You decide it would be best to leave the wallet behind. There's always a chance someone could see you, and then it would be off with your head quick as that. A thieving slave is not one who lasts long! A few hours later, an old man purchases you for ten denarius, and you are off on your merry way, your neck under a new yoke. As you wander through the streets of Rome with your new owner, he tells you he is a gladiator trainer and master, and says you'll be fighting in the arena quite soon. You are struck with sudden panic. You have cultivated pacifism your entire life, and find the idea of fighting to entertain repulsive. Nonetheless, you're in the arena within a few hours, strapped with cheap armor and carrying an even cheaper sword. You can hear the roar of the crowd despite the thick walls of the coliseum. Shaking, you are paraded in front of the roaring crowd and Caesar himself. You turn toward the gate, and out bursts another man, looking just as frightened as you are, but with a hint of determination. You realize you probably can chat him down to pacifism, and if the two of you bind together, maybe you can find some way out of this... what do you do? |