by Griff Hosker
She turned to him with a loving smile upon her face and her arms open. As he closed with her the decurion saw the hate fill her eyes just as the pugeo sliced under his arm, plunging into a vein and ensuring his life would be measure in moments. He slumped to the ground in a pool of blood as the twins ran from the scene. Pausing only to gather their belongings they both ran through the atrium leaving a shocked official wondering what had just happened. He raced down the corridor and found Gnaeus lying in a pool of blood. He quickly balled a towel which Vibius had dropped and pushed it against the wound. “I will get help!”
Gnaeus tried to speak but the official was gone. He ran to the entrance of the mansio which faced the main gate and shouted, “Help! There is a soldier and he has been stabbed!”
The optio had seen Gnaeus leave he turned to the sentry, “Send for a capsarius and the decurion from Marcus’ Horse. When you have done that put the fort on full alert.”
The optio was the first to reach Gnaeus whose life blood was leaking across the mosaic floor of the mansio. The optio pressed the towel close to the wound to staunch the bleeding but Gnaeus shook his head and beckoned the optio closer. The decurion and the capsarius arrived at the same time but the shake of the optio’s head told them that they were too late. The capsarius examined the body and he too shook his head in a final agreement that the young decurion was dead.
Rufius found the optio and they met the mansio official. “Tell me, what happened and where is Trooper Gemellus?”
When he said the name the optio looked up in surprise. Before he could say anything the official said. “He took off with the other guest just before I found…” unable to say the words he pointed down the corridor.
“Did he say anything?”
The official shook his head but the optio said, “He spoke to me and it is funny because he said twins too. He said it was a Vibia who had stabbed him and Vibius was her… then he died but I am guessing brother.”
Suddenly Rufius saw it too. They were obviously not identical twins but they had much in common with each other. The problem was she was always dressed as a woman while Vibius was a trooper. Rufius and the others had seen what they expected to see. “Which way did they run mansionarius?”
“I do not know but they both had horses.”
The optio and Rufius went directly to the stables where the stable boy was cleaning out three of the stalls. “Did someone just leave?”
He grinned and held out a coin. “Aye. Two guests and they paid me to help them pack.” He shook his head. “It comes with the stabling but, “he tossed the coin. “You know what they say about a fool and their money eh sir?”
“Which way did they go?”
“West sir!”
Rufius looked to the west where the sun was already dipping behind the distant hills. There would be little point following them until the morning and then the trail would be cold. He swore to himself that he would have them both and they would pay the price for the murders of two innocents.
The two fugitives had ridden hard for five miles west and then headed south to join the main road. They had escaped by the skin of their teeth but they had found each other. “Nemesis brought us together brother for you know where the gold is and we can now retrieve it. “
“Yes but we need somewhere for the night. There is another mansio ten miles away. We will stay there.”
“Is there not a risk?”
“It is but a slight one. If they find that we have been there then they will assume that we fled south. We will, in fact, be heading east and north to the bend in the river.” He looked at her admiringly. “That was a good disguise.”
She put her hand to the muddy black looking hair. “Unfortunately it is washing out each day but it will last a little while longer. I have spare clothes if you need them.” As they rode south she explained about the merchant and the money and Vibius, not for the first time admired his sister’s resilience and intelligence.
After Rufius had retrieved the letter, he sought out Flavius, his chosen man. “Tomorrow we ride to find these murderers but I need our most reliable trooper to ride to legate.”
“That would be Decius. He will deliver it.”
“Good. Give him this missive and a pass to leave before dawn. It is imperative that this letter reaches the legate tomorrow.”
“It will be done.”
Rufius then went to see Aulus Nepos. The family and Appius were eating. The servant looked down his nose at the decurion who smelled of horses and dressed like a plebeian. “The family are at dinner sir.”
Rufius was in no mood for officious servants. “And the Governor will need to hear this so move your arse before I push you out of the way!”
The servant looked into the glaring eyes and backed into the room saying. “A decurion to see you sir, apparently it is urgent.”
The sentry on the door grinned as Rufius winked when he walked by. “Sir, I am sorry to interrupt your meal but I have urgent news.”
“It had better be urgent to disturb our meal decurion. Could it not have waited until the morning?”
“Not really sir. Vibia Dives was in Eboracum and she has killed one of my decurion and she has fled the city with her twin brother who also served in the ala! He was Trooper Gemellus.”
Had Vesuvius erupted there could not have been a greater effect. Rufius hid his smile as Flavia Nepos’ mouth dropped open and the normally urbane aide was, surprisingly, at a loss for words. Aulus Nepos was the first to recover. “Oh. And what have you done about it?”
“They have fled the city but we will pursue them in the morning.”
“Which puts paid to the pursuit of the Brigante?”
“If I am honest sir, I am not certain that there is unrest in this part of the province. From my investigations any rebellion will be closer to the border rather than in this area but I will keep my turmae here in case I am wrong.”
Even the Governor knew when he had been outwitted. With a cohort of the Sixth in the fort he knew that he was safe and if there were an attack then he had the garrisons of Cataractonium and Morbium close at hand. “Very well decurion but keep me informed. It is disturbing to have so many traitors in one ala!”
Rufius ignored the criticism. Only two bad apples in the barrel that was Marcus’ Horse spoke volumes for the rest.
The next day the two turmae were determined to revenge themselves on those who had killed the popular, young decurion. Rufius divided the turmae into four and sent them in four directions. He took the southerly route. He used his Explorate training to rationalise and evaluate his options. He assumed that, having fled from the north, they would not wish to fly back into danger. East led nowhere but had to be checked while the western and southern routes were the best options. He sensed, more than anything that they would have travelled south and, when he had been a scout, his feelings had never let him down.
Rufius rode as far as the mansio. Although the pair had travelled at night, the mansio would have had security in the form of night watchmen who would have hears any travellers who were heading south. Rufius wanted to eliminate that as a direction. His own view was that they had gone west but the south was the most logical escape route and he had to check it. When they reached the mansio he was amazed to find that the couple had actually stayed there. It annoyed and piqued him; had he followed them south the previous night then he might have caught them. Ifs and buts did not catch the beast. The mansionarius did not know which direction they had taken and his look told Rufius that he thought it a stupid question. Once visitors left the mansio then his work was done!
“Were there any other travellers here last night?”
The mansionarius was happier with that question and could answer easily. Rufius discovered that the other travellers had all been in wagons which helped him in his next task. “Spread out in a circle. I need hoof prints so do not use your horses. Walk!”
His men knew better than to cross their legendary leader who was patently annoyed at something and they,
carefully, traversed the land around the mansio, covering every angle. Eventually a trooper shouted. “Here sir. There are tracks of more than one horse and they are travelling there.” He pointed north and east.
Rufius ran over and knelt on the ground. “Well done trooper. Three horses; one with little weight on it. Good. Saddle up!”
Vibia and Vibius had made good time and found the bend in the river. They took out the letter to discern any clues they might have missed the first time that they had read it,
My Dearest Aula,
If you have received this letter then I am dead. For that I am sorry- I loved life but I am sorry that you did not share in my victory as much as I would have hoped.
I hope that I have killed my brother but if I have not, then swear that you will do so. In return I can offer you that which you prize the most, Gold!
Before I left Eboracum, I buried a box of gold. It is at the place that they ambushed us. It is buried beneath a dead elm tree which is ten paces from the river where the bend is the most acute. I hope you get the gold and, if you do, reward Marcus’ Horse with the pain they deserve.
Your husband,
Decius Lucullus Sallustius
They rode their horses to the river bank. “Follow me.” Vibius entered the water and he headed upstream for a few paces, then he allowed the current to carry them a hundred paces downstream. He had chosen a spot where the current would bring them back to the bank. Once ashore they tethered their horses and let them stand on the shingle bank. “You go upstream and I will do down. Give a shout if you find an elm tree.”
Vibia nodded to her brother and rode along the heavily overgrown river. Would the box still be here after all these years? Perhaps this quest was doomed to failure, like their attempt on the prefect’s life but they would at least have tried. Their father had died not knowing that he had twins; they owed it to his memory to do all they could to retrieve the treasure. Suddenly she saw the elm tree; it looked like any other dead elm, lying at an ungainly angle close to the river but some voice in her head told her that this was her father’s legacy. “I have the tree!”
By the time Vibius had reached her she had tethered her horse and was searching for the box. The problem they both had, as her brother helped her. was that they had no idea of the size of the box. It could be small and hidden deep or a large one on the surface. In addition, it was perfectly possible that someone had already discovered it and was enjoying the fruits of their father’s success. Suddenly Vibius said, “I have a box!” His fingers and pugeo, probing the soil, had found the edge of something hard. He took out his sword and began to dig in the ground around the edge of what he hoped would be the chest of gold.
“Use your dagger sister and dig at the other side!” Taking out her own pugeo, which still had traces of Gnaeus blood upon it she began to dig and soon the two of them had discovered a box, the edges of which were well defined. “It is massive.” The box was as long as Vibius’ arm and almost as wide. He stood. “We will never get this on the back of our horses.”
“And if they search for us we need to be free of Britannia, we need a boat.” They both looked around as though one would be waiting there for them.
“You must go to Eboracum and hire one. Here,” he handed her all the money he had. “You ride to Eboracum and I will continue to excavate the gold.” She threw him a doubt filled look. “You look nothing like the lovely Vibia but they will know me for the sentries have seen me many times. Take all the horses and sell them. Leave the three saddle bags here and I will fill them with the gold or the treasure; whatever is in the box. You need a small boat with a crew of one or two. When we are safe we will dispose of them.” Both children had inherited their father’s and their mother’s ruthless streak.
“Very well but stay safe brother.”
Rufius led the pursuing Romans, trusting none save his own instincts, honed over many years as an Explorate. Had Felix been with them, Metellus or Marcus, he might have deferred but the experience of fifteen years serving the ala meant he could not afford mistakes. He saw that they were heading for the river; it was almost inevitable that they would do so given the direction they had chosen. The fact that they were well south of Eboracum disturbed him but there was something familiar about this land and he could not quite put his finger on it. The trail occasionally deviated, as though they were trying to throw him off the scent and he had to follow the blind alleys for he did not want to lose them. Finally, as the afternoon drifted towards night, he smelled the river. It was close. “Be alert. I want two lines behind me. Cover fifty paces each side of me and watch for the two of them or sign that horses have been before us.”
He reached the river and saw the hoof prints enter the water. Had they crossed the river? It was not wide at this point and then he remembered why it was familiar. The boats taking Decius Sallustius had left from this point. He spun around, much to the consternation of the troopers. This was the place where the ship carrying the gold had closed with the shore. The question was, why had the twins come there? Homage? Or something else? There was nothing else for it, they would have to cross the river and explore the opposite bank.
“Turmae, we are going to cross the river. Stay close and head upstream, the current will take you downstream but trust to your horses. They can swim, even if you cannot!”
They all managed to cross safely save Agrippa who floundered in the shallows and had to be plucked from the waters by his jeering comrades. “Examine the bank for two hundred paces in each direction. Find hoof prints. “He paused, “Not ours.”
Vibius stopped his work. He had been busy emptying the gold from the box into the saddlebags. Two were full and he was on the last one when he heard the noise in the water on the opposite bank. He froze and lay in the water. He could see the helmets of his ala; they had tracked them. How had they tracked him that was the question in his mind? He had tried to throw them off, but there they were, a hundred paces from him. He was just grateful for the fact that his sister and the horses were not there. He might be able to escape detection. He lay back and glanced up at the sky. It was getting dark and his sister could not be here before morning. He would be patient. He lay still and waited for the dark to engulf him and give him the protection of night.
Rufius hated to give up the chase but his men had found nothing. He rode up the small ridge which made a effective levee and would be a dry place to camp. “Make camp here.”
The troopers looked appalled. A lone voice called, “A proper camp with a ditch and everything?”
Flavius’ voice rapped out, “No you fucking moron. With a stone wall five paces high and ditch deep enough to bury you in. Get on with it!”
Rufius walked over to his chosen man. “Have we any fishermen amongst the men?”
“Lepidus is half Batavian; they say they are almost fish themselves.”
“See if he can catch some fish. It may make up for the extra work.”
The men were a little happier when Lepidus proved to be a competent fisherman and they dined on fish roasted on an open fire. Rufius was not worried about attack; he just didn’t want anyone surprising him.
Flavius had observed the decurion’s reaction and was curious. “Sir? This place, the river and the bend. You know it?”
“Yes Flavius. A few years ago there was a rebellion and the prefect’s brother led it. He stole a fortune in gold and this was the place he left this land with his treasure.”
Flavius’ jaw was visibly open. “The prefect?” There was awe in his voice. “What happened?”
“The Prefect, the Decurion Princeps and me went to Gaul. We recaptured the gold after the prefect killed his brother.”
There was a reflective silence as Flavius took that news in. “Then why has Vibius and come here with that girl?”
“I have no idea. From what the optio told me, Gnaeus said something about twins. They must be brother and sister. There must be a connection to the prefect’s brother but I can make neither head nor tai
l of it. I have lost them Flavius. Tomorrow we will head back to Eboracum. At least Agrippa won’t have to swim this time. We can use the road. It is over there.”
Vibia easily sold the horses for the Roman army was paying high prices for any beast and she made more than she had expected. She made sure that her two daggers were handy for she was about to go to the wharfs; it would be a dangerous place but the resourceful woman was confident that she would be safe. Her beguiling smile and elfin eyes made her look like an innocent abroad but, as Lucia and Gnaeus had discovered, she was a cold blooded killer who could wield a deadly blade as well as any assassin.
She wandered down the quays, ignoring the larger ships which were moored there. Even the small ones had a crew of four and she needed something with a crew of one or two. In her mind she was already assessing how to dispose of them once she and her brother had the gold. She reached the last boat and had identified four or five which might suit her purpose. She waited in the shadows of the warehouses which lined the river, watching both the boats and the people to find the ones she wanted. She watched, curiously as a youth, she took him to be approaching manhood, appeared to be furtively watching the boats too. He had not seen Vibia observing him. He looked around and, assuming no-one was looking, darted into one boat and retrieved what looked like an amphora of wine. Amused she stored that piece of information for future use. No crews had approached the boats and darkness was falling on the river. Eventually she saw an older man come to the boat where the boy had stolen the amphora. He descended into the boat and was looking around for something. When she heard a curse she knew what he sought.
She left her hiding place and headed back to the busier area closer to the vicus and fort. The man’s boat looked to be ideal. It had a small sail and was big enough to accommodate four people. The simple tiller and the narrow width indicated to Vibia that it be both nimble and easy to handle. She would seek out the sailor away from the quay and, either engage his services, or his boat. When she neared the bustling end of the quay where merchants and sailors were completing last minute deals at the end of the day, she saw the youth who had stolen the amphora. The discarded, empty jug lay some distance from him and his ferrety eyes were scanning the crowds for his next victim.