Hosker, G [Sword of Cartimandua 11] Roman Treachery

by Griff Hosker

  Before he could answer Scaeva said, “They are now sending the supplies by sea and landing them on the south side of the Tinea; they have built a road to extend to the Stanegate.”

  “Then, Roman, tell us how we hurt them again and slow down the building of the wall. If we can achieve a victory then the other clans will join us and we will have sufficient numbers for victory.”

  “The Stanegate is their main road and it runs south of the wall. They have to use that to supply their forts and move men along it. They think they are safe as any attackers would have to retreat back over the wall.” He gave a sly smile. “If Chief Briac was to bring Brigante north then your tribes could raid the road and, when they attacked you, we could lead them into a trap.”

  Randal too saw the solution and smiled, “So we flee the way they do not expect us to and ambush them with forces they do not know we have.”

  “How do we get such a large number of men across the wall?”

  “That is easy, Chief Iucher and the Selgovae have already done so. The wall to the west is made of turf and it is weakly defended. Kill the guards there and slip across. The Votadini can cross near the lake for the forts are not built. The two warbands need to be close enough to each other to support and to attack simultaneously. The Romans watch the wall not the land to the south.”

  The chiefs all began talking at once. “Well done Scaeva that is a good plan. I will leave as soon as the meeting has finished and bring our warriors. We will make the Romans suffer this time.” Scaeva looked distracted. “What concerns you Scaeva, you should be elated with what you have achieved. You appear distracted and ill at ease?”

  “I could have returned the Sword of Cartimandua to our people. I had many chances to take it but I always planned to capture it before I left.”

  “Do not worry. We will get it and you can pry it from the decurion’s cold, dead hand!”

  It fell to Marcus to escort the engineers who were to survey the site for the new fort. It was further west than Marcus had been for some time but, with Felix as his scout, he was sure that they would avoid an ambush. Wolf and Felix had proved a doughty combination; neither might be responsible for killing many barbarians but their mere presence saved the lives of troopers. Also with the engineers was Appius Serjenus who was keen to prove his credentials as a warrior. Marcus was determined to discover if the arrogant Roman was a murderer as well as a pompous self opinionated bore!

  The engineers, from the Second Augusta, rode uneasily on their horses. They had wanted to march but Marcus knew the Selgovae were fleet of foot and the recent ambushes meant that he wanted to be able to escape faster than they arrived. They had left before dawn, travelling to the north of the wall. Felix led them through shallow valleys and woods which kept them from the skyline. Their task was not to find the enemy but to avoid them. When they reached the site Marcus could see that someone had done their research well. There were two streams which joined, providing protection for two sides of the fort. The only problem which Marcus’ unpractised eye could see was that the fort would not be a regularly sized Roman fort however that was the engineers’ problem. He rode over to Appius. “Are you staying here or coming with us?”

  Appius bridled at the lack of a ‘sir’. Even though he was a civilian he felt his association with the Governor merited one. When he took command of the ala he would punish this arrogant decurion who appeared to be little older than he. “Yes decurion, I would learn all that I can of serving with an auxiliary turma.”

  “Optio we will form a screen. Let us know if you need us.”

  “Don’t worry decurion you will hear the hooves of our horses heading south if any of the barbarians show up.”

  “Felix, take Wolf and sweep north. Turma skirmish order; Cassius take the right flank, I’ll take the left.” Almost instantly the turma took their allotted places and Appius was curious to see them notch bows.

  “I thought your ala used javelins.”

  He saw Appius watching Titus string his bow, “We do but, as the barbarians have learned to keep their distance, we need to use bows to keep up with them.”

  “Why can’t you just chase them down?”

  Marcus sighed, he had no time to be a schoolmaster but Metellus had told him to behave so… “You see the ground is rocky and uneven. It is not like the fells close to Stanwyck; there are not long open stretches to open the horse’s legs. Here we can ride swiftly in short bursts and all that time they can hit the horses. They have begun to do that since Scaeva deserted. They can stand off and loose many arrows and stones at us. Having the bows means that we can hit them for that is our advantage. Unless they hit the horses then we are safe but they have no protection.”

  Appius seemed disappointed and forgot his loathing of the decurion. “I had thought that the cavalry would be more glorious than the infantry; the charges, the fine swords.” He looked down at Marcus’. “That is a fine sword and it seems a little too good for a decurion.”

  Marcus could have taken offence but he knew that aide had been brought up with these views and it was not his fault. “I had this when I was but a trooper. It is the hereditary sword of the Brigante. It was wielded in the past by the kings and queens of my mother’s tribe.”

  Appius looked surprised. “You are half Brigante?”

  “Yes my mother is one of the last relatives of the royal family and I inherited it from my father who also served in the ala.” He saw Appius nod reflectively and take it in. He glanced over and saw that one of the recruits was not keeping the line. “Lucius, keep up. You are letting your horse determine your pace.” He looked back at Appius. “If you don’t mind me saying I am surprised that you would wish to serve with this ala. I assume that you are a patrician and could serve with a legion if you wished.”

  Appius chewed his lip. He could not tell the decurion but he wanted swift promotion and glory which would give him early power. His father had told him that he had gained all his power after he had served under Agricola and defeated the northern tribes. When he had returned to Rome he had been lauded as a hero. “I had heard that Marcus’ Horse has the best reputation in Britannia and the best chance of glory.”

  Marcus shook his head and held his hand up for the turma to rest. “Feed your horses.” He turned to Appius. “Glory is a fleeting thing and only comes when many brave men die.”

  “But you rescued Vibia. That was glorious!”

  “No, that was cunning. We lied to the barbarians and we murdered them while they slept. That is not glorious. We laid traps for them. That is not glorious.”

  “But they were barbarians. It matters not if you lie to them.” Even as he said the words Appius was beginning to see the truth. Marcus merely raised his eyebrows. “I will have to think on your words decurion. Thank you for being honest.”

  As they headed back to the engineers Marcus felt that Appius had changed slightly and, in some strange way, Marcus liked him a little more than he had. When they reached the survey site the engineers had not finished and Marcus allowed his troopers to eat. “Why did the horses get fed before your men?”

  “Horses are wonderfully loyal creatures and they will run all day if asked and then drop dead. A horseman without a horse is helpless. We all look after our horses much as we do our swords and our armour. They are part of us. Remember that should you ever become a horseman.”

  Appius, too, had been affected by their conversation but in his case it had persuaded him not to take the military route. He would, instead, use the commercial route to get power. He would use the copper mines in the west to gain money and, therefore, power.

  Back at the fort Livius had finally woken. Julius sent a medical orderly for the legate as soon as he became conscious. It took much water to moisten the prefect’s lips sufficiently to enable conversation. As the cool water hit his stomach he was wracked by cramps. The Greek doctor, who had also been summoned, nodded his approval.”Good, that is a good sign. You will be on a liquid diet for a few days until your sy
stem is purged.” He held the prefect’s head and poured a white aromatic liquid down his throat. “This will continue the healing.”

  The doctor left as the legate arrived. He shook his head as Julius rose to leave. “Stay. I need another pair of ears for this. Do you know what happened to you Livius?”

  “I must have been poisoned.” His eyes widened in alarm. “Is everyone else…”

  “No it was just you and it was a quick acting poison so it had to have been at the table. The doctor thinks it was the wine you drank so, the question is, who served you the wine?”

  Marcus lay back with his eyes closed. “Lucia and Vibia were both being over attentive. They were feeding me titbits.” Suddenly he contorted with pain and turned his head to vomit into a bowl by his bed.

  “Get the doctor Julius.”

  Julius left the sick bay and saw the doctor close by the barracks. “Doctor, the prefect… er the patient needs…”

  As the two men ran off someone saw them. A trooper strolled casually towards the Governor’s quarters and began to whistle a tune. A few moments later Vibia emerged. They walked towards the stable smiling at each other as though engaged in some trivial conversation. “The prefect lives.”

  “Then it will not take him long to discover that I was the one who poisoned his wine.”

  “You must leave.”

  “Yes but first I have something to do. Prepare me a horse and I will need some auxiliary armour. I will meet you in the stables soon.”

  When the doctor reached Livius he smiled as he examined the vomit filled bowl. “Excellent! It is just as I had hoped and expected. We have the last of the poison. See the red tinged parts.”

  Julius Demetrius wrinkled his nose. “You doctors may enjoy sifting through vomit but as for me. You could have told us this might happen.”

  The Greek look surprised. “Do I ask you why you send men here there and everywhere to come back maimed? No! Then let me do my job. Plenty of water and he will recover. He will be weak for a few days but he will be as though he was never poisoned.”

  The two men were left exasperated as the doctor calmly departed with an arrogant flounce. They poured water down his throat and he opened his eyes to give them a weak smile. “The last time I was as ill as that we had just wet Marcus’ head!”

  “Take your time Livius. You were about to tell us who gave you the wine.”

  “Oh yes.” He closed his eyes, picturing the evening before. “It was, Lucia, she handed me the wine.”

  “Lucia, I have just heard the prefect lives!”

  “But Vibia, we were told that he had died.”

  “Apparently they were wrong. Come let us drink a libation to celebrate.”

  “It is a little early is it not?”

  Vibia leaned in, her green eyes sparkling maliciously, “I was told that the first word he spoke was, ‘Lucia’.”

  The young companion’s eyes lit up. “Oh Vibia! That is wonderful news. “She took the beaker and drank it off in one swallow, the joy in her eyes glinting for their last moments of life. Suddenly she did as Livius had done. Her body doubled in pain and she writhed on the floor, a white and green phlegm vomiting from her corrupted stomach. Her eyes pleaded for an answer but Vibia was already scrawling a note which she placed in the dead hand of the glassy eyed Lucia.

  She departed quickly and met her brother at the stables.“I have laid a false trail. They will think it was Lucia.”

  “Then why cannot you stay?”

  “You know as well as I brother, that the prefect is a clever man. He will soon deduce that it was me. I have bought some time for myself. I will stay in Eboracum again. You will find me in the vicus.“ She sadly stroked her red hair as she pushed it beneath the helmet. “I will cut my hair and change the colour. They will not know me.” They embraced and she mounted the horse. “How do I look?”

  “Like one of the recruits. The pass today is, ‘pugeo’.”

  “Thank you and take care. Do not let the barbarians kill you.”

  Vibia rode confidently towards the southern gate down the Via Praetoria. The sentry at the gate held up his hand. “Message for Morbium.”

  “And?”

  “Sorry?”

  “The pass? Some of you troopers are dumber than your fucking horses.”

  “Sorry. Pugeo!”

  “That’s better. Have a safe journey.”

  With a wave of her hand Vibia daughter of Aula rode from the frontier running from danger to even more danger but, she was free and she was alive. Her mother’s plans could still come to fruition.

  Chapter 19

  Leaving Livius in the care of Julius the legate sought Metellus and Rufius. He told them of his discovery. “Go to the Governor’s quarters and stop any from leaving. I will, perforce, need to speak with the Governor first and apprise him of the problem.”

  “Are you sure it was that Lucia? She seemed like an empty headed little girl to me.”

  “Livius knows that she handed him the wine and he is busy trying to remember the other details. But we knew it was one or the other and we can now confront them. The Governor will have to sanction interrogation.”

  Metellus shuddered. The interrogators used any all methods to get at the truth. “We will order the fort closed up too. Rufius, see to it.”

  The Governor and his wife were in the small dining room which they used for their lunch. Julius knew that this would be a difficult meeting. He had deliberately lied to the Governor of the province of Britannia. They had watched the flames rising the previous day and said goodbye to the prefect and now he would have to tell him that he lived still. He took a deep breath. “Governor Nepos I had some good news and some grave news to impart.”

  Flavia stood, “I will leave you two then.”

  “No domina, it concerns you as well.” She sat with a puzzled look upon her face. “The prefect, Livius, whom you thought dead, lives. He was poisoned.”

  “But the funeral…”

  “A deception we had to use in order to protect the prefect. We now believe that the poisoning attempt in Eboracum was made by the same person who tried to kill him at the dinner. We needed him to recover enough to tell us who poisoned him.”

  Flavia put her hand to her mouth, “But we were at that dinner! We too could have…”

  Julius held up a hand. “The doctor and Livius believe he was given poisoned wine.”

  “But we all drank the same wine!”

  “Yes Governor which is how we know who it was. The poison was put into his beaker only. He said that Lucia, your companion, handed him the beaker but it could have been either or both of the girls who put the deadly potion in the wine.”

  “Impossible!” Flavia stood up, red faced and angry. “We will see the girls and get to the bottom of this immediately!”

  “Which is just what I had in mind. Shall we all go?” Julius would leave the thorny matter of the interrogators until later.

  Lady Flavia tapped on the door of the girls’ quarters. “Lucia, Vibia? May we come in?”

  There was no reply and, when the Governor gave a subtle nod Julius opened the door. There lay Lucia with the note in her hand, her body already contorted and stiff. Flavia fainted and Julius caught her. “Metellus send for the doctor.” Aulus Nepos threw a look at Julius, wondering at the presence of the decurion princeps; the legate merely shrugged. “I wanted no-one fleeing and security seemed top be the best option.”

  By the time Flavia came to the note had been read. “Well this seems quite clear. Apparently she wanted Livius so much that she poisoned him to stop anyone else having him.”

  The doctor looked up, a sceptical look on his face. “Excuse me legate but I had some cause to treat the young lady.” He pulled a face. “She always seemed to have minor disorders whenever she came here. It strikes me that she had neither the wit nor the means to acquire this poison. She was a pleasant girl but I have sat on seats with more brains and guile. Now the other one, she could have done it for she was i
ntelligent and knowledgeable. When she was returned from the Votadini I found her to be made of sterner stuff than many troopers.” He shrugged, “Of course that is just the opinion of an old doctor.”

  Metellus and Rufius both nodded. “I have to say sir that we agree.”

  “Let us not jump to conclusions. Search the fort and find her. I am a little concerned that she is not here. Where is she?” Aulus Nepos had a horrible feeling that they had been deceived by the affable young lady.

  When she could not be found there was a worry that she too might be found dead and then Rufius took it upon himself to question the sentries at the gates. It was almost dusk when he returned. Flavia had gone to her bed, drugged by the doctor. Aulus and Julius were at a loss to explain it all. Rufius strode into the office and his dark face told the story. “It seems our Vibia rode out of the main gate this morning dressed as a trooper. She had the password and she rode south.”

  “So she has escaped but that still begs the question why did she try to kill the prefect? She did not appear to be Brigante. Was she paid? Is there some plot here of which we know little?”

  Aulus Nepos shook his head. “These things are heard of in far off Rome but I had not expected them here in my own home, on the frontier.” He glanced up at the legate. “It is obvious that we cannot remain here, besides which you now know my plans and I am happy that you will see them through to their conclusion. I require two turmae from you as an escort with one of your two senior decurion in command. They can search for Vibia when we are safely ensconced in Eboracum.”

  Although Julius could ill do without Rufius it was a small price to pay to get the fort and the frontier back to normality. “Very well. I will tell Rufius he is to escort you.”

  Rufius was less than pleased with the news. “Sir, we will be escorting a closed carriage which will take forever to reach the fortress and my place is here on the frontier. Without the prefect we are shorthanded as it is.”

  “Which is why you will take the prefect’s turma and you can train up the chosen man on the way to Eboracum. It is time the prefect stuck to administration for a while. Take Gnaeus with you. He is coming on well as an officer.”