"(theme music plays)" "(distant cheering)" "(crowd chanting faintly) Kill kill kill!" "(rumbling)" "(sand pattering)" "(timbers thudding)" "(cheering intensifies)" "(metal blows ringing)" "(combatants grunting)" "(chuckles)" "(roars)" "Come on!" "Yeah!" "(laughs)" "(blood pattering)" "(shouting, clamoring)" "Oh, what do you know about it?" "Be gone!" "Hold your fucking tongues!" "Let the Roman have his say!" "Thrace and the Republic have known their differences." "We've not always been as brothers." "But let us put aside such matters, uniting in just cause." "You pushed your way into our land and now you stand asking for our help," " your hand extended?" " Men:" "Yeah!" "I extend no hand." "I'm here merely to inform." "Mithridates and his Greeks attack from the east encroaching from the Black Sea." "Far removed from our villages!" "True." "But the Getae take advantage of the distraction." "Their barbarian hordes amass to the north, barely half a week's march to your villages." " How many?" " Thousands." "(men clamoring)" "Align yourselves with Rome, pledge your service to the auxiliary and join us in our campaign!" " To what end?" " (clamoring continues)" "To what end?" "!" " Victory." " And how is it to be measured?" "The Getae have raided our villages in the past," " raped our women..." " Men:" "Yeah!" " Killed our children." " Men:" "Yeah!" "Each time we have pushed them back only to see them return." "Elder:" "He speaks out of turn, yet the truth falls from his mouth." "If we are to align with Rome, the purpose must be clear... the Getae dead, all of them." "Dead." " All of them." " (men cheering, clamoring)" "The council has decided." "We go to war." "I've asked the gods to bless your sword." "Once the Getae are wiped from our lands there'll be no reason to ever pick it up again." "(scoffs)" "What would my husband do without it in his hands?" "Grow crops, raise goats... make children." "You would fight no more?" "Forever... to be by your side." "How soon do you march?" "First light." "Then come to bed." "If one night is all we have left," "I shall make the most of it." "Be strong." "I woke expecting my wife beside me." "She rose early to pray... that her husband would stay with her." "I thought we were in agreement." " We were." " Were?" "The gods came to me last night in my sleep." "What did they show you?" "My husband on his knees bowing before a great red serpent, the life draining from his veins." "What meaning did you take from it?" "A warning." "If you go to war, you are destined for great and unfortunate things." "The Getae worship the mountain wolf." "They place no faith in snakes." "It was just a dream." " And if it isn't?" " I gave my word, Sura." "Blood and honor." "It speaks to the man." "Nothing will keep me from returning to your arms... not the Getae, not the Romans, not the gods themselves." "(sighs)" "The nights grow so cold." "What am I to do without you in our bed?" "Lift your dress." "Keep me close to your thighs." "The thought will warm us both." "Kill them all." "For you." "(yells battle cry)" " (men grunting) - (metallic ringing)" "Hold the line!" "I'll fuck your women!" "I'll fuck them all!" "Where the fuck are the Romans?" "Show the cunts no mercy!" "Romans, forward!" "(horns sounding)" "Warrior:" "Where you going?" "Where are you small cocks running off to?" "A little late!" "They'd just get in the way." "(quiet chatter)" "(grumbles)" "My own shit would taste better." "I cook what they give us, Drenis." "Guts and bones while Glaber and his Romans feast on meat!" "We're the last to eat, the last to share in the spoils, but always the first to be sent against those barbarian cunts!" "Maybe Legatus fucking Glaber rolls out of his nice warm tent and finds these Thracian dogs have returned to the wild..." " Men:" "Yeah!" " (throat cleared)" " (slurps)" " Something to add, little man?" "A word." "Which word might that be?" "The one I gave the Romans and my body and blood with it." "We all did..." "to push the Getae back." "We can defend our own lands!" "We gave our word." "In my village such a thing still bears meaning." "Your village?" "Is that why you're here?" "To defend your village?" "Maybe you're trying to impress that sweet taste you're always going on about" " with stories of war." " (all chuckle)" "Ahh." "Struck the mark near, did I?" ""Words and honor" my great fat ass." "It all comes back round to a pair of tits and a tight little hole." "Men:" "Whoa!" "(laughs)" "Man:" "The legatus is here!" "The legatus needs volunteers to scout beyond the forward line." "You, tactical report by sunrise." "Or go without rations." ""Please" would've done." "We'll finish this discussion later." "(grunts)" "And if we're dead?" "Then my boot will find your ass in the afterlife." "(chuckles)" "(squeals happily)" "(growls)" " Iliythia." " What if I'd been an assassin?" "I'd be a widow." "What's a respectful period of mourning before I could remarry?" "You overstep." "Women are forbidden within the encampment." " I was discreet." " Ha." "You?" "Your man helped to whisk me through the sentries after I threatened to run naked through the camp screaming he laid his hands on the wife of the legatus." "Does your father know you're in Thrace?" "Please." "He's too busy colluding with the other corpses in the Senate." "He thinks I'm still lounging at the villa in Capua." "Far too arid." "It hasn't rained there since last forever." "You should've written." "You would've told me not to come." "I'm in the middle of a war." "I bought you a gift... something to remind you of Rome." "Sesti wine." "Let me fill up your cup while you tell me about your little war." "It's too brief a tale." "Mithridates and his army of Greek whores press the legion in the east by the Black Sea." "Here I sit protecting the northern border of the land of piss and shit from simple barbarian raiders." "Mithridates." "A victory against him would have your name on every Roman's tongue." "Cotta leads the assault." "He steals your laurels." "He's the consul." "Theft is his privilege." "Father will be disappointed, for he secured this position for you to shine." "And here you sit eclipsed." "I am doing what I can." "(giggles) Of course you are." "I just wish you were back home." "Father's planning a full day of spectacles and gladiators." "It's the talk of Capua." "I hadn't realized elections were nearing." "Never too early to campaign." "If things were heading better, you could be by his side." "Lf." "So serious." "Bad for the humours." "Come." "You haven't tasted your gift yet." "(both moaning)" "(gasping)" " They're breaking camp." " Frightened little gashes, running away with their cocks between their cheeks." "Retreat would take them beyond the mountains to the north." " Their torches bear west." " West?" "They're swinging around to attack the villages below the pass... our villages." "Slippery little cunts." "If they break for the mountain pass here it will take them four days at most to reach the villages below." "Food, supplies, women... all unprotected." "It's a simple thing to be turned in the mountains at night." "Perhaps I should send a Roman to properly assess the situation." "Send the gods themselves." "They'll report the same." "Dismissed." "If we march by midday, we can easily..." "Dismissed!" "The barbarians head west." "So it appears." "Further yet from Mithridates and the Greeks and the glory you deserve." "Return to Capua." "And my father?" "How will he measure the man he so blessed with his daughter?" "A colossus towering above the enemies of Rome." "Pompous arrogant Roman boy-lover." "All but called us liars!" " How are you certain?" " You heard what he said." ""Turned in the mountains at night"..." " like he's speaking to children." " No no, about the boys." " How do you know he favors them?" " Now who's having a laugh?" "There's this tickle in the back of my throat." " The cock Glaberjust forced down it." " Fuck Legatus." "If he wants to send his own men, let him." "Won't change the direction the Getae move." "Glaber is the most dangerous kind of fool..." " one with a title." " True, but perhaps he has better sense when it comes to wine." " You stole his wine?" " I only borrowed it." "Plan to piss it all back shortly." "(laughs)" "(horns sounding)" " Up." " (groans) Fuck your mother." " The Romans sound the call." " Fuck the Romans and their fucking horns." "Join us, you drunken goat." "The legatus has gained his senses." "Is there any wine left?" "Your belly holds the sum." "I may return the balance presently." "How far to the mouth of the pass?" "Three days by foot if we march with meaning." "Drink would spur my intent." "My village is only a ways further west." " My wine is yours after we..." " Man:" "West?" "We march east to challenge Mithridates." "Byzo." "Did the legatus send his own men to scout the front?" "How the fuck should I know?" "They blow their fucking horns, a Roman dog barks and the gods shit on me." "Welcome to the fucking auxiliary." "A word, Legatus." "Move to formation!" "We advance east!" "Sure you mean west as the Getae advance." "Mithridates and the Greeks are of pressing concern." "You have allied yourself with Rome." "I am its body and voice." "We march east to the Black Sea." "Fall into formation." "Fall into formation!" "No." "You would defy an order from your legatus?" "I gave my word to defend against the Getae, not to march east to attack Mithridates." "You will march where you are commanded!" "Kill them!" "Wait wait!" "(yells)" " Ha!" " Throw, damn you!" "What have you done, you stupid shit?" "He did what he had to." "Break and go your way, west if your lives are there." "If not, I could give a fuck." "(growls)" "What of the legatus?" "Leave him in the mud." "(grunts)" "(heavy footsteps)" "(cries out)" "(screaming, yelling)" "(grunts)" "(yells)" "(loud squelch)" "(distant cries)" "The village." "(screaming, wailing)" "We have to go." "Now." "(cricket chirping)" "(bird calls)" "They haven't followed." "You were right." "I never should have left." "You had given your word." "The fault lies with the Romans in breaking theirs." "You're hurt." " It's nothing." " Let me see." " Sura." " (sternly) Let me see." "Your tone is disquieting." "You should be used to it by now." "I'm all right." "Of course you are." "Hold still." "(cloth tears)" "It's gone, isn't it... the village... everyone we knew?" "We'll move south." "I had people there once." "The Getae won't venture that far, not to the risk of thinning their numbers." "And the Romans?" "Their concern rests against Mithridates to the east." "South it is." "I wish I had been a thousand men." "You did what you could." "You came back for me... knowing it could mean your life." "There is no life without you." "(horse snorts)" "(screaming)" "My tribune dead, half the auxiliary deserted, now orders recalling me to Rome..." " all from your hand." " I own my actions," " but my wife..." " Has been condemned to slavery, courtesy of her husband." "No no no!" "The shadow of Rome is vast." "And you, Thracian, will die under it." "(cacophony)" "Good of you to join us." "Thought you were dead there for a while." "He smells dead." "Stupid fuck." " Argh!" "Ahh!" " Drenis:" "Easy easy!" "You've been out for days." " (waves crashing)" " We're at sea?" "Upon the Adriatic, bound for Capua." "Sura." " Your woman?" " The Romans took her." "Best to forget her then." "(waves crashing)" "(gasps)" "What if I'd been an assassin?" "(giggles) Father's in town." " He'll be back shortly." " How shortly?" "He's not very happy with you." " And his daughter?" " She missed her husband... but fears his reappearance has come too soon." "The games your father presents the people of Capua..." "They begin tomorrow." " The feast is tonight?" " That's to his purpose in town." "I would have a word with him." "It will take more than one to regain his favor." "The Senate chamber is full of whispers over your early return." "Cheers of the crowd will still their tongues." "Cheers?" "How will you draw them, short of victory?" "By giving them something few have ever seen:" "Thracian blood spilled in the arena." "Win the hearts of the crowd..." "And the Senate will beg to follow." "Man:" "Get out of my sight!" "Inbred shitwhores." "I should sell the lot of you to the mines." " Out!" " Father's returned." "And in a fine state." "If he refuses to aid my intentions..." "He refuses his daughter nothing when pleaded with teary eye." "(music playing)" "(guests applaud, cheer)" "Good citizens of Capua, revered guests, a debt of gratitude for partaking in this celebration of the family name Albinius." "(cheering) Albinius!" "Albinius!" "Your attendance honors the memory of my elders, gone too soon from the realm of the living... and the joy of a daughter, yet so full of life." "I repay your kindness with gifts of water, carried from Rome where the gods have seen fit to keep the drought at bay, and gifts of blood to be spilled in the arena!" "(guests cheer)" "Quintus Lentulus Batiatus!" " Step forward." " (guests cheer, applaud)" "Present your gladiators." "In honor of Senator Albinius and the people of Capua," "I give you Barca, the beast of Carthage!" "(guests cheers)" "Yet his ferocity pales against the titan of the arena... the god of blood and sand!" "Crixus the undefeated Gaul!" "Gratitude to Batiatus!" "And now to Marcus Decius Solonius and his offerings!" "(guests cheer)" "In honor of Senator Albinius and the people of Capua," "I give you six of my finest men!" "Behold Ark Adios, scourge of Athens!" "Preening shit eater." "A mockery to the profession." " A mockery is it?" " Oh, you disagree?" "Let it pass." "We're guests of the senator." "He's invited us to sit in the pulvinus tomorrow." "That's consolation." "Only two of my men have been retained to fight in tomorrow's games while Solonius secures half a dozen of his ill-trained simians." "(sighs) That man has fingers in all the proper assholes." "He wiggles them and everyone shits gold." "(clapping)" "Gratitude to Solonius!" "Water and games are distant praise for the city that has held the name Albinius as its own." "More is deserved!" "And the gods have seen fit to deliver it in the form of my daughter's husband..." "Legatus Claudius Glaber..." " (guests cheer) ...newly returned from the savage lands of Thrace!" "(guests cheer, applaud)" "More gifts for the people of Capua!" "Six Thracian jackals!" "Deserters from the war against the barbaric Getae... to be executed ad gladium in tomorrow's games!" "(guests cheer, applaud)" " Well?" " Hm!" " He is well received." " Ask favor for him again and your tears will fall short of notice." "Right." "Now to more music and drink!" "Hm!" "(music plays)" "Thracians." "Between those animals and Solonius's inferior offerings, a mockery on all accounting." "Glaber mentions execution." "Perhaps a word could lend our men to the task." "The position has been occupied." "Good Solonius!" "I was just marveling at your wares!" "Oh and I at yours." " Oh, you flatter." " No, I appreciate." "Good to lay eyes, old friend." "I feared for a time you would be excluded." "Games absent Batiatus?" "A dawn without the sun." "Ah, Crixus and Barca." "Two fine entries." "They should provide distraction between the more important bouts." "The senator beckons." "If I miss you at the games tomorrow, Lucretia..." "Well it's unlikely." "We've been invited to sit in the pulvinus." "The pulvinus?" "With the senator?" "A great honor." "I'll enjoy your company there." "I shall witness his heart on a day, parted from his chest." "And I shall grip the knife." "I've never beheld such sights." "Nor will you again." "(crowd roars distantly)" "(lock clatters)" "(crowd roars)" "(chuckles)" "(yells)" "(gurgling)" " Gladiator:" "Ha ha!" " (crowd cheering)" "The crowd approves his gifts." "As do we all." "I've withheld something of note for the last." "(trumpets sound)" "(crowd murmurs)" "(panting)" "Ready, Thracian cunt?" "(gates open)" "Yaaah!" "(crowd booing)" "(crowd roars disapproval)" "The odds seem out of favor." "This Thracian caused Rome a great disservice, Father." "His cowardice led to mass desertion." "Is his life not ample repayment?" "He must be humiliated in example." "Solonius was kind enough to offer his services in this act." "(crowd boos)" "(sighs)" "Give the command." "(cries out)" "(yells)" "(grunts)" "(laughs)" "(booing)" " (softly) A mockery." " Be still." "(snake hisses)" "(heavy breathing)" " (growls) - (Sura's voice echoing) Kill them all." "Yaah!" "(cries out)" "(crowd chanting) Kill kill kill kill!" "(chanting) Live live live live live!" "Well, this presents some difficulty." "The sentence of death holds." "But to defy the wishes of the crowd, it's unwise, even for a senator." "He gave me grievance!" "I will not see him freed!" "A solution, perhaps... if you will entertain, Legatus?" "The Thracian has shown promise in the arena, albeit against Solonius's inferior stock." "I have a batch of new recruits arriving tomorrow." "If I were to purchase this man in addition to be trained at my ludus in the gladiatorial arts, why in his condition, I doubt he'll survive to the quarter moon." "(chanting continues) Live live live live live!" "We will be merciful, hmm?" "And by such, gain the favor you seek." "What name does the man carry?" "I never cared to ask." "Batiatus:" "The way he fights... like the legend of the Thracian king of old." "Spartacus he was called." "(crowd quiets)" "People of Capua, this man, this Spartacus, has proven himself in the arena." "For this, Legatus Claudius Glaber and I grant him life." "(cheering)" "(chanting) Spartacus!" "Spartacus, Spartacus!" "Spartacus, Spartacus!" "(chanting continues)" "(theme music playing)"