Read Online Soldier of Rome: The Sacrovir Revolt (The Artorian Chronicles) by James Mace - Free Book Online

legions; fighting together as one was what allowed them to time and again defeat superior numbers. Once their formations collapsed, they could be overwhelmed. Of course, breaking that formation would require a corps of men with enormous strength, not to mention the astronomical cost of outfitting them. In this, Sacrovir was not overly concerned. He had money, and money could buy anything. He intended to prove this in his meeting with the smiths.
    His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. With one hand on his long-sword, he peered through the small hole in the door. Three well-dressed men were standing on the landing. All looked rather irritated, as well as nervous, at their surroundings. Sacrovir kept them waiting for several minutes before he opened the door.
    “To be inconspicuous is not in any of your natures I see,” he hissed as he impatiently waved the wet and uncomfortable men to a table in the center of the room.
    The men snorted as they took their seats.
    “Surely you do not expect us to walk around dressed as mere peasant stock!” one of the men retorted. He was fat with a thick, well -maintained mustache on his upper lip. He was slightly bald, with his long hair in the back kept in a ponytail. Several exotic rings adorned his hands, matching his equally elaborate attire.
    “If you expect to have any part in this cont ract, you will!” Sacrovir snarled, slamming his hands on the table.
    T wo of the men were taken aback. The fat one did not jump, but took a sudden interest in his rings, which he fiddled with.
    “Very well , you do realize, I expect to be recompensed for any inconvenience I have to endure in meeting here,” he replied.
    Sacrovir waved a hand dismissively. “You need not concern yourself with that. You will all be paid handsomely enough, I assure you. Each of you owns a large guild of metal smiths; the best in all of Gaul. This contract will require one-third of your best men. I emphasize that I want only the best. I want men who can turn out high quality arms in short order. They, along with all of their equipment, will be moved to a remote site I have acquired in the hills. There they will be put to work.”
    “You expect us to up and move one-third of our best smiths and all of their tools?” one of the men asked indignantly, raising his bushy eyebrows.
    “I told you, you will be well paid for this,” Sacrovir continued smoothly. “It would not do for the Romans to start sticking their arrogant noses into our affairs. They may ask questions were they to find out that we are mass producing arms and armor.”
    “So you really do intend to go through with your little rebellion,” the fat leader said.
    “Indeed I do,” Sacrovir replied. “For too long our nobles and our people have been subjected to the hypocrisy of Roman rule. You yourselves are of the patrician class; you pay Roman taxes and are subject to their laws. And yet you are denied the most basic rights which your so-called peers in Rome entitle themselves to! Think of this as your duty to your nation and your heritage to help us throw off the yoke of imperial oppression.” He snickered inwardly, seeing the patriotic spark in their eyes.
    Such men were sheep . Sheep lured by want of money. He was now able to lead them around by the nose. Provided the ring was made of gold.
    “Gentlemen, I cannot stress enough how much secrecy is paramount in this contract . Hence, I do not ever want to see any of you here dressed so ostentatiously again. Once your men are established and have their smiths moved to their appointed location, we will discuss the remainder of the contract and how much they will be required to manufacture. In the meantime, here is a down payment for the movement costs, as well as a little stipend to make the effort worth your while.” With that he snapped his fingers and a servant appeared from a dark corner of the room, bearing three small scrolls. He handed them to Sacrovir, who in turn handed