by Griff Hosker
As he lay there he heard the optio say, “Brave bugger. Capsarius!”
By the time the gate was, again manned, Briac and his men had fled with their victim. They had the hostage they needed. Their next task was no less daunting; to get their victim north of the frontier which meant passing through the Roman forts and patrols. Briac was determined to show the Votadini and Selgovae that the Brigante were still a powerful tribe.
Governor Aulus Nepos was still trying to calm his hysterical wife and Lucia by the time Livius reached him. “Where have you been prefect? My wife was nearly kidnapped and they have taken Vibia. What were you and your men doing?” Livius could see that Appius was also unhappy and scowled at him. He felt the unfairness of it. He and the ala were not the garrison of the fortress. The legionaries of the Sixth Legion were responsible for that while his ala were merely guests. He did not think that arguing that would do him any good.
“I am afraid it is more serious than that Governor.”
“More serious than trying to kidnap the wife of an Imperial Governor?”
“Someone managed to poison the stew my officers and I were going to eat. So you see in the scheme of things kidnap is slightly less serious than murdering all of us.”
Flavia stopped crying. “You mean we could have been poisoned too?”
“If they could get at our food then yours would have been doctored just as easily. We have questioned the cooks. The food they used was not poisoned but the men who brought it were not from the farm they said. Brigante rebels managed to breach our security.” He said ‘our’, but he meant the Sixth’s. It was not in Livius’ nature to blame a fellow officer. “However the most serious element is that no Brigante went near to the food. Someone from inside the fort is a traitor.”
After Livius had finished speaking there was a stunned silence. “Were the two events linked do you think prefect?”
Livius noticed the slightly more placatory note. “It would make sense. If there were rebels inside the fortress then they would have the opportunity to kidnap one of your party. The question is why? It is not their usual tactic. If you kidnap someone then you want something in return. And I am at a loss to see what.”
Appius stood and went to the desk in the corner. “I think I can help there. We received a letter from the fort on the wall, your fort, prefect. It came from the legate. Apparently your men have captured the son of a war chief and he is being held hostage for their future good behaviour. My guess would be that they will want an exchange.”
Livius sighed more with exasperation than anything else. Had he been informed of the letter then he would have been able to do something about it. The Governor looked shocked. “I will have a word with the Camp Prefect about the security. From now on we will allow no Brigante near the fort. But what about food? Are the cooks to be trusted?”
“That is simple enough, Governor, just have the cooks taste the food in your presence and then you will know.”
Appius stood up, suddenly angry, “What about Vibia? How does this help here? What do you intend to do about her?”
“You forget yourself Appius!”
“I will send Titus and his turma with the news. Rufius and Marcus are both excellent officers they will find her.”
“How!” The contempt in Appius’ voice made the prefect want to punch him.
“Well apart from the fact that they are both Explorates, Marcus is a Brigante and they both know the area very well, the fact that I say they can do the job should be enough for you.” Livius’ voice also had an edge to it.
Governor Nepos waved his arms in attempt to calm things down. “I think that is an excellent suggestion prefect and I think the sooner you and your men can catch these Brigante killers then the sooner you can get back to the wall and rid us of Rome’s enemies.”
“I am going too!”
“No I forbid it Appius. We need you here.”
Both Flavia and Lucia looked equally shocked but Appius was adamant. “My task was to find the copper mines. With the turma in the north then I have naught to do. When we have recovered Vibia then I can go with the turma to the west. Is that not true prefect?”
Suddenly Livius was an ally. How he hated politics, politicians and political appointees. “Yes it is possible. But believe me, if my men cannot rescue her then no-one can.”
“Nevertheless I will be going north and that is an end to the argument!”
Titus and his turma rode hard for the north. They needed not Appius constant orders and demands for speed for they were going to join the rest of the ala and that was all they wanted. Titus had taken spare horses and they made the journey in one day, although the horses were ready to drop by the time they arrived. Appius had complained when Titus had insisted upon telling the commanders at the forts on the roads to watch out for Brigante heading north. The patrician fop who complained did not know, as Titus did, that the forts were the best defence they had against barbarian enemies. They could shut the stable door and make it even harder for the Brigante to get to the wall unseen. When they reached the fort, although they did not know it, Briac was still south of the Dunum. The ala had an edge.
Rufius had taken charge of all six turmae when Marcus had arrived. He was pleased that they had a new scout; even though both he and Marcus were excellent trackers they missed having one of Gaelwyn’s ability. It looked like Felix fitted the bill perfectly. “Marcus, take your turma and Felix out. Just let him get the feel of the land. This is new country and we both know how different it is to the land near to the Dunum.”
So, even while Titus and Appius were racing towards the frontier Marcus and his turma were north of the wall. “I will leave the horse in the stable sir for I need to feel the land.”
Marcus had never seen the two of them working before and they were a remarkable pair. Wolf ranged from side to side and would suddenly disappear. Felix never seemed to worry or mind that his dog was no longer close by. For his part Felix constantly touched, smelled and tasted everything he could see. It was he who made the first discovery. He held up his hand and gave a whistle. Wolf appeared, apparently from nowhere and Felix pointed to the ground. “Seven days ago, perhaps longer, seven warriors crossed here heading south. They went in single file. They returned north two days ago.”
Sextus was as impressed as Marcus. “What do you make of it sir?”
“Interesting. It meant they went further south than the fort, the question is why and where were they going.” He suddenly slapped his head. “What a fool I am Sextus. Felix is a Brigante we need to let him see and smell Votadini and Selgovae. There are Votadini prisoners at the fort. It could be these warriors were sent to scout out the fort.” He looked up at the sun. “We might as well head back to the fort and report to the decurion.”
The fort was a hive of activity when Marcus and his men rode in. He saw Titus and recognised the unpleasantly arrogant Governor’s aide. As soon as he dismounted
The legate waved him over. “Sextus, see to the men and Felix. It looks like something big has happened.”
Julius Longinus gave Marcus a rare smile as he came in. The old man was fond of all the original decurion but Marcus held a special place in the old man’s thoughts. The legate waved them to their seats. “Titus has just briefed me.” Marcus could see that the aide was red faced and obviously unhappy that Titus was afforded more respect and credibility than he was. “It seems the Brigante have kidnapped the companion of the Governor’s wife. We think, or at least Livius does, that they were going for Domina Nepos.”
Rufius interjected, almost absent mindedly, “Well then that will be what happened.” He held up a hand. “Sorry for the interruption legate.”
“You are right and I agree with you Rufius. I also agree that this is likely to be in retaliation for our hostages and it may well result in an exchange. Now, thanks to Titus here, the frontier should be shut up tightly and they may not even reach here but let us work on the assumption that they will reach here and they will make a
demand.”
“Then you will exchange her!”
All of the officers stared at Appius in amazement. Julius Demetrius just said quietly, “I understand why you are upset but you have neither status nor rank here. I am allowing you to stay here out of courtesy but I would appreciate it if you would keep your mouth shut.” Titus hid a smile. This made up for the diatribe he had suffered on the long road north. “Now to get back to the matter in hand; we have time to find their camp and to try to ambush them as they travel north.”
“Sir?”
“Yes Marcus?”
“We found tracks which led south and then returned north. They seem to tally with the time the hostages were captured and the lady kidnapped. It means that we have a place to start to look.”
“Excellent! Take your turma out in the morning with Titus and see what you can discover. Rufius, you can take the other turmae south and try to intercept them. It is a long shot as they will try to avoid the roads but I trust your Explorate training to give you the edge. And you,” he looked at the aide with a cold hard look, “can wait here and try not get in the way!”
Chapter 9
Vibia awoke as they approached the Dunum. Briac had contemplated waking her before but, as she was quiet, he had allowed the sleeping dog to lie. The kidnapped girl; was tied over the back of the horse and Vibia felt slightly nauseous as a result of the motion. As she came to and felt the bruise on her jaw the kidnap came flooding back to her. She reflected that had Lucia been asked to go then the situation would now be totally different. Pragmatic as ever she would find a way out or her dilemma; she had been taught well. Vibia was not afraid. Had her captors wished harm to come to her they would have done so already. “What do you want of me?”
Only Briac understood her and he held up his hand. “Halt! He went to her. “I will untie you and seat you on the horse but if you try to escape my men will catch you and they will hurt you. Do you understand what I mean?”
Vibia looked at the men and shuddered, she knew exactly what they meant. Their leering faces left her in no doubt that she would suffer pain as well as the unwe3lcome attentions of her Brigante captors. She would have to go along with them until she could escape. She had no doubt that she could escaper them for they were mere barbarians. It would be a case of being patient. “I will do as you wish but as it is going to become cold I would appreciate something warm about my shoulders or did you kidnap me merely to have me freeze to death?”
Briac did not like Romans and he did not like being told what to do by a woman. Here a Roman woman was ordering him around and he did not like it. He would, however, have to accede to her demands. There would be little point in kidnapping and risking his spy merely to have her die on the road. He reluctantly gave her a cloak, ironically stolen from a dead Roman. “Here, but two men are behind you at all times. Remember that.”
Vibia feigned difficulty in sitting correctly on the horse when in fact she had been taught to ride from an early age. She could even ride bareback but now was not the time for escape. She needed to now where she was. She had no idea which direction they were travelling in and she had only a vague idea of the geography of the region. She knew they were Brigante but she also knew that the land of the Brigante stretched from coast to coast. She had heard that they sometimes sold people to Hibernian slavers although it seemed a little far fetched that she would be taken. She also knew that the Via Nero went north and south of Eboracum and, from the direction the shadows were falling the sun was in the east. That was as far as her knowledge went. She wondered, as they headed north, if they had mistaken her for the Governor’s wife. Then she remembered the Roman trooper she had recognised. He had known who she was. It was planned to take her; the question was why.
They reached the Dunum which was forty paces wide and flowing deceptively slowly. Briac halted them and tied two halters to the woman’s horse. The water was not shallow enough for them to walk but the horses were able to swim. Briac had taken the journey many times and he knew the best angle to enter and leave the water. He was not afraid. He led the party across the water, ensuring the party stayed close together. Vibia herself was a little wary about the dark sinister water and she hoped that the horse knew what it was doing. Although the water was deep it was not flowing very quickly and she breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the horse’s hooves bite into the river bed as they approached what she assumed was then northern bank. Once they reached the other side one of the warriors loosened his halter and took up a position behind her. It did not go unnoticed by Vibia; she was being closely guarded. She noticed the direction of the river’s flow and deduced that they must be travelling north which meant that they were heading for the wall. That gave her some comfort for she knew that the wall was garrisoned and that the horsemen she had met were in that region. The hope grew in her but she knew she would have to watch for an opportunity to escape. She would only have one chance; she knew that and failure would result in pain at best and death at worst.
Marcus looked at the churned up ground. Wolf had taken a good sniff at the Votadini who appeared to be more than a little wary of the snarling dog. Marcus had wondered about that for the dog had shown no aggression towards any of the ala but he did not know if Wolf had been given a sign by Felix. Felix too had sniffed at them and felt their clothes. When one of them began to raise his arm, Wolf snarled and Marcus smacked him in the face. The combination cowed the others. Felix had nodded happily when they left. “I will know them,” was his confident statement.
Now, as they rode north Marcus reflected that he would have had no chance of discerning evidence from the churned up mud but Felix and Wolf happily trotted on ahead of the turma. As they went deeper into the forest Wolf and Felix separated; Marcus kept following the human tracker. A whistle occasionally brought the dog back. The decurion wondered how the dog would communicate what it had found for it did not bark.
Eventually Felix came back. “Sir, wait here and I will return.”
In a heartbeat he was gone and Titus rode up to join his colleague. “How does he disappear so quickly and quietly sir?”
“He isn’t riding a horse but even so he is impressive.” He turned to the two turmae. “Get your weapons ready in case we need them in a hurry.”
The forest seemed unnaturally quiet and Marcus began to imagine he was seeing Votadini all around him. Suddenly Felix appeared next to him. “If you dismount sir I will take you to their camp.”
Marcus dismounted and put his helmet and shield on the pommel of his saddle. “Titus, Sextus keep watch until I return. Put out a perimeter guard.”
“Are you sure about this sir?”
Marcus grinned, he was an Explorate again. “You are getting more like an old woman every day Sextus. Of course I will be fine.” He set off after the swiftly moving and silent pair of trackers. He felt as though he was a bull charging through the forest for he was aware of the noise he was making but Felix did not seem to mind. There was a smell of wood smoke and noises ahead, the vague murmurings of people, the sound of metal on metal, an occasional laugh and shout ; the Votadini! The Brigante boy held up his hand and dropped to all fours’ Marcus did the same emulating Felix’s action. It seemed like years since he had done this. He crawled slowly across the forest floor, watching where he placed his hands and feet before he trusted them to the ground. He saw Wolf’s ears drop and the dog lay close to the ground. There looked to be a slight ridge ahead and Marcus, like Felix lay on the ground and slid slowly, like a serpent to where the dog waited. Felix’s left hand came out and stopped him from moving further forward. The scout’s right hand scooped some mud and smeared it across Marcus’ face and then his own. He nodded and began to raise his head. When Marcus did the same he saw that they were about fifty paces above a clearing. In the clearing there were at least three hundred warriors. Some were sharpening weapons some were practising with their weapons and others were seated around open fires talking. Even as they watched another party, forty strong st
rode into the camp to be greeted warmly by the ones already there. This was a large warband. This one was close enough to attack the men building the wall and expect to succeed. He had seen enough and he slid slowly backwards. When he reached the place he had started he stood up. They began to make their way back to the rest of his men. Both humans kept silent and Marcus noticed that Wolf trailed them by a hundred paces and would occasionally loop back on himself.
When they reached the troopers Sextus laughed, “Fall in the mud then sir?”
Marcus realised he still had a mud covered face. He went to his horse and poured some of the water from his skin to clean his face. He mounted his horse, “There are three hundred Votadini at least over there. I think they are planning something. Let’s get back to the fort.”
As they rode back the three new recruits trotted alongside each other. “Did you hear the decurion Aneurin? There are three hundred Votadini! It looks like we will be getting some action at last then.”
“I don’t know, Scanlan, three hundred and more I heard. There are only five hundred in the whole ala and almost half are still stationed near Eboracum.”
“I’m not worried. We have the sword with us you know. I heard that the sword had oath brothers who all swore an oath to defend the sword and that it has never suffered defeat.”
“Really? That sounds a little too primitive for Romans. What do you think Vibius?”
“What?”
“I was just saying that swearing an oath on a sword seems a bit primitive for Romans. They are more civilised than that.”
Vibius shook himself from his reverie, “Roman legates still make sacrifices before battles so I suppose swearing an oath on a sword is no different. It depends upon how you feel about the sword doesn’t it?”