The Rebels' Assault Read Free Page B

still closed around the young slave’s neck.
    Olu felt his back press firmly against the wooden rail, and knew he only had one chance against the wily sailor. Dropping to his knees, he used every ounce of his own energy to drag the little man onto his back and hoist him over the edge of the rail.
    â€œWhatyaaahhahaahahaahhahaahahahahah!”
    The high-pitched scream from the slaver was abruptly cut off as he plummeted to his death.
    Away from the explosive confusion, Decimus Rex had climbed onto the higher galley, where two of the stronger and more agile slaves were wrestling with the ship’s wheel.

    Decimus cupped a hand around his mouth and yelled across the deck, continuing to belt out his drowned words even as the rioting ceased and the captain was dumped over the side of the ship.
    â€œ. . . en to me!” Decimus finished. The assembled slaves turned their attention to the young warrior and his nimble companion, now climbing down the mast to join him. “Please! Listen to me! My name is Decimus Rex and, like you, I am a slave! I come from Arena Primus, where Slavious Doom had my friends and me imprisoned to pay off the debts of our parents! My friend Olu and I escaped his grasp, and now our faces appear on scrolls throughout the continent! Our time is limited and our fates are all but sealed. Nevertheless, we have released you all today, not only to give you your freedom, but to ask—no, to BEG you—for help!”
    As Olu finally reached the upper galley, he saw that Decimus had drawn the attention of the entire slave gathering. Every eye was upon him, and all of the men seemed to be listening with a mixture of wild confusion and gratitude.
    â€œIn a tower,” Decimus continued, pointing toward the landmass that was now clearly visible from the starboard side of the ship, “that I believe stands just along the coast from here, four of our friends are about to be put to death.” He raised an arm and gripped Olu by the shoulder. “They are no older than me and Olu, and have committed no crime except to be born to those less wealthy than the merchant classes! It is our plan to attack the tower, and to free our friends! We may not succeed, but we will try. I would not ask any of you to come with us . . . but if you could suffer our company a while longer and get the ship to our destination, then Olu and I would be greatly in your debt. We ask this—”
    Decimus tried to continue, but his voice was drowned out by a thunderous roar from the slaves. Instead, he turned to Olu and whispered, “How far do you think we are from the Suvius Tower?”
    The slave smiled back at his friend and pointed over Decimus’s right shoulder.
    â€œUnless I’m very much mistaken,” he said, “that’s it.”

CHAPTER IV
    EXECUTION!
    A fternoon arrived in southern Campania, though it failed to herald the arrival of even the slightest breeze. An unbearable heat haze had forced the land into submission. Guards cooked in their armor without a word of complaint as their miserable masters were fanned with giant palm leaves, and a restlessness gripped those who were eager to be distracted.
    A deathly silence came over the merchant crowd as Slavious Doom appeared at the entrance to the Suvius Tower and began the long climb to the base of the scaffold. Drin Hain trailed after the overlord, his black cloak billowing out behind him. Following the pair at a respectful distance was a small party of guards, and each one was dragging their own hooded prisoner.
    As Argon, Teo, and Gladius progressed along the scaffold, they could hear the shouts and jeers of the crowd all around them. Though the hoods prevented them from seeing the crowd or the scene that lay before them, the slaves were more consumed by their own fears than the thought of the eager, overfed faces that would be gathered all around the courtyard, baying for their blood. Argon thought of his impending death in the