when he was not following the conversation of his sailors. Indeed, nothing in Orion's attitude or behaviours would reveal his in satisfaction with the content of the conversation. Over the years, Orion learned how to dissimulate his real feelings: a wiseman once said that society would not be possible were everyone too sincere - his words made sense to Orion. How could he want to be loved and respected, if he does not offer a smiling face and a helpful hand, even if he does not need one now? By being kind and helpful, Orion made friends everywhere he travelled since he had left Athens.<br/><br/><strong>"Well, a pussy is always a pussy. Don't you agree Themistocles?"</strong>, Orion replied, causing all the men to laugh loudly, at the same time he passed the centre of the attention on the young sailor. The conversation continued just as futile as all the others in the tavern. For a moment, he wondered whether Romans would be as ignorant as the people in that tavern. Even though Rome was less than 100 kilometers from Ostia, he had never been there. To his eyes, it reminded him somehow of Athens and this explains why he had never wanted to go there. The enthusiasm was going down in the table and Orion realized that. Time for a strategic retreat to loneliness?<br/><br/><strong>"Another round of ale for everyone in this place, waitress"</strong>, Orion groped the half-naked butts of the petite brunette waitress - in reality, she was one of the slaves whose sexual services were sold by the tavern's owner. Indeed, his sailor was right: her flaccid buttocks did not turn him on. Not every pussy was a pussy.<br/><br/>No one knew that, as Orion smiled and laughed, letting the girl go. Everyone cheered and the happiness came back to the tavern.