Synopsis
As some of the last battles in the old arena of Capua take place, Batiatus and Titus observe from the stands. A murmillo gladiator fights a retiarius. The retiarius, who fights in a style new to Capua, wins the battle. Below, Ashur and Dagan prepare for their first battle. As they have not truly earned the mark of the brotherhood, Oenomaus tells them that this will be their test. Dagan shows himself to be a talented fighter and makes his first kill in the arena, but Ashur is beaten back and loses his helmet. Forced to the ground, his opponent is about to make the final strike when Dagan stabs the man from behind. Ashur finishes the man by bashing his head in, claiming the kill as his own.
Lucretia comforts Titus with honeyed wine.
With the minor games over, Vettius introduces his champion, Caburus. The battle is short and Caburus wins, removing the heart of his opponent.
While the games continue, Lucretia and Gaia roam the markets, talking of Titus and his influence of the household. Lucretia hints that he will soon be returning to Sicilia, but Gaia talks of leaving the house to escape him. They spy Petronius, an eligible bachelor and a man of interest to Gaia. Despite having met her before, Petronius does not recognize Gaia, and instead approaches Lucretia with interest, having heard of the pleasures of their ludus from Varus, much to Lucretia's horror. Later, they tell Batiatus of their meeting, and he says they should take advantage of the opportunity; he tells them to invite the man to the house—he will distract his father in the meantime.
Ashur and Dagan return to the ludus, where they are met with hesitant congratulations, for the other gladiators still do not consider them brothers. Titus calls Gannicus into the villa and questions him on his loyalty and will to be champion. Titus realizes that Gannicus does not fight for his house, and refuses to accept him as champion.
On her way to Oenomaus' chambers, Melitta is stopped by Gannicus. She tries to stay out of his way, and tells him that what happened between them would be best ignored. Gannicus replies that he cannot stop thinking about her. Melitta leaves him, but when she spends the night with her husband, she fantasizes about Gannicus.
The next day, Oenomaus commands Gnaeus to switch weapons to the trident and net, assuming the style of the retiarius. Gnaeus mouths back to him, and Oenomaus lashes out his whip, exercising his power as Doctore for the first time. The gladiators begin to look at him differently.
The night begins.
That night, Batiatus leads Titus away from the ludus to Neapolis under the pretense of scoping out new gladiator talent. The elite of Capua, among them Petronius, are invited to the ludus for a night of pleasures.
In Neapolis, Batiatus and Titus find nothing of worth. Despite Batiatus' misgivings, they both decide to return to the ludus before morning.
In the absence, the slaves in the villa are preparing for the evening ahead. Solonius arrives to provide protection to Lucretia, who feels that she cannot handle all of the guests by herself. Soon after, the guests arrive. The gladiators are presented before them for their entertainment, along with the spectacle of a gladiator (Rhaskos) and a slave (Diona) having sex on a raised platform.
After the exhibition, Lucretia prepares to move onto the next event of the evening when Tullius interrupts with his sudden arrival. Despite this, Lucretia continues, afraid to force him to leave. Painted slaves, both male and female, are brought forth for the guests. Tullius decides that, before donning a mask, he should put himself to a challenge and fight Gannicus. Oenomaus tells Gannicus to indulge Tullius and lose so that the man is not insulted. Tullius, though skilled with a sword, is no match for Gannicus; even so, the latter allows Tullius to make a fool of him, and gives missio after receiving multiple cuts to the torso.
As Melitta escorts Gannicus to the Medicus, he attempts to speak with her again about the kiss, but Melitta runs away in fear of Oenomaus finding out.
In the villa, an orgy is taking place, with both slaves and gladiators fulfilling the men's desires. One of the Capuans approaches Dagan and asks if the Syrian would have him. Ashur translates the man's wishes falsely to spite Dagan, who earned more in their battle for being "twice the man." Unknowingly, Dagan agrees with the man's terms, and leaves the group of gladiators.
Gaia decides to distract Tullius, who has taken nothing from the house and, instead, wanders amongst the other men. Leading him to a side room, she seduces him. They speak of when they were younger, and Tullius admits to lusting after Gaia back then. Drawing closer, he tells her that he has a message for her to deliver to Batiatus.
Morning comes by the time the guests leave, satisfied with the event. Petronius expresses interest in discussing business with Batiatus before he leaves Capua. After all the others seem to have left, Solonius also exits, assuming the house in safe hands. Shortly after the man's departure, however, Tullius emerges from the chamber unexpectedly. Before leaving the villa, he tells Lucretia that Gaia has a message for her. As she goes to find Gaia, she finds her friend's favorite red wig lying on the floor outside of a chamber. Inside is Gaia's corpse, her head violently smashed open.
Lucretia swears vengeance for the death of her friend.
Titus returns to the ludus before light to find a distraught Lucretia and the villa full of evidence of the night before. He blames Lucretia for her part in the matter and tells Batiatus to separate from his wife or be banished from the house. Titus decides to not allow news of the dark event to escape the villa, and fabricates the story of Gaia's death, saying that she drank too much and stumbled off the cliff.
Gaia's body is taken to the balcony at sunrise. Lucretia takes a few moments to say goodbye, and kisses her friend one last time. The body is tipped into the abyss and Lucretia swears vengeance for Gaia's death.
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