How many dog-years does this run amount to? I think my hair's turning grey - my sandals surely are! And I think I stepped in something that should properly be used as fertilizer. Up the last hill . . . that slope is receding like something out of Steven Hawking (yes, Strabo, I read all your posts)... Omigosh, I see the great gates and the lights of Rome ahead of me. Now, let’s go over the etiquette of handing off to a Goddess. Not to get nervous here or anything – bet my hair’s a mess, and look at my FINGERNAILS – ecchhhh, all that Torch Resin. If I don’t watch it, when I hand it over, I’ll stick to it!

It’s been great, traveling the Empire like this, and Persenti and I look to clean up with all the post-launch franchise ventures. Barley-Beer Stands; Thermae Mobile; Flag Concessions. I admit, she does most of the work but I’m great at selling the marketing aspects. As for Julilla – well, how can you be nervous about a Goddess you’ve spent evenings with in the goats-milk bath, watching jot Dacian-dancing? Even if elevated to Olympus, I’m sure she won’t use a thunderbolt if I screw up. Well, almost sure.

Ahh, I see that inimitable glow up ahead – looks like jot and Decimus Cornelius, the Original Cybergods, may have dropped by to provide a little moral support! Oooh! People! And they're making LOTS of noise! And – am I losing it? – is the sky raining roses? Roses and dung - now, ain't that just Rome all over??

Here you are, domina – guard it with your life and take it home to the Temple of Vesta!