Hosker, G [Sword of Cartimandua 11] Roman Treachery (13 page)

“Excellent! Take your turma out in the morning with Titus and see what you can discover.  Rufius, you can take the other turmae south and try to intercept them. It is a long shot as they will try to avoid the roads but I trust your Explorate training to give you the edge. And you,” he looked at the aide with a cold hard look, “can wait here and try not get in the way!”

Chapter 9

Vibia awoke as they approached the Dunum.  Briac had contemplated waking her before but, as she was quiet, he had allowed the sleeping dog to lie. The kidnapped girl; was tied over the back of the horse and Vibia felt slightly nauseous as a result of the motion. As she came to and felt the bruise on her jaw the kidnap came flooding back to her. She reflected that had Lucia been asked to go then the situation would now be totally different.  Pragmatic as ever she would find a way out or her dilemma; she had been taught well. Vibia was not afraid.  Had her captors wished harm to come to her they would have done so already. “What do you want of me?”

Only Briac understood her and he held up his hand. “Halt! He went to her. “I will untie you and seat you on the horse but if you try to escape my men will catch you and they will hurt you.  Do you understand what I mean?”

Vibia looked at the men and shuddered, she knew exactly what they meant. Their leering faces left her in no doubt that she would suffer pain as well as the unwe3lcome attentions of her Brigante captors. She would have to go along with them until she could escape. She had no doubt that she could escaper them for they were mere barbarians.  It would be a case of being patient. “I will do as you wish but as it is going to become cold I would appreciate something warm about my shoulders or did you kidnap me merely to have me freeze to death?”

Briac did not like Romans and he did not like being told what to do by a woman.  Here a Roman woman was ordering him around and he did not like it.  He would, however, have to accede to her demands.  There would be little point in kidnapping and risking his spy merely to have her die on the road. He reluctantly gave her a cloak, ironically stolen from a dead Roman. “Here, but two men are behind you at all times.  Remember that.”

Vibia feigned difficulty in sitting correctly on the horse when in fact she had been taught to ride from an early age.  She could even ride bareback but now was not the time for escape.  She needed to now where she was.  She had no idea which direction they were travelling in and she had only a vague idea of the geography of the region.  She knew they were Brigante but she also knew that the land of the Brigante stretched from coast to coast.  She had heard that they sometimes sold people to Hibernian slavers although it seemed a little far fetched that she would be taken.  She also knew that the Via Nero went north and south of Eboracum and, from the direction the shadows were falling the sun was in the east.  That was as far as her knowledge went. She wondered, as they headed north, if they had mistaken her for the Governor’s wife.  Then she remembered the Roman trooper she had recognised. He had known who she was.  It was planned to take her; the question was why.

They reached the Dunum which was forty paces wide and flowing deceptively slowly. Briac halted them and tied two halters to the woman’s horse. The water was not shallow enough for them to walk but the horses were able to swim.  Briac had taken the journey many times and he knew the best angle to enter and leave the water.  He was not afraid. He led the party across the water, ensuring the party stayed close together.  Vibia herself was a little wary about the dark sinister water and she hoped that the horse knew what it was doing.  Although the water was deep it was not flowing very quickly and she breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the horse’s hooves bite into the river bed as they approached what she assumed was then northern bank. Once they reached the other side one of the warriors loosened his halter and took up a position behind her.  It did not go unnoticed by Vibia; she was being closely guarded. She noticed the direction of the river’s flow and deduced that they must be travelling north which meant that they were heading for the wall.  That gave her some comfort for she knew that the wall was garrisoned and that the horsemen she had met were in that region.  The hope grew in her but she knew she would have to watch for an opportunity to escape.  She would only have one chance; she knew that and failure would result in pain at best and death at worst.

Marcus looked at the churned up ground.  Wolf had taken a good sniff at the Votadini who appeared to be more than a little wary of the snarling dog.  Marcus had wondered about that for the dog had shown no aggression towards any of the ala but he did not know if Wolf had been given a sign by Felix. Felix too had sniffed at them and felt their clothes.  When one of them began to raise his arm, Wolf snarled and Marcus smacked him in the face.  The combination cowed the others. Felix had nodded happily when they left. “I will know them,” was his confident statement.

Now, as they rode north Marcus reflected that he would have had no chance of discerning evidence from the churned up mud but Felix and Wolf happily trotted on ahead of the turma. As they went deeper into the forest Wolf and Felix separated; Marcus kept following the human tracker.  A whistle occasionally brought the dog back. The decurion wondered how the dog would communicate what it had found for it did not bark.

Eventually Felix came back. “Sir, wait here and I will return.”

In a heartbeat he was gone and Titus rode up to join his colleague. “How does he disappear so quickly and quietly sir?”

“He isn’t riding a horse but even so he is impressive.” He turned to the two turmae. “Get your weapons ready in case we need them in a hurry.”

The forest seemed unnaturally quiet and Marcus began to imagine he was seeing Votadini all around him.  Suddenly Felix appeared next to him. “If you dismount sir I will take you to their camp.”

Marcus dismounted and put his helmet and shield on the pommel of his saddle. “Titus, Sextus keep watch until I return.  Put out a perimeter guard.”

“Are you sure about this sir?”

Marcus grinned, he was an Explorate again. “You are getting more like an old woman every day Sextus.  Of course I will be fine.” He set off after the swiftly moving and silent pair of trackers.  He felt as though he was a bull charging through the forest for he was aware of the noise he was making but Felix did not seem to mind. There was a smell of wood smoke and noises ahead, the vague murmurings of people, the sound of metal on metal, an occasional laugh and shout ; the Votadini! The Brigante boy held up his hand and dropped to all fours’ Marcus did the same emulating Felix’s action.  It seemed like years since he had done this.  He crawled slowly across the forest floor, watching where he placed his hands and feet before he trusted them to the ground.  He saw Wolf’s ears drop and the dog lay close to the ground. There looked to be a slight ridge ahead and Marcus, like Felix lay on the ground and slid slowly, like a serpent to where the dog waited. Felix’s left hand came out and stopped him from moving further forward. The scout’s right hand scooped some mud and smeared it across Marcus’ face and then his own. He nodded and began to raise his head.  When Marcus did the same he saw that they were about fifty paces above a clearing.  In the clearing there were at least three hundred warriors. Some were sharpening weapons some were practising with their weapons and others were seated around open fires talking. Even as they watched another party, forty strong strode into the camp to be greeted warmly by the ones already there. This was a large warband.  This one was close enough to attack the men building the wall and expect to succeed. He had seen enough and he slid slowly backwards. When he reached the place he had started he stood up. They began to make their way back to the rest of his men.  Both humans kept silent and Marcus noticed that Wolf trailed them by a hundred paces and would occasionally loop back on himself.

When they reached the troopers Sextus laughed, “Fall in the mud then sir?”

Marcus realised he still had a mud covered face.  He went to his horse and poured some of the water from his skin to clean his face. He mounted his horse, “There are three hundred Votadini at least over there.  I think they are planning something. Let’s get back to the fort.”

As they rode back the three new recruits trotted alongside each other. “Did you hear the decurion Aneurin? There are three hundred Votadini! It looks like we will be getting some action at last then.”

“I don’t know, Scanlan, three hundred and more I heard. There are only five hundred in the whole ala and almost half are still stationed near Eboracum.”

“I’m not worried.  We have the sword with us you know.  I heard that the sword had oath brothers who all swore an oath to defend the sword and that it has never suffered defeat.”

“Really? That sounds a little too primitive for Romans.  What do you think Vibius?”

“What?”

“I was just saying that swearing an oath on a sword seems a bit primitive for Romans. They are more civilised than that.”

Vibius shook himself from his reverie, “Roman legates still make sacrifices before battles so I suppose swearing an oath on a sword is no different. It depends upon how you feel about the sword doesn’t it?”

They rode in silence through the forest. “You have been quiet lately Vibius.  Is there a problem?” Aneurin felt quite close to the older trooper since their encounter with the bandits and was somewhat in awe of the older and obviously brave trooper.

He laughed easily, “No Aneurin, its just that we left the fortress so quickly I am not sure if I brought everything.”

Suddenly Sextus’ gruff voice growled behind them.  “Well if you have forgotten any equipment then you will be on a charge Trooper Gemellus!”

“No Chosen Man, not equipment, just some personal belongings.”

Sextus shrugged, “Well that’s alright then.  A word of advice troopers, if you can’t carry it on yourself or your horse then don’t bother with it. We may not get back to Eboracum at all and even if we do there are some thieving bastards stationed there.”

Vibius looked round in horror. “What?  Never?  But I thought we moved up and down the road all the time.”

“Aye lad but we can’t guarantee it. We could be based at Morbium, Cataractonium, and Derventio… I have been in all of them. We are cavalry and they like to move us around and deal with problems quickly.” He softened his voice a little, “No son, this is where we are based so whatever you left in the fortress you better hope the Decurion Princeps picks it up for you.”

In a distracted voice Vibius looked to the south as though he could see the fortress and his barracks.  “Thanks Chosen Man. I will take your advice.”

“So you see Legate the warband could be up to a five hundred strong or even more.”

“And until we recapture the hostage we will not know when and where they will attack.” He stared at the map and the freshly marked site of the camp.

“I saw nothing either, Marcus.  But I doubt if they could have beaten you north which means they are still on their way and if they are going to get across the wall they will have to get by us.”

Far to the west a second huge warband was gathering. Randal was not worried about the Votadini hostages.  He would still carry out his part of the pact.  He and his war chiefs saw a great opportunity.  The vexillations from the Twentieth and the Second were already shifting men towards the gap.  The Tungrian auxiliaries had built a new camp to help cover the possible invasion when the Votadini spilled over.  Randal had not yet attacked the wall.  It was part of his cunning that he had not done so.  He was trying to lull the soldiers on the western side of the wall that the Selgovae were docile and accepting the monstrosity of the wall without even a whimper. He had a thousand warriors gathered and he had chosen his point of attack carefully.

To the west of the high rocks and the deep water the Romans had built a turf, not a stone wall. It was close to the sea and not as well guarded s the centre and the east.  He would take his men over along a two mile stretch of the wall and then use the very artery the Romans had built to service the road, the Stanegate, to attack them in their rear. Briac had been correct in one matter; the Romans were most vulnerable in their camps, where they thought they were safe.  The Selgovae might have difficulty with a stone wall but wood was different, it burned!

The turf wall had been completed early in the wall building programme.  The vexillation of legionaries who had constructed it had moved eastwards. The wall was not as high as the one Iucher had attacked but it was wider.  There were more mile castles but they were all made of wood and not stone. The only stone they used was in the foundations. The Tungrian auxiliaries enjoyed a quiet life in the west.  They enjoyed a healthy diet of fish from the river and the sea.  The original member of the cohort had been from the low lands of the Rhenus and even the new recruits had carried on the watery tradition. The prefect, Gaius Culpinus had heard of the problems in the east and thanked all the gods he could that his posting was a quiet one. He had five more years to go before retirement and he had a small place in Gaul already picked out where he would grow grapes and make wine. 

It was his custom, just after the last watch went on duty to take a walk down the wall with Centurion Garbo, the first spear of the cohort. It enabled them to plan the next day’s work programme while reflecting on the cohort and its morale. They had both served in Britannia for twenty years and knew what it took out of a soldier. They had served together for many years and had an easy and comfortable relationship which made for an efficient cohort. “I think we should deepen these ditches. The Gauls in the east were slaughtered because they weren’t deep enough to stop the barbarian bastards getting over them.”

“I’ll put the third century on it tomorrow.  It is about time they pulled their weight. I think we will pour some water on them and make them slippery.”  He pointed at the river.  “That is one thing we have plenty of.”