Chapter 555 - Before the Final! Movements in Rome's shadows!

Evening draped the city in a burnt-gold wash, and Rome — the heart of the Empire — swelled like a living thing preparing to roar. Markets and side streets that had been clogged since dawn only grew tighter as the hours slipped toward dusk. Lamps flickered to life along the forum; the scent of roasting meat and sweat and oil hung in the air; voices rose and fell in a tide of eager, feverish conversation. Tonight was the night everyone had come to see: the final of the gladiator games, the clash between Septimius and Spartacus. Word had passed like wildfire. By the time the sun sank low, the city had been claimed by a countless, humming mass of people — citizens, servants, merchants, and nobles — all pressed shoulder to shoulder, all electric with expectation.