The empress leaned forward now, long pincer-like fingers gripping her son's shoulder, and murmured something, and the clot of advisors dissolved. As the men drew back, Sebastianus and his friends saw a youth on the white marble throne, wearing a white tunic under a white purple-edge toga, with a laurel wreath above his brow. The sixteen-year-old possessed regular features, a light downy beard on his jaw, and surprisingly blue eyes. His neck was unusually thick for one so young, giving him an athletic appearance that he otherwise did not have. "The reputation of the Gallus family is well known, Sebastianus," the young Caesar said without preamble. "You and your father and grandfather have served Rome and her people well. And now we are told you wish to open a diplomatic route to China?"

     "That is true, sire," Sebastianus said, blinking in surprise. He had not been expecting this. "I wish for the men of China to know the might and grandeur of Rome. I wish also to expand Caesar's network of friends and allies."

     "Other men wish to do the same. Why should I select you above the others?"

     Sebastianus glanced at Ulrika. Thinking of the idea that had come to him from something Ulrika had said the night they spent in the cave, and knowing his idea would completely distinguish him from his competitors, he said, "Because, sire, I alone can guarantee that I shall make it to the distant Orient. Where others will certainly fail, I shall be successful. And I promise that not only will I return with new friends of Rome, and their treaties, I will return with treasure beyond imagining."

     Nero bent his head back and looked down his nose at the supplicant, a mannerism that made Sebastianus wonder if the boy had practiced it in a mirror. "Tell me, Gallus, how can you make such a guarantee when no other trader can?"

     "I have recently come from Germania Inferior, where I regularly conduct business in Colonia, and there I learned a special secret."

     "And what might that be?" Nero asked, and Agrippina, the imperial advisors, and those nearest, listened with interest.

     Sebastianus's heart raced. This was a moment he had dreamed of all his life. "It is being said, sire, that Commander Gaius Vatinius employed deceptive measures to give his soldiers a tactical advantage. He operated under the clever strategy that things are not always what they seem. When I heard this, I saw how such tactics could be employed along a trade route. For example, brigands who prey upon caravans are blinded by greed and tend to see only what they expect to see. They know that merchants and traders spend more time at the dinner table than at the gymnasium, and so the thieves who lie in wait for a caravan expect to descend upon soft, weak men. And that is how such missions fail. But in this case, using General Vatinius' strategy, my caravan will be different. The brigands will not know that our robes and turbans and beards disguise trained fighting men. What the brigands will not be expecting is the element of surprise."

     Nero pursed his lips as one of his advisors, a man in military dress, leaned forward to murmur in his ear.

     "Continue, Sebastianus Gallus," the young emperor said after a moment.

     "In addition, sire, when the brigands attack my caravan, not only will they find themselves suddenly fighting soldiers, they will also find themselves being attacked from behind. Another tactic I learned from General Vatinius."

     The military advisor again murmured something to Nero, who said, "Clever strategy, Sebastianus Gallus. But how will you be able to create such a fighting unit?"

     "May I call my steward forward, sire? He is not a slave, but a freeman, and a veteran of Rome's elite legions."

     When Primo stepped forward, a look of awe and bewilderment on hisdisfigured face, Sebastianus continued: "What my trusted steward has told me of warfare, and how to win, is three essential rules: attack before being attacked, wage the battle in the enemy's territory so that his losses are all the greater, and use the element of surprise, for that is the deadliest weapon. These guarantee victory, great Caesar, and Primo is a master at all three."

     "You expect one man to do all that?" Nero said with a trace of scorn.

     Sebastianus did not take offense. "Although Primo is retired from the army, he still has military connections, friends who serve the Empire at this moment, and so he has entry into all garrisons, forts, barracks. In addition, Primo knows many retired legionaries who would be more than eager to fight again for Rome. But there is more," Sebastianus added, warming to his topic. "As I travel the eastern route, I will send spies ahead, men dressed as local folk, to blend in and talk in taverns and at waysides, to learn what they can of planned attacks. And then I will send soldiers ahead to hide and come in behind any brigands who lie in wait."

     "Tell me, Gallus," Nero said, peering down his nose. "How did you learn of General Vatinius's secret strategies? Commander Vatinius enjoyed a triumphal entry into Rome after his victory in Germania, and as a reward he was granted command of the legions in Britain, where he is currently employing his strategies again. But how did you learn his secrets?"

     Sebastianus felt many eyes on him, including Ulrika's, which were wide and blue and full of question. "All of Colonia speaks of them, sire," Sebastianus said, "for that was how the battle was won. They are no longer secret."

     Agrippina leaned forward and said something in her son's ear, upon which his advisors drew in close and a conference was held with much nodding and shaking of gray and white heads.

     When Nero's advisors were done, the old men in togas drew back from the sixteen-year-old, whose voice still cracked when he spoke, and Caesar said, "Very well, Sebastianus Gallus, it is our wish that you carry our imperial diploma to China, there to establish an international mission with the ruler of that land. Along the way, you will make allies of monarchs and chieftains, offering them our protection in exchange for small favors. We will send you with gifts for these rulers, to show Roman generosity, and in return you will bring back examples of their resources. We will also send men trained in foreign diplomacy, who will establish political connectionsalong the way. It is our wish that, someday, Roman eagles will protect the entire world."

     Nero yawned then, and the captain of the Praetorians quickly stepped forward. Gesturing to his guards, he rounded up the five and escorted them away from the throne. But they were not escorted far. The captain and his guards soon withdrew, vanishing behind a tapestry that hid a door, to leave Sebastianus and his companions standing in the crowded reception hall in speechless silence.

     Finally Sebastianus spoke, and there was disbelief in his tone as he said to his companions, "It appears that I have won the China route! Timonides, we will need the most accurate and precise star-charts drawn up. I want to know the most propitious day for departure."

     "At once, master," he said. "But I can feel it in my old bones that the reading is going to be very favorable toward you. After tonight's victory, how can it be otherwise?" Timonides could barely contain his joy. The catastrophe that he had expected tonight had not only not occurred, but a wonderful gift had been given to his master instead!

     China! Timonides had heard great stories of the food there, the delicacies, the rare treats! A specialty called rice, fluffy and subtle, to be mixed with meat or vegetables, fried or boiled and seasoned to one's own taste. And did not Babylon lie along the route? Timonides had heard of a special dish there that involved crunchy fish fins dipped in sesame oil and wrapped in bread. His paunchy stomach rumbled. He could hardly wait for the journey to begin.