He paused, panting, and rested his hands on the long axe handle. There had been a time when he could have swung an axe all day, but now even the hairs on his chest had turned a winter gray. Foolish to keep pushing himself, perhaps, but old age came fastest to those who sat and waited for it, and at least the exercise kept his belly flat.

“I used to climb that tree,” a voice sounded behind him. Tubruk jumped at the interruption to the quiet of the woods, turning with the axe in his hands.

Brutus was there, sitting on a stump with his arms folded and the old grin making his eyes bright. Tubruk laughed with the pleasure of seeing him and rested the axe against the wide trunk of the oak. For a moment, they didn’t speak, then Tubruk crossed the space to him and gripped him in a great hug, lifting him off the stump.

“By all the gods, Marcus, it’s good to see you, lad,” Tubruk said as he let Brutus go. “You’ve changed. You’re taller! Let me look at you.”

The old gladiator stepped back and pulled on his tunic.

“That’s a centurion’s armor. You’ve prospered.”

“Bronze Fist,” Brutus replied. “Never lost a battle, though we came close once or twice when I was giving the orders.”

“I doubt it. Gods, I’m proud of you. Are you back for good now, or on your way through?”

“My posting is over. There are a few things I want to do in the city before finding a new legion.”

For the first time, Tubruk noticed how dusty the young man was.

“How far have you walked?”

“Halfway across the world, it feels like. Renius doesn’t like to part with his money for horses, though we found a couple of nags for part of it.”

Tubruk chuckled as he picked up the axe and rested it on his shoulder.

“He came back with you, then? I thought he’d given up on the city when they burned his house in the riots.”

Brutus shrugged. “He’s gone to sell the plot and find a place to rent.”

Tubruk smiled in memory. “Rome is too quiet for him now. I should think he’d hate it.” He clapped a hand on Brutus’s shoulder. “Come down the hill with me. Your old room is just as it was and a good soak and rubdown will take the dust of the road out of your lungs.”

“Is Julius back?” Brutus asked.

Tubruk seemed to slump a little as if the axe had suddenly become heavier.

“We had to raise a ransom for him when pirates took his galley. We’re still waiting to hear if he’s safe.”

Brutus looked at him in amazement. “Gods, I haven’t heard this! Was he wounded?”