Good points Cheater Hater. Too often, I get something in my head (in this case, the next few cities must be very close to the capital), and then I'm slow to change course as better options appear. You're right that city 2 isn't the best option for our next settler. However, I'm reluctant to settle east before we get a better idea of what the Gladiators are up to. The desert city especially would be tough to defend if they come at us with Praets in the next 15 turns.
Here's another revision:
Here's another revision: