The trim cargo ship bobbed in the light blue waters of the harbour in Sinope, which looked out onto the Black Sea. The men scurrying around landside had nearly finished loading the ship of its precious cargo.

Caius Domitius Calvinus looked on in satisfaction as another transaction was completed and he could look forward to his next profit - or rather, Vitulus's next profit, as his patron had paid out good money for these goods sitting now in the hold of the ship.

For a moment, Calvinus regretted not being quite his own man, not having succeeded on his own, being dependent on another man's wealth to make his own money. But still, he thought, as he looked out on the calm sea, there are worse things to do. Travelling the world, a patron on the rise in Rome, not risking his own money. With a grin, Calvinus realised life wasn't quite so bad after all.