The Gladiator

The man shook his head. 'Very few people bother to cross the mountains to visit us. Why should the slaves be any different?'

He paused.' How do I know that you are not part of the rebellion?'

'Do I look like a slave?'

'No,' the villager admitted. 'But for all I know you could have murdered some Romans and taken their clothes, and are trying to escape from the island.'

'What?' Cato shook his head irritably. 'Nonsense. I am who I say I am, and we have come here to seek passage to Alexandria.'

'Sorry, Tribune. We can't help you. You'd best try somewhere else.'

'There isn't time to try somewhere else,' Cato said firmly and pointed towards the beach. 'I need that boat, and a crew at once. We will pay our fare, and leave you these horses.'

'Can't help you. We need that boat for our catch. It's the only seaworthy craft that we have left, the only means of feeding ourselves. You can't have it.'

'I can pay you enough to buy your village some new boats,' Cato responded.' N me your price.'

'We can't eat money, it is of no use to us now. That boat is all that stands between us and starvation. I'm sorry, Tribune. It's not for sale.'

Cato leaned forward in his saddle and stared intensely at the man as he continued. 'We need that boat, and we will have it, along with the best sailor in your village. As I said, you will be amply rewarded. If you are short of food here, then I suggest you take any valuables you have and set off for Gortyna. If you still want to protest, then you can make your case to the governor. Now, I have no further time to waste.' Cato slid from the saddle and reached into his saddle bag for a pouch of the silver coins that had been issued to him from the provincial treasury on Sempronius's orders. He tossed it to the villager, who fumbled the catch and nearly dropped the money.

'There's three hundred denarians in there,' Cato explained.

'More than enough for you to buy some new boats for the village.'

The villager hefted the bag for a moment and shook his head.

'I told you. We have no use for it.'

Cato strode up to him with a menacing expression and growled,

'I don't have time for debate. Find me a man to sail that boat at once.

If I don't get to Alexandria as soon as possible, then the slaves will take over the island. Do you want that?'

'We keep to ourselves,' the villager persisted. 'Why should they bother us?'

'Because they will not rest until they control Crete. No matter how many they have to kill. I can offer you protection if you lead your people to Gortyna.'

'Protection?' The villager smiled as he stepped away from Cato.

There was a flicker of polished metal, and Cato glanced down to see that the man had drawn a small, delicately curved knife. At once the others followed suit. 'We don't need protection. But you might, Roman.'

Cato glanced round quickly. There were eight men in front of him, but half of them looked old and frail. Several more men stood around the confrontation. Some carried clubs and one had a barbed fishing spear.

'Put those knives away,' Cato ordered. 'Don't be a fool. My men and I are professional soldiers. If you want a fight, then you'd better understand that even though you outnumber us, we would still kill most of you, before even one of us fell.'

The leader of the villagers was silent for a moment, and then spat to one side. 'That's quite a claim, Roman.'

Cato flicked back his cloak and grasped his sword handle. 'Want to put it to the test?'

Behind him, there was a metallic rasp as the men of his escort drew their weapons. Behind them, the shepherd backed away a few steps then turned to run back up the track away from the village. As the sound of his footsteps died away, the two groups of men stared at each other in silence, waiting for the other to make a move. Then the fishermen's leader smiled slowly.

'All right then. There's no need for everyone to get themselves killed. Let's keep this between you and me, Roman. A straight fight.

If you win, you can take the boat and the best of my men to sail her.

If I win, then your men leave the village and find themselves a boat somewhere else.'

Cato thought quickly. Even though the leader of the villagers was powerfully built, he was not a trained fighter and was more likely to have used his blade for gutting fish than for fighting. It would be a risk, but it would save a much greater loss of life if a more general fight broke out between the two sides. He nodded.

'You have a deal. Swords or daggers?'

'I'll stick with this blade.' The villager grinned. 'It's served me well enough in the past.'

'Very well then.' Cato stretched his stiff legs for a moment. Then he unclasped his cloak and slipped his sword belt over his head, and turning to the nearest of his escort handed them over.

'Here, take these.' He leaned slightly closer and lowered his voice. 'If anything happens to me, the governor's message is here.'