"Yes, often with wine and eager company." He shrugged. "They were all we had to look forward to, and kept us plied and in competition with each other."

He wasn't a fool, as much as he seemed content to play one. He knew Batiatus made money on their victories, which they never saw, and rewarded them with cheap wine and women already in possession of the household.

"He touted the honor our victories brought the house. I had little care for bringing him honor. I won for the comfort it brought, but the illusions were brief. I was still a slave."