For the right sum the captain would put aside good bales, and between them he and Hulius could label them damaged goods.
It had worked beautifully.
Within the year Hulius had put down a deposit on a piece of land and commissioned a house. His wife, Darnia, had been delighted at his growing wealth. Not so his employers, who descended one day with ten soldiers from the Watch, just as Hulius was overseeing the loading of a wagon with ten undamaged bales.
The captain was also taken. He was hanged four days later. But, then, he had no friends in high places. Hulius, on the other hand, had used some of his profits to fund the political career of his wife’s cousin – a man who had now risen to rank in Jasaray’s government. Thus an agreed sum was paid to the employer, and Hulius was offered the post of First Magistrate in Goriasa. And now he was close to becoming rich – despite a large part of the moneys made being sent back to Darnia’s powerful relative.
Yet despite his wealth, and the ease of his lifestyle, Hulius was bored with Goriasa and the interminable petty cases brought before him: broken contracts, matrimonial disputes, and arguments over land rights and borders. He longed for the dining rooms and pleasure establishments of Stone’s central district, the magnificently skilled whores, the musicians, and the beautifully prepared food, with recipes from a dozen different cultures.
Hulius glanced down at the list before him. One more hearing, and then he could visit his mistress.
Three men filed into the new courthouse, bowed before the dais on which Hulius sat in his white robe of justice, then took up their positions to the right of the two engraved wooden lecterns. Hulius recognized the gladiator Rage and the circus-owner Persis Albitane. Between them stood a Gath tribesman, a lean yet powerful young man, with golden hair and odd-coloured eyes. The door at the back of the room opened and a Crimson Priest strode in. He did not bow before the dais but walked immediately to stand to the left of the lecterns. Hulius noted the surprise on the face of Persis Albitane, and felt a small knot of tension begin in the pit of his stomach.
The magistrate stared down at the document before him, then spoke. ‘The registration of the tribesman Bane to be allowed to take part in martial displays for Circus Crises,’ he read aloud. ‘Who sponsors this man?’
‘I do,’ said Persis.
‘And who stands beside him, to pledge his good faith.’
‘I do,’ said Rage solemnly.
Hulius looked at Bane. ‘And do you, Bane, pledge to uphold the highest traditions of courage and—’
‘I object to these proceedings,’ said the Crimson Priest. Sweat began to trickle from Hulius’s temple.
‘On what grounds, Brother?’
‘The law. It is forbidden for Gath tribesmen to carry swords for any reason, save those employed as scouts in the service of the army of Stone.’
‘Yes indeed,’ said Hulius, thankful that the matter could be dealt with simply. He had no wish at all to offend a priest. ‘In that case—
‘Bane is not a Gath,’ said Persis Albitane. ‘He is of the Rigante tribe, and was recommended to me by Watch Captain Oranus of Accia. As a Rigante he is not subject to the laws governing the Gath.’
Hulius felt sick, and glanced nervously at the Crimson Priest. ‘Even so,’ said the priest, ‘the man is a barbarian, and it should be considered below the dignity of any honest citizen to employ him in the capacity of gladiator.’
‘It may be argued’, said Persis, ‘that such employment in itself is “below dignity”, but it is certainly not illegal. Therefore I respectfully request that the objection be ruled inadmissible. There is no law to prevent a foreigner being gainfully employed by a citizen of Stone. Indeed there are many gladiators, past and present, from foreign lands.’
Hulius would have loved to rule against Persis Albitane, but all his rulings were written down and sent on to Stone, and this was not a matter of a magistrate’s judgment – which could be bought at a price – but of the law of Stone. Hulius sat silently, his mind whirling, seeking some way to accommodate the priest. But there were no subtleties to the issue, no grey areas to exploit. The case was simple.