Volume 4: The League of Dionia, Chapter 47: The Dionia Four Cities Football Tournament (Part 1)

After leaving the market, Theos saw rows of stables set up along the roadside, a far cry from the crude scene and the messy, manure-covered ground he had encountered on his first visit.

Theos had a good impression of the old carriage driver, so he still wanted to ride with him and began to shout loudly: "Solikos! Solikos!..."

"The old man is rich now and no longer drives himself. Take my carriage!" someone shouted.

"Stop talking nonsense, or I'll punch you!" Solikos came out, smiling and cursing in jest.

Theos got into his carriage and told him his destination.

"Oh, you're going to see that piece of land for rent too?! Quite a few people have been going to look at it lately!" Solikos said immediately.

Theos nodded and smiled: "I heard you've made a fortune?!"

"Don't listen to their nonsense. I just paid off the loan and interest on the carriage. I took out another loan to buy a carriage and rented it out to a freeman to drive. I believe I'll pay off that loan soon too! Then I'll buy another carriage..." Solikos said confidently.

"Congratulations!" Theos praised. "I think in another year, you'll become a carriage merchant."

Solikos burst into laughter at that.

"I remember you're a Daonia Alliance citizen, right? The alliance should have given you an 'allotment.' You're out here driving a carriage to earn money—what about the land? I heard your alliance has an Agricultural Affairs Officer who specifically supervises citizens' land use," Theos asked curiously.

"I rented it out to a freeman to farm. No problem at all," Solikos replied.

He drove the carriage onto the Thurii–Amendolara road, and they sped across the Sybaris Plain. On both sides of the road, fields crisscrossed in neat rows, and among the vast stretches of farmland, quite a few houses had already been built.

Soon villages will spring up here, thought Theos. New Thurii is developing very quickly, gradually restoring its former prosperity, yet it's also quite different from before—it might even surpass the once-powerful polis of Magna Graecia!

After crossing a wooden bridge over the Sybaris River, they passed by rows of grape vineyards and wine-making workshops. This area was a famous wine-producing region of Magna Graecia.

After crossing the Saraceno River, they entered the territory of Amendolara. The land to be rented lay right beside the road, already divided into individual plots marked by inserted wooden stakes. It was close to the road for easy transport, near the river to provide water for workshops, and next to the forest, where timber could be harvested (though the Daonia Alliance had strict regulations on logging). Additionally, after building workshops on the rented land, one could also erect a house for oneself and hired workers to live in, providing a place to rest during business in Daonia. With the sea in front, the forest behind, a river to the side, and the road for easy travel, it was also an ideal place to live! Theos believed every foreign merchant who wanted to rent land here had the same idea—to build both a workshop and a residence simultaneously. Twenty years would be enough to double their investment, of course, as long as the Daonia Alliance continued to exist.

After Theos had scouted several ideal plots, he decided to find an inn to stay in first, since the so-called "auction" wouldn't be held until tomorrow.

Just then, Solikos suggested: "You've come at a good time today. The Thurii Arena was just completed yesterday. To celebrate, the magistrate Lord Davos declared that 'today and tomorrow, the Four-City Rugby Championship will be held at the arena!' You have the afternoon free, so you should go check it out. I hear it's really exciting—even more lively than the Olympian Games!"

"Rugby match?" Theos asked, both curious and puzzled.

"It's a game invented by Lord Davos. I hear he got the inspiration from the Lord of the Underworld!" Solikos said mysteriously.

"It's... well... two teams fight over a ball shaped like an olive, made of cowhide... um... then they score... Ah, I can't explain it clearly. Anyway, everyone who's watched it says it's very interesting and very exciting! You'll understand once you see it."

"Alright, I'll go take a look." Solikos's strong recommendation piqued Theos's interest.

"Go early in the afternoon, because there are a lot of people. I hear if you go late, you won't get in!" Solikos kindly reminded him.

...

The arena was located in the eastern part of Thurii's northern city, close to the inner city docks and far from the main residential area. It had been built there to avoid disrupting the daily life of Thurii's citizens.

The city guards, usually strict in their inspections, were relatively relaxed today. As long as visitors carried no weapons and the headcount was clear, they were generally allowed in. But if the number exceeded the limit, entry was prohibited.

Because Theos arrived early, he was lucky enough to get into the city. While waiting in line to enter, he met a Cretan merchant named Dickpolis, who dealt in olive oil. Dickpolis had also come to watch the rugby match and had already seen the morning session. He was fascinated by this novel game. In his words: "This is the best gift the Lord of the Underworld has given to the Greeks. No other competition can compare to it!"

This only deepened Theos's interest.

When they reached the arena entrance, a long line had already formed. Despite the crowds, under the supervision of squad after squad of soldiers, people managed to maintain order.

At that point, Dickpolis asked Theos to hold their spot while he went to a shop nearby that had a sign reading "Beer." He bought two jugs of beer and two bags of dried fruit, then handed half to Theos.

Theos, embarrassed, thanked him repeatedly and asked, "How much?"

Dickpolis said, "To meet you here and watch the rugby match together—that's the arrangement of the Fates! If you pay me, it means you don't like making friends with us Cretans!"

Theos had no choice but to accept. He was quite taken with Dickpolis's straightforward and lively manner. He also noticed that many people were buying beer, fruit juice, and snacks.

Dickpolis explained: "Because the match lasts a long time. Watching under the sun makes you thirsty and hungry easily. Besides, there are so many spectators inside. If you need to urinate and can't find a place, this—" he raised his jug and said with a wry smile, "—when it's empty, it can serve as a chamber pot..."

The guards at the arena entrance let in one batch of people, then after a while, another batch. When it was Dickpolis and Theos's turn, the arena obviously wasn't full yet. The guards signaled they could enter, indicating they should follow the passageway on the right. There was also a passageway on the left, which they were not allowed to use—it led to the VIP seats, a design common to almost all arenas.

The Thurii Arena was not very large. Its circular stone benches around the field could seat at most about four thousand people, but in fact, more than forty-five hundred had already entered, half of whom were freemen and foreigners. Like other arenas, its outer perimeter was a running track, but inside the track was a flat, rectangular expanse of sandy ground, divided into several sections by dozens of white lines.

Dickpolis patiently explained the rules of the game to Theos and told him why it was called the Four-City Rugby Championship: "The four cities are Amendolara, Thurii, Nerulum, and Laüs. From what I've heard from my Daonian friends, this game was first introduced by Lord Davos as a military training exercise. It started with those mercenaries who became citizens of Amendolara... Later, when Thurii allied with Amendolara, they conducted military training for Thurii's citizens and preparatory citizens, naturally teaching them this game as well... Later, they captured Nerulum, and the earliest group of Lucanian soldiers taught the game to the Lucanians of Nerulum... As for Laüs, they sent a large number of laborers to build roads, with Daonians serving as overseers. During rest breaks, they taught the Laüs people to play the game to prevent them from slacking off due to exhaustion...

The Laüs people might have just started and weren't skilled yet, so their coordination looked poor. That's why this morning, when they faced Thurii, they lost easily. This afternoon, it's Amendolara versus Nerulum. I hear the two sides are about evenly matched, so it should be more exciting!"

"You know so much!" Theos said with admiration.

"I got interested in it, so naturally I wanted to understand it clearly," Dickpolis said proudly. "I've been here for a while and made a few Daonia Alliance citizens as friends. One of them serves as a so-called platoon leader in their Army Corps. He told me all this..."

"Why isn't Castron included?" a voice came from beside them.

Dickpolis turned his head and saw that a crowd had gathered around them without them noticing.

"Probably because they've had less contact with the alliance's citizens and haven't had the chance to learn..." Dickpolis shrugged. "But this morning, I saw some Castron people watching in the stands. I believe after this four-city competition, the next one will likely become a five-city competition."

"Cretan, you're right. Next year, Castron will definitely participate too!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"Yes, when we get back, we'll propose it to the Council!" another person echoed.

Dickpolis winked at Theos and whispered, "See? I told you so."

Just then, a bronze trumpet sounded, and the athletes began to enter the arena.

The players' equipment was no longer as crude as when they first started playing rugby in the military camp. They all wore soft leather caps that covered their entire head and neck, and padded tunics made of a mix of wool and linen, dyed red or blue to distinguish the teams. On the backs of their tunics were embroidered strange symbols (actually Arabic numerals, since Greek numerals were cumbersome for identification), which the referees used to identify the players.

As both teams entered the field, powerful, rhythmic drumbeats sounded.

The red team immediately formed into a neat phalanx formation. Moving in sync with the rhythm, they executed strong, uniform movements, performing a dance that celebrated Ares in victory on the battlefield... The entire arena erupted into thunderous cheers.