‘He missed out on a good thing,’ I replied.
‘Come on,’ Veron bounded to his feet. ‘If you like the lower classes so much, I’ll take you to somewhere where you can stand with forty thousand of the buggers.’
Leana, myself and Senator Veron headed up-city, to the famous Stadium of Lentus. On our way we organized for a message to be delivered to Constable Farrum of the Civil Cohorts, explaining that they could commence moving their materials into specific rooms. I told them that Bellona was in charge of matters while I was out – and that the cohort was to do whatever she requested. I also managed to send another update to my superiors, too.
Veron spoke of the Stadium of Lentus with an affection not often heard for architecture. There were several such stadiums or hippodromes throughout Vispasia and the Stadium of Lentus was famed for its Blood Races.
A tide of people surged through the orange, sunlit streets, towards the structure that loomed over much of the city. Approaching it, people would first see a series of wide arches crowning one enormous side of the structure. The decorative stonework stretched for several hundred feet, before curving at either end. A marvel of modern engineering, there were stone vaults, walls and columns providing support; and from the top of every arch flew the banner of a black falcon upon yellow.
The stadium had been completed only one year before I left the city. It was a legacy of King Lentus, Licintius’ and Lacanta’s father, but it remained one of the great structures of Vispasia. Many stood slack-jawed as they stepped up to it, dumbfounded that such a building could stay up without collapsing. I counted myself among those in awe.
As we came closer, the sound of the crowd grew so loud that one could be mistaken for thinking a raging summer storm was approaching. Closer still and in the shadow of the building several female prostitutes lingered in the smaller alcoves at the base, sashaying and posing for passers-by. One furtive man in a brown tunic began chatting to a woman, before she took his hand and led him away along the dusty road. Occasionally soldiers might try to steer away such trade, but there was no military in sight just yet, and so the worst the clients would receive was the odd heckle from passers-by. Veron was cheered by their presence somewhat, declaring it a sign of a thriving economy. As far as such indicators went, I was not convinced.
Veron guided us towards a special entrance to the Stadium of Lentus, an archway covered in wonderful yellow and black tiles. Here stood soldiers from the King’s Legion, their armour dazzling in the light of the sun, a sharp contrast to the purple cloth beneath. After some brief negotiations from Veron, who the military treated with a great deal of respect, we were ushered through.
‘I feel vulnerable without a sword,’ Leana said.
‘If you’d brought it along, you’d only be kicked out by the soldiers,’ I replied. ‘Rules are here for a reason.’
‘He’s right,’ Veron declared. ‘The crowds get lively at times – but that just makes things entertaining. The second race in the stadium’s history resulted in utter carnage between rival supporters. It was no surprise that weapons were soon banned.’
One floor up inside and we discovered dozens of stalls offering drinks, coloured flags, soothsayers offering predictions, and astrologers offering readings of various texts. One woman was selling doves for blood sacrifices to be used with the various idols beside her, in order that one might influence the outcome of the races. Another, Veron pointed out, was selling curses on leather tabs – she would apparently do more business later in the day when people were feeling bitter about their faction having lost.
‘A huge amount of business is done on race days,’ Veron declared proudly. ‘I’m a patron of this level. I bought into a scheme when the stadium opened up and a lot of these traders pay me a monthly fee for pitching here.’
Though there were fewer people here than on the other side, the noise between the floors of the stadium was still intense, as if we were on the inside of a drum.
Leana glanced around cautiously.
‘Do you see trouble?’ I whispered.
She focused her attention on different parts of the crowd. ‘It’s hard to tell if anyone is watching us with so many opportunities to hide, though I thought such things were now behind us.’
‘And so they should be,’ I replied. ‘I don’t think anyone will start something while we’re with here with Veron.’
We proceeded up another stairway and towards a rectangle of light, which led us into the stadium proper.
Leana was not impressed easily, but the look on her face was one I had never seen before.
‘You Atrewens,’ Veron said, ‘have a wonderful smile.’
‘I still don’t think she’s interested, senator,’ I replied.
‘Well, one must give these things a go…’
We stepped out onto one of many tiers that stretched all the way around the stadium. It was an enormous oblong, with a several-hundred-yard straight connecting two perfectly curved ends. Beneath the upper arches, which were defined against the cloudless sky, tens of thousands of people stood on tiered steps. This was a good proportion of Tryum’s population – and every single one of them was making a noise. Coloured flags indicated support for the various groups of riders, and drums and horns added to the atmosphere and noise.
‘Drakenfeld, were you here when this was finished?’ Veron called.
‘No, I visited once while it was being built, and I went to the old stadium on several occasions.’
‘Yes – that place was torn down for housing in the end,’ Veron said. ‘Tenement buildings now stand in its place. Mind you, that old thing was quite a death trap.’
‘You mean the tenement buildings are not?’
‘Admittedly there has been a fire or two over the years. But what about the stadium? How marvellous is this! There’s nothing quite like it in all of Vispasia.’ Veron tilted up his chin, basking in the atmosphere.
I considered telling him of the hippodrome in Dalta, which was bigger than this, and featured columns made of gold as well as an extendable canvas roof, but it seemed to be splitting hairs.
Veron began discussing the rules of the coming engagement to Leana and I was pleased that she was patient enough with his attempts at charming her. He leaned towards her as he gestured to the race track below. Throughout the day, he explained, teams of riders would negotiate the track in a figure-of-eight route, making sure to avoid the spiked barriers and barbed poles along the way. Different races possessed marginally different rules, but essentially riders carried weapons and had to knock their opponents off their horses with the primary aim of finishing the ten circuits alive. If one came in the top three, a rider became a hero for the day. Whoever finished first, became a legend. Anyone could participate, and citizens, soldiers and madmen signed up throughout the day entertaining their dreams of race-track fame. To win any of the races was a spectacular feat, though they saved the most gruesome spectacles for the best professionals who came on last. Successful riders could become celebrities in Tryum, and rather wealthy to boot. For some, it was a career of sorts.
‘Come,’ Veron said, ‘let us head further up, where things are a fraction more civilized.’
Veron promised me that he would point out senators and arrange the introductions for me, and I checked to see that the list of senators I needed to speak to was firmly in my pocket.
Heading towards the senators, we squirmed through the crowds, which continued to flow into the stadium, bringing with them more noise and excitement.