The large man Septimus stepped forward and Lucius thought that he would be perfect for Hoplomachus. He would make his final decisions in the days to come. One by one, each man took a knee before him and said the oath, uri, vinciri, verberari, ferroque necari patior, I will endure to be burned, bound, beaten and to be killed by the sword.
Θ
Marco took a drink of wine; it was much better at this table and he found that the food was a little better since there was a bowl of salt on the table and a bowl of dried herbs to be used on their food. Finally, food I can enjoy, he thought as he sprinkled the salt over his food. It was quiet at the table as the men ate. Today was their only day of rest; as far as what day of the week it was, Marco didn’t know nor did he care. As gladiators, they now had one day off to relax and do nothing. It sure as hell beat the training phase and now, they were actually using real weapons. The weapons were not sharp but could still inflict damage.
He had received a slice or two, nothing serious, just a few stitches, but it was a reminder that his very life depended on his skill. He looked over at Giangreco and smiled. His friend had gone a serious bout with Septimus and had come out on the short end. The big man had gouged a long wound down Thad’s leg. Not deep, but it smarted. Later, he’d heard Septimus apologize to Thad, who had waved it off.
“I wasn’t watching as well as I should have. It is a good lesson and reminder,” Thad said. Marco admired his friend and hoped never to have to fight him in the arena. He and his friends all dreaded that time. So far, only two of them had been assigned. Price had been assigned Retiarius, net man. Greg was now working with the trident and net. Marco hated it that Greg had no shield, but the man had long arms and with the long trident, Greg was effective. Marco would have thought that the net would be useless, but he’d found out differently when the net had hit him and there had been heavy metal rings attachments to the netting that hurt like hell. It also gave the netting weight to it and Greg seemed like a natural.
They had been given stage names, Marco was now called Atrox, which meant savage and bloody. Greg was called Validus, which meant strong. Dean was Mordax which meant biting, and Marco thought it was because Dean had perfect straight white teeth and Thad was Drago. Marco figured it was because of his dragon tattoo. Greg thought they all sounded like Klingons and that caused Marco to laugh. Out of them all, Greg was the biggest geek. Several of the men kept their names, such as Septimus and Felix. Marco thought that doctore didn’t like their modern names and had given them the ancient ones. When asked their names, none of them had given their surnames, only their first names.
Greg had suggested it and had talked about the space time continuum.
“Look, I’m pretty sure there are no Prices, Giangrecos, Hofstadters or Velascos during this. I don’t think we should have those names recorded anywhere, otherwise; it might screw something up. And not to sound too morbid, but we’ll live and die here,” Greg said. Marco didn’t care personally and he did kind of like his new name, Atrox.
Dean had also been assigned his position; he was a Dimachaerus and he had two swords and a helmet. That was all and he didn’t have a shield. Dean was quick with both swords and so Marco guessed his friend would be okay. It just seemed dangerous, but he supposed each of them had advantages and disadvantages. With the training that Thad was giving them in martial arts, it was augmenting their fighting to their advantage.
“Dude, don’t look now, but Septimus is looking at you. I think he likes you man,” Dean whispered beside him. Marco didn’t have to look. He’d been catching Septimus’ glances for a while now and when they fought, he knew Septimus was taking it easy on him. Marco wasn’t sure how to handle the big man and hoped that he wouldn’t step over the line. Marco wasn’t gay, but his little brother was. He felt no animosity for Septimus, the heart wanted what the heart wanted, but Marco didn’t go that way. He changed the subject and looked over at another table, it was where the women sat.
“Well, you’re being looked at too. One of those women, the one with long black hair, she’s watching you,” Marco said, taking another drink of his wine.
“Yeah, I know. We’ve been gazing at each other and flirting,” Dean said and grinned, his straight white teeth gleaming. The dimples deepened on his cheeks and Marco laughed and rolled his eyes.
“You know she’s a foot taller than you,” Marco said.
“Don’t matter when you’re horizontal,” Dean said and sighed happily.
“Dumbass, they aren’t gonna let you get to her,” Thad said, apparently listening to their conversation.
“Huhuh, Felix said that if we want, we can, we just have to be discrete,” Dean said, rocking his head from side to side.
“Seriously? Where in the hell are you gonna go?” Marco laughed.
“Don’t know, but I’m pretty sure when we both find ourselves together, we’ll figure it out,” Dean said and winked audaciously at the young woman. She was pretty and giggled as a blush crept up her face. Marco snorted. Even two thousand years in the past,
