Quick cut to next year, as the dwarf ushers Vorenus into another courtyard, where Mark Antony greets Vorenus pleasantly. "I barely recognize you without a bloody sword in your hand," he joshes. Vorenus doesn't return the compliment, even though Mark Antony is also in a position we haven't seen him in before: he's standing there with his arms spread wide while some guy runs some scraping instrument or another over him. Oh, and Mark Antony's also bare-ass naked. Little Mark Antony is hanging right out in the breeze. "Off with you, Cato," Big Mark Antony says, and the little person scurries off. Mark Antony waits for Vorenus to laugh at his little joke (see what I did there?), but Vorenus, being a loyal Catonian, isn't amused. Mark Antony, the frame now decently cutting him off just below the chest, asks Vorenus how civilian life is going. Vorenus says it's going fine. Mark Antony points out that he could have Vorenus crucified for desertion, but Vorenus argues that "Once over the Rubicon, Romans are citizens, not soldiers. I could not legally do other than I did." Mark Antony brushes aside this rather pointed criticism of his own actions, as well as the speech Vorenus begins about the way things have been since the founding of Rome. "Things change," Mark Antony says. "Life is water, not stone." "Then I suppose I will drown," Vorenus replies pleasantly. Mark Antony claims that Caesar is trying to save Rome, but Vorenus doesn't see it that way.

Mark Antony brushes off the guy scraping him and asks what kind of business Vorenus is getting into. He answers, "Imported goods from Gaul. Slaves, truffles, wine, that sort of thing." Mark Antony mocks Vorenus for wanting to become a "grocer," putting a cloth around his waist and rinsing his hair, adding that the tedious work will soon send a fighting man like Vorenus straight up a wall. Vorenus mildly agrees that that's possible. Finally, Mark Antony cuts to the chase: "I need you, Vorenus. Caesar needs you. No better man in the legion, none more respected by the men." When did Vorenus go from being a stooge who was dispensable enough to send on a wild goose chase to an invaluable hero of the legion? Oh, maybe when he succeeded at the wild goose chase. Never mind. Mark Antony promises, "We have hard fighting ahead." Well, there certainly hasn't been much hard fighting behind so far. Vorenus doesn't want to fight Romans, but Mark Antony says that "Blood is blood." Why, what a factually correct and yet totally meaningless argument. Mark Antony makes Vorenus an offer: he'll be inducted into the Evocati (whatever that it) as a Prefect of the first grade (whatever that is), with a signing bonus of 10,000 sesterce (however much that is). Are there a lot of dinarii in a sesterce? Or do sesterce go into dinarii? Or did they totally switch currencies in the past week? I suppose I could look it up, but if I start looking up everything I don't understand on this show, I'll never make another deadline again. In any case, Vorenus's expression suggests that it's a lot. But he isn't changing his mind. "You grieve me, Vorenus," Mark Antony says, grieved. "You grieve me deeply." He dismisses Vorenus, who turns to leave with an awkward "Good day, Citizen." Mark Antony calls Vorenus back with a warning that he might not be so kind the next time he sees Vorenus. I hope I don't ruin any Mark Antony ogling for anyone when I say that when he smirks, he reminds me of Adrian Zmed.