<strong>~Galo trying to work his way around a mad house~</strong><div class="floatright">(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f162/shadowjewel/Character%20pics/GaloICPic.jpg)<br/></div><br/><br/>Galo sighed, his lips thinning at the other slave's reply - and the Gladiator's lack of one. Stubborn. Did they make a habit of tempting the fates for a lashing?<br/><br/>Turning on his heel, he replied as he left, "On your heads be it, if the Master of this house finds out that his orders are ignored." A little harsh perhaps, but he could not bring himself to organise more gentle words for just a couple of slaves; He was expected on that balcony too.<br/><br/>His strides long and quick, he arrived on the balcony just as the last of the people before him were taking their places. Watching the event unfold it took all of his experience to keep his face neutral, instead of twisting in horror and disgust. That house slave? A murderer? Galo thought it about as likely as Nadia having a fight with one of the Gladiators. Ah, he though as he listened, so it was the fat woman's - Matriana's - husband who had been slain. Looking at her sidelong briefly, he would have been willing to wager that the over stuffed swine had killed her husband herself. It was all to easy to blame a slave and the way she toyed with her power put Galo on the defensive. He wondered how the man had died...<br/><br/>The unlucky slaved died a gruesome death on the sands, but Galo was surprised. To die in combat was honourable. Why not have him flogged to death or Crucified? Did Manus suspect that the hapless slave had not committed the crime?<br/><br/>Galo watched and listened to the unfolding events with an ever sinking feeling in his stomach; the House slave, the Doctore, the Gladiators... and the whole spectacle puppeteered by Matriana. Manus was taking things too far, much too far, however. Galo could think of many way to dance to Matriana's  tune without all this madness. The Master was becoming a danger and Galo had dealt with such before... but he was not quite ready to chance the Slave markets again, not yet, not if another option played out. He was shocked by Manus' blatant and obvious display of the bodies at Autolycus' door, declaring the Medicus' illegal activities for anyone to hear. He eyes flicked over to the Autolycus, seeing the flash of alarm that was quickly covered. Galo had known, of course, he had acted as assistant to the Medicus since he had arrived although he personally disapproved of the 'research' and did not participate or aid the other man. It was a shame really, he had been good enough company when they worked together.<br/><br/>Galo's attention was drawn out again when the Gladiatrix verbally lashed out at Nadia. Galo could hardly believe his ears - the woman must be raving mad with a death wish. Why was she so determined to draw attention to herself? That was a fast road to torture!<br/><br/>So, when Canis arrived, Galo would almost have been relieved to get away if not for the state the boy was in. That the lad was seeking out Galo while he was in this state could not be a good thing. Jaw tight and patterns of blood seared across his mind, Galo left the Balcony trailing after Canis to the Master bedroom.<br/><br/>Entering the room, Canis waited at the door after pointing to the Master Bed with a frightened whisper, "It's the Domina..."<br/><br/>Galo approached slowly, cautiously but stopped when he saw the wine urn by the bed, recognising the marks in the clay, the seal and remembering how it had been tamped with almost three months before when it had first arrived at the Ludus. He smiled bitterly; at least one thing had gone to plan but the timing could not have been worse. He noted the two goblets and wondered how much the second person may have drunk, if any. They were unlikely to be dead if they had only had a sip, but a full cup was another matter. He sighed deeply as he knelt by the cooling body of the Domina, knowing she was dead without even looking at her. The sweet aroma of the wine filled his nose - it had been her favourite.<br/><br/>He knew, given the state that the Dominus was already in that this would likely be the final straw. The man would likely become unstable, unpredictable, more so then he already was. An unstable master was a threat to all slaves that served him no matter what their value or station and Galo knew he would need an out, today if possible. Rising from the bed he walked briskly over to Canis, then past him saying, "Wait here while I fetch a Guard to watch the room."<br/><br/>Galo set off down the corridor quickly, almost running down the stairs. But, rather then look for a Guard he darted into the servant's baths. Pulling himself up the wall via a crack in the stonework he stretched up to fetch a small pouch from a hidden nook on top of a large stone. Dropping back to the floor he checked the contents by touch; his hard earned and hidden coins, each wrapped in cloth to muffle their telling sound. There was more then one road to freedom and this was one of them. Now that it looked like some of his other hard earned routs were about to close here, in this house, he was loath to leave this one behind as well, to start again later. He was too old now and he didn't want to let go of all his hope, pathetic as it may be.<br/><br/>Eyes and ears trained on the door he dunked the small pouch in a pot of oil, squeezing out excess while shaping it into as narrow a form as possible. Mouth set in a grim line he grabbed a cloth as he carefully adjusted his tunic and loincloth, doing all he could to avoid getting oil on them in his haste. He flinched a little as he slowly inserted the oddly shaped bundle up his arse, useing the cloth to catch any oil that escaped. He breathed deep, working through the sharp discomfort, while his mind observed the whole thing from a distance, detached and clinical. Oh, he would have preferred something else, but there were no options; a slave had no possessions, even his clothes were not his own and could be taken from him in a heartbeat; if he swallowed the coins he could choke and die quickly, or they could block up his insides and he would die slowly - there was also the chance he would never be able to retrieve them even if they did not kill him; he couldn't hide them in his hair as he didn't have enough to hide anything with and he couldn't even hide something in his mouth as he was expected to talk more then most slaves. There was no grantee that if he left the Ludus that he would be permitted to take anything with him beyond his own skin - and even if he was permitted some items, there was always the high chance of anything he took being searched. He had been a slave for too long so he would take what he could, however he could for that small hope of freedom.<br/><br/>The ordeal took just seconds, but it felt like much more. It always did. Taking a moment to be sure he was clean of oil and his clothes were readjusted properly, he made his way back out of the baths, slowly at first, both to accustom himself to this discomfort and to check that no one was watching. Barely a minuet after he had entered the baths he left them, skulking by the walls before darting along the bottom of the stairs and out into the courtyard, so that the slave he saw working there might think he had just come from the upper floor.<br/><br/>He rushed past and out to the herb garden at a jog, swiping at his eyes where they had watered. He called to one of the Guards inside the Gate, "I need a Guard! The Domina... The Domina has died, a Guard is needed on her door!" The pain and distress in his voice was calculated, an act he did not feel. As one of the Guard hurried to follow him back upstairs, Galo was already calculating his next move.<br/><br/>As he reached the Master Bedroom and the waiting Canis, the Guard took up position, peering with morbid curiosity into the room and the still form of the Domina.<br/><br/>"Stay close." He said to Canis after the boy told him that the Dominus had just headed to the balcony. Galo couldn't really blame the boy for not informing the Dominus as he walked by; fear was a great motivator. Swiftly the pair walked to the balcony, arriving just in time to see the Dominus stumble. Remembering the second cup, Galo didn't know what he would have preferred in that moment - if the Dominus had drunk enough to kill him or not, if the second cup had indeed been his.<br/><br/>Eyes low, he mastered his voice and expression to just the right blend professional neutrality and distress. "Dominus. Forgive the interruption but I must speak with you, urgently and privately. It concerns the Domina..."<br/>