by Griff Hosker
The cheer was so loud that a frightened flock of crows rose from the nearby woods terrified by the noise.
“Parade dismiss.” Marcus walked over to Gaius and said quietly, “Thank you.”
“No sir, thank you. What you said was right. I think I let him get to me sir. And thank you for having me back. I won’t let you down.”
Marcus gripped the young man’s forearm. “You never have and you never will.”
“Remind me never to gamble with you sir.” Snorted Decius. “I was almost getting ready to defend you in case they attacked you. You are a crafty bastard. Is that why you went last night to see Gaius, to set this up?”
“It wouldn’t have worked if the ala hadn’t seen that we are one unit and that Gaius didn’t resent authority. “ He lowered his voice. “Of course it could all be back in the melting pot when the prefect and his son return.”
“Yes I noticed that you only spoke about the men before you.” He became serious. “You had better watch your back some prefects might see that you were trying to undermine his authority.”
Marcus shrugged. “When we are in the field fighting the barbarians what the prefect thinks will not matter. The sooner we go to war the better.”
Later that day Septimus returned from patrol, the first patrol since the near disaster. Decius noticed that some of his men had bandaged wounds. “What happened?”
“We were ambushed in the woods. Luckily for us we had Gaelwyn with us and the old fox seemed to smell them out. They shot their arrows from too great a distance. We didn’t lose any men but a couple of the lads took hits.”
Marcus had arrived during the report. “Looks like they are getting to know our routine. I think we should vary it from now on. Well done Septimus. You better see the surgeon about your men.”
Eboracum
“Now that all the commanders have finally arrived, “there was a note of censure in Quintus Cerialis’ voice. He had let Rufius know that he should have left sooner, “we can begin to plan this campaign. Julius Agricola will move up the west coast with the twentieth. I will bring the ninth and the two Batavian units up the east coast and we will meet at Stanwyck. The cavalry under Rufius Demetrius will act as a screen for the advance of the ninth and they will also patrol north of Dunum Fluvius.” He looked around at the men he would need to rely on in this coming campaign. They were all unknown to each other but he would have to meld them into a fighting team who could trust each. “Until we defeat this rabble at Stanwyck we are blind. I do not want to fall into the same trap as my predecessor. I have been told by the prefect of cavalry that the fortress can be taken by siege weapons which means that once we have defeated the rebels we can carry on the invasion north. Prefect I will need one turma detaching to act as liaison and scouts for Julius Agricola. As you have thoughtfully brought one with you they can leave this afternoon with the general. Do they need a decurion?”
Rufius coloured for Fabius was on his right.”No sir. This is their decurion, Fabius Demetrius.”
“Your son?”
“Yes sir.”
“Is he not a little young?”
“He is more than able sir as the general will discover.”
“Yes well that remains to be seen.”
“What about Morbium sir, it guards a valuable river crossing.”
He turned to Cominius Sura, the prefect of one of the Batavian infantry units. “Detach one century to guard Morbium until the return of the ala. Any further questions?”
“How will we coordinate our attack?”
“I thought I had explained that Prefect Demetrius. Your cavalry are the liaison between the two columns. You will ensure that messages are successfully passed from one unit to another.“
It was a red faced and angry prefect who spoke with his son just before the cavalry left for the west. “When I get to Rome I will see to it that that man never commands again. How dare he question my decisions?”
“I didn’t like the look General Agricola gave me.”
“He is a good general and, he has the ear of the Emperor so be careful my son. Curb your tongue and think before you try to gain some glory. There will be many opportunities for brave deeds but they will be in battle not while scouting and acting as a messenger. When we are together again with all of our cavalry there will be an opportunity for a glorious charge to win the day. Keep that in mind.”
“Yes fat… sir!”
Morbium
“Prefect approaching,” there was a pause and then the sentry added, “alone.”
“If he didn’t have some good trooper with him I could almost hope that the little bastard of a son of his was dead.”
Marcus looked at Decius coldly. “I’ll have no more of that talk. We support the prefect and all the officers. Even those we don’t like.”
“You are right but I don’t need to like it.”
As the prefect entered the gates Marcus could see him glancing around assessing the fort. ‘Judging me eh?” thought Marcus, ‘Well you won’t find anything amiss here.”
“Officer’s call now.”
The buccina sounded and within moments they were all stood in the headquarters’ office at attention. The prefect did not bother to change, wash or even drink. “Right gentlemen our war has begun. As you can see Fabius Demetrius is already in action with the twentieth and Julius Agricola. Tomorrow the fort will be taken over by Batavian infantry. We have three tasks; firstly we will have to keep the Ninth and Governor informed, that will be turma twelve Metellus Saenius.”The decurion saluted. Secondly we will need to screen the Ninth. I will take charge of that with turmae six, seven, eight, nine and ten. Decurion Marcus Aurelius Maximunius will take the remaining four turma and patrol north of Dunum Fluvius as far as Brocavum. Any questions? No? Then I suggest you make your preparations. We will be away from the fort and what passes for civilisation in this barbaric part of the world so we must make sure we have everything that we need. That means spare tents, weapons, uniforms, everything. See to it.”
As the decurions moved away Decius grabbed the arm of Julius. “What the? Oh it’s you sir.”’
“Listen son, you are going to be on your own sometimes with forty men hanging on your every word. Now I don’t think for one minute you are like your brother.” Julius looked at him. “You know what I mean?” Julius nodded. “You will be a good officer but you need to lead these men not just shout at them and think they are less than nothing. What Marcus said was true we are a team, we work together. You probably know more about battles in the past and Hannibal and Caesar and all of them but some of these lads have fought the Brigante and the Carvetii they know what war is between you can become something more. They won’t take advantage of you, trust me and you trust them. Right?”
Julius clasped Decius’ forearm as he had seen Marcus and Gaius do, “Right… decurion.”
“Go on, you’ll be alright.”
The next day the prefect left with his vexillation, before he did so he called Marcus over. “You will have to wait here until the Batavians arrive, whenever that is. You must keep me informed. I need intelligence. My turmae will be spread out in a line between the ninth and Stanwyck. We will be easy to find. Do not waste any men on glory charges or suicidal attacks just make sure the Brigante don’t try to get around our flanks. I want the ala ready and in one piece once we have taken Stanwyck. We will gain our glory on the battlefield not being glorified bodyguards to the infantry. Although so far I have seen little evidence of strategy from these tribes. Good hunting.”
“He is still a bastard you know? He has stitched you up. North of Dunum Fluvius!” Decius snorted as he watched the prefect ride out at the head of his men. “Every bugger up there is an enemy. He knows where his enemy is, tied up in a fortress. We have three hundred men and we will be facing thousands.”
“Excellent Decius I thought for a while there you were becoming an optimist. We have done this before. We know the land. Remember Ulpius and I scouted all the way to Brocavum wi
th one turma and we came to no harm.”
“With respect sir the whole of the north was not up in arms and ready to slit Roman throats. This isn’t just the Brigante remember the Novantae and the Votadini? They have had a couple of years to re-arm and retrain. This is going to be harder.”
“Yes Decius but look on the positive side. We have the best decurions with us. The old guard are back together.”
Grinning Decius clapped Marcus on the back. “That’s why I like you; you clever than the rest of us put together and, what is more, you are the optimist who sees the cup as half full. You are right. Well the sooner these Batavians get here the better. I’ll go and make sure we have left bugger all for them to drink. I know these Batavians they like their ale more than I do.”
Chapter 9
North of Dunum Fluvius
Drusus had taken his turma close to the river. It was not easy for here the river was wild and fierce with waterfalls and savage rocks but it meant his southern flank was secure. He had four men to the north to warn of any ambush. In the three days they had been on patrol they had not seen any sign of the enemy but he knew they were there. His new recruits had begun to make comments about his caution until the older troopers told the tales of what the Brigante did with their captives and they began to look on their decurion with more respect.
It was one of the older troopers who found the evidence of warriors, it was a dead fire but it was only hours old; around the fire were the signs that a warband had been here. There were also droppings from horses and ponies. Somewhere ahead of them were Brigante. He called over Agrippa, one of his more experienced troopers he was a reliable and cautious man. “Find the Decurion Princeps and tell him we have found Brigante sign. Despite the prefect’s orders the troopers still referred to Marcus as Decurion Princeps. In their eyes a new prefect would not eradicate a man’s reputation. “And Agrippa, be careful. I don’t want to see your head adorning some Brigante spear.” Drusus spread his men out looking for signs of the direction the warband had taken.
The land here was bare and rocky without much vegetation. The Romans felt slightly more secure for it meant there were no woods from which the Brigante could launch attacks. The Brigante however were more cunning and the ambush ahead was cleverly laid out. A hundred warriors lay in the stream which fed the mighty river, forty more were hidden beneath mats of grass and finally a hundred mounted warriors lay in wait to the north of the river hiding in a low swale which kept them hidden a short sprint to where they would attack the Roman flank driving them towards the river, their comrades and a certain death.
Riding at the head of the column but moving very slowly Drusus wondered if he should have waited at the dead fire for something didn’t seem right. There was no birdsong, only the rush of the fast flowing water over the rocks. Recent rains had raised the level and it was quite noisy. It masked other sounds from their left. “Keep your eyes open men!”
The first that Drusus knew of an ambush was when a line of men to their left rose, seemingly from the river and hurled a variety of missile weapons at them, slings, arrows and javelins were all used. Even as the Romans protected themselves with their shields from the warriors to their side, from their front the hidden men rose from their mats and with axes and swords hewed at the legs of the cavalry mounts. Quickly realising it was a trap Drusus ordered a retreat. Even as he did so he saw a number of his men dead or dying with others unhorsed and at the mercy of the barbarians who swarmed over them. His instinct was to rescue them but his head looked at the overwhelming numbers and decided to save those that remained, if he could. The remaining twenty or so troopers turned their mounts and headed east towards safety. The mounted Brigante appeared to their left before they had managed to get to the trot. It was a massacre. Even the well armed and well armoured Romans could not cope with odds of five to one with no avenue of escape. One or two tried to ford the river but were dashed to their deaths on the deadly rocks.
Realising he was doomed Drusus and his chosen man turned to face the horseman. He did the only thing left to him, he charged. His actions took the Brigante by surprise. The two trooper’s javelins took out two men and then their spathas began to cleave an avenue of death through the Brigante. Their initial success was short lived for the Brigante closed around them. Drusus’ chosen man was the first to die with a spear thrust under his arm and into his neck. He fell lifeless from the saddle. Drusus was either more skilled or had more luck for the warrior who tried to spear him had the misfortune to find a rabbit hole and broke his neck as he fell from his horse. He was beginning to think he might outrun them as clear sky appeared before him when a warrior behind him slashed at Drusus with his sword and caught the flank of his horse; it reared to the side and crashed into another warrior. Two horses and two warriors crashed in a heap. Drusus was the first on his feet and he turned to face the enemy who were just behind him. The axe took his head off even as he turned and the decurion died, almost the last man of turma two only Agrippa, racing to find Marcus survived the massacre at the falls.
Agrippa knew nothing of the slaughter behind him. A steady trooper, he had been in the province for four years and felt he knew it well. He did not ride on the skyline instead he darted from cover top cover and gully to gully. He headed north east for he knew that the other turmae were riding at an oblique angle to them and he had more chance of meeting them. Within an hour he had found the turma of Lentius who listened to Agrippa’s report. “We have seen nothing yet not a single sign of anyone friend or foe. “He pondered for a moment then made his decision. “Aelius, ride first to Decurion Decius and then to Decurion Princeps Marcus and tell them that Decurion Drusus has found evidence which may be of a warband. Tell them I will wait here for orders.” Aelius galloped off north eastwards and Lentius took the opportunity to rest men and horses.
He turned to Agrippa who he knew from their time under Ulpius. “Did Drusus say anything to you about numbers?”
As he chewed on the dried horsemeat Agrippa shook his head. “No but I got to look at the ground. There were signs of horses and that normally means warriors.”
“Right. And how long ago did you leave him?”
“Must be a couple of hours; I took it slowly as I didn’t want to miss you.”
“Not far away then?”
“No.”
He turned to his men. “Alternate troopers mount up. I want a picket line a hundred paces all around. Keep your eyes open, there is a warband out there.”
Agrippa looked searchingly at Lentius. “You think they are nearby?”
“If they are mounted they could be anywhere. We weren’t a tight line and they could be laying an ambush for us. Did you see the direction they left?”
“It was quite rocky. It may be that the decurion discovered that after I left. I have no way of knowing. I saw no sign on the way here which means that the warband might have headed north or south rather than east.”
“You may be right. That could be bad news, especially if they have gone south. Well that is why Decurion Maximunius gets paid a little more, he has to make those decisions.”
They had exchanged sentries twice when they heard the drumming of hooves and the other two turmae arrived. Lentius reported to Marcus and the three decurions discussed their options. “Well I saw nothing at all neither sight nor sound. Not so much as a misplaced blade of grass. How about you sir?”
“Nothing at all. The land seems empty. There were no fires and no travellers. It is strange.”
“Strange sir?”
“Yes it is past high summer and there should be people out gathering for the winter. You know how quickly it comes up here in the northlands.”
“I know it gets bloody cold.”
“I think the three of us should converge on Drusus. By now he should have worked out their direction of travel. As he hasn’t sent any more messengers I can only assume he hasn’t caught up with them.”
“I hope not.”
“Don’t worry Decius, Dr
usus is too cautious to follow them into a trap and the good news about the land here is that there are few places for an ambush.”
Lentius looked over at Marcus. “Do you think that is why we have seen no locals; they spotted us on the skyline and hid?”
“Could be. Mount up. Where is Drusus’ man?”
Agrippa had been waiting close by knowing that Marcus would need his knowledge. “Here sir.”
“Right lead us to your decurion and the rest of the turma. Let us hope we find him before dark.”
The evening was beginning to fall when Agrippa’s hand came up to halt them. Marcus rode up besides him. “What can you see?” he peered into the darkening gloom to make out what Agrippa could see.
“It was near here but I thought I saw someone standing there. A guard.”
“Could be a sentry,” he looked at Agrippa, “or it could be the warband.” He signalled twice with his arm and the first turma came up behind him in a line.
Decius rode forward. “A problem?”
“Don’t know. Agrippa thinks he saw someone, from the helmet it looks like a sentry from the turma. I’ll take my lads forward in skirmish order. You wait with the rest. Be prepared to cover our retreat.”