Stasippus asked the shopkeeper, “How much for a set of these surgical instruments?”

“A set?!” The shopkeeper curled his lip. “You foreign doctors don’t understand. Theonian surgeons use different tools depending on the type of surgery. Moreover, the Theonian Medical School frequently sends over new designs for surgical tools. Just combining the instruments currently in the store, one could perform at least five or six different types of surgeries.”

“Even if you could buy them—” The shopkeeper looked the three up and down and rolled his eyes again. “—you couldn’t afford them.”

“We can’t afford them?! Tell us, how much do these cost?” Nicostratus also leaned in, unconvinced.

The shopkeeper glanced at him, pointed to the counter, and said, “Just those few items you picked up earlier are probably worth 30 minas.”

“30 minas?! Just those few small things are worth 30 minas?! You are robbing us!” Lycas shouted with a shocked face.

“Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t understand!” The shopkeeper was clearly a chatterbox, arguing with spit flying. “Do you know how hard it is to make those things? How high the requirements are? I tell you, the time it takes to make one small knife like that is enough for us to forge 30 bronze shields. And it has to be forged by the best casters to make surgical tools that meet those doctors’ requirements. As they say, ‘Tools used on people must be extremely precise, otherwise it’s not saving lives but taking them!’ So tell me, can the price be low?! And these tools can’t be made by just any iron workshop; in Thurii, only our Theos Weapon Workshop has this capability!”

His words left the three speechless.

“Also, the price I just mentioned was the old price. Their current price is 40 minas.”

“Why?”

“Because for some time to come, our workshop won’t be producing these surgical instruments.”

“And why is that?”

“Because our workshop received a big task from the Theonian Department of Roads and Bridges. They want to build stone bridges and need huge iron fences to put into the river to drain the water, facilitating the casting of bridge piers inside with huge stones and stone slurry (actually ‘Davos Cement’). So our workshop has to concentrate all casters and collect all high-quality iron ore to manufacture these big guys…”

***

While Nicostratus and the other two were enthusiastically strolling through the port market, Ephialtus and his wife took a carriage north to the thermal swamp of the Tilo River, a tributary of the Coseni River.

Back then, Davos became famous in one battle here, annihilating the Lucanian tribal coalition and laying the foundation for the establishment of the Theonian League. On the large river beach once covered with corpses, a white memorial column 20 meters high and 2 meters in diameter now stood. Carved on it were scenes of that war, and atop it was a bronze statue of Davos holding a shield and spear.

This memorial column for the victory of the Battle of the River Beach was initially called the “Column of Miracles” by the people, symbolizing that the Theonian Archon won with fewer against many, created a miracle out of the impossible, and achieved an astonishing victory. Later, students from various city schools in the League were often brought here by teachers to feel the hardships of Theonia’s establishment and Davos’s greatness. Citizens affectionately nicknamed it the “Column of the Young Child,” meaning it was a place for children’s education and implying that since this battle, the Theonian League had begun to grow healthily like a newborn child… Of course, this is a later story.

Not far from the memorial column was a large circular tomb mound. The tombstone was engraved with “Tomb of the Warriors who Died in the Battle of the River Beach,” and below was Davos’s inscription: “The war is past, bloodlines merge into one.”

In front of the tomb stood bronze statues of two men. Judging by their attire, one was Lucanian and the other Greek. They smiled, their strong arms clasped together, and the Greek man’s left hand pointed to Thurii, 20 li to the east, in a gesture of invitation. The meaning was self-evident.

There were no corpses in the tomb mound. Back then, the Thurians cremated the corpses of thousands of Lucanian warriors—it was said the burning alone lasted three days and nights—and then poured the ashes into the river to feed fish and shrimp. Later, after the establishment of the Theonian League, this tomb mound was built for political purposes under Davos’s strong suggestion. Every year, people came to pay respects, mostly Lucanians.

Of course, this wasn’t the main reason this once desolate area had become lively. Across the Tilo River, where the spear of Davos’s statue pointed, the thermal swamp once full of barren beaches, ponds, and snakes was now replaced by a huge building. Dozens of diversion channels built with ‘Davos Cement’ channeled the hot spring water gushing from rock crevices into this building. Finally, a large waterway channeled the hot spring water flowing out of the building back into the river. This was the Thurii Grand Thermal Baths, famous throughout Magna Graecia.

Greeks didn’t like bathing, but under the long-term education of doctors led by Herpus in hospitals over the past few years, Theonians had developed the hygienic habit of bathing and knew that soaking in hot springs was more beneficial to the body. Thus, on the day the Grand Baths opened, almost all the men of Thurii ran to the thermal swamp to try it out.

The result was overcrowding in the baths. Later, the Grand Baths even modified the rules, setting time slots and limiting the number of entries.

Thurian men who had soaked in hot springs and enjoyed various novel services returned to the city reluctantly and began to proclaim everywhere “how wonderful it is to bathe in the Grand Baths.” They even praised: This is an Elysium established by the Archon in the mortal world!

And not long after, the public learned that this bathhouse actually allowed women to enter.

From then on, Thurii citizens streamed to the Grand Baths every day, regarding it as an indispensable enjoyment in life. Citizens of other Theonian cities also came to enjoy it from time to time.

At the same time, Thurians listed the “Grand Thermal Baths” as one of the three major entertainments for treating distinguished guests from afar (the other two being tasting Thurii cuisine and watching ball games in the arena), spreading the fame of the “Thurii Grand Thermal Baths” far and wide.

On certain special days in Theonia, the Grand Thermal Baths would be free to the public, making the already cheap bathhouse (only one obol) even more popular. For example, during these days of the Marriage Festival, the Grand Baths were free for all couples coming to bathe. This was also why Ephialtus brought his wife here.

Many couples came to the Grand Baths today. Everyone consciously lined up in a long queue, moving inch by inch toward the entrance.

At this moment, a commotion came from the rear of the line. Ephialtus turned his head to see what was happening.

“What happened?” his wife asked curiously.

“Nothing, seems like two senators from the Senate also came,” Ephialtus said indifferently. Among the nearly one hundred senators in the Senate, except for Thurians who could recognize all of them, Theonian citizens from other cities mostly only knew Chief Senator Davos, senators who had served as their city’s administrator, and elders holding important positions in the legions. This was not strange; citizens who served naturally remembered those commanders deeply from training or combat.

Finally crossing the Tilo River wooden bridge and standing at the entrance, the administrator looked at Ephialtus and his wife and asked, “Are you a couple?”

Both nodded.

“Theonian citizens?”

Ephialtus nodded again and said, “We are also a couple participating in this year’s Marriage Festival. Are there any private rooms with small pools left?” As he spoke, he extended his left hand, and his wife extended her right hand. On their ring fingers, they wore an iron ring engraved with Hera’s emblem, the “Peacock.” At Davos’s suggestion, the Temple of Hera, managed by Agnes, not only presided over the celebration but also issued rings blessed by Goddess Hera to newlyweds participating in the celebration (for a small processing fee, of course) to encourage and supervise the stability of their marriage.

“Congratulations!” After confirming, the administrator turned to look at the wooden wall studded with many long nails. Only one had a key hanging on it. He took it down and placed it in Ephialtus’s hand. “Hera bless you, there’s the last one left. The room number is written on the wooden tag. After entering the room, bolt the door, and no one will disturb you. Return the key by noon.”

“Okay, thank you!” Ephialtus led his wife into the middle passage, while the left and right passages led to the men’s and women’s baths respectively.

As time passed, the long dragon queuing at the entrance was nearing its tail.

Seeing the two people in front of him, the bath administrator was stunned for a moment, then immediately piled up a smile: “Lord Polyexis, Lord Enanilous!”

“Are there private rooms?” Polyexis asked directly.

The administrator pointed to the wooden wall behind him with only iron nails left and said apologetically, “Because of the Marriage Festival, the rooms are all full.”

Polyexis curled his lips in dissatisfaction. Ignoring that the administrator was Davos’s employee, he said with a hint of sarcasm, “Look at our Lord Archon, he really knows how to take care of the Theonian people!”

Enanilous didn’t respond. He had the slave behind him take out four obols to pay for himself, Polyexis, and two accompanying slaves.

After they went in, the administrator used the excuse of urinating to go into the back room and quickly found the supervisor of the Grand Baths: “Polyexis and Enanilous came to bathe together!”

***

Walking a short distance along the left passage, a vast area appeared before their eyes. There was a large pool in the middle, and several small pools beside it, all steaming and misty.

Many men soaked in the pools, enjoying the nourishment of the hot spring water; some lay on wooden benches by the pool receiving scrubbing from their own slaves or massages from slaves specially trained by the bathhouse; a few leaned on long wooden benches by the wall, chatting with each other… They all shared a common characteristic—they were naked.