starfishfood.com

With the power of the Senate behind him, he had been able to demand the tax collection records at the forts along the Wall.  It had proven extremely profitable.  Already he had extracted enough to pay the Druids their reduced tribute at the scheduled meeting later in the month.  Everything else R-Bet collected would be his, and never again would he work for a dead man’s wages under the amphitheater.    Not that it was easy to wrest taxes from these tight-fisted Celts.  They had the money all right, hidden somewhere, but to find it was a supreme chore.  He selected large estates like the one he was on now in hopes of uncovering a cache of gold or silver coins.  He could see the Celt looking from his window.