4 No Skills

4 No SKILLS Jack and Annie stopped on the main road. "Okay! We still have to try to do what warriors do," said Annie. "And don't forget the part about the silver coin," said Jack. "Give the silver coin to a hero in disguise," Annie quoted. "He will share with you his wisdom. Be home by moonrise." "I wonder who the hero is," said Jack. "What kind of Roman soldier wears a disguise?" asked Annie. "I don't know," said Jack. "I told you I don't know enough." "What's that?" Annie pointed to smoke rising from behind some of the barracks.

"Let's check it out," said Jack. Jack and Annie walked down a path between two rows of barracks. The chilly air smelled of wood smoke and fish. Soon they came to warriors working in a cooking area. Wearing simple tunics and capes, some of the men were grilling fish over campfires. Another was removing a loaf of bread from a stone oven. The oven looked like a giant beehive. "Hey, we can do what he's doing," Annie said to Jack. "We know how to bake bread." "Yeah," said Jack, "but we have an electric oven, and we use flour from the supermarket." "Let's ask him how they do it," said Annie. "Hail!" she called to the bread baker. The man looked up, startled. "Mars the Victor!" Jack said. "We're visiting scholars—" "Writing about the legion's good work," said Annie. "Are you the cook for the whole

camp?" The man laughed. "No, it is my week to do the baking for my squad," he said. Jack leaned toward Annie. "Eight to ten guys in a squad," he said. "What does your squad eat?" Annie asked the warrior. He recited a list: "Cheese, beans, salted fish, olives, barley, bread." "How do you make your bread?" Jack said. "Each squad grinds its own portion of

grain," said the baker. He pointed to a small hand mill next to the oven. "Cool," said Annie. "Can we try?" The man nodded. "There's a bit of grain in it now. Turn the handle to grind it. Flour will come out the spout." Annie tried to turn the handle, but it wouldn't budge. "You try," she said to Jack. Jack pushed the handle as hard as he could. He pushed and pushed. Finally a spoonful of flour came out of the spout. "Your bread loaf will be the size of an olive," said the baker. Jack and Annie laughed. "You should ask Ceres for help, so you don't starve," the man said with a smile. He returned to his work. "Who's Ceres?" Annie asked as they walked away. "Goddess of grain," said Jack. "Ancient

Romans had gods and goddesses for everything." "Oh, like in Greek mythology?" said Annie. "Right," said Jack. "Gods and goddesses for the sun, the sea, storms, sleep, rainbows…" "Got it, got it," said Annie. "So Ceres is the Roman goddess of grain." She made a note. "There's smoke coming from over there, too," said Jack. "Let's go." They walked down the path to an open workshop. At a forge, a blacksmith hammered a sword. Other men were making sandals, shields, and wagon wheels. The craftsmen were working so hard, they didn't seem to notice Jack and Annie. "An eagle," whispered Annie. She pointed to a craftsman adding gold paint to a carved wooden eagle. "That's the standard of a Roman legion,"

whispered Jack. "What's a standard?" asked Annie. "It's a symbol that stands for the legion," said Jack. "It's a great honor to carry the gold eagle. The person who does is called the standard-bearer." "Cool," said Annie. "Hail!" she called to someone behind Jack. Jack turned to look. The blacksmith was staring at them. "Hail," the man said gruffly. "Maybe he'll let us do what he's doing," Annie said softly. "We know how to hammer." "Yeah, anyone can hammer," said Jack. He and Annie walked over to the blacksmith. "We're visiting scholars," Annie said. "We're learning about the legion. May we try what you're doing?" Without a word, the blacksmith handed