The Blood Crows c-12

by Simon Scarrow

  Cato smiled as his friend continued in a more earnest tone.

  ‘Watch yourself. If there’s a hint of treachery then you turn and bolt back to the ladder. I’ll have a party of men on hand with javelins to cover you.’

  Cato was silent for a moment before he nodded. ‘Fair enough. But keep them out of sight. This cuts both ways. If Caratacus suspects we might be trying to lure him into a trap we’ll lose any chance of talking our way out of this. Right, I’d better get going.’

  Cato nodded to the trumpeter and the Thracian lifted his curved instrument and blew a deep note out across the valley. As soon as Cato saw that some of the enemy had turned to look at the fort, he swung his leg over the wall and felt for the nearest rung. When he had a solid footing he began to descend. At the bottom he stepped back and raised his hands towards the parapet. Macro dropped the spare standard shaft down. A broad red pennant had been attached to it and Cato held it aloft and wafted it from side to side over his head. He would be spotted easily, and the red of the pennant and his military cloak would stand out against the tawny grass and heather of the slope. He climbed carefully down into the ditch, picking his way past the bodies lying there. Some still lived, groaning feebly and reaching out an imploring hand as he passed by. There was nothing he could do for them and he steeled himself to ignore their plight as he climbed the far side of the ditch and slowly descended the slope, waving his banner as the notes of the bucina continued to ring out. Around him the desultory hiss of the rain added to the gloom of the day.

  ‘That’s far enough, sir!’ Macro called out. ‘Stay in javelin range!’

  Cato stopped. He continued to wave the pennant, in easy circles as it became soaked by the rain. Below him, only the nearest of the enemy were clearly visible, the rest becoming grey and indistinct in the mizzle that filled the valley. He watched as one of the screen of men guarding the camp turned and ran towards a large makeshift hut made from cut branches and heather that sat in the midst of those struggling to take shelter in the open. A moment later a handful of figures emerged from the hut and regarded the lone Roman officer a quarter of a mile away. After what seemed to be a swift exchange, Cato saw one of the men stride across to a horse line nearby and untether a white mount and vault on to its back. He turned the beast towards Cato and stirred it into a gentle canter. His army stood and some offered a cheer as he rode by and then through the line of sentries towards the fort. He slowed down as he approached Cato and walked his horse up to within ten paces before he reined in, casting a wary eye across the surrounding ground and the fort lined with soldiers.

  Cato grounded his standard.

  ‘You wish to speak, Roman?’ Caratacus asked in his accented Latin.

  ‘I do.’ Cato gestured towards the nearest bodies lying on the slope. ‘Last night’s assault cost you dearly. I wish to discourage you from wasting any more of your men’s lives in such futile attacks.’

  ‘I thank you for your concern,’ Caratacus responded flatly. ‘But I have every intention of taking your fort and burning it to the ground.’ He gestured towards the sky and a smile flickered across his lips. ‘Weather permitting.’

  ‘You cannot take the fort. It is too strong a position and you have no siege train, nor the expertise to make the weapons you require to batter down our defences.’

  ‘All we need is a decent ram. Even an uncivilised barbarian has the wit to construct one of those, as you have seen.’

  ‘Yes, I admired the rudimentary handiwork of the ram we captured. The gate has now been blocked up, so any more rams you decide to make will be useless. All that’s left is to mount frontal assaults. And we have seen how that ends.’

  ‘We took our losses,’ Caratacus admitted. ‘But so did you, and I rather suspect that I can afford to lose more men than you can. Besides, many of my followers have kin in these valleys and their hearts burn with desire to avenge themselves on those you have slaughtered. It is my intention to keep attacking Bruccium until it is destroyed and every Roman inside its walls is killed.’

  For a moment Cato pondered explaining that this was the work of Quertus, but he realised that would make no difference to men who viewed all Romans as brutal oppressors. He sighed.

  ‘I feared that is how you would respond, sir.’ Cato raised the standard twice, the signal he had agreed with Macro earlier. Caratacus started suspiciously.

  ‘What trickery is this?’

  ‘No trick, I assure you. You know that we hold prisoners, your brother Maridius amongst them. If you look there, on the wall to the left of the gatehouse, you will see them in a moment.’

  Both men watched as a line of men and a few women shuffled out along the parapet under the guard of Macro and some legionaries. Leading them was the tall, proud figure of Maridius. As soon as he saw Caratacus he called out, and Macro quickly strode across and slapped him hard across the face.

  ‘Keep your barbarian mouth shut!’

  Cato winced at the violent silencing of the man and saw Caratacus’s expression darken. He cleared his throat and spoke loudly to the enemy commander. ‘I want you to know that if you launch another assault on my fort, I will execute ten of my prisoners, out here, in full view of your army, and mount their heads on the gatehouse to remind you of your folly. If that fails to deter you, the next time it will be your brother. Only in his case I will be sure to make his death long and painful. He’ll be crucified on top of the wall. I’ve heard that it can take a man three days to die on the cross. Maridius, as you know, is a fine warrior. Strong and tough. He’ll be sure to go the distance before he’s done.’ Cato spoke in a cold, calculating tone, determined to conceal any hint of his disgust for the image he was painting.

  ‘So, this is Roman civilisation,’ Caratacus sneered. ‘Your ways amount to little more than the enactment of cruel spectacles. Just as I had been taught.’

  Cato shook his head. ‘This is not civilisation. This is war. You threaten to slaughter me and my men. It is my duty to do whatever is necessary to prevent that. You leave me no choice.’

  ‘I see.’ Caratacus’s eyes narrowed shrewdly and he stared at Cato for a moment. ‘I sense that your heart does not stand behind your words, Roman. Would you really be prepared to carry out your threat?’

  ‘If you attack us again, you’ll discover that I act on my promises. This I swear. I will kill your people the instant the first Silurian reaches the ditch in front of my fort. They will die by my own hand.’ Cato stared fixedly into his enemy’s eyes, daring him to believe otherwise. Caratacus stared back and then glanced over Cato’s shoulder towards his brother and the others on the wall.

  ‘I doubt you have the heart for it.’

  ‘That is your mistake.’

  ‘Then let me make you a promise, Roman.’ Caratacus raised his voice so that it carried clearly to those standing on the wall of the fort. ‘If you do as you say and harm those you hold captive, then I swear by all my gods that I will show you and your men even less pity. We will take the fort and if you have killed just one of your prisoners, I will take as many of you alive as possible. Then I will have you flayed alive, one each day, in front of his comrades. You last of all. . Now, I will make you an offer. The same as before. Surrender your prisoners unharmed, and I will allow you free passage from this valley. I am not an unreasonable man. I will give you a day to consider. If you refuse my offer we will attack again. In that event, if you have harmed my brother or the others, you know the fate that awaits you. There will be no more words between us.’ He tugged on his reins, and turned his horse about and trotted back down the slope. Cato watched him for a moment, seized with the urge to call out to Macro to have his men loose a volley of javelins at the enemy commander. With Caratacus dead, the coalition of tribes still resisting Rome would collapse. But the moment passed; Caratacus spurred his horse and was soon well out of range.

  Cato sighed with frustration at his hesitation, even though he knew it was not in his nature to be so ruthless as to break the rules of parley
. Caratacus had also sensed it, and Cato felt a leaden despair at his failure to conceal his true character. He put the standard against his shoulder and returned to the fort.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  The remaining hours of the day were spent preparing for the next attack. The sound of hammers ringing came from the fort’s forge as Macro oversaw the production of caltrops, the small four-pointed iron weapons that were often strewn on the ground in front of Roman battle lines to break up enemy charges. A misplaced foot or hoof that was impaled on a caltrop was enough to cripple a man or horse and take them out of the conflict. There had been none of the devices in the fort’s stores and Macro had to give orders to melt down the stock of spare javelin heads, bridles and the handful of iron bars intended for trading with natives, before Quertus had adopted a more forceful strategy. Smoke billowed from the forge but quickly dissipated in the breeze that accompanied the rain, even before it was swallowed up by the low clouds.

  ‘The trouble is, we can’t create enough of ’em to make much of a difference,’ Macro explained to Cato as the latter checked on his progress late in the afternoon. The heat in the forge was intense and the farrier and his assistants were stripped down to their loincloths. They sweated over the furnace and took turns at the bellows used to keep the fire sufficiently hot. The melted iron was poured into a hastily prepared mould that produced V-shaped lengths that were joined and beaten together while still glowing red. The centurion mopped his brow and indicated a wooden tub, no more than a quarter full of the dark, spiked weapons. ‘That’ll cover barely a tenth of the length of the front ditch. We’ve got enough material to provide for the rest, but not the other ditches. And besides, what we have won’t be finished for four, maybe five days.’

  ‘Well, it’s something,’ said Cato. ‘We’ll spread them thin to start with and hope that we injure enough of them to slow the rest down the next time.’

  ‘Then you think Caratacus will attack, regardless of your threat?’

  ‘I’m certain he will. In his place I would.’

  ‘And you’ll go through with it? What you said you would do to the prisoners?’

  Cato took a deep breath and nodded. ‘I have to. In the first instance at least. Then he might be wary of causing the death of his brother. It’ll be a bad business, Macro. A very bad business. But it will have to be done.’

  ‘You don’t have to be the one,’ Macro said gently. ‘Just give the order. Someone else can do it. I’ll do it if you want. Or ask Quertus. He’ll be happy to kill the prisoners since he never wanted them in the first place.’

  ‘No. It has to be me,’ Cato said in a resigned tone. ‘Caratacus must see that I carry my threats through. It’ll also do the men good to see that I am as ruthless as that Thracian. I want no one to be in doubt that when I say I’ll kill someone, I will do it. Good for discipline.’

  Macro raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Well, if you’re sure, lad. .’

  Cato smiled at his friend. ‘I’m just glad Julia isn’t here to see it.’

  ‘Don’t worry about her. She knows the meaning of being a soldier. Julia’s seen more than her share of death. She’d understand.’

  ‘Killing in the heat of battle is one thing. This is quite another.’

  Macro shrugged. ‘It’s all the same in the end, however you dress it up.’

  Cato looked at him searchingly. ‘You really think so?’

  ‘I know it.’ Macro picked up a strip of cloth and dabbed his face. ‘Killing is killing, whether you call it murder or war. It’s just that when some high-up bastard has made a policy of dealing out death, it makes it more acceptable. Try telling that to the victims!’ Macro laughed drily, then frowned as he saw one of the farrier’s assistants slump down on a stool and reach for a canteen. ‘Back on your feet, you! No slacking off! We see this through until I say we’re done.’

  The legionary rose stiffly and took up his hammer and tongs and reached for the next two hoops of glowing iron to fashion another caltrop.

  ‘I had better get back to work, sir.’

  ‘Very well. Make sure you rest tonight. If Caratacus makes another attempt before dawn, I want you fresh for the fight.’

  ‘And you? Will you sleep?’

  ‘I’ll try.’

  Macro shook his head with a sad smile, and returned to overseeing the production of the small but effective weapons.

  Cato was relieved to leave the hot confines of the forge and enjoyed the cool bite of the breeze outside. The clouds still lowered overhead and although it would not be dusk for an hour or so the light already seemed to be fading. He turned towards the stable block being used to hold the prisoners and prepared himself for the tough task that lay ahead.

  He had not gone more than a few paces before he saw Quertus emerging between the officers’ mess and one of the barrack blocks assigned to the Thracians. The centurion spotted him at once and came striding across the street.

  ‘Sir, a word.’

  Cato stopped and replied tersely, ‘What is it?’

  ‘I need permission to water the horses, sir. As I mentioned earlier. I’ll take them down to the river one squadron at a time, and have pickets posted upstream and downstream in case the Silurians try anything on.’

  Cato nodded. It was a sensible enough plan. ‘Very well. Make sure that you don’t take any risks. At the first sign of trouble you pull your men back into the fort at once. If Caratacus tries to cut us off from the river and we get short of water then we may have to get rid of the mounts sooner than we thought.’

  Quertus hesitated before he replied, ‘As you command.’

  The Thracian turned away and strode back in the direction of the officers’ mess. Cato stared after him for a moment and muttered, ‘Well, that’s something of a change in attitude. .’ Perhaps the man was beginning to accept that he could no longer challenge authority. It was a pity that it had taken the present dire situation before Quertus had conceded, Cato thought. At least that was one problem less to vex his overburdened mind. Or one more thing to be suspicious about, a voice at the back of his mind warned. Cato chewed his lip as he watched the Thracian walk away. Damn the man, he thought.

  ‘Get your people on their feet,’ Cato ordered Maridius. The conditions in the stable were as tolerable as they could be for prisoners in a fort under siege. Every man was needed on the wall so half a section, four men, had been given the duty of guarding the Silurians. The latter were manacled with their hands behind their backs and then a chain was passed through the iron loop and they were fastened to the stout timbers that supported the stable’s beams. There was no chance of the prisoners breaking loose and turning on the defenders of the fort. There was equally no chance of using the latrine and the air was foetid with the stench of human waste and the sour smell of sweat that became pronounced whenever people were constrained in close quarters for any length of time.

  The Catuvellaunian prince sat with a straight back and returned Cato’s gaze defiantly. He made no attempt to respond to the order. Cato turned to the legionaries who had entered the stable with him. ‘Get ’em up.’

  The legionaries strode forward and kicked the prisoners into action with their heavy boots and prods from the butts of their javelins. The sudden burst of violence caused the prisoners to cry out in protest and pain but they rose quickly enough and soon stood in a loose cluster in the middle of the stable, gradually falling silent under Cato’s stern gaze, until only the clink of the chains swinging from the posts and the shuffling of feet in the straw could be heard. Cato looked them over, noting the filth caked on their clothes, skin and hair. There were a few older men and women amongst them and a handful of frightened children pressing themselves to their parents. Their wretched appearance instinctively provoked Cato’s pity, but he forced himself to quash the sentiment.

  He needed ten of them. Ten to execute the next day if Caratacus made any attempt to attack the fort. But who to choose? Cato felt a slight nausea in the pit of his stomach. This pow
er over life and death appalled him. Yet it was his own words that had made the choice necessary. He must face up to the consequences of his promise to the enemy commander. But who should he pick? The old? They had led a full measure of life and had least to lose. The young? They would be easiest to lead to the slaughter and their deaths would have a far greater impact on the enemy than the loss of the old. But why should there be any greater sense of loss over a life hardly lived than the loss of a wealth of experience? Where was the logic in that? And what of the men of military age? In a war it was their deaths that should be felt most keenly, if only because they had most to contribute to the ability of their nation to wage war, yet their deaths would weigh least of all in the hearts and thoughts of their people.

  One of the legionaries coughed and Cato realised that he had been staring at the prisoners for some time. He felt angry with himself for deliberating at length over the fates of these people. The simple truth was there was no right answer to the question of selecting who should die. He was a soldier with a job to carry out and there was no depth to the issue beyond that. Cato stepped forward and pointed to the nearest tribesman.

  ‘Take him and nine others out of the stable. Chain them to the gatehouse.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ said the optio in charge of the guard party.

  ‘And have Maridius locked in the strongroom below headquarters. Place one of your men outside. I want him watched. He’s too precious to allow anything to happen to him. If he tries to take his life, your man will be answerable for the consequences. Is that understood, Optio?’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  Cato took one last look at the prisoners. ‘Carry on.’ He turned and left. That was all it took to determine the fates of ten people, he reflected, an arbitrary decision and a single order. It should have felt like a liberation from the burden of responsibility, but it didn’t. The decision weighed on his heart like a great rock, grinding his soul to dust.