by Griff Hosker
When he reached the river he saw that his men had led the horses and tied them in a line close by a clearing where there was grass for them to graze. “We will be camping here tonight. Pedair, take Aed and you see if you can hunt some food. I have had enough of berries.”
Carnac said, “I will put some lines in the river. We may be lucky.”
The five Brigante were pleased to be doing something. It had galled all of them to flee from Coriosopitum but they all knew that to stay would have meant certain death. This way, at least, they could learn from their defeat and rebuild.
Felix and Wolf spotted Carnac as he laid his fishing lines in the river. They hunkered down to watch. He only saw the five warriors and he wondered where the women had gone. Suddenly his eye was caught by a flash of white from half way up the hill. It was one of the women. She disappeared into what looked like a cave. Having located the men he focussed his attention on the cave. He saw that it lay beneath a tumble of rocks. A rogue tree had grown out at an angle and held the rocks. It made the cave look as though it was crowned with hair. Felix shivered. The women in the cave were witches. The cave looked to be part of their domain. He was a brave scout but he would not risk the wrath of the mother.
His patience was rewarded when he saw the line of women emerge from the cave and descend the path. The tendril of smoke from behind the trees told him that they were camping. He could return to the decurion and tell him that their prey was close.
Caronwyn was satisfied. They would drink from the river and then purify themselves for the ceremony of the dream. It would just be her and the priestesses who would sleep in the cave. The men would hinder the spirits and she was not certain if Flavia would cope with the sometimes traumatic and unpredictable dreams which haunted such places. Her only disappointment was that the sisters who she had expected were not there; not alive, at least. She had seen the petrified bones of what looked like two priestesses. They must have died in the cave and the cave had consumed them. She knew that their spirits would linger yet in the wet gloom of the cave.
Briac appeared like an eager puppy. “We have tethered the horses and my men hunt food.”
“Then you and your men can eat it. Until we have dreamed my sisters and I will eat nothing. You are to guard the cave. Once we enter then no one must defile it until we emerge in the morning.” She turned to Flavia, “Briac and the men will protect you.”
She looked fearfully across the river. “What if the Romans come?”
“We have lost them and they will not come. We have time. Fear not, the river and the cave will protect us.”
Marcus and his turma reached the bluff overlooking the river well before dark. He went with Gnaeus and Felix to scout out the barbarians. “They are over there, decurion, you can see the cave and their camp is in those trees.”
Gnaeus peered down at the river. They could cross there but it would mean they could be easily seen by their prey. “Felix, find us a crossing point upstream.”
The scout and his dog trotted off west. “If they go in the cave sir we will have a hard job to winkle them out. Some of those caves can go back for miles.”
“I know but that doesn’t worry me. If they are in the cave then they are trapped. I want them secure. The last thing we need is to lose them. This would begin all over again.”
They reached the turma. “You four stay here with the spare horses. We are going to attack them. If they try to escape then you cut them off.”
“Sir!” The men he had with him were not only the ones who were still unwounded, they were also the most experienced troopers in the ala. They could all be relied upon to use their initiative.
Felix and Wolf appeared as though by magic. “There is a ford just around the bend in the river sir but you must be careful. There are two warriors hunting in the woods.”
Marcus turned to his men, “Careful, weapons at the ready.”
They descended through the woods to the river. Marcus handed his reins to Gnaeus. “I will cross with Felix. We will wave you across when it is safe.”
The ford was just knee deep but some of the stones beneath the surface were treacherously slippery and Marcus took his time. Felix and Wolf seemed to almost walk on the water. Once in the woods Felix held up his hand. He moved silently up the bank to a handful of bushes. He waved Marcus forward and they crouched underneath the bushes. They saw a couple of young deer in the distance. They nibbled some hidden bush and then their ears pricked. They bounced away down the slope and then stopped. Felix mimed pulling a bow. Marcus nodded. The deer were being hunted. The deer continued to graze. Suddenly they heard the twang of two bows being drawn. The deer started towards the river. One of them fell, struck by two arrows. It landed twenty paces from where they lay hidden. The other deer escaped. Marcus watched as the two Brigante emerged from cover and raced towards the dead animal.
Marcus could hardly breathe as the two Brigante picked up the deer and headed down the slope to their camp. Marcus waited until the two men were well away and then tapped Felix on the shoulder. He mimed for him to stay there. Felix nodded and Marcus made his way back to the river. He waved across the rest of his men. There were over thirty of them. He had more than enough to do what he intended.
Briac was delighted with the kill. It was not a large deer but it would be hot food and they had all night ahead of them. Carnac came from the river with a brace of trout. “Excellent! Pedair and Aed you are good hunters. This will be like a feast.
Caronwyn shook her head, “That is the trouble with you Briac. You cannot see beyond your next meal. If you were only able to channel your mind and your spirit the way that you fill your belly, then who knows what you could achieve.”
Briac felt humiliated to be spoken to like this in front of his men. Flavia touched his hand. “Men always think better on a full stomach!”
Caronwyn shook her head. “We will begin our ceremony when the sun dips below the western mountains. Do not disturb us until it rises again in the east.”
His men had kept their heads down as they gutted the deer. The dead wood would burn well and not make smoke. All six of them just wanted Caronwyn gone so that they could eat.
The smell of the venison cooking had the troopers salivating. Spread out in a wide circle they approached the camp slowly. Night had begun to fall as they had slowly closed with the camp. Septimus was almost walking in the river while Lentius was a hundred paces away to the south. Marcus was taking no chances. He needed these men and priestesses dead or alive. If they escaped then he had failed.
He heard the woman talking to the warrior in the mail. “You could come with me, you know Briac. I have a fine villa across the sea. We could live well.”
“And what about Severus?”
“He is either dead or he has deserted me.” She shrugged, “The result is the same.”
“I am not sure. I believe my destiny is here. I am descended from Venutius who was the last free king of my people. If I went with you then I would be letting down my people. I need to fight these Romans.”
Suddenly Marcus and Gnaeus stepped into the firelight. “Put down your weapons Brigante and…”
Marcus got no further. His orders were to bring them back as prisoners and he had tried to do so but Briac and his men had other ideas. They grabbed their weapons and ran at the two men. The rest of the troopers stepped forward. Briac and his oathsworn knew that they would die but they would die as warriors with swords in their hands. Briac swung his spatha at Marcus. Neither man had a shield but Marcus had fought far more men than Briac. He spun and evaded the wild swing. Bringing his sword around Briac frantically blocked the blow. Marcus twisted the Sword of Cartimandua and flicked the end in the direction of Briac’s side. The sword ripped open two of the mail links.
Marcus stepped back as Briac drew his dagger and came towards Marcus with two weapons. Marcus feinted and Briac made the mistake of using both weapons to block the blow. Marcus still wanted a prisoner and he did not make a killing strike
. Instead he turned and twisted his blade beneath the hilt of Briac’s dagger. It flew from his hand.
Suddenly there were wild screams as the naked priestesses flung themselves at the troopers. Flavia took the momentary distraction to run towards the cave.
Two of Marcus’ troopers were distracted by the naked women and surprised by the sudden attack. Both men paid for that with their lives. Briac, too, tried to use the reinforcements to his own advantage. He spun around and brought his spatha two handed around Marcus’ back. Marcus was nimble on his feet and he stepped to the side and chopped down with his sword. The Brigante blade bounced off a rock. Briac tried to force Marcus backwards by pushing as hard as he could on his sword. Their faces were close together. Briac snarled, “You are half Brigante! You have the Sword of Cartimandua. How can you fight for the Romans?”
“I am half Roman and I know that the world of Rome is right for the Brigante.”
Briac hooked his leg around the back of Marcus’ knee and pushed. Marcus fell backwards. He had not been expecting the blow. He reached out with his left hand to stop himself falling and clutched at Briac’s mail. They fell together. Marcus felt the warm spurt of blood as the sword of Brigante sank deep into Briac’s heart and the last issue of Venutius died.
Marcus pushed the body from him and looked around. Five of his troopers were dead but the Brigante warriors had been slain and five priestesses lay dead. Of Flavia and the survivors there was no sign.
“Where are they?”
“They ran to the cave.”
“Gnaeus bring ten men and come with me. The rest of you see to the wounded.”
This would be the end of it. He had them trapped in the cave.
In the cave Caronwyn cursed the Romans. The five priestesses followed the hysterical Flavia deep into the cave. One of them had a mortal wound to her stomach.
“We are outnumbered. There is no escape!”
“I know. We will take as many of them as we can. Here take this.” She handed them a mushroom each. She took them from the bag of potions and powders. She looked at Flavia. “Eat this and they will have no power over you.” The priestesses snuffed out the torches but one and the cave became eerily blue.
Flavia eagerly took it and greedily ate it. “Thank you sister. And when they have gone?”
“Then we will be with the Mother.”
Flavia felt a sudden pain in her chest. Her breathing became more difficult and yet her head was filled with a euphoria she had not felt since her brother had died. Caronwyn eased her to the ground and kissed her on the head. “Soon I will join you!”
Gnaeus and the first four troopers burst into the cave. Their eyes were not used to the dark and they sought their foes. Marcus, Felix and Wolf followed. The dog growled and his ears went down. Like Felix he felt the power of the cave. While Marcus followed his men Felix and the dog remained fearfully at the entrance.
Suddenly the torches were snuffed out and they were in complete darkness. Marcus yelled, “The rest of you wait at the entrance!”
He heard the clash of blades and then a shout as one of his troopers died. Marcus backed off to the side of the cave so that his back was to the damp wall. He heard more metal on metal and this time they were the screams and shouts of women as they died.
Gnaeus appeared from the dark and lurched towards Marcus. He was trying to hold his entrails in. “I will see you in the Otherworld.” He slumped into Marcus’ arms. Even in death his Chosen Man did his job. The wounded priestess stabbed the corpse in the back thinking it was Marcus. The decurion ripped his sword across her throat and her dead body fell across that of Gnaeus.
Silence filled the cave. Then Marcus heard the steady drip of water from the roof. Somewhere ahead one of the wounded gasped their dying breath and then was gone.
He heard a cackle from the corner, “So bearer of the Sword of Cartimandua you have escaped me yet.” Marcus said nothing. He was trying to locate the witch through the sound of her voice. He did not want to let her know where he was. “I know you live still. I can feel you breathing. You have no power in this holy place, for this is the cave of the mother.”
He sensed a movement to his left and, as he turned, a wounded priestess hurled herself at him. Her eyes were wild with fury and she had bared teeth. Marcus thought his time had come until Felix’s arrow erupted like a third eye.
“You have luck, spawn of Ailis, I will give you that but now I will take it away from you. I curse you and your line. I call upon the power of the Mother to make you all suffer a long and painful death. I curse your family, your mother, your wife, your brother, your children. I curse your land and I curse your animals. And when you come to the Otherworld then I will inflict the direst of tortures upon you and your issue. And I will sit in this cave until my prediction comes to pass. I will watch generations suffer until there are none left to curse.” There was a pause. “I come!” The silence, punctuated by the drip returned.
Marcus waited an age. He felt frozen to the ground. He was about to shout out when one of the troopers lit a torch and stood in the entrance. The sight which greeted him was horrific. The bodies of his troopers lay entwined with the dead priestesses. He saw Flavia lying on the ground with a smile upon her face and there, seated beneath the dripping water sat a naked Caronwyn. Her back was to the wall and on her head she wore the crown of the Brigante given to her by her mother, Morwenna.
Marcus knew that if he did not move now he would never move. He sprang away from the wall and leapt for the entrance. Felix and Wolf preceded him. He would not enter the cave again. No-one would.
“Lentius take four men and prise those rocks from above the entrance to the cave. I want it sealed up forever.”
“But sir, the men!”
“I gave an order. They died well and their bodies will not be harmed within this tomb. Let them sleep with the witches and mayhap their spirits will protect us.”
The curse had worried Marcus. All those who had heard it felt the power of the words. Felix was shaking as they walked back to the horses. As they saddled the horses and laid the bodies of their men who had fallen in the camp on their mounts they heard a sound like thunder. Lentius and his men stood atop the witch’s head and the rocks buried the cave. It was gone.
As they rode north in silence no-one wished to talk of the end of the line of Fainch, Morwenna and Venutius. All were thinking of their own fate. The rebellion had been ended but its effects would linger.
Epilogue
As the VIth finally disposed of the last of the Selgovae First Spear Quintus Broccus felt a sense of satisfaction. The fortress they had built had survived. The wall had not been breached and the rebellion was suppressed. He knew they could not have done it without the invaluable auxiliaries. He even felt a little guilt for he had barely forty casualties and that included wounded. He had seen, as they had marched west, the bodies which marked the defence of the wall. He had already sent a rider back to bring up the 11nd Cohort. The 1st would return to Eboracum when they arrived but he would ensure that the legion had a presence on the wall. He knew that it had been a mistake to withdraw it.
Banquo and his four oathsworn made it all the way to the west coast well below the wall. Killing the fisherman and stealing his boat was simple. He decided to head north. He would seek sanctuary at the court of King Tole and he would continue his fight against the Romans. He was not the naïve warrior he had been. He had learned much and the Romans would learn of his education.
As ‘The Swan’ headed south Legate Julius Demetrius wondered if he should retire. He knew that not all of his decisions had been good ones. They had won but only just. Perhaps he should consider Furax’s words. He was too old to fight and he remembered when he had been a young officer in the ala how he had wondered at men too old to fight who gave orders. Perhaps it was true that the great leaders such as Alexander and Julius Caesar had all died young. Old men like Crassus led men to their deaths and not to glory. He would wait until he was in warmer climes bef
ore he made that decision but his mind was already drifting south to the sun.
Marcus led his turma towards his brother’s farm. They would be arriving late at night but he would be given a welcome and he would feel safe there. Felix was silent as they headed along the track from the Roman Road. The scene in the cave, Gnaeus’ death, all of it had upset the youth. Marcus had thought that finding the last of the rebels would end it. He was wrong. He now had Caronwyn in his head. The witch had known what she was doing when she cursed him and then took her own life. He smiled when he saw the familiar walls ahead. The torches burning at the gate were welcoming and warm.
The man on the gate recognised them and shouted, “It is the decurion and his troopers!”
The gate swung open and he saw his brother advancing towards him. Behind him he saw Drugi with his arm around Frann. There were no welcoming smiles.
Marcus dismounted and Decius walked up to him. He had been crying. He put his arms around Marcus’ shoulders. “Our mother is dead, brother.”
Marcus felt a chill grip his heart and squeeze. He said, very quietly, “When?”
“Just after dark. She was at the table. She stood and cried, ‘It is the witch! She fell forward and she died.”
Marcus fell to his knees and began to sob. The curse had begun. Who would be the next to fall victim to the witch?
The End
Maps
Maps Courtesy of Wikipedia
Historical Background
Aulus Nepos was the Governor of Britannia for a short time and it was his decision to enlarge Hadrian’s original ideas. That proved expensive and his tenure was a mere three years. He was responsible for Housesteads and the other forts on the wall as well as those built north of the wall. His successor, Trebius Germanus, was a vague figure who may or may not have been Governor in 127 A.D. As the next governor we know for certain was Sextus Severus 131-133, I have used Germanus.