"So I'm a citizen, eh? And you're asking ifI'm blind?" I was more irritated than angry, but old habits diehard.
"Oh, no, sir, I didn't mean to imply...Imean, I'm sorry," he stammered.
"Yes, yes you are. A sorry excuse for aLegionary," I told him, but his reaction was one of confusion.
"Sir? Oh, we aren't in the Legions," heexplained, but that only deepened my confusion.
Surely Octavian had not replaced the guardsthat had been standing at Rome's gates for the gods only knew howlong with auxiliaries! I thought. They are not even citizens!
Seeing that both Diocles and I shared thesame look of confusion, the man went on, "We're members of theUrban Cohorts. We have the responsibility for maintaining order inthe precincts of the city."
"Since when?" I asked, more out of idlecuriosity than any real desire to know.
"Oh, we're new," he admitted. "We've been inservice just this year."
"So you're not Legionaries, but you'reorganized into Cohorts?"
Diocles' question startled me, more becauseI had not thought to ask an obvious question. The man nodded,apparently forgetting that just moments before he had been veryimpatient because of our laggardly behavior.
"Yes, er, sir." His eyes darted from me toDiocles, clearly unsure what his status might be, and I suppresseda grin, knowing that no matter how much he might protest, my littleGreek was happier than he had ever been in his life. "We have sixCenturies in each Cohort, just like the Legions, but right nowthere are only three Cohorts, although we've heard talk that therewill be at least one more. We hold lustration just like theLegions, and we...."
"That's all very interesting," I cut in."But if I remember, this conversation started because we weremoving slowly."
The man's face reddened, but he had thepresence of mind to ask for some sort of documentation. In answer,I merely produced the scroll and held it out to him so that hecould clearly see the seal. Even broken, he obviously recognizedthe sphinx, and he stiffened to attention, although I am not surewhy.
"Yes, sir. Very good. Your papers are inorder."
Stepping to the side, he nodded to the twomen charged with standing in the open gateway, and they steppedaside as well. We rode through, into the city, and although Iremembered at least to pull to the side, I had to come to a stop totake it in. As usual, the streets were bustling, packed with peopleof all sizes, shapes, colors and occupations, but all of themclearly very busy. I had to remind myself that it had been sometime since I had been in a city of any real size; Siscia was atown, and Rome is the largest on this side of Our Sea, if not inthe whole world. Along with the sights were the unforgettablesmells, which, as it had happened the first time I visited,threatened to overwhelm me. It is not a lie to say that there is astench that comes with any sized town and city, but in a city thesize of Rome, it is of such intensity that it is hard to describe.The only thing keeping me in the saddle was that there were so manyother competitive smells: leather, smoke from so many fires, andanimals. But it was the range of pleasant odors, of exotic spices,burning incense, and the smell of baking bread as the bakers werejust finishing their last batches of the day that balanced theunpleasant smells. Hanging above it all was the noise; the poundingsound of men hammering on some project, the mix of languages, mostof which I had heard and some I had not, just a riot of sensationsthat, after days of riding through the placid countrysidethreatened to make me dizzy.
"Still quite a show." Diocles grinned at me,but I could not return it.
We were in Rome, and I was about to learnthe specifics of how much trouble I was in. Without saying anotherword, I headed in the direction of the Palatine Hill, from wherethe man now known as Augustus ran Rome.
Sending Diocles on to the Campus Martius,where there are quarters always waiting for men of my rank whenthey come to Rome, I rode Ocelus up the short but steep road fromthe Forum up to the slopes of the Palatine. It always amazed me atthe dramatic change once one left the Forum on the Palatine side.Oh, the street was still crowded, but it seemed that things werejust a bit...cleaner. Even the slaves going about their masters'business were tidier and, if anything, even with the slope of thehill, the pace was quicker. I supposed that made sense, thinkingabout it as Ocelus pushed his way through the crowd, sometimesdrawing curses that were quickly stifled when they looked overtheir shoulders to see me astride him. This was where the richestand most powerful of our entire world lived, so it followed thatanyone, slave or otherwise, doing their bidding would be moving asquickly as they could. Unlike my practice before every battle,where I would run through all the things that I needed to be awareof and checked and re-checked my weapons and armor, all in anattempt to keep my mind occupied, I was finding it extremely hardto focus on what the next watch held. Stopping for a moment, I satOcelus as my mind danced around the edges of what I was about toface, wondering instead if I would be allowed to ride Ocelus to theCampus Martius. Although a part of my mind was sufficiently incontrol of my emotions to chide the other part of me thatthreatened to take over, I recognized, for the second time in mylife, that I was on the verge of mindless panic. Since then, I havewondered what the passersby thought when I suddenly slapped myselfacross the face, viciously and with enough force that it broughtwater to my eyes. Get hold of yourself, now, a hard, coldvoice suddenly asserted itself, and as harsh and unyielding as itwas, I welcomed that voice as an old friend. I recognized it as
