by Griff Hosker
Metellus grinned. “Of course the rest of the turmae will know where we are going, that is inevitable. If someone tries to leave the fort then we will know who the spy is.”
“Unless he is with your turma or mine Metellus.”
“We have a handful of troopers to watch. I think we can manage that. I like the plan.” The grin disappeared. “Can we get close and achieve surprise then?”
“I believe so. If we arm some of the men with bows we can cause casualties from above. There is a place above the camp where we can lure them out and then attack them from ambush. The barbarians will outnumber us but we can outrun them. If the rest of the ala is waiting close to the wall then we can bring them to battle on ground of our choosing.” He remembered the caltrops. “We should take more caltrops with us we can slow them down as they pursue us. It worked last time. They don’t wear caligae!”
Just then there was an almighty altercation outside the door. There were raised voices and then a crash as though something had been thrown to the ground. “What the…”
The officers all left the office and saw a very red-faced Appius picking himself up from the ground.
“This man manhandled me. I demand that he be punished.”
The trooper said, “Sorry sir. He wouldn’t listen and tried to barge past me.”
“Of course I did, you buffoon. I do not obey orders from a trooper. Now punish him!”
The officers just looked at each other with the hint of smile on their faces. “That will be all trooper thank you. Return to your post.”
He saluted and then said to Appius, “Sorry if I hurt you sir.”
“That trooper was obeying my orders. The meeting was not intended for you. I think it would be best if you returned to Eboracum as it is obvious that you cannot obey the rules of a military zone.”
Appius looked shocked. “You are sending me away? I am the Governor’s aide.”
“Then,” added Julius icily. “I suggest you go and aid him then. But whatever you do, do it away from here or I will have you incarcerated.”
“But, but, the Lady Vibia is here. She needs my protection.”
“I think not and we will send the Lady Vibia back to Eboracum with a proper escort which can defend her effectively, rather than have you try to impress her.”
“The Governor wanted you to supply me with a turma of your men to investigate the mines.” His face was triumphant.
“That was before the tribes rose in revolt. I think that can wait until we have defeated this enemy. Now which is it to be, Eboracum or a cell?”
“You have not heard the last of this, legate!”
Livius shook his head at the arrogant young man as he stormed petulantly out of the office. “If you give me your list Julius I will reassign the men. Marcus would you like to tell Sextus of his promotion?”
“Thank you sir. I wonder what his reaction will be to having a turma of twenty recruits and just ten experienced troopers?”
Sextus looked nonplussed as he was given the good news. “Thank you sir but I thought you liked me.”
“I do Sextus.”
“Twenty fresh faced recruits! It will be a nightmare. They’ll all be killed the first time out.”
“Well the good news is that because you have so many new men in your turma then you do not need to take them on patrol for seven days. You have that time to train them up.”
“Well that isn’t so bad then.” He suddenly realised the import of Marcus’ words. “Are you and the lads going out again then sir?”
“It is Marcus now, Sextus, and, yes we are. Tomorrow.”
“Where to?”
Mindful of the prefect’s words he just said. “On patrol. You know how dangerous the frontier is right now; which is why, old friend, we need officers like you training your men well. We will all be needed sooner, rather than later.”
When Marcus told the men that they would be out again the next day they did not ask where but they just became even more excited. “Cassius, now that Sextus has been promoted you will be assuming the post of Chosen Man. Well done.” Cassius was popular and they all gathered around him to pat his back.
The signifier, Julius, came over and said, quietly , “He’s a good choice sir.”
“I know Julius but he will need help from you. You will have to watch over the younger men with him. Oh and we have a replacement for Sextus as a trooper, Gaius Bochco from the Twelfth Turma.”
“I think I know him, a miserable bugger but a sound trooper. I’ll see to him when he arrives.”
“Thanks, oh and Cassius, find out the best archers, half of the turma need bows for tomorrow. Get the equipment from the quartermaster. He knows you will be coming.”
A beaming Cassius said, “Yes sir!”
The two turmae assembled early the next morning. Metellus watched with interest as Wolf inspected the new troopers with a suspicious sniff. “I hope, Decurion Aurelius, that we pass inspection?”
Marcus laughed. “He just smells you for future reference and do not underestimate that dog, Decurion Princeps. He is as much a warrior as any trooper.”
Livius and the legate came out to see them off. Rufius was watching the southern gate while two other trusted officers were watching the other two gates. Their instructions were to watch for any unauthorised departures from the fort. Marcus led them out with Felix and Wolf loping ahead of them. Marcus and Metellus had discussed the possibility of the fort being watched and their route identified. Marcus had seen a small dry valley which ran parallel with the wall when he had fled the barbarians. They would use that to hide them from the forest while Felix and Wolf scouted the edge of the trees to identify any enemy scouts.
Once they were in the hidden valley Metellus briefed the turmae while Marcus watched the suspects closely. If they showed any agitation it would be noted and if they tried to leave any message it would be seen. “Right lads, sorry about the secrecy but we are going to attack the Votadini camp and with the hostages in the fort we didn’t want word getting out. This is why you have bows.” Rather than agitation all that Marcus saw was excitement. This was not to be the usual mundane patrol; this was an attack on an enemy. Marcus’ turma had told the others of their mission and the other troopers had been envious. Metellus’ turma in particular had had a boring time escorting wagons and they yearned for adventure. Seeing the Sword of Cartimandua was once strapped to the decurion’s right side gave every trooper a sense of both pride and history. The sword was going to war again!
“Decurion lead us off, you know the way.” Metellus winked as he passed Marcus. He could watch from the rear for any abnormal behaviour.
It was slightly intimidating as they wound their way along the dry valley. They were below the forest and an ambush was always possible. Marcus knew that they should have scouts out but that would indicate their route and that had to remain secret. It was almost noon when first Wolf and then Felix appeared on the skyline. The Brigante waved to them and Marcus kicked his steed up the bank. He pointed to the east, “There are no scouts there but Wolf picked them up to the west.”
That made sense; any barbarian attack would have more chance of success closer to the Selgovae warbands.”Well done, take Wolf and watch the forest. We will follow.” He turned and waved north. The two turmae urged their mounts up the bank and followed Marcus. Marcus turned to Cassius. “Keep following Felix. We are heading for the forest north east of us. I need to talk to the Decurion Princeps.” He joined Metellus at the rear and they allowed the troopers to move forwards. “It looks like they are planning an attack on the gap again. Felix is taking us through the forest.” He nodded at the backs of the troopers. “Seen anything suspicious yet?”
Shaking his head the Decurion Princeps said, “No, if anything they looked excited. Either our spy is a good actor or he is not here. The only one to leave was young Appius Serjanus and we sent him away anyway. He was not happy!”
Back at Cilurnum the spy was becoming increasingly frustrated. Sin
ce Briac had left for the north he had had no communication. He wanted to further the Brigante cause but it was hard not knowing his instructions. He had seen the hostage hung and seen Briac being chased away. It was infuriating he was so close and yet he could do nothing. And then to make matters worse the prefect’s pet, the boy with the sword had rescued the Roman bitch! She would soon recognise him and he had to keep to the shadows and the barracks for he feared that he would be exposed as the man who had helped kidnap her. The Votadini were useless: all they had to do was to hold her. He hated being impotent and not being able to strike at his enemies. Sometimes he just wanted to kill them all with his bare hands. Suddenly an evil smile crossed his face. He could do something and it would strike at the heart of the Roman fort and make them fear for their lives. Before he could put his plan into operation he heard the buccina sound assembly. Perhaps it was for the best. He could spend the time on patrol planning what he would do. The last thing he needed was to be caught. One of the troopers in his turma grinned at him. “Action at last. The whole ala is going out on patrol. It looks like we are going to take on the tribes.”
The words sounded like a death knell to the spy but it hardened his resolve. He would fight with them this day but, as soon as they returned to the fort he would put his plan into action. He would do something more than pass messages on; he would take action of his own.
Marcus felt quite at home in the woods while Metellus, who had spent the past few weeks on the open road found them claustrophobic. He shook his head at the young decurion who, it seemed, had been a mere boy a short time ago and yet here he was confidently leading sixty men through the heart of the enemy country as though it was a parade in Eboracum! He now doubted that the spy was in their turmae and that meant he could concentrate on attacking the enemy and hurting them while suffering as few casualties as possible.
In the Votadini camp Iucher was exhorting his men to revenge themselves upon the Romans. “My son will have to be the sacrifice which tears the oppressor from our lands. Our brothers the Selgovae have shown us what can be done and even now the wall to the west burns and many of the Roman legionaries lie dead. We too will fall upon the Romans. The ones who stole the girl showed us that they are cowards and thirty of them ran from but ten of us. They fear us, brothers, and tomorrow we will attack them and destroy them. Then we will join with our Selgovae comrades and rip the wall down with our bare hands. We will return the land to its people and remove all traces of the Roman!”
Briac looked in awe as the hundreds of warriors screamed their approval, banging their shields with their swords. He began to see how he might bend the Brigante to his will with a speech like that. Since he had been north of the wall he had seen how many Romans the tribes had to deal with. In the land of the Brigante there were no legions. He had been too cautious and, when he returned south of the wall he would change his tactics.
The Votadini began to prepare for war. Warriors applied the blue colouring to their bodies while others plaited their hair and daubed it with lime to make it stand up. Some of them took the offal from the deer and smeared the blood on their torsos. Weapons were sharpened and the noise of the camp reached a crescendo. Iucher had planned well; his men would move soon towards the wall and as dawn broke the next day they would attack all the way along the wall.
Suddenly a Votadini warrior pitched forwards lying with the unmistakable feathers of a Roman arrow in his back. They all looked at the body, as though it would rise of its own accord. Then more arrows fell and the warriors who were struck lay writhing on the ground. “They are above us! Kill them! Rip their hearts out!”
Briac hung back as the Votadini streamed out of the camp. He did not intend to die here fighting for another chief. He watched as they raced up the narrow trail which led to the top of the steep bluff. Even as they climbed they took casualties and, when they reached the top, Briac had a clear view as thirty javelins thrown from Romans on horses, ripped into the warriors who were eagerly trying to reach their unseen attackers. The efficiency of the Romans impressed Briac. He suspected that there were few men at the top of the bluff but they had chosen their ambush site well and only a few warriors could ascend the path at the same time. They were easily despatched. Briac looked behind him and saw some slingers and archers. “Use your weapons!”
One of them sneered, ”We cannot see the enemy Brigante.”
“But you know where they are or would you have your brothers die in vain?” Briac did not know if they were stupid or just lacked leadership but, after they had looked at each other they began to loose their weapons and the missiles from the Romans diminished. Soon more warriors were reaching the top of the bluff.
At the top Metellus could see that they were taking casualties. They had stirred up the hornet’s nest and now it was time for discretion. “Sound the recall!”
Soon the survivors of the attack were mounted and galloping away to the south. This time Marcus did not need to follow marked trees for they had not laid traps. He hoped that the Votadini would watch for them but it didn’t matter; there were over six hundred troopers waiting to ambush them as soon as they broke cover. The dead troopers would have to be left and that pained every man who rode away from the ambush. They had succeeded but it had cost them friends and comrades. Marcus glanced ahead and was pleased to see Felix and Wolf ranging ahead. He feared for the boy on these raids for he had no horse to aid him but it was his choice and, like Gaelwyn before him, Felix was a warrior. As soon as they had cleared the ambush site Metellus roared, “Sow caltrops!” The turmae spread out into a long line and men began to drop the painful weapons behind them. They would not kill but they would maim. They would not halt the pursuit, but they would slow it down and that was the Roman plan.
This time it was not the headstrong Belenus who led the pursuit it was Iucher and he had no intention of following the Romans to his death. At the top of the rise he looked at the handful of dead troopers. “Strip the bodies of weapons.” He looked at his war chiefs gathered around him. “You two take your bands after the Romans but watch for their traps. You others follow me.” He led the men to the east, towards Cilurnum. This was where the horse warriors had come from and they would return there. He would ambush them.
Chapter 14
Metellus knew he had to keep the barbarians close on their tail and he slowed down the two turmae to enable him to keep the wary warriors in sight. Marcus rode next to him at the rear, “it looks like your little tricks the last time have made them a little more cautious.”
“They still follow.”
“But it is not I think the whole band. The rest must be further back.”
At the front of the line Felix and Wolf had broken cover. The scout was not bound by the orders given to the turmae and he could go where he would. He saw the ala arrayed before the wall and as Livius waved at him he saw the line move forwards to take up positioning the dry valley. He pointed east and the dog scampered away.
The turmae emerged from the forest and the troopers were relieved to see the sanctuary that was the wall, ahead. None of them knew of the trap set by the prefect but they knew that they could easily make the wall before the barbarians could escape the forest. Behind them the warband closed closer to the horses and those with bows and slings began to pelt the troopers who lagged at the rear. There was a cacophony of sound as the stones and arrows pinged off the mail, helmets and the slung shields of the troopers.
When a horse fell with two arrows from its rear and a trooper clutched a bleeding leg Metellus gave the order, “Retreat!” and the two turmae rode as hard away from the barbarians as possible.
Suddenly Wolf appeared from their left followed by Felix. “The Votadini…” Those were the only words Felix uttered before he was felled by a stone. Wolf retaliated immediately and turned, teeth snarling to leap at the throat of the boy with the sling who had drawn his dagger to finish off the stunned scout.
Marcus did not hesitate. He put his heels to the flanks of his ho
rse and, holding his spear like a lance galloped back to where Iucher and the rest of the Votadini poured over the moors. Cassius saw his decurion and followed. Marcus had no time to look to see if the ala had seen them for there were four more warriors approaching the unconscious scout. Wolf had torn the throat from the boy and, with bloody jowls, was advancing slowly on the four warriors. One of them raised his spear and Marcus thrust his own spear onto the throat of the warrior. Wolf was tearing at the sword hand of a second. Withdrawing the spear and pulling back on the reins Marcus’ mount crashed his hooves down on a third barbarian as the decurion thrust his spear into the unprotected side of the last warrior. He glanced behind him where Cassius had picked up the scout and was urging Marcus to follow. “Come on sir. The boy is safe and they are very close!”
Marcus could see that they were, indeed, very close as a spear flew over his head. He wheeled his horse around and raced for the defensive lines of the two turmae. The war bands from the forest had taken heart and were hurtling down the slope to attack the turmae’s flanks. He heard Metellus shout the order to retreat and he and Cassius followed their comrades and headed for the safety of the wall. As they crested the dry valley they saw the long reassuring lines of the rest of the ala galloping towards the exposed barbarians. The troopers left gaps through which they passed and then they reined in their exhausted mounts to watch the barbarians caught in Livius’ trap.
The two opposing forces found themselves racing towards each other and they clashed with a crash of metal on metal; followed by the screams as blades and spears found flesh. The barbarians had the advantage that they were charging downhill but the weight of the horses soon forced the Votadini backwards. Stabbing with their javelins the troopers outranged the Votadini who were soon forced to begin to strike at the unprotected horses. Although the horses had no armour they reacted violently to the stabbing, scything blades and their hooves soon made the warriors at the fore fall back in fear.