"The Romans were war maniacs, and they had only one motive, and that was deep-seated greed." - Words of Mithridates VI

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When the door was opened, Kelly and five or six large men entered, and began to open the luggage that was piled up on the floor: it was full of short swords and daggers, and some fine little boxes, which must have been of great value, and the zuihou were several money bags, and Kelly threw one of them on the table, and said to Calabis, "In them are five hundred dinars of silver—a bazaar, go to the third tavern by the 'sheepfold' by the main square, and take the money bag and the sword, and don't take this woman and the child, you go alone." With that, Kelly and the group took their things and hurried away.

Later, after inquiring with the administrator Delferro, Calabis learned that the "market day" was the calendar commonly used in the city of Rome: the bull market (big market) in the city of Rome was a market day every eight days, and the common people used the market day as a record day, which was similar to the later week. So, the next day, Cloaked Carabis, went to the Grand Forum at the foot of Capitol's hill, an enclosed area of the administration, the Grand Temple, and the colonnaded piazza, and the center of the political activity of the whole city of Rome.

Following Kelly's instructions, it didn't take much effort for Calabis to find the small bar, located at the entrance of the street into the "sheepfold", and in order to familiarize himself with the situation, Calabis slowly paced into the corner. At the counter stood a crispy and large proprietress with curly hair hanging down her sides, a mole on the corner of her mouth, holding a flask and pointing at the slave girls who were cleaning the store and welcoming the opening. "Little brother, today is a fierce day, it's rare for you to get up so early, but there won't be a brawl plus voting in the big square you want to see - what do you want to do? The wine of Po Hacienda is a great dip in honey rusks, and there are not many customers who will come today, and it is a bargain price of five copper coins (two Cestricks). When he sat down, he took out five seses, nodded to the proprietress and asked, "I am a stranger who has just come to the city of Rome, who has served in the legions of Asia Minor, and is now a freeman. ”

"Little brother is from the Legion of the East, then it is easy to explain, after a fair, the tribun will convene a town council here, and the topic will be to decide the punishment of your former commander Tuna Road Kuras. Do you know tuna? The proprietress smiled and brought a jug of wine and a plate of rusks to the table, then poured half of the wine, poured it evenly over the rusks, and joyfully accepted five small silver coins, and returned to the counter, looking at Calabis with slanted eyes, and wiping the grease stains on the counter with a rag, and swaying a pair of large breasts like a hanging bell. However, Calabis did not want to pay three more Seses in exchange for such a "kill and die", and he continued to inquire: "You must understand, dear lady, that we strangers are most interested in this set of things in Rome. I think"

"Then I have to warn you, little brother, that in Rome curiosity kills strangers like you—add some honey." After the proprietress finished speaking, she brought a small cup of honey, then pulled her fingers out of the honey, slowly wiped it on her chest, and whispered to the side of Calabis's arm: "What happens every day in the square is that those men with the title of citizen are venting their useless energy, why bother so much with a free man like my little brother?" Men go out to vote, it is a good opportunity for you to comfort the women at home, how about it, five more As, the slave girls here are of your choice, just do things in the backyard. ”

"Boss, how much are you worth?" Calabis asked with a smile, retracting his arm.

The proprietress seductively smeared the remaining honey from her fingers on Calabis's cheeks and lips, and said, "Oh my God, for your sensual thin lips, if you can afford twenty drachmas, or twenty-five dinars, and run errands with me in the backyard." ”

"Jingle bell," Calabis said, taking out twenty drachmas, placing them on the table, then getting up and putting on his cloak, "a bazaar day later, reserve a seat for me with a view of the sheepfold in the square." Then Calabis left the tavern.

Seven days later, while the stars were still hanging in the night sky, Calabis freshened up, looked at the narrow inky black Thiberway from the window, and then walked to the bed, where Potty was still asleep, and Paruma was lying on the chaise longue in the living room covered with a blanket, and Calabis gently drew his short sword from under the bed, and the money bag containing five hundred dinars, carried it on his waist from side to side, and covered with a thick cloak upside down, when Potty hummed and hugged him from behind, and shook it twice, "Don't forget to come back"

"Well, keep our money box safe, and if there is anything to do, take the little pigeon, and leave the city of Rome, as soon as possible, and go to the countryside to live." After Calabis had finished, he turned to give Potty a kiss before tiptoeing out of the apartment.

Walking on the winding road, Calabis exhaled a white breath in his mouth, the gray morning was still very cold, he covered half of his face with his cloak, one foot deep and one foot shallow, and he rode on the potholed road, and the rapidly receding arcades on both sides of the road were like the wings of gray bats, but at this time there were already many people on the road, most of them were traders pushing mule carts and stalls, and craftsmen who went to work to participate in the market on Jucola Avenue on the other side of the main square, and everywhere there was the barking of dogs, Wake up the sun in a bit.

In front of the tavern of the coquettish proprietress , Kelly and a dozen men who were also wearing cloaks were standing at the door, and when they saw Calabis coming, Kelly nodded and asked in a low voice, "Have you brought anything here?" Seeing that Calabis replied in the affirmative, Kelly waved his head, and the group followed him into the alley behind the tavern.

When they had gone five or six hundred Roman feet, Calabis found that opposite them, about dozens of men dressed as civilians, some wearing garlands on their heads, were walking noisily, forming two groups of people, and "meeting in a narrow way" in a narrow alley.

The scene was quiet for a moment, and then one of the men in the crowd shouted at Kelly, "Get out of the way, freedmen and slaves!" We are citizens of the Colo district of Rome, and now we are going to the sheepfold, which will not have anything to do with you for the rest of your life. ”