Remus Rising

by Jonathan Williamson

  “Get the rest of the cohort into the trees quickly, we shall hold them off!” Marcus pushed Salinus back towards the trees before joining the back of the line.

  Salinus hesitated but followed the order ordering the other Legionaries to move quicker into the trees.

  As the Centaurs got within feet of the shield line their front line leapt into the air, flying over the heads of the first and second ranks of shields before crashing down on the men behind, crushing them beneath their hooves and tremendous body weight. As the landed they swung their double ended spears around them, cutting down any man who met the blade. The rest of the Centaurs smashed into the shields which buckled and scattered from the pressure as the Centaurs spun their spears in front of them, the blades creating windmills of death.

  As fast as the shield line had been formed it was broken as the Centaurs cut down most of the Romans who struggled to get close to the Centaurs. Marcus ducked and dodged the attacks and managed to get close enough to utilise his gladius and thrust for the Centaur’s chest for the Centaur to rear up flailing it front legs at him and striking his shield, throwing him backwards to the ground. Marcus looked in terror as the Centaur lifted its spear above its head preparing to bring it down on him. He closed his eyes. Marcus opened them only to see the creature wailing and staggering backwards and clawing at its chest where a single pilum had penetrated it before collapsing, almost crushing Marcus.

  Turning behind him Marcus saw the rest of the cohort emerge from the trees, giving the broken Romans who had held the line chance to escape as pilum were flung at the Centaurs who became overwhelmed by the speed of the skirmishers who ducked around them before stabbing them with their short swords. Quickly Marcus staggered to his feet as the sound of hooves thundered towards him as the Satyrs began their own attack on the cohort.

  “For the Eagle!”

  A thundering of hooves echoed the battle cry from the trees as Equites emerged and countered the Satyr charge, backed up by the cohort who followed them.

  Salinus helped Marcus withdraw from the melee as the beasts were driven back.

  “Equites?” he asked.

  “The head of the vanguard of the main column has arrived at the camp and was told of our attack. I’m told Lucius, your friend, didn’t hesitate to ride to our aid.” Salinus said pointing to the cavalry officer who was holding back, signalling to the troops. Overwhelmed once again the beasts withdrew leaving the Romans to cheer them off.

  “We must leave your dead for now Primus, the beasts will no doubt have a second wave prepared already and we cannot hold them off here.” Lucius said, signalling for the troops to move quickly into the forest.

  “Establish sentry points in the forest, we don’t want the beasts to be able to strike at the camp without us knowing.” Marcus ordered.

  “Right away.” Lucius began to gallop around the troops, finding officers and repeating Marcus’s order to them.

  Safely among the trees and with the camp in sight Marcus stopped and leant against a tree looking back towards the valley. There was little question he had bitten off more than he could chew with the attack, the reaction of the beasts was far stronger than expected and now he had overplayed the requirement for Governor Falco to be quick with his attack. The beast horde was now mobilised and prepared for an attack or even to attack the approaching column that would undoubtedly not want to engage in a fight immediately. Lucius trotted his horse up alongside Marcus.

  “What was all that about Marcus? The Governor had not planned for you to fight the beast horde alone.” Lucius asked.

  “A necessity. The stone circle, this pathway, is days ahead of the anticipated completion date and I’m worried the Governor is too concerned with local politics than dealing with the threat head on.” Marcus began to walk towards the camp while Lucius thought about what Marcus had said.

  “I am aware that this will cost me my recent promotion, but something needed to be done to halt construction of the circle. If the enemy believes that more of our forces are coming, which they surely will now, then they will turn their construction away from the circle and to defensive positions.”

  Lucius nodded.

  “Never the less Marcus, we should ride to the Governor now and inform him of the situation. From what I’ve learned from other officers he plans to surround the enemy and slowly starve them out, spend several days chipping away at them.” Lucius said with concern.

  “Then we ride now.” Marcus signalled to an attendant at the edge of the camp to fetch his horse which was hastily prepared for Marcus to mount.

  With a small escort of Equites Marcus and Lucius rode out of the camp, emerging out of the south eastern side of the forest and up a large moorland hill. As they reached the top the snaking column of Roman and Briton forces stretched out before them for several miles, its end far out of sight.

  “The Governor is leading just behind the vanguard infantry.” Lucius pointed to the section before stirring his horse and men on.

  Marcus was surprised at the proximity of the column, believing that the weather would have delayed them until later in the day.

  Arriving alongside the column the small party reduced their speed and Marcus took the time to observe the troops. Wet and cold was the only visible problem they suffered otherwise their march was in good step and they seemed to be talking and joking comfortably. Perhaps they would be capable of a fight upon arrival. As Marcus arrived further back down the column he could see Governor Falco riding centre of his personal guard unit.

  “Primus Marcus? We were not expecting to see you here, what news do you bring to me?” He said waving his guards to make an opening and spread out, allowing Marcus to ride alongside him.

  “The stone circle is near completion Governor, I launched an attack to delay and sow chaos, but this seems to have caused the enemy to make preparation for a larger attack.”

  Falco smiled. “Very good Marcus.”

  Marcus seemed shocked. “Very good sir?”

  Falco turned to Marcus. “Yes. This is why we chose you to lead this small force, we needed someone who would act if needed and not obey orders to the letter. If the stone circle is as near to completion as you say, then I shall begin our plan of attack the moment we reach your forward position.”

  Marcus sighed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Governor. I will return to my men and have them make preparation to assemble a larger camp.”

  Falco nodded before waving Marcus away who saluted before returning to Lucius who was riding alongside the column.

  “We have our new orders, make ready for the main column to camp and wait for them to arrive to begin another attack.”

  Marcus signalled for them to increase their pace and leave the column’s side.

  Chapter 12

  Wind whipped the banners and standards around as the various units of the coalition force made their final preparations at the edge of the forest. Ahead of them a hastily prepared defensive barrier of dirt and rough-cut trees was manned by the beasts who had began to prepare themselves since the first of the coalition forces had started gathered the dead from 1st cohort’s earlier fight. The ground had become worse as a constant drizzle of rain had softened the ground further as well as the previous action churning the dirt, making it more like slush than solid dirt.

  “As much as I would love to get this over and done with Marcus I’m afraid it will be long dark before we fight our way into the valley.” Falco said looking across to the ridge causing Marcus to stir but was stopped before he could speak.

  “I still heed your council on attacking the beast horde tonight though. The sun will fail us before we enter the valley but not before we take the ridge.”

  “The side of the valley is too steep for us to attack from Governor, taking it will bring us no closer to destroying the circle.”

  Falco smiled at Marcus.

  “No but it will bring our archers in range of it.”

  Marcus grinned back. “You intend to enlarge my prev
ious attack?”

  Falco laughed. “In a way. The 9th Legion will form an overwatch of the valley and prevent further construction from range while the 20th Legion, supporting auxiliaries and our Briton allies will assemble some fortification around you. We will force the rats out of the nest and fight them on our terms.”

  Falco turned his horse to address the officers that were waiting behind him to see a general agreement and understanding.

  “Do Rome and Britannia proud men and remember, if you don’t then both will suffer for our failure. Legate Cornelius, you have the total command of your Legion while I oversee the rest of our forces, the Britons will support you by acting as a rear guard.”

  Falcon steered his horse away, followed by the various officers of the 20th Legion and the auxiliary commanders leaving Cornelius and the officers of the 9th Legion with the Briton tribe leaders.

  “Marcus, how willing are your men to lead the attack? Speak truthfully, I do not wish to put your men through more than they can handle.” Cornelius asked as he looked across the hilly moorland.

  Marcus turned to the cohort who were assembled behind him, “what do you say men? Are we up for being the first into the fight?”

  A great cheer erupted from the men, causing amusement among the officers.

  “I think that’s a yes Legate.” Marcus said with a grin on his face.

  “Very well, the 1st cohort will lead the centre of the attack and form a spear head while the 2nd and 3rd cohorts act as your flanks. Salinus, your skirmishers will assist taking the barricade and take up immediate position on the ridge once it is secured. The rest of the Legion will follow up and fan out across the valley ridge until they meet the Governor ’s outer perimeter. The Equites will have to remain at the rear or we risk making the ground impassable.”

  A chorus of agreement replied and with a wave of the hand the officers were dismissed to their units.

  “Britons if you maintain a reasonable distance behind us and protect our rear I can commit my Legion to the fullest extent and hopefully get this over with before it gets dark.”

  The Britons agreed, although many appeared disgruntled that they were not going to be joining the initial fighting.

  Marcus dismounted his horse, opting instead to fight on foot towards the ridge. As the horn was blown he signalled his cohort to begin their advance. After the losses of the earlier action Marcus knew he had to be careful not to overburden the men. He had gathered the strongest and youngest of the cohort to the front, relying on their stamina to carry the cohort over the barricade. As they grew closer to the barricade the beasts could be seen rushing about, with Satyrs rushing to the barricade with spears and bows.

  With the barricade a short distance away, Marcus signalled for the men to prepare. The first arrows began to whistle into the air and rain down on the cohort.

  “Tortoise formation!” Marcus cried signalling with his gladius.

  With a smooth execution the cohort broke into smaller groups and formed the perfect shield formation, deflecting arrows while they continued to march. From inside the formation Marcus could hear the arrows glance off the shields with increasing volume.

  “How far from the barricade are we?” Marcus shouted to the front row of the formation.

  “Less than 100 paces, Primus.” A Legionary replied.

  ‘Not close enough to break formation then’, Marcus thought, not wanting to break the virtually impenetrable shell of shields until they were close enough to unleash their pilum into the beasts, dissipating the effect of the enemy archers.

  “They’re coming over the barricade Primus, Minotaurs by the looks of it” ‘

  What!’ Marcus thought. Were they planning on charging?

  “Look out!” an arrow twice the size of any normal arrow split through one of the front shields, skewering its owner who fell to the floor screaming.

  “It’s the Minotaurs Primus, they’ve got giant bows!”

  “Distance?” Marcus ordered, the worry hidden in his voice.

  “Almost 60 paces!” It wasn’t close enough, but they couldn’t survive the increasing intensity of the Minotaur arrows.

  “Break formation! Show them the wrath of Rome!”

  The men shouted their battle cries before dropping their shields from the formation and rushing forward as fast as they could, with the other tortoise formations breaking and joining them. Arrows from both the Satyrs and Minotaurs continued, forcing the men to lift their shields in front of themselves, trying to deflect what they could while dodging the larger arrows. Marcus ran behind his men, regularly stopping to signal them on closer and closer to the barricade. It was clear that many were falling but this did not deter them as the first of them got within range for their pilum.

  Now the tide seemed to turn as pilum were launched into the air, bring down Minotaurs and Satyrs with quick succession. With their pilum used the front ranks of men reformed and rushed, shoulder to shoulder as the Minotaurs abandoned their bows and charged at the Romans only to be cut down in quick succession or succumb to a constant volley of pilum as more and more men got close to the barricade.

  “Bring it down!” Marcus ordered his men and rushed forward, pressing himself tight against the barricade.

  Wooden supports were stripped from the barricade and the dirt scraped down with shields to form small ramps over the barricade.

  Eager to lead from the front Marcus ran up the nearest ramp and leapt into the fray, followed closely by his men. Still some 50 metres from the edge of the ridge they had seemingly hundreds of beasts to cut through before they could achieve their goal. Marcus swung his gladius, cutting at any beast in range as he blocked and dodged any strikes that were sent at him. Screeching overhead brought back a familiar feeling as Harpies descended on the men, picking off any who were unable to block attacks from both the ground and the sky. Hacking and slashing Marcus continued to carve the path towards the ridge. Glancing around him he could see the chaotic brawl that had been created as Legionaries poured over the barricade as the beasts tried to repel them.

  A large grunt brought Marcus’s attention forward as a Minotaur pushed through the other beasts to get into the fight. With no regard for friend or foe it swung its great axe, killing any in its path. Diving under the swing Marcus bashed the butt of his shield into the beast’s stomach winding it as he moved around it, slicing at the back of the creature’s legs causing it to fall to its knees. Lifting his gladius, he directed the blade downward, plunging it into the creature’s shoulder before slicing outwards, ending its life instantly. Turning once more he sliced a Satyr’s throat before turning his gladius back to its normal grip.

  The ridge was now mere meters away and the beasts were falling with quick succession as the sheer number of Legionaries overwhelmed them and the Harpies flew away.

  “Legionary send word back to Salinus that he can bring his skirmishers up to establish their position here.”

  Marcus knelt, wiping the blood from his sword as he watched the last of the beasts being cut down and pushed over the edge.

  “See what we can do about building some kind of defence along the ridge for our skirmishers, we don’t want the enemy to be successful in returning fire.”

  Shields were brought up and mounted along the ridge as Marcus walked back towards the barricade stopping only to observe the Legion’s standard bearer wave the Legion’s Eagle, causing a tremendous cheer from the men. Marcus staggered. A thundering shook the ground beneath him as dark clouds above began to swirl around.

  “What’s happening?” he shouted.

  “It’s the Druids in the valley Primus, they’re doing something!”

  Before Marcus had any chance to reply a thick lightning bolt struck the barricade, throwing the standard bearer and the Eagle into the air. The rumbling grew louder as the barricade seemed to fall away.

  A sudden shift in the ground overtook Marcus who turned to see the entire ridge begin to fall away into the valley below, taking any who were cl
ose to the edge with it.

  “Get back!” Marcus cried in vain as the entire ridge instantly collapsed beneath them, dragging them into the valley.

  Dust darkened the valley so that it was almost impossible to see as Marcus pulled himself up from the dirt that had almost buried him. Coughing he observed the men closest to him pull themselves to their feet.

  “Curse those Druids!” one man cried as he desperately tried to pull another man from the dirt. Silence seemed to hang over the valley, with only the moaning of men who had survived to be heard. Fire erupted into the sky, bright enough for all to see before being followed by an almighty roar. The Hydra began to feast on the men who tried to fight the beast to little avail.

  “It’s a trap!” Marcus looked through the dust that was burning away from the Hydra’s flames to see beasts charging into the collapsed ridge area.

  “To me! Gather to me!” Marcus cried, summoning any who were able to stand beside him.

  ‘Find the Eagle’ he thought as he guided his men back towards the now ramped side of the valley. Chaos was all around him as beasts cut down the men and the Hydra continued to spit flames through the dust, turning it to ash, blackening the ground where the fallen and wounded lay.

  “Save your brothers!” Marcus looked up the ramp to see the Legate atop his horse guiding the rest of the Legion into the valley.

  “Follow your commander!” Marcus turned to the men around him who took courage and charged at the beasts.

  Galloping his horse forward the Legate quickly located the Eagle and dismounted. Digging it out from the dirt he thrust it skywards, giving the men a fresh courage. Marcus turned and watched the Eagle glitter in the light of the Hydras fire. As more Legionaries poured into the valley they began to hold the line.

  Marcus moved back towards the Legate who continued to hold the Eagle aloft. A single whistle stopped Marcus only meters away from him. Cornelius staggered and looked at the arrow that had penetrated his chest.