Yawning drew my attention as I returned to the viewing platform for the participants after my win. It was Paulus. He was a slave, but he was owned by a patrician. There was enough clout to his name that he would never be on the lower card. I honestly did not know who owned him. I could probably check or ask. At this point, it would be a bit embarrassing to inquire about it directly. Paulus was going to be taking on a pair of kobolds armed with daggers. That would be an interesting match. The other major gladiators would be in action as well. It seemed that their fights were a monthly draw. The other 3 weeks of the month were held down by the roster of 25 slaves in the pits. Now, they had me and the twins to watch too. I did notice that we were in the upper card the last 2 weeks. Gallio Cornutus and Postumius Epidius were both in single combat. Seemingly, they wanted to compete to see who could clear a field of 5 slaves in the shortest amount of time. It was probably Gallio's idea. Postumius had seemed a bit too timid to suggest such a thing. I did not know them that well, however.
Zipping around the arena, the pro gladiators all crushed their opponents with grace and brutal efficiency. It almost made you wonder how some of them became a really popular gladiator in the first place. Their fighting styles were all so different. The arena leapt to their feet for Sextus when it was time for his match. The adventurer's guild had found and captured a chimera for this occasion. Everyone wanted to see Sextus Sittius slay the beat. He did exactly that. My bet on his match was not wasted. All of the betting made me richer than actually fighting the matches themselves. I did not care. Money was money. As long as the lin was flowing, there was no reason to complain here. I was also interested in going to tournaments. There was in the next city over. The city was called Asisium. I won there and came back to Utinum for the gladiator fight the next week. Our reputation was really rising in Irab. I decided that it would be best to strike when the iron was hot. I was level 21. That was good. Most humans did not crack level 10. Level 20 was the realm of high kings and top generals.
It would be good to find a wife from this region. That would give me an excuse to keep returning here. I had gotten a really annoying letter from a messenger. Regardless of how tenuous our relationship was, Tertius Uulius Aper was my patron and a very rich man. He had every right to summon me back to his home to give him a progress report. There was no doubt in my mind that he would want to extort me for my arena winnings. He gave me the initial 500 lin as an investment. Tertius had expected me to use the money to rent a house in the slums. That would be good. I was in an inn in the slums when we met. He was entitled to some return on the investment. I was fine with that. He paid 10000 lin in order to get my citizenship papers. Then again, all I had to prove that was true was his own word. 10500 lin was a lot of money. I could currently pay it all back. I did not want to. I could buy a big house here in Irab Province. I could use the money to entice a woman to marry me as well. He wanted me and was not going to take "no" for an answer. We had to get on a ship. The travel was fine.
Approaching my patron's house, I sighed. I had left my slaves at the inn. There was no reason for them to be there. Teritus needed to know what was mine was mine. In no time at all, I was brought before him. He smiled when he saw me. I smiled back to be polite. "My friend, it is good to see you. How is the capital?" he asked me. I told him about the blockade and the situation with the capital province. "I've been making a solid showing in Irab for the time being." I said. He was a noble who was able to send a letter to me in Irab Province. He knew that I was not in the capital. He was testing me to see if I would lie right to his face. I was not that dumb. I also had no need to lie to him. I was a great gladiator. Everyone knew it. There was nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, I was really proud of my undefeated record. My recounting of the story made me seem like a hero facing near impossible odds. Just as I had suspected, he wanted a cut of my winnings. I shrugged and tossed it over. He smiled, and then he clapped his hands. A red headed woman came out. "Here is a gift for you."
