Bedrock of Empire

by Thomas M D Brooke

  I grumbled about it, but my tunic and armour were wet through. So I removed them and hung them on a rock to dry. I wrapped the other blanket round me. It was slightly wet too, but I needed to keep something between us. I tried to take my mind off the body I’d just seen and started pulling some food out to eat. ‘Let’s finish off the last of the meat. There’s no point in hoarding our supplies now.’

  She sat next to me by the fire. ‘As you wish. I’ll cook the salted venison on a spit over the fire.’

  The storm still blew strongly outside, gaining in power as the day turned into night. Viviana cooked the meat and we ate it with some of the hardtack biscuits. After we’d finished we settled down by the fire next to one another. Using each other’s body warmth was a necessity during the cold night; the mountains were no place to be squeamish about propriety. The light of the fire illuminated the interior of the cave, and I looked at the cave drawings that decorated it. One of the paintings seemed to have lines radiating from it. ‘Why does that horse seem to be shimmering?’

  We were now both warm and full, and Viviana said drowsily, ‘My father thought that represented their magic.’

  I raised an eyebrow. ‘They had magic as well?’

  ‘Our songs say so. They tried to use it to ward us away, but it didn’t help them. We were too many, they too few. There is nothing that remains of their world now.’ She turned her head to see the paintings more easily. ‘Despite all their magic, the ancient people couldn’t keep us from destroying them. My father said that it is like us with the Romans. There was a time when our warriors used to fill the mountainsides, but Rome still defeated us. He said unless we learned to adapt and live with the Romans, we would end up going the same way as those who drew these pictures. Nothing but memories painted on the stone.’

  I couldn’t disagree with her. Many a civilisation had been completely wiped out by Rome. You only needed to look at what happened to Carthage and Numantia. ‘That was quite a departure from the views of your grandfather. He marshalled the tribes’ last resistance to Rome.’

  Viviana nodded. ‘My grandmother says that was my grandfather’s weakness. He couldn’t accept that our world had changed forever. He would have taken the last of our warriors to their death with him and destroyed us all if he hadn’t been stopped at Mons Medulius.’ She turned to look at me. ‘That’s why you can’t let Aleixo succeed, Cassius. This is as much my fight as it is yours. If Aleixo takes that gold, he’ll be able to recruit an army. It will end the thirty years of peace we have enjoyed since my grandfather’s death. The wars will return to Gallaecia as more of my people flock to Aleixo’s banner, regardless of the fact that we all know it will ultimately end in failure. Even when our warriors vastly outnumbered the armies of Rome, we still ended on the losing side. We mustn’t allow Aleixo to start a war we can’t possibly win – he’ll bring ruination to my people.’

  I stroked her silky black hair that was still slightly damp from the rain. ‘I will do what I can, Viviana,’ was all I told her softly.

  I heard Viviana drift off into sleep, her breath slow and even. I lay there staring at the smoke from the fire drifting up and disappearing into the fissures in the rock. I tried to think of Numeria and our happy life in Rome. But as I drifted to sleep, the image of Viviana’s beautiful, flawless body kept on coming unbidden to my mind.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  The next morning, I was relieved to see that the storm had finally blown over, and I was eager to get moving as quickly as possible. The clouds were still grey and imposing, but the wind had dropped and the rain relented. I thought if we set a hard pace we might be able to make up for lost time. However, to my dismay, we found that even though the rain had passed, our journey up the mountain was far from easy. The rainfall had been so heavy that several sections of our path were incredibly difficult to traverse, and our progress was slow and awkward. You wouldn’t think that something as simple as mud could be such a problem, but it is, especially on a mountainside. It caused us both to slip down steep sections of the climb, making our ascent painfully slow and dangerous. I was relieved when the two of us reached the top and started making our way down the other side. I thought our speed would be able to increase markedly going downhill. But I was wrong; the difficult conditions made going down just as hard as the climb had been. We needed to hang onto one another and cling to the roots of plants or other vegetation to stop us sliding head first down the mountainside to our almost certain death. We had no ropes or other equipment to aid our decent, so we needed to crawl, literally in some places, downwards.

  After sliding down one section, and banging my knee on a rock, I let my frustration be known to Viviana. ‘This is hopeless! All the time we saved cutting across country is being lost. Right at the end of our journey, this damn mountain looks to be marking our failure!’

  Viviana gripped onto a small rock that was poking through the saturated and sodden ground. ‘There is nothing we can do about it, Cassius. If I had known this would happen, I might have chosen to go via the road. But it is too late to turn back now.’

  I shook my head. ‘Don’t blame yourself, Viviana. That isn’t what I meant. I would never have made it this far without you.’ I looked down the mountainside. Roughly four or five miles in the distance, I could see the grey smear that marked the old road and our destination. ‘It’s just so frustrating to be thwarted at the end.’

  Viviana passed me her hand, and I helped her down the muddy slide I had slipped down. She said, ‘You don’t know that. The storm was so severe, I can’t imagine Aleixo wanted to venture out in it either. We may have more time than we know.’

  I wasn’t so sure about that myself. But she was right there was nothing we could do about it now, so there was no point in moaning about it either. We staggered on, falling and slipping along the way. We reached a valley cut into the mountainside by a wide streambed. The stream was overflowing with rainwater and close to bursting its banks. I said to Viviana, ‘Let’s try and follow this streambed down to the bottom. It can’t be slower than the way we’ve been going?’

  She stopped and thought about it. ‘Possibly, but this way could be dangerous. Any more rainfall and this stream is going to flood. We could get caught in it.’

  I looked up at the grey and angry clouds; that was a definite possibility. ‘Everything is a risk, Viviana, let’s try it.’

  She nodded, and we started to climb down the wide valley the stream had carved into the landscape over the lifetime of the mountain. It was indeed slightly faster, but not by much, and the frustrations from the delays were difficult to take – I knew that people’s lives depended on us.

  We turned a corner in the streambed and I was pleased to see it emptied into a wide lake on a high plateau of the mountain. ‘This next section should be easier to traverse at least. Do you think the stream will continue past this lake?’

  Viviana nodded. ‘Of course, the water will find its way down eventually. But look, – we might have another option!’ She pointed to the other side of the mountain lake.

  I looked where she pointed and saw a small stone dwelling – it was far too small to describe it as a home. Its thatched roof was partly fallen through, so it looked abandoned to me. ‘How does a ramshackle hovel like that help us?’

  Viviana shook her head vigorously. ‘Not the stone hut. What’s by its side? It’s a small boat.’

  Next to the dwelling was a beached boat made from animal skins. It had no sail and the owner of the stone hut probably used it for fishing on the lake. I still didn’t see how that helped us. ‘You can’t be thinking of riding that boat down to the bottom, can you? This stream is full of waterfalls, rocks, and rapids. We’ll be lucky to survive a quarter of a mile.’

  She looked at me. ‘As you said, everything is a risk. Let’s see if it still floats.’

  We made our way round to the other side of the lake as quickly as we could manage and saw the route the stream took after it left the wide lake. It dropped sharpl
y down the mountainside in a fast but reasonably wide channel. Viviana grabbed my wrist. ‘We might be able to do this, Cassius. It looks fast and dangerous, but this stream is almost as wide as some rivers. We might be able to ride the rapids down to the base of the mountain.’

  I didn’t share her optimism. ‘You’re crazy. We’ll be dashed against those rocks. What’s to say that there isn’t a waterfall around the next corner, one with a long drop at the end of it?’

  Viviana shrugged. ‘Nothing. But you said you wanted to reach the bottom as quickly as possible. This will be quick.’

  I shook my head at the stupidity of the idea but went over to the boat to see whether it was still viable. If the vessel had a large rent in the bottom, that would be an end to this suicidal plan. The boat was a typical Celtic design, a woven wicker frame with animal skins stretched over it. This made it both flexible and extremely buoyant. ‘It looks alright, I suppose.’

  Viviana picked up the two small paddles and threw one to me. ‘Let’s see if it floats?’

  We pushed the small boat out into the lake and jumped in it, Viviana at the front, me behind. The vessel was surprisingly steady, floating high in the water. We paddled over to where the lake tipped over to the stream that flowed down the mountainside. Viviana turned round to me, ‘Last chance to back out, Cassius?’

  My heart was already beating rapidly, and I’m sure the blood had entirely left my face. I couldn’t believe we were even considering doing this. I unstrapped my leather armour with the bronze plate and threw it overboard. It was clear I was going to end up in the water at some point. I fastened my gladius into to the handgrip of my caetra shield strapped around my shoulder. ‘Let’s get this over with.’

  Viviana gave me a smile. ‘Follow my lead. We’ll try and stay as close to the central channel as possible. I will shout out if I want you to lean and paddle to the right or left.’

  I nodded. At least she sounded like she knew what she was doing.

  The current started pulling at the boat and taking us over to the edge of the lake. Viviana shouted out, ‘Here we go!’

  Our boat was taking the current now and started speeding towards the small waterfall that marked the lake’s exit. My stomach heaved as our boat tipped over the edge, and we were flung into the plunging torrent making its swift progress down the mountainside. At first it was disorientating as the freezing water splashed over the edges of our craft, and we were buffeted to the left and right by the raging waters.

  Viviana, however, recovered faster than me. ‘Quickly, lean and paddle to the left. We need to stay in the centre.’

  I did as she said, my heart in my mouth as I saw a large rock looming to our right. We narrowly missed it and I breathed a sigh of relief, only for Viviana to shout, ‘Quickly, to the right this time.’

  I plunged my paddle to the right of the boat and beat away at the water as fast as I could. I didn’t even see the danger this time, before Viviana shouted, ‘Over to our left!’

  I switched sides, leaning the boat with my weight as I paddled on the other side. The boat had swung sideways, but we soon righted it, only for us to see a waterfall in our path. Viviana shouted through the foam and spray, ‘Hold on!’

  I gripped the side of the boat as we went sailing over the edge, tipping alarmingly downwards. There were a few terrifying heartbeats as we seemed to be falling, before the boat splashed into the stream at the bottom of the fall. The extremely buoyant boat shot back up and continued along on its madcap plunge down the watercourse. We were now going so fast, the countryside swept past in a blur. Viviana’s and my focus was just on the waterway, which mercifully appeared to be going through a relatively straight patch.

  It didn’t last long. We needed to steer sharply to the right to avoid a small tree which had been swept down the watercourse and been trapped on one side of the channel. We managed to avoid it, but once we were around the next bend, Viviana shouted, ‘To the left, to the left!’

  I saw a rock ahead of us but was unable to turn our boat in time. We just missed it by virtue of leaning to the far side, but behind lay a smaller one that was unavoidable. I braced myself for the impact, expecting our flimsy wicker and animal skin boat to shatter on impact. We hit it, but amazingly the wicker boat turned out to be far more resilient than I’d given it credit for. It flexed, and creaked, but sprang back into shape, catapulting us around the bend.

  I didn’t have time to praise its flexible design; as soon as we passed the bend, we sailed off another waterfall, this one far higher than the previous one. Both Viviana and I screamed as we went sailing through the sky before landing heavily, water pouring over the side.

  I thought we were finished but our boat gamely kept on, albeit far lower in the water now. ‘To the right, Cassius!’ shouted Viviana, and I paddled as fast as I could, arms burning to avoid yet another sharp bend in the watercourse.

  We turned round the bend but almost capsized, the water in the boat making it unstable. I held onto the edge as Viviana jumped up and put her weight on the far side. This righted us just in time, before Viviana was again shouting, ‘Right, right! Fast!’

  I swept over to the other side and paddled. The near capsize had at least emptied the vessel of the extra water we were carrying. We careered on, whipping around bends and terrifying turns. Then we hit another large rock, this one nearly head-on. The boat survived and bounced off it, but several strands of the wicker mesh snapped on the impact.

  Viviana looked at me, terror in her eyes. ‘Tilt it this way, to the left!’

  Over her shoulder, I saw what lay in our path. It was a set of rapids, interspersed by several rocks. Over to the left channel it was clearer, but either way we couldn’t possibly hope to avoid them all. We leant over to the left but were still plunged into the raging maelstrom, water pouring over our heads. Our boat rode a few of the rocks, bouncing over them, but each time more wicker supports snapped and rents appeared in the tough animal skin hide. We were spat out of the rapids at the end, only for another sharp bend to loom ahead. We tried to turn the craft, but it was now completely compromised and taking in water. We leant over to the right to take the turn, but it capsized us.

  I plunged under the water, kicking wildly, trying to find the surface in the fast-moving torrent. For several panic-strewn moments, I felt I was drowning, but then I remembered my training, calmed myself, and made a few broad sweeps of my arms and legs until I hit the surface. I looked around in panic for Viviana. Then I felt her underneath me, grabbing my feet. I reached down and pulled her up, and all the while we were being swept downstream.

  I pulled her to the surface and she coughed and spluttered. ‘I can’t swim, Cassius!’

  Now was a fine time to be telling me that! I held onto her with one arm and reached around for my shield, which was still attached to my back. As it was wood, it floated, and I put it in front of her and positioned myself behind her. ‘We’re both going to hold onto this and see if we can beach somewhere,’ I shouted at her over the sound of the rushing water.

  She continued to cough, but she held onto the wooden shield with the gladius in its handgrip. ‘We’re going too fast, Cassius,’

  She was right; if we tried to land on the sharp rocks to either side we’d be lucky to emerge with only broken bones. ‘We’ll stay in the centre of the channel until we spot somewhere soft.’

  With the shield ahead of us as a float, I tried to kick towards one side of the stream. But the current pulled us the other way and we started careering towards the other rocky edge. Viviana’s quick thinking saved us from smashing into a large rock by pushing her leg out in front of us. This sprang us backwards, but she squealed in pain as she took the full impact on her ankle.

  I held onto her and turned us around to the far side. The water was still fast here, but not so fast that I couldn’t swim against it. I beat with my legs until I felt sand in front of me, and I put my legs down, thanking the gods, as I pulled Viviana out beside me.

  I staggered
up the shore as Viviana held limply onto me. I put her down, leaning her back against a wide stone that jutted out of the ground, and collapsed next to her, completely spent. Viviana leant back against the rock, eyes closed, and said to me, ‘Thank you, Cassius.’

  The sun was beginning to break free of the clouds, providing much-needed warmth from the chill of the cold water. Viviana coughed out some of the water she’d inadvertently swallowed whilst I regained my breath. I gave her a flat stare. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t swim?’

  She smiled. ‘You wouldn’t have let me come on that crazy ride if I had.’

  I chuckled. ‘It certainly was that.’ I saw what remained of our boat bobbing past us in the fast-flowing stream. It must have snagged somewhere to finish up so far behind us. ‘The boat served us well. If it had been made of wood, like we use in the legions, it would have shattered on the first impact.’

  She gave a tired laugh. ‘You see, there is still plenty we can teach you Romans.’

  I shook my head in wonder at her and then looked around to see how far we’d come. ‘We’re not far from the road now. I can’t believe we’ve come so far in so short a time. I wouldn’t have thought it possible.’

  She sat up straighter but winced as she moved her right leg.

  I stopped her from moving further by laying my hand on her leg. ‘How’s the ankle?’

  She looked down at the joint that had taken the impact with the rock. ‘I’m not sure.’

  I unlaced her sandals and examined the ankle, moving it gently backwards and forwards in my hands. ‘I don’t think it’s broken, maybe slightly sprained.’

  She shook her head. ‘I think it will be alright. Help me up to see if I can stand on it.’

  I did as she asked, before looking doubtfully at her. ‘How is it?’

  She winced a little. ‘It’s fine. I’ll be able to walk this off.’

  ‘Don’t you want to rest a while?’ I asked, worried for her.