<strong>~Galo, approaching the Ludus~</strong><br/><br/><br/>Five horses made their way up the road towards the Ludus, followed by two tethered pack mules. Upon the horses rode five men; at the back leading the mules was a young male slave of unusual height and sandy blond hair, at the front two guards wearing the uniform of the Ludus. Riding in the middle was a third guard along side whom rode Galo.<br/><br/>“Finally...” Breathed the guard next to Galo, as the gates came into sight.<br/><br/>Galo’s lips flicked into a smirk. “Anyone would think you had missed this place, Porcius. Tired of me already?”<br/><br/>Porcius snorted. “You may find interest in every weed you see, Galo, but plants have but two uses for me; to eat or as something upon which to wipe my boot.”<br/><br/>Galo chuckled as the slave behind them sniggered. One of the guards in front glanced back at them.<br/><br/>“Now watching you gathering your precious plants, that is another matter.” Continued Porcius, lightly though through a suppressed smile. The sniggers from the slave grew in volume then were suddenly muffled.<br/><br/>“Ah,” replied Galo, smirk widening even as his eyes narrowed slightly, “well, at least I can be comforted by the thought that you will be missing my arse if nothing else.”<br/><br/>“‘Tis what makes these trips worth my while...”<br/><br/>The banter was comfortable, the lines all spoken before. This was how it was between them. Porcius was the second guard to escort Galo on these excavations, the first had only lasted one trip after a ‘disagreement’ followed by an accident that left him incapable of joining Galo on his second outing. Porcius was his replacement and a great improvement in Galo’s eyes, both for his temperament and his humour. His respectable looks also helped matters some.<br/><br/>At first Galo had only been trusted with trips to the market to gather supplies. After a time this had extended to outings into the wilds to gather plants both common and less so and at no price; this was when the other guards became involved. Porcius was permitted to chose additional guards himself and was officially in charge of each venture. He selected guards based on two things; their patience and their watchfulness. Galo unnerved him out in the wilds; the way he moved, how little noise he made, how he could spot something from twice the distance that he could. He believed that it would be far too easy to lose the slave out there and hired additional eyes to watch him in compensation. For his part, Galo never complained, or even commented on the matter.<br/><br/>Otherwise, the two worked well together, or at least, they stayed pleasant to one another while Porcius allowed Galo space to work and was not too fussy about trekking through all manor of wild lands. He also made sure accompanying guards kept in line.<br/><br/>The tall slave boy, named Celox, was new. As the Ludus grew and the demand for supplies increased Galo’s trips away had him bringing back more and more. This was the largest haul yet after the final stop at market for the most exotic supplies, in preparation for the new slaves to be arriving. Celox had been sent with them to lend an extra hand under Galo’s instruction.<br/><br/>Although the troop was half a day late due to bad weather, Galo was very pleased with his finds having acquired in quantity many specimens for the medicus Autolycus, the kitchens and for himself.<br/><br/>Looking up at the Ludus that was almost upon them, Galo ran a hand over the thick stubble on his jaw and sighed; he would need to shave again.<br/><br/>Porcius chuckled next to him.<br/>