"Well, general!" asked Lucius. "The city has not yet surrendered. When shall we fight?"
"The war is over, my Lucius. Doff your arms and gird yourself for a journey. This very day you must carry some private letters for me."
"To whom?"
"To the Emperor and Empress."
"In Byzantium?"
"No. Fortunately they are quite near, at the Baths of Epidaurus. Hasten! In fifteen days you must be back again. Not half a day later. The fate of Italy awaits your return."
As soon as Procopius brought the answer of Belisarius to the Gothic King, the latter summoned to his palace the leaders of the army, the principal Goths, and a number of trustworthy freemen, and communicated to them what had happened, demanding their acquiescence.
At first they were exceedingly surprised, and complete silence followed his words.
At last Duke Guntharis, looking at the King with emotion, said:
"The last of thy royal deeds, Witichis, is as noble, yea, nobler than all thy former acts. I shall ever regret having once opposed thee. Long since I swore in my heart to atone by blindly obeying thee. And truly--in this case thou alone canst decide; for thy sacrifice is the greatest--a crown! But if another than thou shalt be King--the Wölfung's can better endure to serve a stranger, a Belisarius, than some other Goth. So I agree to what thou sayest, and tell thee that thou hast acted well and nobly."