Hosker, G [Sword of Cartimandua 11] Roman Treachery

by Griff Hosker

  “Sextus let the men water their horses,“ he grinned, “and as I can smell bread baking, if you ask nicely at the kitchen door the cook may have something for the lads.” One of the bonuses of serving with Marcus was the hospitality of his home.

  Frann, his wife, ran to greet him. A freed slave from the land of the Tencteri she relished and appreciated every moment of her new life. She accepted her husband’s absence but she was not lonely for Marcus’ mother were as protective as a she bear, as were the rest of the family. “Our son sleeps, I will wake him.”

  Kissing her gently he said, “No I cannot stay long and I know that his sleeping moments are valuable.” His son, Macro, was just like his namesake, a bundle of energy when he was awake.

  Decius and Ailis joined them, Ailis hugging him and kissing him, as she always did, on both cheeks twice. “Well brother what betokens this visit?” Decius loved his brother but he knew that bringing the turma meant trouble of some description.

  Marcus sat at the family table with Frann on his knee. “We have heard rumours that the Brigante are becoming restive. Some bandits or rebels, we know not which, have captured supply convoys and the work on the wall is threatened. Have you heard aught?”

  Decius shook his head. “You know that any rebel would stay away from me but I will go and ask the men. They have wider acquaintances.”

  “I am happy to hear rumours. Where is Drugi?”

  “He is hunting in the western valley. Should I send for him?”

  “No I will visit with him after I have finished here.”

  “You are leaving today my son?”

  “Yes mother. The ala is to be based here until the threat is nullified. I meant to ask Decius if there were any of the men in the valley who would be suitable as scouts.”

  His mother gave a sad smile, “You miss Uncle Gaelwyn then?”

  Marcus looked through the door to the place where they had buried the legendary scout.”Every day.”

  “I think there are a couple of boys towards Stanwyck. They like to work with Drugi and he has taken to them. If you see him then he may have more information for you.”

  By the time Decius returned, Macro had awoken and he and his father had enjoyed a playful tussle. Frann shook her head. “There will be no settling him now. He will be crying for his dada all the time.”

  Ailis smiled. “It is the same for all the boys in this family. One day we will have a girl and we will not know what to do.”

  “The men have heard rumours of people being terrorised up the valleys to the south. Wagon tracks were seen but no-one dared say anything. So your rumour may be true.” The brothers looked at each other with unspoken words in their eyes. Decius would work on the security again and clear the trees back further. Rebels or bandits that close meant problems for the hardworking and loyal Brigante. In this area it paid to be careful.

  “We have turmae on the road for a while so you can always send a messenger to Morbium.” The proximity of the fort afforded the farm more protection than most. “We have to go now but I will visit again, alone next time.” His last comment was for Frann.

  Ailis nodded, “Good, it is time Macro had a sister. I am getting no younger and I would like a granddaughter before I meet your father again!”

  Chapter 5

  As they left the farm Aneurin ventured, “Sir!”

  Sextus snapped, “Not when we are on patrol son. Save your questions for the halts.” He shook his head and said, to no-on in particular, “ I have never known such recruits for fucking questions.”

  Marcus did not turn around but smiled. Aneurin reminded him of himself riding with Rufius and Metellus all those long years ago. “Just one question Aneurin.”

  “Why doesn’t the ala patrol this part all the time?”

  “That is a good question Aneurin and the answer is a simple one. We are the only cavalry this side of the divide and the barbarians in the north fear us. Once we have quashed this latest threat we will return home.” He saw Aneurin’s face drop. “Where is your home?”

  He pointed to the east. “Over there by the hills, close to the old hill fort.”

  “I know it. Well we may return but not for a while and now no more talk we have to find a giant who is invisible.”

  Sextus saw the question rising into every face and he growled, “Not one fucking word!”

  They reached the valley and Marcus held up his hand. They just waited. There was total silence but all of the troopers, not just the new ones stared at each other. Eventually Scanlan held up his hand and said, hesitantly, “You said a giant sir?”

  Marcus laughed, “Just wait and see Scanlan. We have time to wait so do not worry. Out next journey is an easy one down the road towards the south.”

  The troopers stared at the water. Suddenly a figure stood next to Sextus, who drew his sword and said, “Fuck me!”

  Marcus shouted, “Stand down! It is Drugi.” He smiled at the genial giant who stood taller than a horse’s head. “You have not lost your touch old friend.”

  Drugi snorted, “Around these I could have worn full armour, banged a drum and they still would not have seen me.” He smiled at Marcus. “How long since you saw me?”

  “Had I had my bow, enough time to put three arrows into you when you moved behind the elm tree!”

  “Hah! This land is making me soft.”

  “What have you heard, Drugi the king of all trackers?”

  He pointed to the west. “There are men with wagons in the high valley., to the south”

  “Brigante?” The old scout nodded and Marcus turned to one of his more experienced troopers. “Livius, ride and find the prefect. Tell him Drugi says they are in the high valley. Stay with him.” Livius kicked his horse and trotted off. “Drugi, we need scouts.”

  His face fell. “You want Drugi to leave the farm and follow the wolf?” He pointed at the wolf standard carried by the signifier.

  “No Drugi. Your work is here, training my son and protecting my family.“ Drugi’s face split into a huge smile. “No, we need you to find us a couple of boys or young warriors who can scout.” He held up his hand. “They will not be as good as you but we need someone who can follow trail.”

  He looked away to the west, as though he had not heard the decurion’s words. Then he turned. “I have two trackers in mind. I will bring them to your brother’s farm in a few days.”

  Marcus leaned down to clasp the former slave’s arm. “Thank you old friend. I can always rely on you.”

  “Without you and the hawk I would not have a life. My life is yours and it is now full.” In the blink of an eye he was gone.

  Sextus looked around in amazement. “How in the Allfather’s name does he do that sir?”

  “Practice, Sextus. He was born to it.”

  When Livius received the news from Marcus’ trooper he held a meeting with his officers. “If they are in the high valleys then we will have no cover and they will see us before we can see them. We only have three turmae which handicaps us a little. Gnaeus you know this land as well as I do. Take your turma on a long loop to the south and approach the valley from the southern side. They used heavy wagons which means they could not get to the head of the valleys and I suspect that they will be where the wagon trail ends. Lucius you are new to the region so you will be the bait.” The young decurion grinned; he liked living life on the edge. “You will ride up the wagon trail. Follow the ruts. It has been raining so even Julius Longinus could follow them. I will approach from the north. Remember that we want the wagons secured but, even more importantly we want these bandits caught. Do not risk your men. If you can get prisoners then all well and good but I would rather have a turma whole than a prisoner caught.”

  “Sir.”

  The spy stared with eyes filled with hate at the back of the Prefect of Marcus’ Horse. Briac had hoped to ambush the horsemen but now it looked like his fellow warriors would be ambushed themselves. Now it was up to him to try to thwart the grey haired officer.
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br />   Briac and his men had seen the spy’s signal and had trailed him. Briac was disturbed when one turma headed north, especially as it was led by the one with the sword. He had been tempted to have him followed but he had decided that the three turmae merited his attention. Now as the three turmae split up he was in a dilemma; whom should he follow. The fact that his spy was in the leader’s turma determined him. They would ambush that turma; without their leader they would flee. His men easily followed the horsemen for there was little cover on the fells. An occasional copse made them briefly disappear but they soon returned in sight. He kept his men between the turma and his precious wagons. The grain had long disappeared south but the cement he held close to the end of the wagon trail, guarded by his men. His people had no use for it but the fact that the Romans wanted it made it precious.

  Suddenly the horsemen turned south and head directly for Briac and his band. Had they been spotted? His men quickly found cover where they could and Briac peered from the rocks to the east of the turma. The Allfather and the gods of his people were with him for the turma would pass beneath them. “When they are close enough we will attack them!” He outnumbered them by over two one and he had the advantage that they could not attack him, the Brigante had the high rocky ground.

  The prefect’s horse’s ears suddenly pricked and the experienced officer knew that there was something amiss. The wind was from the east and his horse had detected an unusual smell. “Stand to!”

  The fact that the attack came from the left, added to Livius’ warning command meant that the turma had more protection than they might have had. Their shields came around to protect them and the arrows and spears found few vulnerable targets. One horse went down in a tumble of legs and the trooper rolled down the hillside. He was in danger only for a heartbeat as two of his of his comrades shielded him with their mounts whilst a third picked him up. Livius could see that they had no chance of defeating the Brigante while they were on their rocky perch and he cursed the lack of scouts. Scouts would have seen the enemy trail. There was but one thing to do; ride to the other turmae where they would have a chance of defeating them. “Let’s ride!” Kicking hard into his horse’s flanks the turma sped away from the missiles still being hurled in their direction.

  Briac cursed. Their very safety meant that they could not easily get to the horsemen who galloped off and it was then that the Brigante leader realised that their course would take them to the wagons. He hoped that the thirty men had had left guarding them would be sufficient.

  Gnaeus and Lucius arrived at the wagons at the same time. Although the Brigante sentries had spotted them, their hastily improvised defences were not enough to stop the javelins and swords of the sixty troopers who fell upon them from two directions. They fought bravely enough but when Aed, their leader fell the others fled. They had enough wit left to climb the crags and the horsemen had to halt. “Secure the wagons! Appius, Publius, take four troopers and form a screen four hundred paces from the wagons.” Gnaeus dismounted and inspected the wagons. They still contained their cargo, the white dust rising in the air as he lifted the covers. “Lucius see if they have left the horses somewhere.”

  Gnaeus was not optimistic but at least they had achieved half of their aims. He scanned the skyline for the prefect. As he turned away he sensed a movement and looked back as the Fifth Turma, with their prefect at their head, tumbled over the ridge line. Gnaeus was experienced enough to know that his commander was in trouble. “Stand to! Javelins!”

  A quickly formed line protected the wagons as the prefect brought his turma through the gaps left by their comrades. The Brigante appeared on the skyline and halted. Briac looked down at the ninety Romans. He could not defeat them. This round had gone to the Romans but there would be others. His men melted away like morning mist.

  “Should we follow sir?”

  Livius looked ruefully at the four wagons. “I am afraid not Gnaeus. They will have gone in many directions and the rocks up there prevent us following. No, we have achieved what we set out to do, we have recaptured the wagons. Well half of them at least. We will take them back to Eboracum.”

  “How sir? They have taken the horses.”

  Livius gave the newly promoted officer along hard look. “It may have escaped your attention but we are riding horses.”

  Gnaeus was horrified. “You mean use our horses to pull the wagons?”

  “Got it in one. Two horses to a wagon, pick the biggest ones.” He looked at Gnaeus mount. “Yours will do Gnaeus!”

  Gnaeus bit back his retort and took his saddle off. “What are you grinning at Decimus? Yours is a big bugger too. Take off your saddle and join me eh?”

  Marcus halted his turma close to the road. He looked to the east and saw that they were close to the place where the prefect’s brother had escaped Britannia. “We will halt here lads.”

  Scanlan asked, “What are we waiting for sir?”

  Sextus growled and Marcus smiled as he held up his hand. “We are waiting for the next wagons and we will escort them into the fort but, as you are so interested in what we are doing then take Vibius a mile down the road to wait for them. The rest of us will water our horses at the river; it is only eight hundred paces east of us.”

  Sextus laughed, “That’ll teach you not to be a nosey bugger! Shall we feed the horses as well sir?”

  “Might as well Sextus. I have no idea how long we will have to wait. Let the lads eat too.”

  “They ate at the farm sir. You are spoiling them.”

  “When I was with the Ninth legion they taught me to eat as often as you can, when you can. You never know when you might not have the opportunity.” The brief time he and his step brother had spent with the Ninth had been during his formative years and the lessons and traits he had learned, ran deep.

  Vibius didn’t mind the excursion. He wanted to see as much of the country as he could but he found it amusing that Scanlan took it to be a punishment. He was sure that Aneurin, the other Brigante would not have done so.

  “All I wanted to know was how long we would be there?”

  “Why?” Scanlan’s broad face looked puzzled. “I mean what difference does it make?”

  “I dunno. I thought we would be fighting more than we have been.” The young Brigante seemed to notice Vibius for the first time. “I meant to ask you, why did you wait so long to join up? No disrespect Vibius but you are as old as some of the troopers who have been in for five years.”

  Vibius’ face clouded over. “Let’s just say things didn’t work out the way I intended when I was younger and leave it at that. “ He glanced back up the road and then to the river, not far east of them. “This must be a couple of miles from the turma, let’s wait here.” There was a small hill fifty paces west of the road and Vibius led Scanlan towards it. “We will see further from up there and yet be close enough to the road.” Scanlan suddenly realised that he would not have thought of that but it was a good idea. He would stick close to Vibius; he was bright and the decurion liked him. Thinking wasn’t what Scanlan did best; he was a fighter. After they had fed their horses, they took it in turns to sit atop their mounts to watch for the grain wagons which would trundle slowly from the south.

  The warband sent by Briac to capture the latest convoy was smaller than the ones on the first raid. Briac had needed his men for the ambush of the prefect but Tadgh, their leader was happy enough. He had forty men and the Romans would not expect them to strike so far south of the city. Their leader was both wise and wily and he would outwit the Romans. They saw the wagons approach and noted that they were unguarded. This would be even easier than the first raid. His men had covered themselves with brown and green blankets and were invisible to the bored wagon drivers. They knew that north of Eboracum there were raids but here they were safe. Tadgh raised his arm to signal the attack.

  Scanlan was watching to the south and he suddenly saw a strange movement; the white arm, rising from the ground looked out of place. “Vibius. I can see t
he wagons but…”

  Vibius sprang on to the back of his horse. He took in the situation in an instant. “Quick, ride back to the decurion. The wagons are under attack. I will try to….”

  Scanlan never heard what Vibius would do for he was riding as quickly as he could for the turma. Vibius checked his shield and hefted his javelin. As he kicked his horse on he wondered just what he would do. He could see that they were at least thirty or forty warriors that he could see. As he rode to meet them, a vague plan began to formulate in his mind. They would not know that the turma was a mile or two behind. He began to look behind him and to shout as he neared them. “On! Turma Two! Charge!”

  Tadgh looked in horror as the lone Roman horseman hurtled towards him. The first wagon drivers were dead and his men were busily despatching the others. Had he had horses he would have charged the maniac coming towards them but they were afoot. “Get those wagons off the road and up the hills. You eight, form a shield wall.”

  His eight warriors locked their round shields and stood steadfastly in the middle of the Roman Road. Vibius had gone beyond the point of no return. He hurled his javelin and had the satisfaction of seeing it plunge into the surprised head of a Brigante bandit who had failed to use the full cover of his shield. Emboldened by his success he threw a second which merely struck wood. He tugged fiercely back on the reins and his horse stopped but ten paces from the Brigante. The warriors could see that he was alone and they roared towards him intent upon killing this bold and foolish warrior. As he wheeled quickly back along the road he saw, to his great relief, the wolf standard and the turma galloping towards him. He could see the Sword of Cartimandua held aloft by the decurion and he felt real pride in the men with whom he served. He slowed up his mount and, as the turma galloped by him he heard Sextus say grudgingly, “Lucky little bastard!”

  Marcus led his line of troopers directly at the would-be robbers. Unarmoured as they were they stood little chance against the accurately thrown javelins. By the time Vibius had turned his horse around to rejoin his comrades it was all over and the last few Brigante had been captured. Sextus grinned at Marcus and pointed at the prisoners. “A little profit for us then eh sir?”