“You must have been very scared,” said Osi nearly overcome with emotion.
“Yes, I was. I want my mother,” she whimpered as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Can you tell me the names of your mother and sisters?” asked Osi gently. It was extremely unlikely, but he hoped that maybe someday he could reunite this family. He thought of his own wife and children. While only one of probably hundreds of similar stories, this one tugged hard at his heart.
“My mother’s name is Agna; my sister, Kirsa is eight, and my oldest sister is Odila. She’s 15.”
When they reached Bischofshofen, Osi explained to the villagers what had happened to the people near Liezen. They were sympathetic and took in all the children, save one. Osi kept Imma with him. He then led his men to the Rosenheim-Innsbruck road. There was no evidence that the mercenaries had passed, so he rode on to Innsbruck. When he arrived, he gave his report and requested permission to find his family to drop off little Imma. It was granted.
*******
Outside their hut, Agna and Kirsa, Imma’s mother and sister, were put into a horse-drawn cart and led to the main road. Odila was put into another cart with other young girls. During the march to Salzburg, Agna, Kirsa, and other women prepared and cooked food for the soldiers. Each woman was assigned 10 soldiers to feed and care for. Several wagons were full of various cooking implements: mortar and pestle, pots, spoons, cups and bowls. Other wagons carried sacks of grain and water containers. The captive women took what they needed. They fetched water, kept the fires fed, cleaned the cookware, and tried to stay out of the way. A routine of sorts developed, and the soldiers left them alone.
The routine continued at Salzburg where everyone lived in huts. As the days dragged on, the soldiers grew bored and drank constantly. Agna was frequently groped and pushed around, but never raped. She feared for Kirsa as soldiers were pinching and patting her. Agna never let her out of her sight and would call her to do something whenever a soldier got too aggressive. It was a time of constant stress and danger.
Odila’s life was a stark contrast. During the march, she walked like everyone else and was left alone. Unlike the older women, she was not assigned to cook or do camp chores, and she was fed along with the soldiers. At night her ordeal began. She was forced into a wagon with two other young women and raped repeatedly. Throughout this nightmare, she would repeat the last words of her mother, “Just survive.” Once in Salzburg, it only became worse. Some of the girls decided to kill themselves to escape, but Odila was determined to stay alive. At times, she wondered how she would ever survive.
*******
After separating at Sankt Johann, the other Suevi Detachment Commander, Warin, led his men into the valley leading to Salzburg. They were surrounded by towering mountains as they passed through Erpfendorf, Lofer, and Unken. They stayed on the road until they got to Bad Reichenhall, about six miles from Salzburg. Warin then led the men into the hills. They walked their horses east through the forest with its many gullies, streams, fallen trees, and hills for a day and a half and stopped at the only flat ground around, which was next to a small stream. After securing the horses and leaving a guard, Warin led his men 100 yards to an elevated position that overlooked the settlement of Glanegg. Salzburg was about two miles farther on. It was June 7th.
Warin could see that Salzburg lay in a broad valley, mostly cleared of vegetation, and hosted hundreds of huts. The north flowing Salzach River ran along the west side of the village. Even at this distance, Warin and the others could clearly see the Taurisci. Warin had each man do a count. They concluded that there were between 8,000 to 12,000 Taurisci and probably close to 1,000 women and girls in the camp. Nasua’s orders were for him to continue to observe the Taurisci until he was sure they were moving west to Rosenheim.
He left two men on the hill to continue watching and returned with the rest to the horses. “It looks like we could be here for a while. Let’s set up a camp and post guards. I think if we keep our fires small, the smoke won’t be visible. I want to keep two men watching Salzburg and another two watching the way we got here. We will rotate the guards every two hours. We don’t have to watch Salzburg at night as long as we’re back up there at first light. I do want to have guards watch down the valley all night. I’ll find the best observation post and then work up a watch roster.”
The next morning at first light, two men trudged up the hill and peered over the top to watch Salzburg. They could see the women lighting the fires and preparing breakfast. An hour later, the Taurisci began to come out of the huts they had commandeered from the local people.
The Suevi observers didn’t see any preparations in the camp that would indicate the Taurisci were preparing to move. After two hours, they were replaced by two other men. This routine continued throughout the day. About 2:00 P.M., the two men watching saw a dust cloud far off to the northeast. The Taurisci also began to stir and look in that direction. One man ran to the camp to tell Warin that something was happening.
Warin ran up the hill crouching low as he neared the top. Breathing heavily, he said, “What do you see?” One man pointed to what looked like several thousand men entering the northern area of Salzburg. After about an hour, many more men appeared. They crossed over the Salzach River and appeared to settle in the northeastern part of Salzburg. The Taurisci were still on the east side of the river. Warin said, “These newcomers must be the Boii and Eravisci. It looks like they could easily double the number of Taurisci. You two stay here and keep watching; I’m going back to camp.”
Warin called his men together. “The Taurisci have company! It looks like the Boii and Eravisci just moved into Salzburg from the north. I need a volunteer.”
Kai, one of the young Suevi refugees from Augsburg, asked, “What will the volunteer do?”
“I need a man to walk about seven miles from here to the northwest. The map shows a small settlement called Ainring in that location. The Boii/Eravisci are about one to two miles east of there. I want to get a count of how many men are out there. If you want to go, you need to leave immediately. Ainring may be occupied by the Boii/Eravisci, so stay clear of it. Find a hill above Ainring to get a clear view of Salzburg. Do you want to go?”
“I can do it,” said the young man anxious to prove himself. “I’ll pack some food and leave right away. It’ll be dark soon, but I can travel at night. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“When you’re ready, follow me up the hill and I’ll show you Ainring. You can also pick out a few landmarks from up there to help guide you.”
About 10 minutes later, Kai walked up to Warin and said, “I’m ready.” Warin looked him over.
“That sword could make a lot of noise banging up against brush and trees. Maybe you should leave it behind and just take your dagger,” suggested Warin.
“I’ll wrap cloth around the scabbard. I don’t want to feel naked out there,” countered Kai.
Warin looked thoughtfully at Kai before answering. He’s one of my newest men, and I know nothing about him, thought Warin. “Kai, you know, there’s chance you might get lost or even killed doing this. What am I supposed to tell your mother and father if you don’t come back?”
Kai laughed. “First, my father was killed in Augsburg by the Teutons in 209 BC when I was 14, and my mother will know I was doing what I liked to do. She’ll understand.”
“What is it you like to do?” asked Warin. “And why are you always the first to volunteer?”
“I like being in the woods by myself. I like hunting and sitting quietly for hours. I volunteer because there’s nothing I can’t do and nothing scares me. I know the other men think I’m crazy, but they also respect me.”
Warin looked at Kai. He looked younger than his 18 years. He was also a little shorter than most of the other men and not nearly as muscled, but in training, he surpassed the others in aggressiveness and agility. “Kai, I’m glad you’re a member of my Detachment. The other men do respect you, and so do I. Just make sure you com
e back. I don’t want to have to tell your mother how you died heroically fighting off 100 vicious Boii soldiers.”
Kai laughed. Thank you, sir. I’ll be back. Don’t worry.
*******
“Hey, Magalus, it’s your turn to find us some fresh meat,” growled Sereti, the Boii squad leader. “Get up! Do something useful for a change.”
Magalus held up his hand to shield his eyes from the morning sun. “You told us there would be plenty of food in Salzburg,” he complained. “Why do I have to go hunting?”
“Because the Illyrians have already taken everything. Don’t argue! Get up and go. Look, see those mountains over there?” Sereti said as he pointed west. “There’s bound to be big juicy deer all over the place. Don’t come back until you have one.” Lazy, violent thief, thought Sereti as he stood watching him get up.
Magalus relieved himself, grabbed a handful of grain and his bow, and started walking.
Someday I’m going to have to kill him, thought Magalus.
Two hours later, he entered the foothill of the mountains, just down the hill from Ainring, a small settlement of maybe 10 to 15 huts. It was time to hunt!
*******
After studying the terrain for a few minutes, Kai began his trek at 3:00 P.M. He stayed in the forest and walked mostly on hillsides. Occasionally, he would find a vantage point to look for Salzburg to maintain his bearing. When the land descended into a gully or was too difficult to traverse, he would make detours and get off course. He would then be forced to backtrack to regain his bearing and try again. He figured he was covering only a mile every two hours. As it got darker, he edged closer to the clearings to keep sight of the many cooking fires in Salzburg.
He continued walking throughout the night. The trip was far more difficult than he originally imagined. With only a quarter moon, navigating was no easy task. Sunrise was still two hours away. Fourteen hours after he started, the darkness began to lift and he could see a little more clearly. He backed away from the tree line and began to head up hill. The mental image he carried put him close to Ainring, so he now sought a favorable position from which to look down upon Ainring and Salzburg.
He figured he was close to Ainring when he smelled smoke. Then he began to see long thin wisps of smoke wafting through the trees. When he eventually spotted the first hut, he was to its west and slightly uphill. He climbed higher through the rugged terrain.
Finally, the forest opened a little and he saw a huge rock outcropping towering over him. He climbed the hill to get closer to the massive boulder. Observing the rock formation from a distance, he sat still, ate, and watched for signs of movement. A herd of deer grazed peacefully in the early morning light close to the rocks. He watched them to see if they startled, but they continued grazing and slowly moved away. He left his position and walked to the base of the rock. He stopped and listened. Nothing. Next, he began to scale the rock, stopping every so often to look around. When he reached the top, the valley opened up below him. He had a perfect view of the Boii/Eravisci camp. He estimated it to be around 7:00 A.M. It had taken him 16 hours and a few bruises and scratches to get here, but with his adrenaline pumping, he felt alert and ready.
Time to start what he came to do...count. For each hundred men, he laid a small stick on the rock to keep track. When he got to 1,000, he put down a bigger stick. When he counted 10,000, he used an even bigger stick. His eyes were beginning to droop and he was losing his focus, so he bit his tongue and pounded his thigh muscles to wake up. After two hours, he had counted a total of 23,000 men. Knowing he doubled counted some and lost count a few times, he decided to report a number between 20,000 and 25,000. That was certainly reasonable. With his task complete, he climbed down off the rock to find a place to get some much needed sleep. He chose a secluded spot a short distance away between a large rock and a tall pine tree. Three hours later, a herd of passing deer woke him with a start. The sun was now high in the sky. He felt refreshed and was eager to begin the walk back to Warin.
Just as he began to pull himself up to a standing position, he heard the unmistakable sound of an arrow leaving its bow. He quickly crouched down and looked around. One of the deer jerked sideways, took a few faltering steps, and went down on its front legs. Seconds later, he heard the bow again, and saw the arrow impact the deer close to the first arrow. The animal arched its neck and flopped over on its side. Kai quickly turned his head to find the archer. He froze and stared. Thirty yards away stood a Boii warrior with helmet, sword, and composite bow at the base of the big rock he had been sitting on just three hours earlier. The Boii caught Kai’s slight movement when he had turned his head. They stared at each other until the Boii reached back to his quiver, withdrew an arrow, and aimed at Kai. Kai ducked his head and the arrow slammed into the pine tree inches above him.
Kai jumped up and ran uphill. He dodged between rocks and trees and ran as hard as he could for 50 feet. Behind a large tree, he looked back to see if the Boii was following. He was, and now had his bow drawn back ready to fire. Kai flattened against a tree and heard the arrow whizz by. He bolted for another tree, then a boulder. He was breathing hard. He took a quick look downhill and saw the Boii still pursuing him. Why is he chasing me? he thought in frustration. “Go away; I have nothing,” he yelled.
He pulled himself up, took a deep breath, and ran towards the next tree. An arrow whizzed by missing him by inches. He reached the tree and without stopping bolted for a large rocky outcrop. He was sweating profusely and feeling desperate. He bent over at the waist and tried to catch his breath. I can’t run anymore, he thought. I’m done. Looking down, he noticed a fist size rock by his foot. He picked it up, stepped out from behind the rock, and threw it at the pursuing Boii. It flew about five feet over his head. The Boii stopped and drew back his bow. The arrow ricocheted off the rock and flew into the woods.
Kai bend down and found two more suitable rocks. He glanced out from around the rock. The Boii was kneeling and looked exhausted. Kai stepped out, drew back his arm, and threw. The rock sailed about a foot above the Boii who reached back to his quiver for another arrow. Kai threw his second rock. He watched it as it arched down the hill. It’s going to hit him, he realized. Simultaneously, Kai heard a cracking sound. The Boii threw his arms up, his helmet went flying, and he fell backwards. The partially drawn bow released the arrow and it flew harmlessly into the air. “I got him; I got him!” yelled Kai. He drew his sword and raced down the hill. He stumbled on a tree root and flew the remaining three feet and landing on the Boii’s legs. Kai scrambled to a kneeling position and brought up his sword. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and aimed the point at the Boii’s neck.
Then Kai saw him blink his eyes, which had a distant vacant look. The Boii didn’t move. His forehead and face were bloody from the rock, but Kai knew the damage went far beyond a bloody forehead. The rock must have cracked his skull. Why kill him; he’ll probably die anyway. I’ll just leave him. I probably should kill him, but I’ll let him live. Kai got up. I may need his bow. He reached down and picked up the bow then moved the Boii to get at the quiver. Kai stood above him and felt a surge of anger. “Why did you chase me?!” he shouted.
He turned and walked about 10 steps and stopped. He turned around and looked at the man on the ground. He’s about my age, thought Kai. “Damn it,” he muttered, as he trudged back, bent down, and grabbed the man by his armpits. He lifted him to a standing position. “Stand up,” he ordered. The man seemed to respond and found his legs. Kai pulled one of the Boii’s arms over his neck and put his other arms around the Boii’s waist. The two began an unsteady walk back down hill. The Boii would occasionally mutter something, but Kai couldn’t understand what he was saying. After 15 minutes, Kai lowered him down, and pulled out his water skin, and held it for the man to drink. The Boii smiled weakly, and Kai noticed his perfect teeth.
After a brief rest, Kai hoisted him up again and continued walking. He passed the dead deer and the large rock where he had counted the
number of Boii/Eravisci at Salzburg. He continued on until he saw a hut. He carefully lowered the Boii and watched the hut and surrounding areas. There was no visible movement. He lifted the Boii and walked him to the hut. He called for the occupants to come out. Hesitantly, an elderly man and his wife opened the door and peered out. “I found this man in the woods. He’s hurt bad, and needs care. He’s a Boii warrior from Salzburg. He’s dangerous, but I think if you care for him, he won’t hurt you. Will you do it?”
The husband and wife looked at each other and nodded. Kai led the man to the doorway and handed him off to the couple. With a last look, he turned and walked away.
He filled his water bag at the first stream he came to and drank deeply. He washed his face with the cold water and started walking. As he picked his way back to camp, he tried to understand why he hadn’t killed the Boii. Then realization washed over him! The Boii reminded him of his older brother who died three years ago in a hunting accident. He had stood over his bloody brother that tragic day just as he had stood over the Boii today. He had ached for his brother to live and transferred that desire to the Boii. Maybe it was wrong to let him live, but he felt he had made the right decision.
Legio XVII: Battle of Zama Page 20