Hosker, G [Sword of Cartimandua 07] Trajan's Hunters

by Griff Hosker

  When they were satiated Mongke shouted, “Search the huts for weapons and gold. I doubt that you will find much but we take what we can.”

  Tucca had seen all from the top of the hill. At first he thought that it was a dream but when he saw the column of men riding from the burning village he knew it was not. He made a decision then, he might only have seen twelve summers but he was a warrior to be. He decided to follow the men who had destroyed Tamburgh and then he could tell his father and the other men when they returned. His clan would go to war and would wreak revenge on these horse tailed demons.

  Gulak nodded in satisfaction. “There was more treasure than we thought.”

  They had discovered the jugs buried beneath each round house and it was a happy surprise to men who had already had the pleasure of many women. “Aye although why they value the black stone I do not know.” The jet had been taken when they realised that the people of the town thought it valuable. They would have to wait until they returned to civilisation before they could profit from their theft but they were patient, they would wait and realise the full value of their trove.

  When they trotted through the gates, their faces, for once animated, Cassius turned to Lentius. “It looks as though they have been looting from the extra baggage.”

  They both watched as the Legate came out to greet them. “This will be interesting. If he reprimands them about the loot they have it will speak well of our Legate…”

  “On the other hand if he ignores it then we will also have the measure of the man.” When Mongke was greeted with a smile, and a conversation in their unintelligible language Cassius said to Lentius, “There is our answer and it does not bode well for us.”

  An hour later the Prefect came to the stables where they were grooming their horses. They had seen the last of the Ninth arrive and knew what it presaged. The Prefect looked around to make sure they were alone. “Gentlemen I have your orders.” He had a sombre look on his face which prepared them for his news. “The Legate’s bodyguard have just returned from a visit to Tamburgh.” He looked directly at Cassius. “He found weapons which led him to believe they were rebels. He killed all the men…”

  “But sir they were all old men and boys! I swear by the Allfather they were neither rebels nor hostile!”

  Karus held up a tired hand, “I believe you decurion for the auxiliary Prefect has told me what staunch allies the Votadini are and how peaceful the land around here is, or was at any rate. I fear that our new allies have done us no favours but we will discover that on the morrow when we head north.”

  Cassius was too angry to speak and Drusus said quietly, “So we leave tomorrow at dawn?”

  “No Drusus, you leave within the hour. The Legate wants the land as far as Bremenium scouted thoroughly.”

  “We are heading for the old fort then?” Bremenium had been a fort during the Agricolan invasion but shortages of troops had rendered it a shell.

  “Not necessarily. Our Legate wants to know what is up there. When you return tomorrow night I have the feeling that he will send you in another direction.”

  “But sir….”

  “I know Lentius your men and horses will be exhausted. I tried to argue your case but… I might suggest you take all your spares. It is unlikely that we will be returning to Coriosopitum in the near future.” He looked apologetically at them. “Sorry but at least he believes that you are worthy scouts as his men confirmed what you saw.”

  “It is not your fault sir.”

  When he had left Drusus said wearily, “Well the lads will love that eh? Having to take all their belongings with them, do without sleep and do it in a land which is possibly hostile.”

  Cassius shook his head more in anger than anything. “Definitely hostile. They were peaceful people. The old man I spoke to was an old warrior. It isn’t right.”

  “No Cassius but we just follow orders.” Drusus took the bull by the horns. “Well bleating like sheep will get us nowhere. I’ll take the west of the road, Lentius the east and Cassius you take the road. It should mean you get to the fort first.”

  “No. I am going to spend the night at the small fort at Habitancum. It is half way between the two and it means we can leave before dawn and be at the fort in daylight.”

  Lentius nodded his agreement. “Makes sense to me and it beats what we will have to do, sleep under the stars.”

  “Very well we meet at Bremenium mid morning. May the Allfather watch over you.”

  “Well somebody has to.”

  * * * * * *

  Tucca reached the village having followed Mongke and his men to the fort just as the first of Tam’s runners arrived. The King’s steward, Maclin, could not believe the sight which greeted him. The women had laid out the bodies of the dead in lines in preparation for their burning. The older women were grim faced but the younger ones still sobbed and cried, their puffy red faces testament to the horror they had endured. Maclin put his hand to his face when he saw his father lying there. His father had been the gatekeeper and Maclin’s heart turned to stone and hatred when he saw the old man. “He should have died hereafter. He was old and the Allfather would have taken him in his own time.” He turned to Radha’s mother. “My lady. What happened here? Was it the Selgovae?”

  She shook her head. “They were demons from the bowels of the Earth with tails coming from their heads and skin the colour of old apples and piercing eyes which looked like slits.”

  Maclin was loath to call his lady a liar but he found it hard to countenance that what had occurred was the work of demons. He looked at his wife and daughters and they nodded their agreement. “The Allfather protect us! Demons! My Lady your husband returns tomorrow with the King and your daughter.”

  Maclin’s wife looked appalled. “But the demons took our treasure and burnt our homes.”

  “Then we will have to rebuild and honour the dead tomorrow.” As the wife of the Lord Tam, she knew that duty came above personal feelings. “Come let us work. You girls you can grieve for your maidenheads after the king has visited. We will ask the wise woman of the hills for help.”

  Maclin looked at his wife and then his daughters as the significance of his wife’s words sank in. His wife half closed her eyes and nodded. Maclin noticed, for the first time, the blood on the front of his daughters’ dresses. He took the three of them in his arms and murmured, “They will pay. Whoever did this, demon or man, they will pay.”

  Just then they heard a shout as Tucca ran up. “It was the Romans! It was the Romans!”

  Lady Tam grabbed the boy, “Talk sense. It was demons. Tails from their heads and strange skin.”

  “Yes my lady but they went to the Roman fort at Coriosopitum and there is a Roman army there. They are coming up the road! They are coming here!!” There was terror in his voice. The demons had instilled fear in his heart.

  Lady Tam was not a woman to be flustered and she took an immediate decision. “Maclin send a rider to my lord. No better yet, you go and tell my husband and the king what has occurred.”

  “But my lady, my duty is here.”

  “Your duty is to obey me!” Her tone softened and she patted the steward on the back. “Go Maclin for your words will be true and my husband and the king will know what to do. If the Romans are coming here then we must be ready. We must defend our homes.”

  Maclin looked around at the women, boys and weeping girls. “With what my lady?”

  She looked at him and said calmly, “Why with our lives of course. Now go.”

  Chapter 5

  “But Cassius the legate must punish those warriors. The people there were peaceful; even I could see that.”

  “You are right Marcus and that would be the right thing to do but sometimes, in fact often, the right thing does not get done for other reasons. Reasons only the high and puissant know.”

  “Such as?”

  Cassius smiled a sad smile, “I do not know because I am not powerful.”

  “Those men are evil. I can se
e that.”

  “I know they look different and they look sinister but we should not judge them until we know.”

  “I know. I have seen how they treat their animals. They are cruel to them.”

  Their discussion was ended by the arrival of Macro and Decius. “The fort is deserted. The rest of the lads are there already.”

  “Well done Decius. Have you set…”

  “Two lads already sleeping they will do the mid watch.”

  “You have changed Decius. I can see a Decurion in you.”

  The young man shook his head. “Let us say that I have grown up and I hope,“ he ruffled Macro’s hair, much to the boy’s annoyance, “to see this headstrong one grow up a little quicker than I did.”

  The next morning they headed north along the road. Decius and Macro took the road this time whilst Cassius and Marcus headed east and the other four covered the area to the west. It was harder going but the paths became easier once the first fingers of dawn began to penetrate the thick pine forest. The animals of the night scampered away at their arrival. Soon they could pick out individual trees and they made much better time. When the sides of the hill dropped away sharply Cassius headed west to rejoin his comrades; there was no danger to the east, at least not this part of the region for it was barely inhabited.

  Marcus appeared disappointed as they head through the lightening forest to the road. “You look unhappy to be heading for a reunion with your friend.”

  “It’s just that I expected more action. So far we have just ridden along an empty road, through an empty forest. When do we …”

  “Fight?”

  “Well yes.”

  “The truthful answer is never. Our job is to find the enemy and let the legion and the auxilia fight. We have to find safe routes so that our soldiers do not get killed unnecessarily. We can now report that it is unlikely that an enemy could attack from this direction and any attack would be in small numbers.”

  “That doesn’t sound important.”

  Cassius laughed, “It is, believe me it is. When we were in your father’s ala we spent more time scouting and riding patrols than we ever did fighting. Last year’s campaign was unusual. We had two seriously clever enemies who moved very quickly. We had to fight then just to slow them down.”

  When they rejoined Decius, Marcus was a little happier. Cassius suspected that the main reason was because he could talk to Macro although Decius snapped them both to silence quickly enough, making Cassius smile at the changes wrought in so short a time. There was a time when he would have been the chatterbox, combat had a way of making young men become old men very quickly. Riding along the road meant that they soon made the unmistakeable remains of the fort at Bremenium. It had been dismantled rather than destroyed and the four of them set to, preparing it for their comrades who would shortly be arriving. Marcus and Macro went into the forest to shoot some food while Decius and Cassius lit a fire and collected water. The rest of Cassius’s maniple arrived soon after the boys had gone hunting.

  “Seen anything?”

  “No sir but the land to the west, although hilly, has the potential for ambushes.”

  “Well the east hasn’t. It will be interesting to hear what the other maniples have to say.”

  The ever reliable hunters soon returned with a couple of hares who had stayed out too long and a goose which had flown too low. Even Decius was impressed. “Well if nothing else you are the best foragers I have ever met. Here I’ll give you a hand to prepare them.”

  As the three prepared the food, other Explorates arrived in dribs and drabs. By the time the animals had been skewered and placed on the fire all three maniples were there. The three officers drew to one side to compare their findings. It soon emerged that the land to the west was the most dangerous. “It is empty up here. One of my lads went far enough to see the coast. He reckons there are a couple of farms and settlements over there but nothing in between. In fact we couldn’t see why the Legate was coming this way.”

  Drusus sniffed in anticipation at the food which was cooking.”I agree the land has little to commend it in terms of resources and the road was built just so that Agricola could get to Caledonia quickly and be in contact with the fleet. In addition to which the Votadini are peaceful. Porcius told me that the garrison at Coriosopitum had told him that their new king is keen for ties with Rome. I think our Legate should have gone west. There are enemies aplenty there. The Selgovae, now they are bad buggers.”

  “Riders coming!”

  The small group of experienced soldiers all grabbed their weapons and went into defensive mode. Each decurion waved two of their men into the woods. Cassius detailed Marcus and Macro whose bows would be more effective. The rest waited for the riders to arrive. The fact that the sentry had not shouted a warning meant that they were, in all likelihood friendly or at least not hostile.

  When the column of riders finally appeared the three officers were all taken aback. It amounted to a small army. From the banners and emblems they could see that there were nobles and that the king, or at least his champion, was there. The warriors drew up in a half circle their spears pointed at the Explorates and their swords were drawn. Cassius scanned the host and saw that there were women amongst them. This was not a warband; the tribes never took their women to war. The painful exception of Morwenna filled his mind for a brief moment. A young man with a glorious torc and helm rode forward on a white horse. His sword was bejewelled and Cassius took a guess that this was their king. He stepped forward and dropped to one knee. “We are Explorates from the Ninth legion and we beg your highness’ forgiveness for taking food from your forest.”

  The others were quick enough to follow Cassius’ example and peering upwards Cassius was relieved to see a half smile play along the corners of the mouth of the King. “You are polite thieves anyway.” He stepped down from his horse and there was an immediate relaxation amongst his entourage. “Rise. Tell me what are Explorates? I know of the famous Ninth legion but not Explorates.”

  Drusus spoke, “We are scouts your majesty.”

  The King walked over to Cassius. “I am intrigued. How did you know that I am king? We have never met.”

  Cassius pointed at the sword. “That can only be the sword of a king. I have seen the Sword of the Brigante, the sword carried by Queen Cartimandua, and yours is as magnificent. Besides which your crown, torc, regal bearing and, I assume, your beautiful Queen all mark you as King.”

  Beside him he felt Drusus and Lentius take a sharp intake of breath and he wondered if he had gone too far and offended the King. He was relieved when he laughed. “I can see my love that I will have to keep you away from these silver tongued Romans.” He turned serious and said quietly. “I would feel a little happier and more welcome in my own land if you brought in those four men from the trees.” When six Explorates came at Lentius’ whistle he nodded his approval. Your men are good scouts and excellent at hiding. And now may we join you for a little refreshment? The smell is delicious.”

  “Of course, although I feel it will not stretch to your whole host.”

  “It is kind of you to think of my whole army. No just my Queen and her father will join you and your men. I am interested to learn more of your journey so far from Roman lands.”

  The King’s words were not lost on the three decurions who began to feel rather isolated. “I am Drusus, this is Lentius and the silver tongued warrior is Cassius and we are all officers of the Explorates.”

  “I am King Lugubelenus of the Votadini and this is my wife Radha. Her father is Lord Tam of Tamburgh.”

  Cassius approached the grey haired warrior. “I visited there with my Explorates. It is a fine settlement.”

  “Who did you speak with?”

  “A venerable greybeard. I did not catch his name but he guarded the gate and was polite and generous with your hospitality.”

  Tam grinned. “That would be Old Maclin the father of my steward. He was without doubt the mightiest warrior in my c
lan. He is old now.”

  “I look forward to meeting him, and now Explorates, let me taste this food. You must have excellent hunters.” Cassius gestured to Macro and Marcus who stepped forward. “But these are mere boys. Is Rome so short of warriors that she drafts in children?”

  “These boys, your majesty have each killed more than twenty men in battle. They fought against the deserters and the witch queen last year.”

  All three had heard of the war and the fabled Queen Morwenna. They looked with new eyes at the acutely embarrassed boys. “Strange times indeed. And now the real question. Now that we have complimented each other, tasted food and danced around with words. Why are you here?”

  Drusus took a deep breath. “After the rebellion of the last year the Governor of Britannia decided that the roads needed repair as did some of the forts and we are scouting for the legion who will repair them.”

  The King chewed on saddle of hare and nodded. “Even though the road and the fort are on Votadini land?”

  Drusus shrugged. “We are scouts your majesty. We know nothing of politics. If we have offended you we apologise and I can tell you that this is the furthest north we were ordered to scout. When we have eaten we will return south to Coriosopitum.” The lies almost stuck in his throat but Drusus had to ensure that they left this place alive to warn the Legate that their presence might provoke a war.