Mella nodded and waved to three men. With a slow trot the scouts disappeared off into the low hills and Marcus clenched his jaw.
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“They are riding around the city to see what defences we have, but it seems they will not attack tonight.”
“Then the remaining families will have time to move the rest of the stores to the Temple of Jupiter” came the calculating reply. “As I said gentlemen, there is nothing to be done. Those of you who have lost their oldest sons to the Gauls must make provision for your younger sons now” he added. “You know you can trust me to look after them” said the wide eyes of Gaius Javenoli, his features gaunt but healthy after months of lying indoors fighting the fever which had gripped his body.
“You have agreed to offer yourselves as sacrifices” his face swept the seventy or eighty old men in the room “and I applaud your decision and will pray to the gods every day that Rome prevails.” His eyes cast around the room again. “But right now, you must make provision for your families for when these Gauls leave” he said.
“What if they stay and we lose?” came an embittered voice from the rear of the room.
Javenoli stared with contempt at the grey bearded man. “We won’t” he replied coldly. “The Gauls will not stay here. When they find nothing here, they will kill the plebeians who hide in their houses, they will loot the bigger houses and they will leave. There is nothing here for them” he said with conviction.
“I agree” said Papirius, his face stern. “It is for the best. Gaius you are a good man and your loyalty to Rome is beyond reproach. You stood up for Marcus Furius Camillus, and we should have listened to you, his skill would have been useful at the Allia” he said slowly as a few growls of disagreement spread around the room. “But now it is too late. We must prepare ourselves for the ceremony’s gentlemen. Gaius, I will have my servants collect all the valuables and deliver them to you for safekeeping. I will have your written note?” he asked as his head cocked to one side.
“Of course.”
“Then I suggest we do it sooner rather than later. The Gauls might attack in the night and all our discussions will be wasted.” The body of men all made noises of agreement as Javenoli licked his lips and turned to his slave, his deep brown eyes cast down to the floor, but this hands eagerly holding out pre-completed wax tablets with the promissory notes which only required the list of goods to be added.
“By the love of the gods I swear to keep your treasures safe to my dying breath” Javenoli said as he clasped hands with many of the men. “I will watch over your children as if they were my own” he added as the slave began to write the lists.
Javenoli sidled across to the doorway and nodded to a small girl, no more than fourteen years old, who was standing by the doorway with a tray of drinks. As he took a drink, he whispered to her “you know what to do” he said as his eyes caught hers.
“Yes master” she whispered as she nodded and turned towards the kitchen.
Javenoli’s face spread into a broad grin. With the wealth of the oldest families in Rome he could set himself up as king once the Gauls left. If they left. For a moment he considered the thought that this was all futile. Would the Gauls leave Rome? What if they decided to stay and populate the city? He shook his head as he heard his name being called and turned, smiling graciously, to the Senators who were beginning to leave his house and head back to their homes to commit their families to his care.
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Chapter 11
“Leave a gap you fool” Manlius yelled as the legionary heaved a stone block towards the narrow alleyway leading from the road to the Capitol. “Gods man, what are you thinking” he said as he tapped the man on his helmet, the young man’s eyes becoming fearful as the dull ringing of Manlius’ finger tapped on his bronze head.
“How will the last few get in if you close the gap” he continued, his voice becoming hard as he stepped into the gap and squeezed the final ten yards until he came out into the road. Behind him the high stone walls created a perfect alley, one of only three they needed to barricade to make the hill impenetrable. It had taken very little time to drag down several of the tall houses and pile the stones into a barrier topped with spikes and barricades from the houses around the Capitol. He cast his eyes along the road, the darkness causing him to squint as the clear moon gave him enough blue-grey light to see into the city. Beyond the walls he could see the camp fires of the Gauls spread out across the horizon, dots of yellow and orange hanging silently in the middle distance as he couldn’t clearly distinguish the sky from the ground. Movement caught his eyes as another troop of soldiers appeared, some pushing hand carts and others straining under the weight of the corn sacks that were being delivered to the temple. He had already stopped people from bringing useless goods into the defences on the Capitol, people crying as their precious items were flung to the floor before they could pass. Others had tried to pick them up before they, too, were denied access with treasures which were of no value. The Senate had been clear. Food, weapons and necessary items only. Manlius grinned at the men as they trudged closer, their backs bent with the weight. He looked up and along the street to see more men coming, water barrels being rolled. The Capitol had a good well which was fed with good water, as long as the Gauls didn’t find it and spike it. He turned left and looked back along in the other direction as a Senator, his clean white toga, appeared around a corner, his family in tow behind. As he approached the entry to the Capitol Manlius stood back slightly and narrowed his eyes. As the man caught his gaze, he dropped his eyes quickly, ushering two young children towards the gap as a tall, thin, woman with her hair piled into curls on the top of her head slid past, her haughty expression causing Manlius to tense his lips. Three slaves stepped quickly behind her and Manlius moved across.
“Sir” he said loudly as the entourage stopped, the woman turning her creased brows to him. “One slave per family” Manlius said coldly.
“Iulius” the woman said, her voice pleading.
“No exceptions” Manlius said as he heard the slaves begin to whimper.
“But they will be killed by the barbarians” the woman said, her brown eyes turning to Manlius before turning back to her husband.
“I told you so Julia” he said smoothly. “Choose now, quickly” he said forcefully as he turned with anger in his face back towards the three slaves.
“Domina” a well-proportioned female slave said as she knelt and held her hands up to the woman called Julia as the youngest male slave turned his head left and right, his eyes suddenly widening as he looked straight into the face of Manlius, a look of defiance in his dark face.
Manlius half smiled, he’d seen that look before and knew, a second before it happened, what the boy would do as he turned and fled back along the road from which they had come.
“Felix. Felix” called Julia, her face breaking into fear as the boy ran from her sight.
“Let him go” said Iulius as he stepped across and gripped his wife’s arm. “One or none” he said coldly. “Now.”
The domina of the Iullus household turned her tight faced gaze to Manlius and gave him a hate filled stare. “None” she said, her voice flat and calm as she stepped away from the now screaming slave who was trying desperately to hold on to her stola as she turned towards the gap. Manlius grinned as he stepped forwards, the second female slave simply standing with her mouth open as her owners walked away from her.
“Run now, slave” Manlius said to her wide-eyed face. “You might make it to the woods before the Gauls come.”
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Mella lay flat on his belly as the sun rose slowly into the sky. He could see the hordes of Gauls massed by the road along the stream called the Anio, their backs to him. They had set no pickets or guards and were milling around in an unorganised rabble as they washed in the water, cooked breakfast or simply slept in furs on the ground. He’d sent the other scouts to various points around the city but had taken this positio
n himself as it overlooked the main army which was camped directly opposite the Colline gate on the north end of the city. The smell of horses and men hit his nostrils as the morning breeze drifted their stench back up towards him. The city of Rome looked deserted, hardly a movement came, the odd head popping up along the walls to the low left showing that despite the silence there were still people in the city. A commotion came as two women ran from the gate and headed for the bridge, the Gauls calling and cheering as several men ran down the hill towards them, the screaming of the larger woman splitting the air before hoots of laughter drowned out her voice. The skinny girl managed to avoid the lunges of a brute who had been washing under the bridge but the larger slave screamed as he grabbed her and tore the drab brown dress from her body, her white breasts causing the men nearest to laugh a deep booming laugh as the Gaul lifted the woman across his back and dragged her back down towards the water. Mella watched the skinny slave as her white legs raced over the stones towards the trees, several younger men still chasing her with hoots of laughter. He shook his head and sighed before he looked back to see the Gallic leaders, who had appeared to witness the scene, waving and cheering to the chasing warriors.
Looking back at the soldiers he tried to count their numbers, his mind working furiously as he tried to grasp the figures and commit them to memory. The horse, the foot, the baggage wagons. He frowned once again at the earthen banks of the city, such a poor defence. The low walls stretched away into the distance with the open gates looking like mouths open wide as they awaited the horror that the Gauls would bring to the city within.
Sudden screams died away to his left as the girl was caught. Cheers rang out amongst the ranks of watching soldiers. Mella set his lips tight and breathed slowly. This was the way with war. More movement, more cheering as a horse and three prisoners, each wearing the tunic of Rome and their bronze helmets were pushed roughly towards the chieftains. Silence fell as harsh words were cast upon the prisoners by the Gallic leaders before a green cloaked man strode out ahead of them towards the river by the bridge. Gauls ran from every direction, no order, just a rabble of running men and women. Yes, definitely a stream of large women some carrying axes, came rushing to the bridge where the prisoners were herded.
At the bridge were three low trees, grey twisted wood. Mella had stood and picked olives from them only weeks before. Yet now they had been pruned, the branches cut back so that they were nothing more than the trunk with two thick branches, appearing like a man with his arms stretched out. Mella worked out instantly that three prisoners and three pruned trees could mean only one thing, and surely enough the prisoners were stripped, except for their helmets, and lashed to the tree stumps, each man howling for mercy as the Gauls crowded around the scene. Mella smiled as he saw the skinny girl leap from under one of the Gauls who had caught her and dashed off into the trees as the younger men were distracted by the noise at the river.
The green cloaked man lifted his hands and silence fell. Mella looked to the city and saw heads appearing at the walls, maybe fifty, as the silence fell. Were there defenders in the city? His heart leapt at the thought. The Gaul threw his cloak to the floor, naked underneath. He turned to the three prisoners and began reciting what was clearly an oath to the gods as the men screamed for mercy. Ignoring them he pulled a short, curved, blade from a tight leather belt around his waist and strode over to the first Roman prisoner, his calls for mercy cut short as the man sliced him open at the guts, the twisted intestines slowly dropping from his belly as his screams tore the air and then fell to silence as the man seemed to watch his innards drip from the cut. His chest was shuddering and his legs twitching violently as the curved blade sank into the neck of the second prisoner, a merciful quick death compared to the first man. The thick red blood dripped in an increasing stream down the man’s naked chest and onto his thighs as his head sank to his chest and his life was gone. The third man had some liquid poured over him as he yelled curses at the Gaul, clearly knowing that calling for mercy would not help him now. The Gaul with the curved blade stood and waved his dagger in circles around the man, calling to his gods and invoking them. Mella stared around at the Gauls, thousands of them held in the grip of this priest as they stood and repeated the name of their gods, the name Taranis repeated over and over by the priest and finally rising to a crescendo of noise as the thousands of voices around the bridge called out the name.
As the priest raised his blade to the air the crowd fell silent and a white robed woman brought a burning torch to the naked priest. The third prisoner had now started to beg for mercy, his calls echoing from the earthen banks of the city wall. It took moments for the priest to say his final words, cheers coming from the Gauls, before he set fire to the last prisoner. With quick movements he poured the liquid over the first two prisoners and set the torch to them too, the flare of heat pushing some of the closest crowd backwards but the priest standing close to the flames seemingly untouched by the searing heat. The priest turned slowly and pointed to the city as he walked down to the river and took the horse by the mane, stepping into the water as the last cries of the dying prisoners disappeared into the flames. The priest jumped onto the horses back and stepped the beast into the water, his words loud, but unclear to Mella. He stood on the horses back and waved the blade towards the city as the Gauls chanted the name of their gods.
Mella watched the spectacle with a sense of awe. The barbarians had called on their gods to support them as they entered the city, purging the Romans by killing the prisoners. They were starting to line up in groups, fifty or sixty men at a time as they turned to the chieftains, three men walking down towards the river.
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“Brother, when we are done looking at this city you take the low lands by the river and their port” Brennus said as the three men walked towards the bridge. “I will take the centre, this Forum?” he asked.
“Yes, that is what they call their village centre” Belinus said with a nod.
“Village?” laughed Brennus. “It has the walls of a village but is the size of a nation”
The men laughed as the leaders strode over the bridge towards the gate. Several warriors trotted ahead and disappeared inside the city, two standing by the gate as the leaders approached.
“You are sure that the city is almost deserted?” he asked again, Belinus frowning at the frequency of the question.
“Yes brother. We have had men in the city all night and apart from a few who are barricaded by the port and by the big temple” he nodded towards the top of a sharp rise which they could just see from their position outside the gate “there is nobody here.”
The light cast long shadows across the wide road as the Gauls entered Rome, the cool morning breeze almost welcoming as the streets stood empty and silent. Brennus stood five yards inside the gate and stared at the wooden and stone buildings, seeing carvings of strange animals and busts of men who had died long ago lined up along the walls of the city. The place seemed airless and Brennus took a deep breath before stepping forwards, a long line of warriors walking behind him as he led the way into the streets. His head turned from side to side at the high walls and stone floors. There were water troughs filled with crystal clear water and small statues at each corner, some covered in flowers, others with grass necklaces and small wooden dishes of food at their feet. The Gauls were pointing at the houses, the statues and the shrines to the Roman gods, many of them amazed at the splendour and wonder of it all.
“See brother” Belinus pointed to a foot-wide stone-lined trench which crossed the road where they walked. “It carries the waste to the river” he said as some of the Gauls frowned into the, now dry, trench, the brown and green stains clearly marking what the channel delivered.
Brennus shook his head in awe at the engineering as the men turned left and worked their way up a short rise onto a long straight road. Houses stood open, the shutters letting the sun into empty rooms as the Gauls walked along the road. Brennus looked back o
ver his shoulder, the warriors followed respectfully, not one had broken off to loot houses as they had been instructed as they headed into the city. If the city was empty, he had said, they would secure it first before looting it and keeping the best houses for themselves as they decided whether to stay for the coming winter. There had been a few dissenting voices, each marked by Brennus, but it had been agreed by the council that this was the best way to proceed and every man had held to his word.
To the left they could see the high cliff which they had seen from outside the city walls, the grey of the cold stone walls strewn with various knots of half-stunted trees and clumps of thick grass. Gazing ahead Brennus saw the first of the guards appear at the corner next to a round shaped building, its doors open and another guard coming out shaking his head. Brennus knew that the Forum was just around the corner and he strode out purposefully with a long deep breath as a smile started to crack his face.
As he stared at the Forum his jaw dropped in awe. The Forum was enormous, the wide cobbled and flag-stoned floor was immense, the buildings lining its sides bore signs and colours, pictures and words, but he didn’t have the time to take them all in. This place was bigger than the square by the river, the one that he had been told was called the Forum Boarium, the cattle market. His eyes were drawn to the end of the Forum, statues of men lining each end and the high temples visible on both the right and left which soared into the sky atop great high cliffs, the left hand side holding the red tiles of a temple roof and, what his scouts had told him, the remaining men of Rome holding the hill. He would soon root them out.
“I told you it is like a city built by gods, isn’t it brother?” came the voice of Belinus as Brennus stood rooted to the spot and drank in the scene.
“Such a place” Brennus said with awe in his words as he let his eyes rove around the walls, the statues, the rows of buildings and the enormously tall temples. After a moment he turned to the leaders, all staring at the space around them. “Search this city of Rome” he said. “Bring all the arms and spoils here to this place and pile them up. We will bring all the spoils and weapons from the river and put them here too” he grinned. “Tonight, we feast in this Roman city. Our city” he said as the men nodded and began to disperse, nobody seeming to be in any hurry.
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