“Optio Conti, clear the trail,” Scoedia directed his Sergeant.
“Sir,” Conti responded.
The NCO waved half his pathfinders to the left and the other half to the right. He jogged after the four squads heading to the left side of the route. Once the Fiftieth Century began moving, Centurion Keoki addressed his remaining light infantrymen.
“You heard the Colonel,” Keoki roared. “How many steps to Qart Hadasht?”
“To many?” the light infantrymen shouted.
“How many steps to Qart Hadasht?” Keoki insisted.
“Not too many for Legion North, sir,” the light infantrymen answered.
After the exchange, Keoki saluted the Legions’ top combat officer. At the signal that the advanced units were prepared, the Senior Centurion bellowed.
“Centurions of Regulus Legion North, march us out.”
Line officers for the skirmishers signaled their nine Centuries froward. As if to match the wolf pelts they sported, the NCOs howled. Just as vocal, but not as gaudy as their NCOs, the light infantrymen settled for smooth boiled leather armor. Their shields were slightly larger than the scouts’ and each veles carried a javelin, a spear, and on their hips, a gladius and a sica. Their gear allowed them rapid movement around a battlefield. War cries answered the howls of their NCOs as they moved forward.
The second maniple followed. Covered in waterproof skins, the scuta identified them as heavy infantrymen. In addition to the big shields and heavy armor, they all lugged three javelins and a single spear along with their gladius and Legion dagger. Their equipment allowed them to form an assault line and their training taught them to control the center of any battlefield.
Centurions of the cavalry issued instructions and the horses stepped off. Not far behind the mounted Legionaries, the first maniple fell into the march. Last to leave the previous night’s bivouac were the veterans of third maniple.
“I’ll see you at the walls of Tunis,” Alerio commented to Keoki.
“It’s a date, Colonel,” the Centurion acknowledged.
The Centurion of Light Infantry snapped the reins and he and his horse trotted away, heading northwest. Alerio looked at his advancing elements, then to the wagon train heading in the other direction. Last, he turned his attention to his large staff.
“I have gone into battle by myself, in the company of a handful of associates, and with maniples of every grade,” he stated. “But traveling with a crowd still feels strange. Enough talking, on to Tunis.”
Colonel Sisera kicked Phobos in the ribs. The stallion leaped forward and galloped off. Taken by surprise at the sudden movement, the command staff of Legion North snapped their reins and trotted after their Battle Commander.
***
On the far side of the Medjerda River, Optio Conti and his pathfinders crossed farmland. They couldn’t miss the main feature of the homesteads as they had to scale the walls of stacked stone. For decades, the Punic farmers had dug up and split boulders to clear the land. But their agriculture and efforts ended at a tree line.
Legion maps only hinted at the stones in the forest. They were reported to be numerous, but the trees blocked an accurate count and prevented the drawing of trustworthy charts. Other than the main trail through the forest, the rest of the route consisted of animal paths weaving around tree trunks and boulders.
On the far side of the cultivated fields, the scouts formed a line and entered the forest. Behind them, Centurion Keoki crossed the river and rode through the farmland with the rest of the Velites. They entered the forest on the main trail as did the second maniple a little later. Slowly, the rest of the Legion traversed the Medjerda, formed columns, and hiked along the road. It was the only straight and level surface available and one of the reasons only a single Legion could pass through the forest at one time.
***
Three miles into the march, Sergeant Conti and his scouts emerged from the forest. Several plots of land lay under cultivation, but indications of a different industry dominated a small settlement. At the village, fishing boats in various forms of repair rested on stands, fish drying on racks baked in the sun, and blankets of half completed nets hung on weaving forms.
A mile to the north of the town of Mégrine, the waters of Lake Tunis shone in the morning sun. After a brief conversation with a local, Conti learned the other lake was three miles to the northwest. With no signs of the Qart Hadasht army, the Optio waved the Fiftieth Century onward.
Slightly over a mile later, the scouts entered another forest and the start of the narrow land between the lakes. The NCO slowed the march of the pathfinders. He knew the Punic defenders were up ahead because the map showed a hill fort. But he didn’t know if the fortified encampment was manned by a garrison or the entire Qart Hadasht army.
***
Jellaz Hill rose above the treetops giving the garrison a view of the main trail. While they could see far down the road, leaves and bushes hid Conti and a squad of pathfinders. The scouts crawled from tree, to boulder, to bush until they halted on the left side of the fort.
“What do you think, Optio?” a scout asked.
“I don’t understand the Empire,” Conti admitted. “If I wanted to defend this area, I would blockade it with every Legionary I could put in a shield wall.”
“How do you know they haven’t?” another scout inquired.
Conti moved a branch. From ground level, he could see a portion of the slope behind the hill fort. And the only soldiers in view were four horsemen. All four sat at a campsite with their bedding unrolled from the previous night. While they relaxed, their horses were tied to nearby posts.
“Not enough smoke from cookfires,” the NCO explained. “A large force would have turned the sky to hazy.”
“If it’s just a garrison, the infantry can easily take the fort,” a squad leader boasted. “Then we can move on Tunis.”
“Tell me, Decanus, why are four men lounging as if they have no duties,” Conti questioned, “but their horses are loosely tied with their saddles tightened down?”
The squad leader thought for a couple of beats before venturing, “They’re messengers waiting for instructions.”
“And what message will they carry?”
“Optio Conti, they will alert the Qart Hadasht army that we are attacking the hill fort,” the squad leader told him.
“I need to speak with Centurion Scoedia,” Conti told the squad. “Stay low and keep watch.”
The Optio crawled from bush to boulder to tree until he was deeper in the forest. Then he jumped to his feet and sprinted for the main trail and his officer.
***
A shiver ran up Alerio’s spine. On the road in front and behind him, the Legion marched under a clear blue sky.
“If you spend enough years at war,” Senior Centurion Agoston whined, “eventually, you develop a feeling of mistrust when things go as planned.”
“Got a shiver in your spine?” Alerio questioned.
“It’s a cramp in my right shoulder from an old injury, Colonel,” Agoston told him. “Your spine?”
“Like a cold bolt of lightning,” Alerio admitted.
The shared experience between the two veteran infantry officers was confirmed when Centurion Keoki came into view. They exchanged troubled looks at the meaning of the Light Infantry Centurion’s return. Keoki’s horse wasn’t galloping but the mount moved at the top of his canter.
“I called a halt to the march,” Grear Keoki stated as he reined in. “I thought to give you a moment to think, sir.”
“Not unexpected, I’ll admit,” Alerio told him while stretching his back. “But just what am I thinking about?”
“We expected trouble at the fort on Jellaz Hill,” the Velites Centurion reminded Alerio. “Well Colonel, the Qart Hadasht army isn’t there.”
“That’s good news. We’ll send the second up and remove the garrison,” Alerio repeated the plan. Then he studied the puzzled expression on Grear Keoki’s face. “But that’
s not a reason to stop the march. Is it?”
To the front, the first maniple shuffled to a stop. When the command staff drew up, the third maniple coming from behind was forced to halt as well.
“No sir, it isn’t a reason,” Keoki acknowledged. “But the four messengers waiting at the hill fort are. Let me explain, Battle Commander. The Qart Hadasht General has riders waiting. When we attack, they’ll ride off and alert the army.”
“If we move fast enough,” Tribune Invisum noted, “we can catch them unprepared.”
“Only four riders?” Alerio asked.
“Yes, sir, Optio Conti, one of my best saw them with his own eyes,” Keoki assured him.
“Rapti. Can you get riders around the fort and stop the messengers?” Alerio asked the Tribune of Horse.
“If they don’t have any warning that we’re coming,” Tribune Galba replied. “I’ve got enough racehorses that we’ll be on them before they recognize the Noric steel of my gladius.”
A question floated through Alerio’s mind. ‘I wonder how many coins I made from the sale of the iron ore used in that blade.’ He and his adopted father imported the raw material used to create Noric steel.
“What are you thinking, sir?” the head of planning and strategies asked. He assumed Alerio’s delay in replying meant the Battle Commander was thinking about the information.
“If we take down their couriers,” Invisum continued, “we can take our time with the fort.”
“Without the messengers, their army won’t know we’re coming,” Alerio guessed. “Isn’t that the best time to approach your enemy?”
“But sir, you’re proposing we leave an enemy stronghold in our rear,” Griffinus Agoston warned. “Is that wise?”
“We’ll run right by the fort,” Alerio instructed. When the Senior Centurion scowled, he added. “They’ll only be on the hill until the third maniple catches up.”
“And we’ll be in Tunis before the defenders can get into their armor,” Invisum declared.
***
From the top of Jellaz Hill, a Qart Hadasht Lieutenant watched a pair of warriors. His orders were to keep two sentries on vigil from dawn to sunset. These two seemed especially lax, plus they were playing with long ribbons of leather.
“It’s important that we alert Tunis when we first see the Legion approaching,” the officer blustered. “Pay attention to the road.”
“Yes sir,” the tribesmen responded.
Being Crete mercenaries, they were expert slingers, specialists with valuable skills. Sitting on a dirt wall watching an empty trail was not the challenge they expected when they signed on to the Qart Hadasht army.
“How about we chuck a few lead pellets down the road, sir,” one advised. He stretched his leather sling before letting it hang from his fingers. “That way we’ll be sure the road is empty.”
“Or if it isn’t, the first Legionaries to arrive won’t have a pleasant experience,” the other slinger stated.
“Put those toys away,” the Lieutenant barked. “Put them away now. I don’t want to see them again while you’re on watch.”
Although they kept their eyes on the road, the slingers carefully rolled their leathers and placed them in pouches. Then they collected lead pellets from neatly stacked piles and dropped them into ammo holders.
“That’s better,” the Empire officer complimented the warriors. “Now…”
The trail was empty. Then in a heartbeat, ten Legion cavalrymen broke from the trees beside the road. Mounting on the run, they galloped towards the fort, raced around the hill, and vanished behind the rear walls.
“Alert, alert,” the Lieutenant yelled. “Send the couriers.”
He managed to rouse his garrison. But the four couriers never made it to their horses. Three died while drawing their swords. One never made it that far. The blade of Rapti’s Noric steel sank into his chest and pierced his heart before ripping its way out through his shoulder.
No messages traveled from Jellaz Hill. The two miles from the fort to the town might as well have been two hundred. And so, no word reached Generals Hamilcar, Bostar, or Hasdrubal that the Legion was advancing on Tunis.
Chapter 5 – A Naked Iberian
The forest ended abruptly. In response, the scouts and Velites dropped to their knees inside the tree line. Behind them, the arriving second maniple stacked up and the Legionaries caught their breath. Although superbly conditioned, sprinting a mile around Jellaz Hill while dodging lead pellets from slingers and arrows from archers took a toll. Then running another mile to the edge of the forest, left the heavy infantrymen in need of a breather.
Battle Commander Sisera shoved between the ranks. With his First Century left behind by the speed of Phobos, Alerio traveled without bodyguards. To remain hidden from the Empire forces, he left the stallion and his white plumbed helmet behind the maniple. Then he began hiking to the edge of the forest.
“Excuse me,” he apologized while pushing between two Legionaries.
“Watch yourself,” a Corporal said assuming Alerio was a lost infantryman. He didn’t look back at the intruder when he added. “Get back to your Century, Legionary. Although, I can’t imagine they’re missing the likes of you.”
“Excellent. A man with opinions,” Alerio exclaimed. He grabbed the NCO around the neck, gripped the top of his chest armor, and began dragging the Tesserarius towards the end of the tree line.
Two men from the Corporal’s Century witnessed the assault and took a step to intercede.
“Are you touched by Coalemus?” another Legionary demanded. He hooked them with his arms and held them back. “That’s Battle Commander Sisera. If he wanted to do harm, he’d have cursed the Corporal and left him for dead.”
“What does the God of Stupid have to do with this?” one inquired.
“Colonel Sisera is a sorcerer,” the Legionary enlightened his fellow infantrymen. “I had the duty at the front gate when he swept a runaway team off the ramp and into the defensive ditch. And the scariest part. The horses lived but the driver died. Just like that with a wave of his hand. You can thank me later for saving your lives.”
Alerio didn’t hear any of the exchange. He was busy ordering Legionaries, light infantrymen, and scouts out of his way while towing a struggling NCO in his wake. When he could see the open farmland beyond the trees, he stopped, kicked the Corporal’s legs out from under him, and sat the NCO down on the forest floor.
“Get me an Optio or a Centurion,” Alerio instructed the scouts around him. Then looking at the Tesserarius, he inquired. “What are you doing sitting down on the job. Get up here, Corporal, and tell me what you see.”
The NCO shoved off the ground, reached for his gladius, and stopped. His eyes grew large, and his lips quivered.
“Colonel Sisera, sir, I didn’t recognize you,” he pleaded.
The Battle Commander normally arrived after a head’s up from First Century. But, the lack of bodyguards was no excuse for mouthing off to the commander of a Legion. The Corporal could already feel the lashes on his back from a session on the punishment post.
“Are we going to have a long conversation about feelings?” Alerio challenged. “Maybe later, over a bowl of camp stew. Right now, I brought you up here to get your opinion. Look out there.”
The experienced NCO from the second maniple peered into the distance. Big tents were positioned behind rows of troops’ tents. But unlike the Legion that preferred goatskin, the Qart Hadasht units had tents made of various material. Most were unrecognizable to the NCO as they came from the homelands of the mercenaries.
“Sir, what am I looking for?” the Corporal inquired.
Sergeant Conti elbowed his way through the crowd that had formed behind the Battle Commander.
“Sir, what are you doing up here?” the scout NCO inquired. Then he caught his mistake, and hurriedly added. “Colonel. Optio Conti reporting.”
“You’re the scout that saw the messengers, good,” Alerio complimented him while directin
g the Sergeant’s attention to the open field. “What do you see?”
Conti recognized three distinct command compounds behind the squad tents.
“What kind of cluster are you holding?” a voice demanded. “This better be a mutiny, and not a game of dice. That at least, will give me a reason to crucify the lot of you.”
A gap opened in the semicircle and a big combat officer strutted through.
“People, I asked...” he stopped and saluted. “Sir, I didn’t expect…”
“Out there, tell me what you see?” Alerio ordered.
The combat officer examined the command pavilions, the rows of tents, and the corrals. Then he focused on an area occupied by giants.
“That’s the combined Qart Hadasht armies,” he declared. “But you can see that sir. What am I looking for?”
Alerio dropped to a knee and signaled the two NCOs and the officer to follow him.
“We have one chance to take them by surprise,” Alerio stated. “But I don’t have all of my maniples in formation. My cavalry is spread along the line of march, my first maniple is back in the woods, and my third maniple is playing with a hill fort. But I do have a Tesserarius, an Optio, and a Centurion. You three are my council. So, advise me. Where are the Qart Hadasht heavy infantry units billeted? And how do we kill them?”
***
Left flank commander, Senior Tribune Emerens, trotted his mount from the road to the open farmland. In the distance, he noted the town of Tunis, the Empire command compounds, and the tents for the Qart Hadasht army. As if a separate city, the thousands of campsites gave testament to the size of the force defending the Empire.
Based on the number of mercenaries opposing the Legion, the flank commander assumed Legion North would be in combat lines and waiting. Hesitating in their maniples so their Battle Commander and his two Senior Tribunes could hold a strategy session. That proved to be a faulty assumption.
Tribune's Oath (Clay Warrior Stories Book 17) Page 4