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South of Italy
Campania, city of Tarentum
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A old man walked with his two servants in the main street of Tarentum when, suddenly, he stopped near the local market and asked to a young woman “My lady, do you know the location of Marius Vitellius´ Villa?”.

The woman seemed surprised and responded “Yes, I know. It is not far from here. You walk 100 yards and then you turn to your left, but I must tell you this is a humble house not a Villa”.

The man replied “Thank you my lady”, but the woman continued to look at him insistently and asked “You are Lucius Agrippa, aren´t you?”. The man looked the woman in the eyes and said with pride “Yes, I am. It seems someone still remember me in this city”, and the woman replied “Yes, many people remember your work in Rome, my father Marcus always voted on you”.

After a short talk about politics with the young woman, the man continued his way to his friend´s house. The three men arrived to the Marius Vitellius´ house and Lucius Agrippa knocked the door. “Anybody home?” yelled Lucius Agrippa, while his two servants tried to find any sign of human presence in the house.

Isadria Octrilla Vitellius opened the door slowly and looked carefully to the three men before speaking. “Ah, Lucius, come and bring your friends”.

The three men entered in Marius Vitellius´ house and sat in the dining-room. The house was simple, with two rooms, a large dining chamber with many statues of relatives and Gods and a kitchen. Although the house was relatively small, it was very clean, and the visitors felt comfortable.

“So, my friend, how was your journey from Hispania? Did you received my husband´s letter?” asked Octrilla Vitellius with a smile while she served some wine and pastries to her guests.

“Well, the journey was long and I am tired due my illness. I received your husband´s letter and that is the reason why I am here.”

Octrilla Vitellius interrupted Lucius and asked with sadness in her voice “You are ill my friend? You look so pale. What can I do for you, my dear? Is this serious?”

Lucius looked to the floor and remained silent for one minute. Then he looked directly at Octrilla Vitellius and continued “Yes, I think so, but now please listen to me carefully. I have been a friend of this family since your deceased sister-in-law Antonia was a simple citizen 30 years ago. I knew your husband in Hispalis, Southern Hispania, when he was only a little boy. I don´t have family or children and I don´t want to die before I do something for you, my loyal friends. I am a very wealthy man and when your husband asked me if I wanted to be his business partner for trading with Egypt, and other foreign countries, I accepted. I invested 6,000,000 and bought 12 galleons, 8 tiremes, 2 shipwrights and 2 piers for this business. I have the contract with me and now we have a company in this city, Tarentum. According this contract each of us holds half of the shares of this company, and in case one of us die the other will hold all the shares. However, this will only happen if the legal arrangements can be made, unfortunately. We may have to work out some other arrangement. So I provide the transportation and your husband provides the goods for trade. The ships are ready in Tarentum port, and according my last information we already have the crews and the shipping will start within one week. “

Octrilla Vitellius received the news with enthusiasm and replied “You are truly a good friend. I will write to my husband and tell him all the good news. As you know he is in Germania and I will participate in this project. I think these two men you brought with you will help me, am I right?”

Lucius Agrippa answered, “Yes, one of them is a good accountant and the other is a former Roman officer from the navy. They work for me now and they will help you with the crews and with the shipping. Now I need some rest.”

The two men helped their master and brought him to the nearest bed. Then Octrilla Vitellius said with a concerned face “Please my friend, rest. You will stay in my house until you recover your strength for return to your home”.

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Alexandria, Egypt
Walking in the harbour
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At same time, far in Egypt, Julius Vitellius was walking with his friend Senbi in the great harbour of Alexandria. Dressed as an Egyptian and speaking Greek he was a living example of a man who was born Roman but was Egyptian by fate, personal will and culture. Since he was little boy, Julius liked to walk in the city harbour and admire the great Pharos lighthouse and the busy merchants. For some reason these walks made him more calm and comfortable. “Soon I will receive notices from my uncle Marius! He already replied to my letter and said he is confident he can arrange a new business partner in Italy. Then we will start our business”.

Senbi looked to Julius and replied “Finally you have someone you can trust in Rome and your profit will grow greatly. However I am concerned for you”.

Julius stopped walking and asked with curiosity “Worry about me, why? Amon-Ra blessed me and I am a healthy and rich man. Besides this damn city of Rome will give me a good profit”.

Senbi looked sadly to his friend and said with calm but resolute voice “Look, Julius, I know you are now a grow man, but for me you are like a son. I worry about your hatred toward Rome and your relationship with Tepemkau. This man is dangerous and his ambition doesn´t have limits. A slave told me you received him, late in the night, in your palace in Alexandria. I am afraid he is only using you for his evil purposes and one day you will be in grave trouble”.

Julius became angry and shouted “Tell me the name of this slave! I will whip him until death. Tepemkau is a fine man and supports my ideas. I don´t want to hear anything more of your suspicion about him”.

Senbi insisted “But don´t you see he is using you? Don´t you see he is a dark shadow in your life, and he only feeds this hate you feel toward Rome? According the notices I have your enemies in the Varro family lost their power in Rome and things have changed a lot. Thus you don´t have a motive to hate Rome anymore. Besides Rome is the land of your ancestors and we must respect our roots”.

Julius was furious and made obscene gestures while he yelled “Enough! Enough I said! You lie, you are jealous of him because he can help me more than you. Go away and leave me alone… “. Then Julius walked away from his friend. With tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, Senbi returned to his house, and informed his wife Deanna about his arguement with Julius. Deanna tried to calm down her husband, and together they prayed to Horus and Isis, begging protection for their beloved Julius. The next morning, Senbi wrote a letter in Greek to Julius´ uncle, Marius Vitellius. In that letter he spoke about his concerns regarding Julius´ future, Julius’ hatred of Rome, and the evil influence of Tepemkau in his life. Then he sealed the letter with his ring and gave it to one of his servants called Ankhmutes and ordered “Take this letter and delivery it to our merchants in Alexandria, they will know what to do”.

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Thebes, Central Egypt
A Dark Soul
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One month later Senbi´s servant Ankhmutes arrived in Thebes. He disobeyed his master and met secretly with Strategos Tepemkau in a temple dedicated to the God of War and Destruction, Set. “Master, I bring a letter written by Senbi to Julius´ uncle. I think that you may have some interest in this letter”.

Tepemkau looked at Senbi´s servant and said with sarcasm “How many Masters do you have Ankhmutes? Can I trust you? Maybe you work for me only because the gold I promised to you.” Then he leaned his sword against Ankhmutes´ throat and whispered to him “If you betray me your death will not a easy one!”

Immediately Ankhmutes knelt and begged in loud voice “Please Master spare me, I swear I will obey only you!”

Tepemkau cut the man´s face and said in a threatening voice, “This is a reminder to you of your oath, so that you will recall who is really your master. Now give me the damn letter!”

Tepemkau read the letter carefully and then turned to Ankhmutes and ordered, “This Senbi is a wild dog! You did well to bring me this letter. Julius is a foolish boy and it is easy for me to persuade him. However, Senbi is trying to ruin my plans but I will eliminate him first. Go and speak with the men you know in Alexandria. They are assassins and common thieves but they will help us for gold. Take 300 gold coins and hire three assassins in the taverns of Alexandria. Thus you will pay 100 gold coins to each of them. Provide detailed description and tell them to strike Senbi when he walk alone. Now go and do your job well”.

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Alexandria, Egypt
Senbi´s cold assassination
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Two months later Senbi was walking alone in one of the streets of Alexandria. As usual he went to inspect his shops near the local marketplace. Then he went to Isis´s temple to worship the Goddess. Three men followed him closely, waiting for the right moment to attack. After Senbi worship the Goddess Isis he began the walk back to his house. Suddenly, the three men appeared in front of him. One of them asked “Are you Senbi, Julius´ friend?”

Senbi responded “Yes, I am! Is anything wrong with Julius?”

Immediately the three men attacked Senbi and stabbed him repeatedly in the stomach and in the chest. Senbi fell to the ground, with foam and blood in his mouth. Although he was in agony, he recognized Ankhmutes walking toward him. Ankhmutes looked with disdain at his former master and said with a cold voice “My master Tepemkau says you are a wild dog! And you are dying as one.” Then he laughed and the men left Senbi mortally wounded on the ground. Five minutes later Senbi, the old Egyptian, Antonia´s friend, and Julius´ adoptive father lay dead on a dark and dirty street in Alexandria.

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By: Agrippa Marius Vitellius and Castilius Lucius Agrippa

AD 58