Free Gladiator: Vengeance by Simon Scarrow Page A

were very few villages, usually no more than a loose collection of stone huts, and they were forced to live off the land. Fortunately there were plenty of streams, gushing down rocky channels, and hares to hunt, as well as larger game. On the third day after fleeing Stratos, Marcus managed to bring down a small deer with his slingshot, the heavy missile knocking the animal cold before it even knew a human was nearby. They ate heartily that night and there was enough meat for two haunches to be put aside for the following days, with the burden shared between them.
    They stuck to the mountains, passing Mount Parnassos where the snow still capping its lofty peak gleamed in the sunlight. That evening Festus decided they were sufficiently far from Stratos to risk stopping in the town of Delphi. Formerly one of the most important places in Greece, thanks to the Oracle in the temple of Apollo, Delphi had been visited by kings, generals and statesmen who sought to know their futures from the Oracle. The decline in the power of Greece and the rise of Rome had not treated the town kindly and Marcus noted the rundown nature of the streets after they entered the gate to find cheap accommodation for the night.
    They took a dingy, airless room at the back of a small inn and wearily set down their packs as they surveyed theirsurroundings. The walls were cracked and stained and the large wooden frame of the only bed was covered with a torn mattress, from which grey, dusty straw poked out. Festus indicated the bed.
    ‘You two share that. I’ll sleep on the floor.’
    Lupus made a face. ‘I would have been more comfortable sleeping in the open.’
    ‘Can’t be helped,’ Festus responded. ‘There are too many farms surrounding Delphi. If we were caught sleeping on their land someone might ask difficult questions. This is safer. Now rest for a bit, then we’ll go out to find something to eat when it’s dark.’
    ‘After that I want to look over the Temple of Apollo,’ Lupus announced, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
    Festus shook his head. ‘Not a good idea. Let’s just eat and turn in. We still have three more days on the road, at least, before we reach Athens. Besides, we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves.’
    ‘But we’re far away from Stratos,’ Lupus replied. ‘We’re safe here. Surely? And plenty of people will be visiting the temple. We won’t attract any attention. Come on, Marcus, what do you say?’
    Marcus thought about it. He understood why Festus wasconcerned. But perhaps the bodyguard was being overcautious. In any case, he had heard about the famous Oracle when living on Leucas and was curious to see the temple for himself. He turned to Festus.
    ‘I don’t see that there’s much risk in having a look.’
    Festus sighed with frustration. ‘All right then. But stay close-lipped, and if I say we head back here, then there’ll be no arguments. Is that understood?’
    The boys nodded and Festus shook his head. He sat down, propping his head against his pack and closing his eyes as he muttered, ‘I pray to the Gods that nothing bad will come of this.’
    The meal, a stew of goat and herbs, was nowhere near as satisfying as the meals they had cooked for themselves in the mountains, but it was filling. They paid the bill and left the inn, one of many small establishments lining the square opposite the entrance to the temple precinct. With Lupus leading, the three of them passed between the columns and tall studded gates to make their way inside the wall that separated the sacred ground from the outside world. A paved courtyard stretched round the temple, illuminated by several large braziers fed with bundles of wood by junior officials of the temple in plain white tunics.
    The three visitors looked up in awe as they slowly approached the steps leading to the door. Above them, the pediment carried a painted relief of the God Apollo driving a gilded chariot that shone fiery red in the glow of the braziers.