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

by Griff Hosker

  “Greetings uncle. They have not moved yet. There are only twelve Romans in the tower. The sentries appear to be looking towards the two lakes rather than over here. They changed sentries in the middle of the night.”

  “You have done well cousin. Can we approach without being seen?”

  “We would have to be as the snake and crawl on our bellies but we could. But lord the sun comes soon we must be swift.”

  “Aye.” He turned to his men. “We will follow Aetre. When he crawls so shall you. Spread out and surround the Romans. On my signal we attack. Any man who attacks before the signal will die by my hand.” His last statement was for the younger hotheads who were likely to risk death for the glory of first blood.

  The ground was cold and damp as they slithered across the open ground close to the tower. They were helped by the fact that their dull and dark clothes blended into the dark ground. There were tufts and clumps of grass and weeds which helped camouflage the lightly armed and unencumbered warriors. In the tower the guards were stamping their feet to get warm and peering into the lightening sky to the north and east. Lugotrix was eager to close with these Romans and prove his valour. He had yet to earn combat amulets, this would be his opportunity. His arrow was already notched on his bow. He glanced over at Earl Woolgar who raised his sword; coming to a half crouch he aimed his arrow at the two men in the tower.

  The young optio, Julius Brutus, was enjoying himself as this was the first time his half turma had been given this duty. He was relishing the independence of command. His men were the least experienced which was why they had not been given the duty hitherto; they were, as he was young and the turma had only joined the command a few weeks before they left Eboracum. They had not been involved in any of the battles nor the long patrol but they were keen to prove themselves to the infamous one eyed commander. Ulpius was forced to use them as he now had another half turma on the lake guarding the south; he recognised the rashness of youth and wanted to protect the affable young optio from himself. The casualties from Marcus’ patrol were beginning to cause problems. He knew that in a short time there would be a lightening of the sky to the east that was when he would awaken the rest of his men. It was essential to be prepared for any Carvetii who ventured down the valley; he was determined not let down the rest of the ala.

  The first that Julius Brutus knew of an attack was when he heard the whistle and felt the air move as the sentry next to him fell with an arrow protruding from his neck. He barely had time to duck below the parapet before a second arrow thudded into the roof of the tower.

  “To arms!” Even as he shouted he gripped his shield and drew his sword. His men reacted quickly but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Their reaction was to look to the north but their attackers were all around them. Men who had been soundly asleep woke to find a warrior with charcoal covered face slashing down at them with short bladed seaxes.

  Lugotrix discarded his bow and gripped his razor sharp, short bladed knife. He saw a sleepy Roman lurch towards him a spear in his hand. The young warrior waited until his opponent thrust at him and then spun round his blade glancing off the man’s spine and plunging into his kidney, a mortal wound. He was a warrior at last! Eagerly looking around he pounced upon a Roman who was trying to mount his horse. The young Lugotrix grabbed his trailing leg and they fell in a heap on the ground. They were so close they could smell the sweat on each other’s body but the Carvetii could smell something else, fear. “This morning Roman you die,” he ripped the knife across the throat of the auxiliary and felt the warm salty blood splash on his face. Feeling exulted he continued to saw through the cartilage until he felt his blade grate against bone. With a sudden rip he tore the head from the body and stood shouting his triumph. Now all his brothers could see that he was a warrior and he had kills, not just one for he had three.

  Although they gave a good account of themselves their defence was over in minutes. The last Roman to die was the optio who used the tower from which to hurl javelins at the warriors who were busy slaughtering his men. He was brave and knowing he would die he determined to take as many barbarians as possible with him. He took great satisfaction in watching his javelin take a warrior full in the chest. He released a second and saw it hit another in the leg. When he had hurled the last of them he waited in the tower for the death he knew would come. The Carvetii kept up a steady shower of arrows whilst two men made their way up the ladder armed with long spears. Although the young auxiliary managed to hurl a sword and kill one of his attackers the second one managed to wound him as he came through the door at the top of the tower. Julius Brutus was now weakened through the loss of blood fought bravely on managing to slice through the cheek of the barbarian. The blood from his wound caused him to slip and his assailant killed him with a thrust of his spear into the unarmoured area between his legs; a turn of the lance eviscerating him.

  Woolgar’ men were excited by their first, easy victory over the Romans and it took all of his power to stop them from firing the tower. “Fools! We have surprise. This tower is here to warn the Romans of an attack from the valley of the two lakes. We can use this.” He gestured to one of his men. Take a Roman horse and bring the rest of the warband.”

  The man vaulted easily on the horse and set off at a fast gallop.

  Quintus Carrus and his companion Gaius Sempricus were looking forward to returning to the tower their duty completed. Ulpius had insisted upon two troopers being on duty at the narrow neck of land between the lower lake and the steep hillside. It would provide early warning of an attack and the narrowness of the area meant that two men could easily spot anyone advancing towards the tower. It was not a popular duty as the only shelter was a rock overhang. They knew that their relief would be coming soon and they prepared their horses.

  “I hope they have kept the fire going my feet are so cold that I can’t feel them.”

  “Aye and some hot food would not go amiss. Not long to wait now. I just hope our young optio hasn’t decided to redesign the tower or have us performing complicated military manoeuvres I am shattered. I just want my bedroll.” They both laughed. They might make gentle fun of their optio but in truth all of the turma liked him. He was a caring commander, if a little keen. Quintus and Gaius were the two longest serving auxiliaries and Marcus had put them in the turma to stiffen its experience.

  Suddenly they heard the thud of a galloping horse from the direction of the tower. They were both experienced enough to know what it meant, danger. They both turned to face the noise and drew their javelins. The Carvetii warrior turned around the huge rock in the trail to be faced by two armoured Roman warriors. The two troopers immediately recognised their foe and their training took over; they only need one javelin thrust to kill him instantly.

  As they removed the javelin from the body Quintus realised that their enemy was riding a Roman horse. “There is trouble at the tower. We must return to the fort and warn the commander. Let us be careful.” Leading the Roman horse they trotted back towards the tower. The path to the tower twisted through scrub and brush but then it emerged into the killing ground cleared by the auxiliaries. There was another way; the small river ran in a shallow gully off to the side and afforded some cover.

  In the tower Woolgar and his men had long since finished mutilating the corpses and stripping them of weapons and armour. They had found the food and were enjoying the fire as dawn broke. So it was that the two Romans saw the Carvetii moving around the tower long before they were seen. They used the stream as a path which kept them hidden from the watchers. They were just unfortunate that Lugotrix climbed in to the tower, the scene of his first victory, to survey the area as one of the Roman horses neighed as it lost its footing. “Romans!” He pointed to the west where the cavalrymen had realised they were seen and reacted quickly. The advantage that the Romans had was that they knew the path and they knew where the fort was. Realising that they could not hide the troopers whipped their horses into a gallop, leaving the water to the relativel
y safety of the path now well worn by the Roman patrols.

  Woolgar shouted to the men nearest to the remaining Roman horses. “Get those Romans now!”

  By the time they had bridled them and mounted the horses, the two troopers were in the distance. With daylight now upon them the Carvetii would soon be upon them.

  The sentries at the fort had just been changed and so were as alert as they could be. They could hear the horses before they saw them and the speed told them it meant danger. The standing orders were quite clear and the senior sentry shouted, “To arms to arms!” By the time the troopers arrived at the gate every wall and palisade was manned. The gates were opened and closed again before the nine Carvetii had arrived. When they did arrive a shower of arrows plucked two men from their saddles and the rest retreated to a safe distance from the fort. To say they were surprised was an understatement. They could see two forts bristling with Romans and Brigante heavily armed and secure. The leader who took them back to the tower did not look forward to passing the message along to Woolgar.

  Ulpius knew that they could not escape notice for long but, as Quintus made his report he was disappointed that the tower had failed to give them warning. It had been fortunate that his standing orders had had the mounted patrol out or they would have been surprised. He turned to the decurion next to him. “Senior officers in my headquarters now.” He turned to the two troopers. “You have done well. Rejoin your turma.”

  As soon as he saw the empty horses being led by the handful of scouts Earl Woolgar knew that he was facing a larger force and it was not far away. He had sent for his men as soon as he realised his first messenger had perished. The first elements were making their way into this new camp. The Carvetii chieftain had decided that this plat area with the Roman tower and water close by would be a good base either to defend against roman attacks or use as a springboard to assault the invaders.

  From his scouts he discovered that there were two forts, one Roman and one Brigante, less than a legion but more than a cohort or century. As he quenched his thirst with some warm beer he considered his options. The Romans could not attack Venutius without passing him. They had chosen the site of the tower well for it was a natural bottleneck. If they chose to head west he would soon know and it would play into his hands as it was still Carvetii land patrolled by Carvetii warriors. Was this a Roman invasion or a diversion? He would need prisoners. He decided not to send a message to Venutius until he knew more. He was still smarting over his treatment at the hands of the king. He would send to the king when he knew everything. He shouted to Aetre whose success had made him the favoured one. “Gather my blood brothers we will go and see these Romans for ourselves.”

  Glanibanta

  Inside the headquarters building Ulpius was having similar problems of intelligence. From the Marcus’ report he knew that the tribes were gathering. From Quintus’ report he knew that there were enough tribesmen to overwhelm his outpost. Was this a patrol like that of Marcus or was it the main force? He looked around at the faces of his senior leaders; Orrick who spoke for the Brigante; Quintus Brutus who led the legionaries and Marcus now promoted to senior decurion. “Well we are blind are we not?” He was pleased that they smiled at his self deprecating comment. “Or at least half-blind. We need to know what we face.”

  Orrick was the first to speak. “I can take my scouts out to discover who they are. We will be less easy to spot than your troopers.”

  “True but I fear they will be watching the fort. Hidden but watching. It matters not whether it is Brigante or Roman they will be watched.”

  “If we leave at night?”

  “Then there may be a chance. Marcus when you led your patrol you headed west did you not? Could we go that way and outflank them?”

  “The problem is the hills and the water. “ He was pleased that Orrick nodded in agreement. “The water and the mountains force you to travel north for half a day before you can even think about turning east and we still have the problem of the narrow valley of two lakes.”

  “East”

  Orrick spoke. “Your young commander is right and the mountains to the east are even higher. There is also a valley, the valley of the long lake and it comes out close to where Venutius will have his muster.”

  Ulpius turned to speak to the legionary centurion who had not spoken. “Any thoughts centurion?”

  “It seems to me that my legionaries were chosen because they can defend walls.” They all nodded their agreement. “But they are the very troops who could force a narrow pass for that is work for men fighting shield to shield. The barbarians cannot stand against such tactics. They fight as individuals. We are not enough to face a huge army but as long as they are equal numbers, my men could easily force them back.”

  “How narrow is the pass to the north Marcus? You travelled down it last.”

  “It is ten men wide until you come to the land where the two lakes join where it is quite flat although boggy and marshy, about three hours march and then it narrows again to forty men wide just north of the northern lake.”

  A plan was forming in his mind. “So if our legionaries can force then back to the wider part then our cavalry would be able to fall upon them?”

  Marcus nodded and Orrick spoke up. “The centurion is right the hills to the west are steep, for horses. My men are hill men. I could take a warband on foot and attack them in the rear at the neck of land between the two lakes.”

  Their discussion was interrupted by the shout of “Stand to! Riders approaching.”

  The men quickly raced to the ramparts. The bolt throwers were already cocked although the enemy were too far away to hurt. “That’s him.”

  “Who?” questioned Ulpius.

  “The leader of the men I fought. I recognise his hair and beard.” Marcus had mistaken the warrior brother of his defeated opponent but it raised his standing amongst the Brigante.

  “You did well young Marcus for that is Earl Woolgar. In his youth he was a mighty warrior and he is one of Venutius’ wisest and fiercest leaders.”

  “So,” continued Ulpius, “we can assume it is a large force but not the whole army.” His three lieutenants nodded their agreement. “They will, of course base themselves at our outpost as it controls the pass. How many men would he have with him do you think?”

  Orrick pondered for a moment and then said, “He would have at least a thousand. They would be his warband.”

  Ulpius looked at Decius Brutus. “You can force the pass against a thousand warriors?” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “Against undisciplined warriors with little armour? Yes.”

  “Good let us retire and I will tell you my plan. If we all approve then we will proceed.”

  An hour later the plan was finalised. As soon as it was dark Orrick would take a hundred and fifty of his best warriors west to provide the ambush. Ulpius and Marcus would take ten turma as a screen towards the tower. Decius Brutus would follow with his legionaries and two bolt throwers and attack the Carvetii at the pass. The remaining soldiers both Brigante and Roman would defend the Roman fort. As Ulpius said it was a gamble but if they did not strike quickly then perhaps the Carvetii would bring their whole army and destroy them.

  Earl Woolgar turned to his nephew. “What do you think?”

  “I think that we would lose many men attacking from here. They have the fort defended by the water. We could starve them out. Stop their men getting supplies or we could inform the king.”

  Woolgar nodded. He had come to the same conclusion. If they had boats then the assault would be easy but as long as they had the lake behind them and the walls defended by the bolt throwers, archers and javelins then they would be wasting lives. “I agree.” He turned to his blood brothers. “You have the honour of the first duty. Watch the fort and let no one leave. I will return with more men.”

  Both forts were filled with the sounds of blades being sharpened and equipment being checked. For the Roman legionaries, who had bee
n largely guards until this moment, it was a chance to show the barbarian horse soldiers what real Romans could do. For the auxiliaries it was a chance to hit back at the hated Carvetii. When Woolgar had returned he had also brought the heads of the dead cavalrymen and they had been placed atop long poles for all to see. The Brigante were warriors first and foremost. The fact that they would be partially avenging the death of their Queen was a bonus and they would take few prisoners. The act angered the legionaries more than Ulpius’ men who also understood the gesture of removing an enemy head.

  As darkness fell Ulpius called his key leaders together. He spoke first to Orrick. “There will be no signal for you to attack for I know not how long it will take us. You will have to judge the time for yourself. I do not think thy will be expecting an attack as it is an almost impossible thing I ask of you.”

  “We will not fail and we will need no signal for as soon as we see them we shall attack.”

  Ulpius nodded. He knew himself that warriors lost confidence when attacked from a direction they felt was secure. “Marcus you will take six turmae along the right flank, Lucius Emprenius you will take six to the left and I will command the remaining three in the centre.”

  “But sir that is the most dangerous part. You will be facing the main body of Earl Woolgar.”

  “Aye Marcus and that is why it is my duty. The men must see me leading. And besides,” he smiled at Decius Brutus, “I will be backed by a cohort of the finest legionaries in Britain. Are you sure your bolt throwers can still be effective firing over the heads of my men?”

  “It is true they are more effective firing through ranks of men but believe me they will cause chaos falling amongst the ranks who feel secure.”

  “Good. If there are no further questions may your gods help you tomorrow.”

  Marcus waited until they had left. “Commander. I have a request.”