The young woman had jerked away from his touch, but that did not surprise Elias in the least. After all, she was a common citizen that had wandered into the darkness of the slave pens in search of someone dear to her. Apparently Markel was not her lover, but rather her brother, and here she was trying to do what...break him out? Obviously she had not thought things through that far ahead, but then again matters of family could cause one's mind to operate in the most ineffective of ways.<br/><br/>When she asked him about the glimmer of hope that he had offered he smiled as warmly as his grizzled visage would allow. He was about to answer when the slave across from him projected a globule of spit that struck her back and mouthed off once more. The smile instantly disappeared from his face at the disrespect shown by the other man. Slamming his hand against the cage door, causing the metal to ring out loudly, he snarled at his fellow gladiator. "How dare you treat her in such a manner! She is far better than our kind, and she should be respected as such!"<br/><br/>The slave cackled out loud at Elias's statement and leaned back on the rearmost bars of his own pen. "Yes sir! Let's listen to the great soldier, lest we be whipped for our poor behavior!"<br/><br/>His tone was pure mockery, but Elias turned his attention back to the girl who stood before him. "I can not promise that your dear brother still lives, for that is beyond my knowing. However, I am to face the man behind you in the arena this very day. If you are willing I ask that you place every bit of money you can muster on me as the winner. When I stand victorious, take your winnings to a man named Radolpho and offer to pay for me for a period of three days. He knows that I am a man of my word, and that I will return to his service as promised. If you can do this, I will travel with you to where Markel was taken and I will fight for his freedom. Do we have an agreement my lady?"<br/><br/>It was a long shot of course, but the girl deserved to be reunited with her kin and if Elias could manage to make that happen then his time as a lowly slave could at least have some meaning. He looked past her at the scruffy slave that had spit upon the girl and the realization of what he had just offered to her must have dawned on the man, because the slaves eyes gleamed with terror. It wasn't a whipping the ruffian would receive for his rudeness...it was a blade through his gut.