Rome Must Perish

"1000 jars! 1000 jars!..." Kroxi Bas’s face twisted in excitement. The three premium wines from Campania were famous throughout Italy, but they were primarily reserved for the Romans. Other Italian City States seldom had access to them. Now, a golden opportunity for profit was laid before him, yet he scratched his head in anguish: "I don’t have that much money!"

"It’s okay if you don’t have enough money," Pigeris said gently. "We can also barter goods. Leader Maximus has stated that our Free Italy army needs weapons, leather, tents... As long as you can procure these, the price of these wines will be halved for you."

"Take Falernian wine for instance. Its regular price is 5 Gold Coins per jar, but this year, due to our influence, the price is bound to double. Meanwhile, a set of leather helmet, leather armor, shield, and short sword costs only one or two Gold Coins. One set of weapons can be exchanged for one jar of Italy’s finest wine, which you can then sell in any town for 10, maybe even 20 Gold Coins. Soon, you’ll all become Italy’s wealthiest merchants!"

Daltemas had been hesitant on the issue of selling weapons to the rebel army, but Pigeris’s enticing words finally swayed him.

Tegechamos, however, had no hesitation. For merchants, chasing maximum profits is natural, particularly given the Sicilian resentment toward the Romans. Sicily, much like Mount Etna, once cultivated vineyards and produced fine wines. But after the Romans seized control of Sicily, they had turned it into Italy’s granary. Successive Roman Governors emphasized expanding wheat fields and forced Sicilians to sell their wheat to Italy at low prices. Roman officials, arrogant and overbearing, had committed many wrongs in Sicily.

Thus, selling weapons to the rebel army to stir trouble for the Romans didn’t weigh on Tegechamos’s conscience. In fact, he welcomed it and said, "No problem selling weapons to you. The only issue is that I’ll need at least three to four days to sail back to Messina, and six or seven days overall to return here with the weapons. Will you still be in Pompeii by then?"

Pigeris smiled and said, "You must have noticed earlier that our soldiers were asking Pompeians to leave the city. That’s because the entire Free Italy army is moving in. We’ll be here for quite a while, giving you ample time to make many trips back and forth."

Pigeris reassured the group with a guarantee.

Daltemas finally spoke up: "The town I live in doesn’t produce weapons, but we do have raw iron ingots. Would you need them? If you do, could this also reduce the price of the wine by half?"

Tegechamos glanced at him, hesitated briefly, but decided not to expose him. After all, Regium and Messina were situated across the Messina Strait, with merchant ships bustling through the ports daily. Regium, like Messina, should have no shortage of weapons trade. Daltemas’s words likely stemmed from a fear of being penalized by the Romans if it became known that he sold weapons to the rebel army.