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

one to each of the men.
    “What are these?” Bushy eyebrows asked.
    Sacrovir rolled his eyes in dis gust. “How far do you think you would get if you left here bearing gold?” he asked condescendingly. “There are thieves and brigands in this part of town who would have your gold and your heads before you could shit yourselves in terror. Consider yourself lucky that you were not robbed on the way here. Read them. I assume each of you knows how to read.” They read their scrolls and looked at each other amazed. The quiet guild leader smiled greedily.
    “These notes bear my seal, which you will each take to a separate bank to withdraw your money. I have accounts all over the province, so no one will take any notice. You have five days to get your smiths and equipment ready to move. On the fifth day, I will send messengers and escorts.” He rose abruptly to his feet, signaling that the meeting was over. “Do we have an agreement, gentlemen?” Each man extended their hands to him, which he grasped firmly as he ushered them out to where it was still raining. A smug grin then spread across his face. Florus would be pleased. After all, he was helping to finance this venture and would want to see measurable progress. The manufacturing of so many arms and armor would take time. However, time was something Sacrovir felt comfortable he had.
     

     
    Statorius sat on top of the desk in the century’s main office, scribbling notes onto a large parchment. Gathered around were all the section leaders within the century. It was the first such meeting Artorius had attended. Though Magnus would be acting in his place soon enough, he felt he should at least attend a few of the section leader meetings to make certain he knew how things operated. Around the end of each month, the tesserarius would call together all of the decanii in order to establish the duty and training schedules for the next month. Each section leader had a wax tablet and stylus with which to take his notes.
    Statorius seemed to be checking off all the applicable days of the month, his brow wrinkled in thought. Finally he spoke.
    “Alright, let’s get started. The first thing I need is three guys for latrine duty from the first till the fourth. Ostorius, I’ll need two from you and, Praxus, I’ll need one from you.”
    “I know just who I’m going to give you,” Praxus replied. “Got somebody on my ‘shit list’, no pun intended.”
    That got a slight chuckle out of some of the men, though it was a well-used joke. He and Ostorius gave the names to Statorius, who wrote them down on his roster.
    “Okay, next we’ve got stable duty on the third,” the tesserarius continued. “Rufio, I’ll need one of your men for that. And, Artorius, I’ll need two men for road repair on the sixth.”
    Artorius looked at his list of names briefly. He was short tw o men as it was and, with Macro’s assurances, he hoped Statorius would not overtax him.
    “I can give you Valens and Magnus,” he answered.
    Statorius nodded and wrote the names down.
    “Oh, and I’ll need one more from you for latrines again, this time from the sixteenth to the twentieth,” Statorius added.
    “I’ll give you Carbo.”
    This caused the tesserarius to chuckle. “He’ll love you for that,” Statorius remarked. “He complained to me for an entire week once when I put him on latrines.” “What did you do?” Artorius asked, intrigued.
    “I volunteered him for latrines for the next six months. I have to say I don’t think anyone in the legion knows the intricacies of our sewage system better than Carbo,” he snickered.
    After about an hour the roster was finalized for the next month. Artorius made sure to keep from offering up Decimus for any details, seeing as he was an immune and, therefore, exempt from fatigue duties. Magnus’ elevation to immune status was to take effect on the seventh, so Artorius knew he could still be used up until then. As soon as Statorius called the