"There is but one path..." "we kill them all." "I am your dominus!" "I will have your fucking hearts!" "Quintus." "Lucretia." "What would you do to hold your wife again, to feel the warmth of her skin, the taste of her lips?" "How many men would you kill?" "I left the deed in Barca's hands." "Now you're free." "We are betrayed by the Beast of fucking Carthage." "You are beneath me." "He is a magistrate." "One can never know who is plotting violence, can one?" "Or when they may commit the act." "Your wife... she moves ever closer even as we speak." "My word is kept." "They're reunited." "You will become the greatest Lanista in the Republic." "Under such a title we will climb beyond our station, beyond Capua, perhaps to the very steps of the Senate itself." "The fights are particularly entertaining today." "You'd enjoy them more viewed from the pulvenus." "Fucking shit-eater." "Let Vettius preen like a woman." "You'll school him in the ways of men when Gannicus takes to the sands." "Absent Tullius and the magistrate to bear witness, what's the fucking purpose?" "One man in today's games, one only, and the seats needing to impress stand empty as Vettius' fucking head." "Get up!" "Get up!" "Solonius, what news?" "Tullius and the magistrate were delayed with pressing business, but arrive shortly, as long as this current match continues." "No." "Get up!" "Capua!" "Get up, get up, you fuck." "Vettius begins the match without proper introduction." " Proper?" " Capua!" "Vettius and the word are of distant relations." "L, for one, am grateful to be spared his oratory." "The man's voice causes skull to ache." "Arghh!" "Gannicus takes position." "Now there's a fucking gladiator!" "Tear his fucking face off!" "Fucking kill him!" "Begin." "Is your man ever of a serious note?" "He can strip naked and fight with his cock, as long as he wins." "Gannicus, I love you!" "What's he doing, Quintus?" "Fucking kill him!" "No." "Wait for the magistrate." "Kill kill kill!" "Gannicus, do not kill him!" "Do not kill him yet!" "Oh, now they arrive." "A victory regardless." "Won in dewy morn." "None of the important matches happen till after the midday sun has passed." "Consider yourself fortunate to have a man in the games at all." "Good Solonius stands with empty hands." "Come then, let us see them filled with drink." "Tell Doctore to see Gannicus back to the Ludus and have him properly rewarded for his showing." "Can we not stay for the rest of the games?" "Vettius' men command the prominent matches." "He has more than enough eyes to watch him stroke his cock." "I would not add ours to the sight." "Now you want me, Capua." "Doctore." "Dominus orders Gannicus returned to the Ludus, and seen to reward." "Perhaps one day the pretty little bitch will fight later in the afternoon, with the rest of the men." "You and your tiny cock best pray that day never come." "Save blood for the fucking sands, Gannicus." "What seized fucking brain, releasing your swords in the arena?" "I could have killed the man absent an arm and both fucking legs." "Hubris... a fine quality often possessed by cunts who perish from it." "Did you catch the manner of his eye as he gazed down from the pulvenus?" "Fucking Vettius... barely free of his mother's tit, yet he carries himself above Lanistas of more deserving years." "Youth often imagines itself swollen beyond worth." "Time will cure him of the condition, as it does all foolish young men." "Time is what he holds in abundance." "The new arena will be finished in but a handful of months." "If we are excluded from the opening games..." "Vettius is but shit from a shit town." "How can Tullius and the magistrate favor a boy from Nola over one of Capua's own sons?" "Well, how do they do it now?" "We must prove ourselves in the more important bouts in the old arena and secure position." "To fight later in the day, we must first distinguish ourselves against Vettius' men." "Yet Vettius' men only fight..." "Later in the day." "A vexing conundrum." "Lucretia?" "Gaia." "Gaia." "Will you come to Capua without telling me?" "I have only this moment returned, with intentions of seeking you out." "Do you travel with your husband?" "He takes to road no more, not in this life at least." "Apologies." "None required." "It was his time." "Are you occupied?" "I'm fit to bursting with stories of my adventures." "Quintus?" "What man dares stand between women and gossip?" "You must tell me everything." "Secret no detail." "Removed from the ears of men, my lips willingly part." "Gaia returns unencumbered and in enticing form." "Huh, that woman is a force of fucking nature, one that has blown many an unsuspecting man to his ruin." "You require someone more refined to grace arm as our fortunes rise." "Have eyes ever beheld such a marvel?" "A sight to put the Circus Maximus in Rome to bitter shame." "We will be the ones shamed if grand ceremony passes absent our gladiators." "We must force advantage before opportunity slips from grasp." "No, we must be patient." "Your father would venture forth with respect and caution." "Then a blessing he is not present." "Perhaps we should send word to him in Sicilia, petition advice?" "I can already divine the content of his reply, which is why he never rose above his humble station." "Fuck patience." "Look to Tullius for the way." "He seizes opportunity by the balls while lesser men are left holding cock." "A simple merchant, yet he gives honored counsel to the magistrate and all the rest of the noble shit-eaters of Capua." "Truth told, yet at excessive volume." "I would shout his praise to the fucking heavens." "His hands shaped events resulting in the erection of the new arena." "He supplies slaves from the farthest reaches of the Republic to speed its completion." "Through the ambitions of Tullius," "Capua is elevated... a lesson to be studied and reproduced in kind." "Is that all?" "A simple task then, Batiatus." " Dominus." " Between us, we have the greatest gladiators in Capua..." "Barca, Acadeus, Gannicus... men forged into something beyond their worth, beyond anything that smug little piss Vettius could ever hope to offer." "Perhaps Tullius should not have strayed so far abroad in acquiring his slaves." "What's he doing?" "Pick him up." "Crixus, you know the rules... no one breaks the line." "Hold." "Is this one of good Tullius's slaves?" "It is." " I would make purchase." " Purchase?" " What's the man's worth?" " He is not for sale." "50 denarii." " What are you doing?" " Seizing balls." "The man is barely worth 10." "Why would you pay such a sum for a shit Gaul?" "Shit?" "Do you not see the promise in his eyes, the spark smoldering in his breast?" "I would give it tender, to ignite in the arena." "50." "Add another five to weight your own purse." "Lend me 20 denarii." "You pay too much for the man." "The man is nothing." "I pay to gain favor with Tullius." "A waste of coin." "The shit fuck will never be a gladiator." "Even the lowest man can rise beyond the heavens, if tempted with the proper reward." "He was well satisfied?" "Very well." "Dominus will be pleased." "Not as much as I am." "When are you not so, especially with yourself?" "It is a curse, being blessed with so much to offer." "And so few interested in sharing it." "See yourselves well scrubbed." "I would not have you smell of goat." "Goat?" "A dead one." "The smell of victory, brother." "Well-earned." "The men all speak of your triumph." "As they will of yours, when you return to the arena." "The crowd will come in great geysers, drenching the gods gathered to witness" "Oenomaus once more upon the sands." "I would have words with my wife, absent your cock, which has escaped you." "It will be missed." "Has Dominus spoken of my return?" "I have not heard it." "More than a year has passed since I faced Theokoles." "Perhaps Dominus does not intend..." "You were the only one to ever stand against the Shadow of Death and live." "Batiatus would be a fool to keep you from the arena." "Or I am the fool for ever dreaming of such a thing." "You are many things." "Foolish is not among them." "Batiatus waits but for the perfect day for his champion to retake glory." "Is it true that his thing is as large as a horse's?" "Diona!" "Are you not curious?" "Is Gannicus really that big?" "Where is Domina?" "In the triclinium with her guest." "Diona, see the girls bathed." "Yes, Melitta." "It is exciting speaking of such things, is it not?" "I was of a similar age not so long ago." "I know the giddy enticement of the subject." "Yet you and Diona should turn thought from it." "Soon enough your flowers will be plucked." "Hastening the moment will only result in bruising of the petals." "Yes, Melitta." "And in regards to Gannicus," "I've seen bigger." "Well, you don't seem overly distraught at his passing." "How would you present, after years enduring withered flesh groping at you?" "But when you left Capua I thought you madly in love." "I was... with his purse." "Sadly his fortunes went dry towards the end." "And did you aid in their evaporation?" "What can I say?" "I am the glorious sun... returned to bless loving rays upon favored friend." "Gaia." "I have far too many baubles brought from Rome, along with other pleasures to be shared." "It suits you." "It would dazzle Venus herself." "I fear I have nothing so exquisite to give in return." "Your company is all I ever desire." "And?" "And I would not refuse the comforts of a well-appointed villa until I manage other arrangements." "Involving a ripe purse?" "I shall ask Quintus when he returns." "Ask?" "Women do not ask their husbands for permission." "They maneuver them to proper answer before question is ever put to tongue." "Oh, Gaia." "So many years have passed, and yet nothing has changed." "Everything has changed, and for the better, by the judging of it." "When last we parted, this house was but a tomb haunted by the living specter of your husband's father and you, forced to smile and cater, bringing him his honeyed wine every evening." "I thought the crusty old bastard would never succumb to the afterlife." "He is not yet so far removed, merely retired to Sicilia for his health." "So he yet controls the Ludus?" "No." "My husband does as his proxy." "Was Gannicus well-attended then?" "He was, Domina." "Gannicus?" "That Celt with the ridiculously charming smile?" "He has risen to prominence in the Ludus ever since Oenomaus was injured against Theokoles..." "In an amazing display of bravery." "Gannicus, Oenomaus... all the hard, rippling men right beneath our feet." "One moistens at the thought." "Gaia." "They are but slaves." "Please." "In all the years you've called this Ludus home, you've never once considered fucking one of them?" "The very thought of that turns my stomach." "I would never lay with any man besides my husband, let alone a filthy gladiator." "Fucking Gaul." "Another sacrifice to the gods of the arena." "Dagan thinks you of a form, giving odds in your favor." "Odds?" "Do you know where you are, friend?" "The House of Batiatus, trainer of gladiators." "Yes." "You stand among his latest recruits." "Bound by pain and blood, together we toil beneath the cruel sting of Doctore's whip." "There were eight of us when training began." "Now we're but three." "Four." "And how are we so blessed by a swelling number, hmm?" "By what means do you find yourself among such storied company?" "My own." "I was bound to Appius the slaver, carrying stone toward purpose at the new arena." "I saw Batiatus and knew him by his words of gladiators." "So I gained his attention." "You willingly present ass for fucking?" "No." "No, young Indus." "Do you not see it in his eyes?" "This is a man with dreams of blood and glory." "I doubt he'll live to see the test." "Test?" "Our last trial." "We must all face one of the seasoned men and demonstrate to the dominus what we have learned." "Live, and receive the mark of the Brotherhood, proving yourself worthy of the arena." "I will stand upon its sands." "Oh, he longs to call you brother and join you as gladiator." "Tell him the feeling is well shared." "Oh, Jupiter's cock." "50 denarii for a fucking stone hauler." "Coin well spent." "Was it?" "Word surely has reached Tullius's ear, yet none of gratitude return." "50 denarii." "Solonius was right." "I should temper patience as my father would." "You're not your father, nor would I have it so." "Perhaps tomorrow you will find yourself in the market, where, you have often mentioned," "Tullius frequents upon a certain hour overseeing his concerns." "A chance encounter to gauge reaction?" "Certain to be favorable, as I know your reply to my request will be." "Give it voice and see it considered." "I would have Gaia remain with us, just for a few days, until she can manage other arrangements." "The request does not surprise." "Is that a yes?" "Ask for the moon and I would wrest it from the heavens." "Gaia will be so pleased at your answer." "Let her keep company with her wine a moment longer." "Has a wife ever had such a husband?" "He but honors her and the gods for guiding her to his arms." "Crixus, you lower your shield when you thrust." "See it raised, or your fucking brains on the sand." "Yes, Doctore." "A lucky blow." "A blow well-struck." "I will not make the same mistake." "Ha ha!" "Good." "Again." "Doctore." "I would work the palus in the shade." "I would not let gaze linger." "Gannicus is a fucking fool, yet one of deadly skill." "He's often rewarded for his victories with wine and cunt." "Gain Dominus's favor, and such delights could be yours." "Drink and women are not my concern." "Ah, more for me then." "Fucking recruits... smaller and smaller each year." "Apologies." "Oenomaus, you return to form." "Pair with Crixus and bring him up to speed." "Dominus." "Gratitude for your instructions." "Lesson one... never drop your fucking guard." "Do you lay eyes?" "No." "Perhaps Tullius did not come today." "He always arrives, and seldom departs before noonday sun." "Are you his shadow now, adhered to each footstep?" "I but study my subject, as any proper student would in the pursuit of knowledge." "Tullius' man." "I seek your master... good Tullius." "Would he be within?" "Yeah." "I wish to express my gratitude for allowing me to purchase his slave Crixus." "The Gaul shows great promise towards the arena." "Perhaps you could pass word of my presence." "You owe me a few of those, if you recall." "A costly enterprise for us both." "That one prays will turn profit." "Good Batiatus." "The gods answer." "In mocking tone." "I hoped for occasion to give gratitude for relieving me of that troublesome Gaul." "Think nothing of it... a gesture of respect for a man deserving of it." "Received with all intentions." "Yet I fear you have overpaid." "A common mistake for those with no head towards business." "50 denarii, minus the 10 of the Gaul's actual worth." "Well..." "I do not ask for its return." "Fair bargain was struck." "Fair?" "A clumsy maneuver to gain position for your ill-trained men." " Vettius." " III-trained?" "Any one of my men could best yours fucking blindfolded, you pissy little shit." " Listen how the rooster crows." " Let us calm ourselves." "You doubt my words?" "Test them." "Request the match in the next month's games." "Why delay?" "Let us see it here in the morning, the people to judge who holds the better man." "In the market?" "Surely the magistrate would not approve such disruption." "Good Tullius has his ear." "The magistrate could be swayed to allow it, if that is what you wish." "It is, and long past due." "Tomorrow then." "A friendly rivalry well-settled." "You press beyond advantage." "No, I fucking press towards it." "You should have seen young Vettius, so easily goaded into making challenge, the fucking child." "All men are reduced in years when faced with superior mind." "Superior in all accounting... a fact Tullius and the rest of the city will bear witness to in the marketplace." "Sleep will come with difficulty tonight." "It's been ages since I've seen a decent match or Tullius." "In the blush of youth, he was forever attempting to slip beneath my robes." "Ha!" "You should have fucking let him." "Tullius has grown to be a man of worth, one to be emulated and admired." "And who will you choose to impress him?" "Vettius's foolishness presents rare opportunity." "The question begs careful consideration." "I have news to lift the heart." "Vettius has made challenge." " The coward finds his cock." " And I would see it shriveled." "My best man is to meet his dog in the marketplace come morning." "The market?" "Eh, detail of no consequence." "My question to you is plain... is our man prepared for such a vital match?" "Yes, Dominus." "I long to honor this house once again." "I fear you have mistaken intentions." "I speak of Gannicus." "Gannicus?" "The question is better put to Doctore." "Leave." "His counsel is always valued, yet he is my father's man, his judgment clouded through a haze of outdated traditions." "I seek a more visceral assessment." "You and I practically grew up together in this Ludus." "You have witnessed the rise and fall of a dozen champions." "What now does your gut tell you of Gannicus?" "Is he worthy of the mantle?" "I believe it so." "He must truly be, for you to offer support despite your own desires." "I would not give false tongue to gain advantage." "There are few that would stand with you so." "Your wife's weekly visit..." "two nights hence?" "Yes, Dominus." "I would see her to your bed tonight as well in gratitude for honest thoughts." "Dominus." "Do the gods ever answer your prayers?" "They often reveal their leanings, though not in words..." "much like my husband." "Dominus summoned me to ask of Gannicus." "Gannicus?" "He has chosen him as champion." "He is to face Vettius's man in the marketplace tomorrow." "And this is why you sulk?" "The streets are no place for the mighty Oenomaus to make his return." "The arena will be home to your triumphs when the time comes." "And I will be there to witness it." "I will dream of your touch." "As I dream of yours every night." "♪ Blood rains down from an angry sky ♪" "♪ My cock rages on, my cock rages on ♪" "♪ Blood rains down from an angry sky ♪" "♪ My cock rages on, my cock rages on. ♪" "Gannicus." "Brother." "Brother, come drink, join me." "Lower voice." "If the guards were to hear you..." "The guards have already passed and were well plied with wine to keep nose from fucking business." "Tomorrow you fight for the honor of this Ludus." "Now is not the time for drink." "Every night is a time for drink, for the morning sun may greet you with your last fucking day." "Fall to your bed, or risk steeper plummet against Vettius's man." "Words of wisdom well-received, well... well-received." "Oenomaus." "It should be you tomorrow." "Where is good Vettius?" "Is he among you?" "Or did he come to his sense and remain within the warm safety of his bed?" "Ah, there he stands, fresh and young as a newborn calf." "The fool at last shows himself." "Batiatus." "We had begun to fret on your arrival, although I see you arrive with unexpected gift." "It has been too long, Gaia." "And grows longer still." "Apologies for my delay." "I had much difficulty in the choosing of a man... an imposing task, when each among my stable stands a titan." "Perhaps young Vettius should have taken more time with the choosing of his own." "Words fall from your mouth as shit from ass." "Let us not become mired in base exchange." "We are gathered this glorious day to witness honorable contest between respected rivals." "Clear space!" "The years have favored Tullius." "And his purse." "A brawl in the streets?" "Where is the honor in such a thing?" "Fuck honor." "This is business." "Gratitude to Magistrate Sextus..." "The event turns larger than expected." " Your mad schemes may yet bear fruit." " For allowing such thrilling event..." "Enough for both of us to feast upon." "In the streets of the great city of Capua!" "Batiatus, present your man." "In honor of the magistrate, esteemed Tullius and the good people of Capua," "I give you the fiercest Celt ever to take up arms in the arena, slayer of beasts, conqueror of giants." "Behold Gannicus," "Champion of the House of Batiatus!" "Arghh!" "A fine choice." "Vettius, present your man." "I have no tongue for overripe embellishment, nor is it required." "Otho, stand forth." "Your day finally comes." "And yours ends." "Gratitude to Batiatus and Vettius." "Now let us judge who stands the better house." "Apologies, Magistrate." "There appears to be something missing." "Where is your man's blindfold?" "Blindfold?" "What the fuck?" "That was your boast, was it not... that your gladiator could best any of my men absent sight?" "You did voice such challenge." "A simple figure of speech, not meant to be... good Tullius... if Batiatus does not wish to honor terms, he should remove himself with tail between legs." "Doctore." "Come." "The task should not be that difficult." "I need only direct my blades towards the smell of shit." "Gannicus, ever the fool." "Are you going to allow this, Quintus?" "The choice has been removed from my hands." "Begin." "Yes!" "How thrilling." "I have never seen such a thing." "For good reason." "A noble attempt." "To be remembered only in its failing." "Get up!" "Yes." "Get up." "Yes!" "Fucking kill him!" "Yes!" "Have you ever fucking seen the like?" "Perhaps good Vettius should pit a man less prone to death against the mighty Gannicus." "An impressive display, Batiatus, one not soon forgotten." "Gannicus is truly a wonder." "One deserving more prominent position in the games." "You gaze upon my very thoughts." "Commitments beckon." "Join me at Nestor's shop after the market closes and we shall discuss your man at length." "Only mad Gannicus could win contest fucking blindfolded." "Barca could do the same." "And I would kill you for being a fool." "Auctus speaks truth." "Facing Vettius's man absent sight was beyond foolish." "The gods must have taken pity on your addled brain." "The gods had naught to do with it." "Otho... he grunts like a stuck pig before each attack." "His squeals..." "they gave away position." "Your victory lifts the heart." "You will not be rid of Gannicus so easily, brother." "Dominus... he rewards me with all the wine that I can drink." "And I would share it with my brothers." "Those that bear the mark." "One day." "Gannicus' victory forges path to greater glory." "With Tullius's support, we can finally gain proper position in games." "Maybe a place in the opening ceremony of the new arena." "After such a magnificent showing, I have no doubt" "Gannicus will be offered a place in the primus." "Primus?" "Yeah." "I favor the fucking sound of that." "Expect late return." "I would seek out Solonius afterwards to discuss extending advantage to his house as well." "Send Tullius my regards and gauge his response in remembering me." "How could he fucking forget you?" "It staggers mind..." "the change in him." "Change?" "You know my meaning." "He always seemed so demure and cowed." "And now he positively burns." "He has always done so." "His light was merely muted by the shadow of his father." "The man could turn day to night with disapproving frown." "He never cared much for me or, I suspect, anything that smacked of enjoyment." "And what might this be?" "More gifts from Rome." "The finest opium, carried from Cyprus." "I have not partaken in many years." "My husband..." "Will be gone most of the night." "Good Batiatus." "Word of Gannicus's victory has spread throughout the city." "His name, and yours, fall from every mouth." "May they always find the taste pleasing." "Everyone clamors to see your man again, with exception of poor Vettius." "He is fit for seizure from the ordeal." "Unfortunate that he could not provide a more worthy opponent." "His stock is well known to be of inferior quality, as is the boy himself." "The manner in which he tends the Ludus... the child has no fucking talent for it." "You surprise me, Batiatus." "Your disposition towards business is much more aggressive than your father's." "We are of diverging temperament and desires." "How does he fare in Sicilia?" "The clime is more agreeable to various conditions brought about by the passing of the years." "How did the magistrate take to Gannicus' display?" "Ignited by it, as was the crowd." "He even broached subject of retaining the man for the opening games of the new arena." "Gannicus in the opening games?" "If you could aid in such a thing," "I would forever be in your debt." "It merely requires a word in the proper ear." "All that remains is to agree upon a price." "Well, of course" "I would be happy to see coin to your hand in exchange for assistance." "What sum did you have in mind?" "You misunderstand, Batiatus." "I do not offer to broker arrangement." "I offer to purchase your man." "Purchase?" "But why would you want a gladiator?" "You're not a Lanista." "Jupiter's cock, no." "Yet I have many vested interests in shipping, goods and services, this very shop and young Vettius's Ludus." "Look at the little fuck now, about to shit himself." "Still your tongue." "The grown-ups are talking." "200 denarii... a generous offer in respect of your father." "Apologies." "I would not part with the man." "I allow you to purchase one of my slaves, yet now you deny me the same opportunity?" "Gannicus is not for sale." "Everything is for sale, Batiatus." "The question is but price." "I make fair offer and you produce cock to piss on me?" "Do you know what that feels like, Batiatus?" "Reconsider your answer or be excluded from the games forever."