Raising Steam

by Peter Rhodan

  “I am not sure lady. He was still on his feet commanding a large part of the army when I was ordered to bring you the news.” The boy still looked as though he could not quite believe what had happened. He was very pale and Morghanna was worried he would pass out if she kept him standing there surrounding by concerned wives and children.

  Nodding grimly at the feared but for her not unexpected news, she looked him in the face. “You have done well to bring news so soon. Now go and rest.” She commanded dismissing him. She turned to the growing crowd forming around her composed of old men, women and boys. “Lanwyllyn.” She said slightly louder, singling out her uncle. He had been badly injured in a boar hunt a few years before and was not able to walk properly anymore, besides being ten years older than her father. At her call he came hobbling up to her, the people making way for him. “We need to see to the defences. Arm the men and boys as best you can. Give bows to those of the women who know how to use them. The Romans may send cavalry past the retreating army and try to take us before we can be reinforced.”

  He stared at her for a moment, a blank expression on his face. Being ordered about by a woman was not something any of the men would accept willingly Lanwyllyn had always treated he with respect and she hoped he understood the urgency of the situation and the need for a clear cut chain of command. Her calm assurance must have got through to him because his eyes hardened and after a moment more of staring into her face he nodded firmly. “Yes lady. At once.” He turned away from her and started bellowing orders to several other old men who had been standing nearby looking worried.

  Once he moved away she raised her voice as loud as she could. “Any woman who is good with a bow should report to Lanwyllyn to form part of the defence. Those who have no skill with the bows and all the children must start preparing to receive the wounded. Mara.” She said pointing at a spare woman of senior years who was wife to one of her father’s most powerful sub-chiefs. “Can you organise bandages and collect as many of the healing herbs as we can in the time available.”

  “Yes lady.” The woman answered readily, she at least was seemingly not perturbed by Morghanna issuing her orders.

  “Gwendolyn. Start organised the collection of all the food in a central place that cannot be burnt down easily. It may come to us being besieged in here.” The women now surrounding her all grimaced in fear at this prognostication although some seemed more surprised than resigned. It was unlikely they would be able to hold out against a victorious Roman army for any length of time. But perhaps a strong looking defence would enable them to negotiate a peace. The mere fact that Morghanna was calmly issuing orders and making plans helped to settle the panic that had been growing amongst the crowd since hearing of the lost battle.

  King Cluen was carried in mid-morning the next day. He was on a litter pulled by a horse having suffered a serious leg wound, besides several other cuts and a buffet to his helmet. By this time several hundred, mostly wounded warriors had already trickled in and were being seen to by the women. Those still able to fight were being rested in readiness to defend the walls once the Romans arrived.

  A little later a group containing Cryllyn came staggering in, with him being helped by one of his close friends. He had apparently been hit in the head and knocked senseless by a metal ball fired from some outlandish new weapon the Romans had deployed it was explained to her. He was still shaken and suffering from an agonising headache but at least was on his feet and accompanied by a couple of hundred warriors to bolster the defences. To make matters worse the now cloudy sky decided to begin raining on the struggling survivors.

  Sometime after midday Cunedd arrived surrounded by the senior surviving sub-chiefs. He was suffering from several small wounds but otherwise appeared intact although he appeared a rather bedraggled sight in the desultory rain that was falling from the low hanging clouds that had blown in during the morning. He was accompanied nearly a thousand healthy warriors who had stayed with him during the retreat, which, with earlier arrivals, meant that there now upwards of fifteen hundred defenders available not counting the women archers. Morghanna hoped the small numbers indicated that a lot of men had simply just headed home after the defeat in order to see to their families' safety. Many from areas further away would be looking to protect them and their possessions from the inevitable Roman looting. Morghanna found she could not really blame them despite the effect it was having on the available defensive manpower for the oppidum.

  Cunedd came up to Morghanna and they clasped arms silently, each glad the other was still alive. “How is father?”

  Morghanna grimaced. “Not good but he should recover eventually despite it being a pretty nasty wound. He may well have to lose the lower part of his left leg if things get worse.”

  Her brother winced at this news. “Damn. God what a mess! They suckered us sis. Just sat there inviting us to roll over them and when we tried we found they had dug a concealed ditch in front of their position that simply broke the charge up. God. The sight of the leading men just disappearing into the ground is not something I’ll forget in a hurry I can tell you!” He paused shaking his head. Morghanna noticed his hand was trembling and she realised he was suffering from a delayed reaction to the horrors of the battle now that he'd got his men home. The weariness that hung on him was plain to her now that he had finally reached the oppidum and she could feel the new maturity his voice carried after having to take command in what was obviously a debacle of the worse kind imaginable.

  She clasped his shoulders and looked him square in the face. “You have done a great job holding the army together Cunedd. Now you must lead our people in defence of their homes. You understand?”

  He stared at her for a second then the shaking stopped and he nodded. “But of course. How are we placed?” Morghanna quickly gave him a summary of the situation and approximate numbers and he and the senior surviving sub-chiefs soon took over organising the defence. Being a female, she was soon displaced from the position of authority she had acquired in the crisis but no one who had been there would forget she stood up under pressure when it was needed.

  Fortunately for the Selgovae, the Romans never approached the oppidum that day. Given the state everything was in combined with that fact that the defenders were not well organised or even all that keen to face the Romans again, things did not bode well for the Selgovae. The warriors were fed, given a drink and then they shuffled into position with an attitude of a sullen resignation to their fate as far as Morghanna could tell. Now and then some of the Roman cavalry could be seen in the distance seemingly content to simply watch their frantic efforts to prepare a strong defence. And as the afternoon wore on confidence began to rise again, bolstered by lack of any Roman advance on their defences.

  The next morning dawned clear and bright although a bit fresh with a cold breeze from the north west. Not too long after the sun rose a force of maybe five hundred Roman soldiers marched into sight and formed up about a thousand paces from the Oppidum. Two units of Roman cavalry flanked them. Horns bellowed and the remaining Selgovae warriors stood to arms preparing to defend the hastily refurbished earthen banks that served as defensive walls. Counting the women serving as archers, the defenders were getting up around three thousand in combat troops, so outnumbered the Romans considerably. Not that any of the warriors appeared keen on going out to challenge the small Roman force in the open field.

  Nothing happened for a while other than the Romans setting up some artillery in front of their position in a leisurely manner that smacked of arrogance but told its' own story of the situation. Morghanna had heard of the Roman ballistae but this was the first time she had seen them in real life. The stories she had heard from the old warriors had told of how the smaller ones shot giant arrows for several hundred paces or of the large machines which threw stone balls a similar distance. The smaller ones were sometimes mounted in carts so they could be moved around while the larger ones were so large that they were transported in pieces and assembled
when needed.

  From what she overheard since the army’s return, apparently these were different to the normal Roman artillery, at least that was what she picked up from the warriors manning the wall. For one thing they were mounted on tall wheels and pulled by horses so they could be moved easily and secondly they looked like they had a lot of metal parts rather than the wooden construction with sinew ropes that had been described to her. Instead of the bound sinew ropes powering the devices it appeared they were powered by a huge metal bow although how anyone could draw such a bow was another question entirely.

  Cunedd joined her on the wall along with some of the remaining senior sub-chiefs. “Those are their new artillery.” He commented pointing at them. “They fire metal balls, not arrows. I think they can just about reach us from there, going on how far they were shooting in the battle.”

  She nodded and watched silently as the crews readied the weapons. After a few moments the men stopped working and then they all just waited for a length time before finally a party of men rode over the crest of the hill behind which was where the Roman camp presumably lay. At their head rode a man carrying a white flag. Behind him were two other men riding side by side, followed by two more, one carrying a large red banner with something on it Behind all these obviously Roman military officers rode two figures in black.

  The party of mounted men stopped at the artillery and engaged in words with whoever was in charge of the weapons. There came a metal clang and the centre one suddenly launched a ball at the Selgovae oppidum. Morghanna could clearly see the metal ball arc through the air and land ten paces short of the outer bank where it threw up a mass of dirt and dust and then bounced forward another five of so paces before coming to rest. Some of their warriors yelled and hooted thinking the Romans had missed. Cunedd whispered to her. “Warning shot. They are showing us their weapons can reach us here in the oppidum and that we cannot reply.” Morghanna nodded and they watched the small Roman party ride forward having made their point clearly. They were clearly coming to talk before attacking she guessed. Morghanna was in no doubt they would dictate a harsh peace having defeated the Selgovae horde and with the oppidum at their mercy.

  “They intend to offer terms.” Cunedd said after a moment. He frowned out at the Romans then turned to the others nearby. “We will talk with the Romans. Make sure no one shoots at them.” He pointed to two slightly younger men who nodded and set off in opposite directions around the walls telling the men not to fire at the approaching Romans.

  “Penwyl, Galvyn and Owen, you three with me. Caractic, you are in charge if this is some sort of trap.” Caractic nodded but made no attempt to dissuade his leader. Which was interesting in itself.

  Morghanna listened to his confident assumption of command, which highlighted the fact that her brother was no longer the same carefree young man who rode south a few days ago. He spoke now with a sense of authority that he had not really possessed before the battle. It was obvious that the responsibility of holding the army together had changed him from a casual, easy going, young man into a real Prince and perhaps more importantly the much older sub-chiefs showed no hesitation in following his assumption of command.

  He and those with him mounted on four of the few remaining horses and rode out of the south gate after the barricade had been hastily pulled aside. The Romans had approached to about long bow shot while this was happening then stopped. Morghanna watched Cunedd and his chiefs ride out to about twenty paces from where the Romans where halted and began talking with them. It was too far to hear what was said but the talks continued for some time without any apparent histrionics or extravagant threats. Finally, the three sub-chiefs rode forward and with three of the Romans accompanying them headed for the Roman army while Cunedd, the two leading Romans, along with the two in black rode towards the oppidum. When they were fifty paces from the gate Cunedd stopped and bellowed at his countrymen.

  “I have agreed to a truce with Romans so their leader can talk to the King my father. Let no one sully my honour by offering them insult.” This announcement was met with a lot of grumbling and chatter amongst the warriors manning the walls, but it subsided as the party rode forward. Morghanna made her way to their house and checked on King Cluen. He was conscious but in great pain from his leg.

  “Father. Cunedd has agreed to a truce with the Romans. He is bringing their leader to you.” She said, slightly bowing her head.

  Her father looked much older today than he had before the ill-fated march south. Something seemed to have been taken from him as a result of the loss and he had said next to nothing since being brought in. Morghanna had been afraid he would never recover mentally but he swung his eyes around to her and frowned slightly before replying. “Very good daughter. Prop me up so I can at least look them in the eye.” He ordered and with the help of a couple of other women they propped the king up in a sitting position.

  She had barely finished and dismissed the two women when the door opened and Cunedd came in, followed by the two Roman officers and then the two odd figures in black. These two took up positions on either side of the door, one looking out and the other watching the proceedings inside. Their faces were hidden by the hoods they wore and they were both rather small for soldiers. They carried some sort of weapon on their backs and Morghanna finally realised that the objects were a strange sort of curved sword while they each had several knives in the belts they wore around their waists. And it looked like one more blade inside each of the leather calf high boots in the Roman cavalry style which was also popular with the young lords of her tribe.

  The two Roman officers were very dissimilar. The one on the left was clearly the senior in rank. He had piercing grey eyes and was taller than average. He carried himself with an erect manner and had a fluidity of motion that was unlike anything she had seen before. He wore a typical Roman helmet with horsehair plume on top, a corset of mail and tall riding boots over woollen trousers. His tunic was the same green blue colour as the other man’s and they both had complicated trim at cuffs, collar and hem. The lack of ostentation was what struck her the most. There was none of the gold and silver inlays, precious stones in hilts and other ornamentation the powerful men usually wore. Cunedd had more wealth on his armour than both these men together. Something about that actually frightened her more than any other aspect of the two.

  Cunedd halted at the cot. “Father. This is Arturo Sandus, Dux of the Romans.”

  The taller of the two took off his helmet revealing a dark haired, not unhandsome visage. He looked about thirty, maybe a bit less, but there was something about his manner that made him seem much older. He bowed. “King Cluen. I am sorry for your injury but then you did plan on attacking us. Still, it is my hope we can come to terms and prevent further bloodshed.” It was a strange opening statement to show sympathy for an enemy, but he appeared to be serious about wanting peace, Morghanna thought.

  He father looked at the man for a few moments. “Well I doubt we can offer more than a glorious but futile defence should you assault the oppidum, so I don't want you to beat around the bush, go on, tell me your terms!”

  Arturo nodded, a small smile playing around his mouth. Presumably he liked straight talking. “They are simple King Cluen. One. All the prisoners we have taken who are physically able to bear arms will be given the choice of ten years of service in the Roman army or ten years of service in government work gangs building roads and such like. With those that choose to be soldiers, we are happy for their wives and families to come south and join them in the new Republic till their term of service ends. Once the ten years are up they are free to go where they wish. The labourers will also be released freely once their ten years are up. This is instead of simply selling them all off as slaves as Romans were wont to do in the past, from what I gather.”

  He paused for a moment, possible waiting for some reaction that didn’t come, before continuing. “The land south of the River Lynnew will be forfeit and become part of the New Roman Repub
lic. All those of your people currently living there who do not wish to become part of the Empire will be compensated for the loss of their land and allowed to move out. All those prisoners we have taken who are sufficiently injured as to be incapable of bearing arms in the future will be returned to you unharmed.”

  There were several intakes of breath at this as in the past prisoners were not suitable to be sold as slaves were usually despatched on the battlefield. Cluen just nodded, keeping his face blank as he thought over the terms offered. “You say you would compensate those would leave their lands south of the River Lynnew. What sort of compensation?”

  The Roman waved his hand in short arc. “Gold I suppose. Pretty much whatever they want from metal to tools or other goods. Our Censor will assess the value of their land based on the prices that similar land would sell for in the Republic and pay them accordingly.” This was a surprising Morghanna rather thought the fellow was being truthful. He certainly seemed a very straightforward man and he didn’t come across with that sneering arrogance of the few high rank Romans she had witnessed in company with her father in the past. She’d never met the Maximus this fellow had supplanted but the Dux before she had seen on a couple occasions when she was younger. He was arrogant in a different way though. He clearly had no doubts his army could take the oppidum without too much trouble.

  Cluen seemed a little surprised at those terms but nodded, keeping his face fairly bland. Others in the room were less restrained int heir response, but it appeared to Morghanna that many were sounding upset at the offered terms. Finally, he held up a hand and turned to his son. “Cunedd. How many warriors are left?”

  His son spat. “Perhaps two thousand father. Many simply went back to their homes after the battle.”

  Cluen nodded. “And if the Romans assaulted us here could we drive them off?”

  Cunedd looked off into some distant scene only he could see for a few moments then his shoulders slumped a little. “No father. They will use their bows and that new artillery to whittle our numbers down and then assault the wall at a point where we have become weak.”