Hosker, G [Sword of Cartimandua 01] The Sword of Cartimandua

by Griff Hosker

  Brocavum

  “My lord he has just brought the message.”

  Venutius was about to strike the messenger who had reported a large force of Romans crossing their land. He seethed with rage. All the time he had been looking east his enemies had been heading west; when he thought they were tucked away in their new fort they were taking the initiative and sneaking through his lands in the dead of winter. The scouts had found tracks in the snow and the remains of a marching camp just west of the high hills but no-one knew were they had gone. Could they be, even now, heading north to this his base? Only the barbaric Romans could war in winter.

  “Summon the tribe and send messengers to my allies; we must prepare for war.”

  “But my lord it is still winter and our people have not begun to seed. We are not ready.”

  “Fool! The Romans do not wait for warm weather. If we do not stop them now there may be no-one left to eat the crops you wish top plant. They may be approaching here! Do you not understand? Would you have us fight the legions with this handful of men? We know not how many men there are within our lands. Are they to the north? Perhaps the south or even, Allfather forbid, the west. For if it is the west then they will have come by ship and we will be assaulted on two sides. Now do you realise why we must act and act swiftly.”

  It was then that his chiefs and chieftains realised their plight. They had barely a thousand warriors at Brocavum; their army was at a hundred different hamlets and settlements wintering. It would take many days to summon them. Taking their leave each leader left to gather their forces.

  Venutius summoned his guards. “We ride today. I want to see where they were last observed.” His men looked at each other. It was unheard of to ride the high hills when the snow was on the ground. Sensing their doubt Venutius turned and snarled. “If the soft Romans can travel through our land I believe that the Carvetii can. We ride.”

  Eboracum

  Marcus Bolanus was enjoying the newly built baths in the fortress of Eboracum blissfully unaware that the letter from Saenius Augustinius had had an effect. The scraping and oiling relaxed him and made him think of his villa near Capua. He had insisted that the baths be built first when he had arrived. He was just stepping into the hot baths when he heard news of an Imperial bireme approaching. He was more annoyed than worried. One bireme meant it was someone of inferior rank and certainly no-one to worry about. The Emperor Vespasian was more concerned with the east. It had been Claudius who had staked everything on Britannia and its riches. He decided not to greet these visitors he would let them wait. In Britannia he was ruler. He was therefore surprised when he heard a commotion outside and the door was flung open. He managed to utter, “What is the meaning...” before he saw the Imperial seal on the letter in the hands of Quintus Cerialis.

  “I am sorry that you have been disturbed but Marcus Caesius Alasica and myself are keen to fulfil the Emperor’s wishes and bring this little island under Roman rule. And you will be keen; I am sure, to return to the warmer climes of Rome!”

  Bolanus stared silently at the letter. He was to be recalled and the manner of his recall meant that he knew he was in disgrace. As he emerged from the bath into the toga held by his servant he could not help but think that he could have made more money than he had so far if he had been more corrupt. He realised, a little late, that he had been lazy and he had neither served Rome nor himself.

  “You are most welcome. As you can see we are in the business of building the fortress.”

  Galba spoke for the first time, barely concealing the disdain in his voice. “I would have thought stone gates would have taken precedence over baths.” Bolanus was stumped for words. Alasica continued, almost dismissing the ex-governor. “Where is the twentieth, I am to command.”

  “They are still in Lindum.”

  “And the second, and the Pannonians?”

  “The second are here but a vexillation went with the Pannonians to build a fort in the west.”

  “In winter? What fool ordered that? I will have the commander’s scourged.” Quintus was as angry as Alasica.

  Realising the truth would come out Bolanus had to admit to the order. “But we needed to pin down the enemy and with the queen dead.”

  “The queen of the Brigante is dead? How?”

  “She er, after eating she died.” Bolanus realised he had yet to inform Rome of this disaster.

  “After eating?” asked the new governor, suspicion in every syllable. “Was she poisoned?”

  “We questioned the cooks and they denied responsibility.”

  “And I take it they died during questioning.” Cerialis turned to the young commander of the twentieth. “This is quite a disaster. It means we cannot count on the Brigante.”

  “Oh most of the Brigante still support us. The Queen’s half-sisters.”

  “The Queen’s half-sisters. Where are they?”

  The silence and the horrified expression on Marcus Bolanus’ face made the two visitors fear the worst. “They are with the vexillation in the west. They wanted to go.” He added feebly.

  “Oh that makes all the difference. So let me understand clearly the situation. You have sent the majority of our cavalry with a sizeable part of a legion and the only leaders of the one tribe in the area we can rely on to build a fort on the other side of the island, in winter?”

  There was no need for an answer. Bolanus could merely nod. His future was bleak. When the Emperor found out he would have his lands confiscated and his life would be terminated. Knowing his presence was unnecessary he left. “If you need any further intelligence my aides will supply it. I have to prepare for the journey.”

  As he left the younger man could not keep the disgust from his voice. “Intelligence is the last thing we will get.”

  The new governor turned to his military commander. “I realise it is too soon but you have a keen military brain which is why the Emperor sent you. What is your assessment of the situation?”

  “Unless the commander of the vexillation is a brilliant commander he will have lost men and animals travelling during winter. He will also be at the mercy of the tribes in that area. They are the Carvetii and led by the Queen’s ex-husband, Venutius. He is a cunning leader and it is rumoured that he has the support of the tribes north of him. I estimate that in the spring they could put over twenty thousand men against us.”

  “And we have?”

  “If we bring up the twentieth, and the Samians then, after garrisoning Lindum and Eboracum we could field, perhaps twelve thousand. The thousand horse and four hundred legionaries in the west would have swung the odds in our favour. As it is we will need to create somewhere further north and west to warn us of an attack. I will speak with the commanders.”

  “And I will enlist the help of some of these natives to expedite the building of the fortress.”

  Fainch noticed the change around Eboracum within days. She had watched the old governor slipping secretly away on the bireme with the despatches which would end his career if not his life. She also saw that work on the fortress went on at a much greater pace. There were many stone towers with strongly built wooden walls and two ditches which surrounded the whole settlement. The ground for a thousand paces had been cleared. Her master had planned on an attack in the spring before the defences were finished. He needed to know that the fortress would not be an easy target by the time he had mustered his warriors and launched his assault. In fact the fortress would be unassailable without siege engines and as everyone knew the only army with siege engines was the Roman army. Rather than trust her message to a minion she decided to visit his refuge high in the hills. She knew that Venutius’ temper might result in the message being ignored from anyone but herself. She needed Venutius to be safe, she need him to lead the rebellion. As she packed her few belongings she knew she and her sisters would need to dream a powerful dream to halt this unstoppable beast that was the Roman army.

  Galba and Cerialis met on the third day after their arrival. “
How goes the military preparations?”

  “The rest of the twentieth will be here by the end of the week. The auxiliary commander of the remaining ala has told me of a place near to the northern river, not far from the Brigante town of Cataractorium a settlement called Morbium. It is at a bluff near a bend in the river. If we build a fort and a bridge there then Venutius will not be as secure. He could be outflanked for at the moment he knows where our line of march must be, south of the great river.”

  “Have you tried to contact the vexillation?”

  “I think there is too much danger attached to that. First of all we would have to send a turma and we can ill afford to lose more auxiliaries and if the message were intercepted then the enemy would know of the vexillation. I am not sure that the enemy know of our incursion. From what I have been told it is a vast empty high land and few people travel even in summer. Besides I believe there is too much danger in bringing them back. If they have managed to build a fort then they should be able to survive until spring if not,” he shrugged his shoulders, “then they are dead and we would have thrown good men after bad. I am more concerned with the Brigante with them. I hope the vexillation commander treats them well.”

  The commander was indeed treating them well. Had the Romans in Eboracum known the situation they would have realised that they had no need to fear the isolation of the Brigante princesses. Bolanus had failed to mention the liaison between Ulpius and the queen. The problem the vexillation had was that the snows had come with a vengeance. They went to bed at night with the weather cold and threatening and awoke the next day to a blanket of snow which rose in places as high as a horse’s haunches. All movement and work stopped. Fortunately they had built one stone gate and the towers and as Orrick said, the snows would at least stop the Carvetii from venturing out. It was a blessing in disguise.

  Ulpius set the men to training; there would be a fight when Venutius came and it was important that the legionaries, auxiliaries and Brigante behaved as a single unit. He spent many hours with the leaders who then passed on the ideas to the men. When they were not training they were making sure that all their equipment was fully functional. One of the first buildings which went up was the blacksmiths and they were busy making horseshoes and arrow heads as well as sharpening swords and javelins. The younger Brigante spent the shortened days hunting to augment their meagre rations. Daily they brought in rabbits and small red deer. They were surviving.

  Chapter 13

  Glanibanta

  Ulpius had bridled at the lack of work but even he had to admit that the rest allowed men and beasts to recover after a gruelling journey fraught with both danger and hardship. The mid-winter travail had cost them both horses and men. The horses would continually weaken for their fodder would run out and there was no grass to eat. It was a problem he would have to deal with. As he tramped through the snow he inspected the partly constructed fort. The ditches had been completed early on and the legionaries were pleased that the lake provided one whole impenetrable ditch. The walls and towers had been built. The northern gate, the porta praetoria had been built of stone. He smiled to himself the Queen had been right about the abundance of materials. There was a huge quantity of stone and none of it had needed to be quarried; it was just lying on the ground. There was also a plentiful supply of slate so that the roofs of the buildings would be watertight. They had brought some pazzolana with them and had been able to use concrete for the foundations and between the stones. Once the stone melted it would not take long to build the other three gates. He wandered over to the towers, acknowledging the salutes of the guards. They were high enough and, with their elevation, gave them an excellent view of approaching enemies. If the bastards did come, and Ulpius had to admit that was unlikely for a while, they would neither be surprised nor overwhelmed. Ulpius was more concerned that he had not been able to build the three outposts yet, the two on the lake and the one on the mound. Even the tireless Marcus had been unable to complete that miracle. He wondered what had happened to his subordinate since they arrived for he was perpetually smiling and seemed full of life. The cynic in the one eyed warrior wondered if regular lovemaking had anything to do with it. He determined to ask the question directly next time he spoke to him. He was disturbed by a shot from the north east tower.

  “Gate. Rider approaching.”

  Ulpius was pleased that his men were not indolent. The legionaries sprang into action and his auxiliaries stood with bows notched. Ulpius felt his fingers on the hilt of the Brigante sword and it gave him comfort. Cartimandua had told him it had mystical qualities and he had noticed that whenever Orrick or one of the Brigante warriors saw it they had reverence and awe written all over their faces.

  “It is one of my people,” shouted Orrick and the guards relaxed slightly although the gate remained closed. Orrick climbed to the rampart over the gate and spoke to his kinsman in their own tongue. The warrior was a young fierce eyed warrior who looked like a younger version of Orrick. The sword he carried was as long as that wielded by Ulpius and the young man had many combat amulets on his arms. He was, Ulpius decided, a warrior. Although Marcus and Ulpius understood many of the words the two spoke so quickly that all meaning was lost. Orrick turned to the Roman who had joined him at the gate. “It is Esca my cousin. He wishes to join us.”

  His one eye staring into Orrick’s soul he asked, “Do you trust him?”

  “He is not just my cousin he is blood kin.”

  Ulpius nodded. A Roman might not understand the ties of a blood oath but a semi-barbarian like Ulpius would. “Let him enter.”

  Ulpius allowed the two warriors to speak with other before he imposed himself upon them. Marcus stood at his side as did Quintus Brutus the senior centurion. They were all eager to learn any news of the outside world. “The Carvetii know we have crossed the high hills and he searches for us. He does not yet have his forces gathered and my cousin tells me that we have more men in this fort than Venutius has.”

  “How does he know that?” questioned Brutus.

  Orrick smiled wryly, not all the Romans were as trusting at the cavalrymen. “He counted us. Venutius does not know where we are building the fort and he is looking further east. I think we moved too fast for him.”

  “Where did your blood kin come by this intelligence?” There was just the hint of suspicion in the Roman’s voice.

  “He was sent a summons by Venutius for a gathering of the host.”

  “That is sooner than I would have hoped. When do you think he will be ready?”

  “Once the snows melt and his other men arrive then he will have enough scouts to fill the land and he will find us.”

  “How long?”

  “For the snow? I know not. For his men? At least ten days and then only for them to arrive at his stronghold. It would take another seven nights for them to set off.”

  “That gives us fifteen days. Enough time for the fort but, unless the snows melt even quicker than they are we cannot build the outposts. Are there others like your kin who wish to join us?”

  Orrick nodded. “When the snows melt there will be many for he has dishonoured us by killing our queen.”

  Ulpius was already working out how to house and feed the extra men whilst he was also thinking about using them as a battle force. The fort could house eight hundred men and the plan was to put almost twice that number in. It was one of the reasons the cavalryman wanted to use the outposts to spread the load; they could all defend the fort but not, perhaps, live in it. He voiced his ideas to Orrick, Brutus and Marcus. “We need barracks outside of the fort. The lake means we cannot make it any larger we need a similar fort, “he gestured to the southwest. “There is another piece of land which juts out into the lake. It will protect us from the west. We could house the majority of the cavalry and any of the Brigante who wish to join us. That will leave the legionaries to garrison and defend this, the main fort. It need not be a fort more of a barracks. I want as much space between all of us as possible. Clo
se company can lead to disagreements.”

  They all nodded their agreement for there had already been numerous fistfights and one stabbing from conflict between auxiliaries and legionaries for normally they had their own forts and areas. Brutus was beginning to see why the one-eyed barbarian had been put in command of this vexillation. His initial distrust had evaporated during the march and since they arrived. “I will have my men being clearing the ground ready to start once the snow goes.”

  Marcus nodded, “And I will take my turma on foot to the outpost mound. As it is a hill we should be able to clear the snow easier.” Ulpius looked doubtfully at his decurion knowing, as he did that cavalrymen preferred to ride everywhere. “It is not far and the exercise will do them good. Our mounts are too lean and there is little feed to spare.”

  Ulpius nodded his agreement. “Good. You all know what you are to do. I leave it to you Orrick to recruit and organise your people. Make sure you can trust them. Remember what happened to the queen.”

  “We remember and do not worry any traitors and spies will not return to give Venutius any help.”

  As he expected the men of his turma grumbled when they realised that they would have to walk. They grumbled even more when they had to carry axes and hammers as well as their weapons.

  “This is foot soldier’s work,” murmured Decius the grumbler.

  “If we took our horses then soon you would be a foot soldier so look upon it as training for your future.”

  The rest of the turma laughed aloud at the put down. Decius was a moaner, a good soldier, but his comrades knew he could moan even on a fine sunny day. It was his nature and, if truth be told, they were glad to be away from the mundane and boring work within the fort. It was exciting to be doing something different.