I met Senator Hortonius at the appointed time and place. The guards on the gatehouse no longer bothered to rouse themselves as I approached their position, merely casting me a glance and then returning to their conversations, wrapped in their red cloaks to keep out the chill early morning air. Quintus Hortonius was similarly attired, though his cloak was far more luxurious and was edged with purple. I saluted him as he approached me on the wooden bridge.
‘I will be glad when the spring arrives and the weather gets warmer. My old bones do not like the cold.’
‘I am sorry to have inconvenienced you, sir,’ I said.
‘Is there a problem with our arrangement?’
‘No, but I would like you to arrange a meeting between myself and Marcus Aristius, the merchant.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought we had agreed the proper procedure for the conduct of trade.’
‘We had,’ I replied, ‘but there are some special items that I require that you will probably not want to be involved with.’
Now he was intrigued. ‘How so?’
I saw no reason to try to deceive him as he was bound to find out anyway. ‘I need a thousand mail shirts, a thousand cavalry helmets and three thousand cloaks, and I believe that he’s the only one that can deliver them, probably from Roman stores somewhere in the east. I suspect you would not want to be involved in such a business.’
‘And he would?’
I shrugged. ‘He’s a rich merchant whose only duty is to his pocket. You’re a politician whose duty, presumably, is to Rome.’
‘A rather cynical view,’ he said. ‘In any case Marcus would still run a considerable risk if he acquiesced to your request. And the cost would reflect that risk.’
‘I’ve no doubt,’ I added, dryly.
He noticed my tone. ‘You would do well to remember your position, young Parthian. We do not have to deal with you.’
‘I realise that, sir, I merely make a request.’
He smiled. ‘In that case I shall pass on your request to Marcus Aristius. His clerk will give you his answer at the same time tomorrow morning, here at the same hour. I think that concludes our business, so I will wish you good day.’
He nodded at me, turned and walked back into the city, the gates closing after him.
Marcus Aristius agreed to my request.
The meeting took place ten miles south of the city and about half a mile offshore, aboard a well-fitted ship, to which I was rowed on a grey wind-flecked sea in a small boat with the eunuch at the bow, a slave rowing in the middle and myself sat perched on the stern. The eunuch said nothing during the journey. I had to ridden to the spot with a dozen horsemen, who looked after Remus while I carried out the negotiations. When we were almost at the boat it occurred to me that I could be killed by an archer quite easily, or run through with a sword and then dumped overboard. However, I believed the promise of further riches would keep me safe, at least for the moment. Later, standing on the deck, I could see that the ship was a sturdy, broad-beamed vessel with a high stern post, which had been fashioned into a gold-leafed decorative finial. There was a deck cabin at its stern. The boat was powered by a row of oars on each side and had a single square, red and blue sail. I was led to the cabin by two huge black soldiers dressed in white tunics, white sandals, mail shirts and armed with long, curved swords which they carried across their chests. Marcus Aristius sat behind a large ornate table in the middle of the cabin, the walls of which were painted white. Two young black boys stood behind him, each one holding a large feathered fan to cool him. In truth it wasn’t particularly warm but Aristius was sweating, his brow being mopped by an even younger black boy. Clearly this merchant had a penchant for black male slaves. The boys themselves were attired in pure white tunics with gold earrings and gold torques around their necks. He motioned for me to sit opposite him in a plush chair that had been placed for my convenience. The two guards stood menacingly behind me, yet the atmosphere was friendly rather than hostile. Yet another black slave brought in a tray of fruit, which Aristius picked at greedily with his podgy, ring-adorned fingers. I was offered the tray next, along with a silver platter and a silver goblet, into which was poured wine. The eunuch walked behind me and sat at a smaller table off to one side, then proceeded to ready a parchment for note taking.
‘I believe you wish to do business with me, young Parthian,’ said Aristius, holding out his hands to be wiped by one of his slaves.
‘I need some specific items that may prove difficult to acquire,’ I said.
Aristius waved his slaves away. ‘Difficult but not impossible, though of course the price will reflect the effort required to obtain said goods.’
The room smelt of incense, which was sickly to my nostrils but seemed to have a calming effect on Aristius, who lent back in his chair and closed his eyes. He then rested his hands on his fat belly.
‘I need a thousand mail shirts for my horsemen, a thousand cavalry helmets of the finest quality, plus three thousand white cloaks.’
‘Is that all?’ asked Aristius, his eyes still closed.
‘Yes.’
He said nothing for a while, the only sound being the scribbling of the eunuch’s reed pen as he noted down my request. Aristius took a deep breath, opened his eyes and leaned on the table, placing his thumbs under his chin. He looked at me, his piggy eyes excited by the thought of much profit.
‘You have gold?’
I shook my head. ‘Only silver.’
‘Twenty chests of silver bars, then.’
I drained he goblet of wine. ‘That’s a lot of silver.’
‘My final offer, take it or leave it.’
I had little choice, but it irked me that I was being dictated to by this odious barrel of fat surrounded by his catamites. He disgusted me, but I reasoned that the sooner we concluded our business the quicker I could be off his floating brothel.
‘Agreed,’ I said.
He beamed with delight and told me that the goods would be delivered at this point on the shore in two month’s time.
With the approval of Spartacus, Godarz organised the collection of the silver bars. The mine, now worked by the Roman soldiers who had formerly guarded it, produced ten chests of silver, the rest being from the treasure the army had taken the year before. The army had enough weapons now, and Spartacus was confident that he could capture enough mail shirts and shields to equip those who still lacked them, though he was not unduly worried as he had enough to ensure that in battle all of his front line cohorts would be as well armed as their Romans opponents. It was still cool in the evenings and snow still covered the mountain peaks, but the early signs of spring were everywhere. Suddenly almond trees were covered in white blossom, and then meadows, mountain slopes and the valleys were filled with primroses and violets.
It was on such a spring day, with a slight westerly wind in the air, that I set out at the head of fifty two- and four-wheeled wagons south to rendezvous with the ships that were delivering the weapons and equipment for my cavalry. Each wagon had a driver and guard, while the four wagons loaded with the silver had four guards marching beside each one, armed with spears and shields. This was to deter the Gauls as much as the Romans, for I would not have put it past Crixus to try and steal the silver just to spite me. But as we ambled south, parallel to the coast, we saw no other signs of life, and it appeared that my only worry was whether I had brought enough carts. It did not matter; anything that could not be transported immediately would be left on the beach under guard and fetched back the next day. Nergal and Burebista had wanted to accompany me, but their presence on the training field was far more important. In any case, there would be nothing for them to do. The previous exchanges had gone off without incident, and according to the agreement I was supposed to appear unarmed, though I always wore my spatha and instructed those accompanying me to likewise carry swords. It was foolhardy to travel without any protection at all. But we had no bows, helmets or armour.