Another man joined us as we regarded the patch of land. He was tall and lanky, with knobby limbs protruding from his knee-length tunic. He peered at me with some suspicion in his dark brown eyes, and his lowered brows matched his dark and flyaway hair.
By the cut of his tunic and his gold fibula—the pin that fastened one shoulder—I concluded he was not a freedman or slave but possibly an Equestrian.
“This is Titianus Vibius,” Gallus said. “He is another of my assistants. He can show you around, teach you how I like to do things. Vibius, Leonidas.”
Vibius gave me a nod, but I could see he was uneasy with Gallus taking me on. Gallus had mentioned he’d make me a foreman if we got along well on this project, and clearly Vibius did not like that.
I could not say if Vibius resented me because I was a gladiator—one of the lowest forms of life—or if he worried I’d usurp his position. I wanted to explain that he had little to fear from me, but with Gallus beaming at us both, I kept my silence.
“The first thing we will do is walk the site,” Gallus announced. “I’ve had it surveyed, but things are always missed. Look for too-soft ground, which we’ll have to fill, and debris from previous buildings we’ll need to cart away. There are stones there—” He waved at the slabs poking from the ground. “See if they’re solid enough to reuse.”
“Of course,” Vibius said, and instantly turned away to begin. In a hurry, I thought, to please Gallus.
I knew the sort of thing Gallus was looking for—my former master had explained to me how to walk a site. Maps and drawings existed that Gallus could consult, but they’d be only as accurate as their maker’s ability to observe, and possibly not very recent.
Vibius started on the far side of the site, walking slowly, head down, long arms behind his back. I decided to take the edge closest to the river, farthest from Vibius.
Gallus, I was pleased to see, let us get on with it without shadowing us or watching our every move. Using a flat boulder as a desk, he busily unrolled scrolls of papyrus, using smaller rocks to hold them open. Once in a while, he’d seize a charcoal stick and make a mark.
The way the ground in front of me undulated told me we’d have a job leveling it. Something had been built here before, possibly many years ago.
The tasks of clearing a site came back to me with startling clarity. I drew a breath, the damp April air here refreshing in spite of the fetid smell of the river. I understood this life—I could embrace it once again.
As my fears began to fade, my eyes, ignoring my roiling thoughts, glimpsed something buried in the muddy soil. It was small but caught a chance beam of sunlight.
I leaned down, brushing away damp earth, and lifted from the ground a small piece of metal that flashed with the unmistakable gleam of pure gold.
Chapter 3
“What have you found, Leonidas?” Vibius appeared next to me as though he’d flown there, his breath brushing my shoulder.
Since I did not know, I didn’t bother answering. As Vibius watched me sharply, I rubbed the soil from the object, revealing a thick gold ring that glittered on my palm. Not much sunshine penetrated the clouds, but the ring shone as though with inner fire.
“That is a beauty.” Vibius reached blunt fingers to it, but I instinctively closed my hand, hiding it once more.
Vibius’s frown darkened his face. “You can’t take that.”
I agreed. I would give it to Gallus who would decide what to do with it. Likely he’d take it to Sextus Livius, the man who’d purchased the land and commissioned Gallus to build a new warehouse on it. Livius was extremely wealthy and didn’t need more gold to adorn him, but I would not begrudge him this piece.
“Nonsense.” Gallus’s good-natured tones cut through Vibius’s belligerence. “Sextus Livius told me that whatever we come across as we’re clearing the site is ours to keep. He is only interested in having the building completed so he can begin collecting rent on it.” He peered over my shoulder as I opened my hand again. “A lucky find for you, Leonidas. Fortuna smiles upon you. That is, if it is real. A pretty trinket even if it is not.”
Skilled metal workers could make brass resemble polished gold, and tricksters used it to fool the ignorant. Though I was no expert, I doubted brass would glint as this ring did after being buried in muck for who knew how long.
“Take it home, Leonidas,” Gallus advised. “Give it to Cassia. She’ll know what to make of it.”
Vibius had lost his scowl, but his stare told me he’d not forget anytime soon. “Truly you are lucky, Leonidas. How else would you have survived the games?”
With skill, training, and perseverance, I wanted to explain, but I said nothing. A gladiator who relied on Fortuna alone died very quickly.
Gallus laughed, as though Vibius had made a good joke. “If a man decided to scatter his jewelry here, there might be more. Keep a sharp eye out, Vibius, and you’ll go home with something, I’m sure.”
Vibius took these words as a signal that the conversation was over. He turned his back and marched to his area of the field, his head down, eyes on the ground.
“He’s sometimes surly, especially early in the morning, but he is a good builder,” Gallus assured me. “You two will rub along well in the end.”
I wasn’t as certain. Vibius radiated displeasure. He reminded me of Regulus, now primus palus of Aemil’s gladiators and my onetime friend. He had never forgiven me for not killing him when he’d begged me to.
Gallus returned to his tasks, and I watched Vibius a few moments longer. If the man decided to be my enemy, I needed to know what he was likely to do.
