Hosker, G [Sword of Cartimandua 00.5] Ulpius Felix- Warrior of Rome (20 page)

“Decurion Ulpius Felix she would eat you alive in a moment.” The laughter was all directed at Wolf who blushed and then took the ribbing in the way it was intended. “By the way how are the new recruits?”

Flavius nodded at Wolf, “They are better thanks to our master of languages here Felix.  He can actually speak to them and let them know what we intend. Oh and we now have three more Brigante scouts. I sent one to Derventio, one to Isurium and left two here.”

“Why do you need three Decurion Princeps?”

“We train the recruits sir.  It gives us more interpreters.”

“Very well.  Carry on.”

Wolf went directly to the gyrus where Gaius, his Chosen Man awaited him. “The new recruits all settled in Gaius?” Although it had been a year since the heavy losses at Carl Wark the Second Turma had had to wait until all the other turmae had been brought up to full strength.  As Flavius had pointed out it was easier to replace two or three men rather than sixteen.  It meant that Wolf and Gaius had the most recruits of any of them.  The rest of the turma lounged against the rails as the sixteen new recruits sat awkwardly on their new horses in their new armour and with their new arms.  They had been shorn weeks earlier and had spent the next four weeks working with Sextus and Numerius on simple commands.  Wolf and the turma had patrolled as far north as the river which marked the border of the land of the Brigante and the end of the Roman Empire. Now, as he surveyed his new men he thought of them as rough clay.  When he had taken over the turma it had been with fellow Pannonians but these were volunteers from Britannia and Gaul.  The Gauls came from areas where they had too many volunteers for the cohorts and the surplus were shipped to the alae which needed them, regardless of an ability to ride.

“Welcome to the best turma in the ala.” He pointed to Osgar who was busy cleaning a rabbit skin. “We have the best scout.” Osgar spat and Wolf smiled as he pointed towards Gaius and the other troopers, “And we have the most decorated troopers in Britannia because we are the toughest and the bravest.  You are joining an elite team and if you do not meet its standards then it will be off to the cohorts with you.” He smiled, “And the loss of pay.” He strolled along the front of the line of horses staring at each man as he passed.  “I am Decurion Lupus Ulpius Felix.  That was not my name when I joined so I don’t want to know the names you had. You are Romans now and I will address you as a Roman. For those who are still unfamiliar with Roman names let me tell you that the Lupus means I am like a Wolf.  When you were growing up at home and you listened to the howling of the wolf you were afraid.  When I yell then you should be afraid too.  Felix means I am lucky.” He pointed at his scarred eye.  “I was lucky because, when I was stupid enough to think no-one could harm me the Allfather saved me and just took an eye.  That is why I am lucky. Some of you came from this province; others from the recruitment camps in Gaul.  Your background does not interest me.  What does matter is if you can ride or not.  We will now discover that.” They all glanced nervously at each other. “Just ride one circuit around the gyrus.”

They had all basic riding lessons and Wolf did not expect them to fall off. He just wanted to see who looked comfortable. After one circuit he sent them for a trot. He covered his mouth to hide a smile as he saw some of them slip from side to side. He let them rest and smile in that self satisfied way that shows someone thinks they have done a good job; even though some of them had been lucky not to fall off. “Now then, one by one, I want you to gallop around as fast as you can and then stop in front of me.” He paused, “Do not hit me!” The troopers smiled in anticipation; this would be their chance to have fun at the recruits’ expense.

The first recruit gritted his teeth and galloped around the gyrus. His face was a mixture of terror and exhilaration. As he turned the corner his face turned to horror as he realised the horse was not slowing and Wolf was only ten paces away. In desperation he jerked the reins to the side and pulled back.  The horse gamely tried to turn and stop but he couldn’t and they crashed in a heap at the Decurion’s feet. He looked down at the youth who gave a half mile up at Wolf. “Well at least you didn’t hit me.”

The others all had similar fates until there was just one left; he was the youngest looking of the recruits and Wolf prepared for another fall.  No-one had struck him yet but many had come close. The troopers had fallen about laughing and they eagerly watched the last one. He looked confident as he galloped around he had a calm expression as he raced up to the Decurion.  There was a collective intake of breath from both the recruits and the troopers as the horse was but ten paces from the officer when the recruit grabbed the reins and pulled savagely back.  The horse’s nose snorted into Wolf’s face but it was a hand span away. Wolf looked up at the youth who grinned and said, “Like that sir?”

“Well done son. What is your name?”

“Marcus Aurelius Maximunius, sir.”

“You ride that with some ease.  Are you Roman?”

“No sir, my home is in Hispania and my village was destroyed by the Romans.  The one who captured me, the centurion, sold me as a stable boy and gave me my name. I have had it for seven summers.”

“Well Marcus you can ride!” He looked at the others. “Take lessons from this one. He is the nearest thing to a Pannonian I have seen. Mount and I will find out who you are.”

He walked down the line. “Gaius sir, from Gaul.”

“Lentulus from the Atrebate tribe.”

“Metellus the Catevellauni tribe.”

“Drusus the Gaul.”

And so it went on.  He had a disparate team from both Gaul and the province but they all showed keenness.  None of them had shown fear after they had fallen and had all tried it again.  For Ulpius Felix it was the superb rider who would need no training which had made his day. He would, once again, have the best turma in the ala.

After they had finished their training for the day Wolf joined the others in the office they shared. They used it like an informal club.  There was normally an amphora of wine and dried venison strips. Osgar was an excellent hunter but his nephew Gaelwyn was even better and, as the new scout in the ala was keen to win praise, his hunting expeditions did so.

“I hear you have a rider amongst the recruits?”

“Yes Cava.  He stopped his horse that far from my nose.“ He demonstrated. “I nearly shat myself!”

“Makes a change; most of them can’t tell the tail from the head.”

“But they are keen Aulus.”

He leaned over to pour himself a large beaker of wine. “Aye but they are keen for the money.  If the infantry paid better salaries they would join them.“

Sextus chose a large piece of jerky. “Be fair Aulus it’s why we joined the cavalry and not the infantry, the money.”

“Speak for yourself I just didn’t fancy being one of Marius’ Mules and carrying my life on my back.”

“Yeah I prefer life from a horse and speaking of pay. You are the new paymaster.  When is the next payday?”

“Same as always the end of the nundinal cycle.”

“Now don’t confuse me you know I am an old man. The old nundinal or the new one?”

“Don’t give me that Sextus you are not old you are just crafty and you know that if it is the new one, which it is, then it is tomorrow and you have gained a day!”

Sextus shrugged.  “I am just saving for my retirement and I want to make sure it is safely in my box.”

“Are we letting the lads into the vicus then?”

“Not certain Lupus.  It depends on the Decurion Princeps.  The last thing we need is a bunch of lads pissed up around the vicus.”

“You mean like we were in Germania.”

“I mean exactly that.”

“Well I think they deserve it; they have worked hard.  How about if a couple of us had a wander around to make sure they are behaving themselves?” Wolf cared about his young recruits, especially as he had felt so guilty about the young ones who had died at the battle of Carl Wark.

“Count me out I have a bad leg.”

“Now you are getting old Aulus.  There was a time when you would have been the first to go and keep an eye on them.”

“Well I have changed and what good will a one eyed man be to keep an eye on them!”

They all laughed and Wolf affected outrage.  “I can’t believe you are mocking the afflicted.  Luckily I am in a good mood and I will turn a blind eye to that comment.”

Cava laughed, “Your jokes do not get any better but I will join you.  Might be interesting to see them off duty.”

Eventually the Pannonian officers with their friend Gerjen decided to take a stroll after payday to ensure that their charges behaved themselves. The vicus had grown because of the fort.  The Brigante who lived there could be sure of safety from bandits and raiders; the new road as they called it, the Via Nero passed through and ensured visitors and businesses flourished. There was an inn which put up merchants and visitors for the natives had learned they could make money out of Pax Romana and there was an alehouse marked by the sheaf of barley hung outside.  The woman who ran it, Maeve, was a widow whose husband and sons had been killed in a raid by the Caledonii. She wanted her daughter safe and saw the chance to be safe and to make money.  She was a powerfully built woman and had fists like a man.  There was little trouble in her alehouse.  The rest of the dwellings contained those who made money from the soldiers; tanners, leather workers, smiths and weapons makers.  There were also a couple of girls who were prostitutes.  Some of the troopers took a turn at them but, after a while, their lack of expertise and the fact that they just lay there made them less enticing and most men went back to the tried and trusted solo method. The two girls would make their money when the new recruits visited them for the first time.  The virgins were the ones they liked the best; they had no means of comparing.

Wolf and Cava made sure that they were in the vicus before the troopers and they warned the businesses that the troopers would be coming but they did not want the recruits robbed. Cava had huge fists and was particularly persuasive.  Maeve just grinned.  “Do you want I should water it down Decurion?”

“What, are you going to make it all water or just going to piss in it?”

She laughed, “I just do that for the officers.”

“And we can tell.”

When they visited Eide and Sare, the two whores, they used Wolf’s persuasion rather than Cava’s intimidation.  For some reason his injury made him attractive to women and the two young girls were always trying to bed him, normally together.  Wolf called them girls but he thought they were his age.  It was hard to tell for they put a red substance made from beetles on their lips and the dye from flowers on their eyes.  To the recruits it would appear exotic. “Oh Decurion we’ll do you for free!”

“A tempting offer but I am on duty.  Now if we hear you have charged these recruits more than the going rate we will stop them coming here altogether.  Do you understand?”

Eide pouted, “But they are virgins and we are doing them a favour really teaching them how to be lovers.”

“If you are doing a favour then it should be free eh?”

“You are so persuasive Decurion.  Just a quickie?”

“Sorry Sare.  We have more businesses to see.”

Gaius Cresens had tired of his function as Legate’s aid.  It meant he had to run around after the Legate. He had hoped for promotion before now but that seemed unlikely. He had seen enough in the time her had been in Britannia to know that he did not wish to be an infantryman.  Although the officers sometimes rode, they frequently joined their men marching and fighting in a shield wall.  He had watched the cavalry fight and saw that there were opportunities to hang back and avoid the fighting; especially in the auxiliary.  He had decided to ingratiate himself into the good graces of Prefect Marius Ulpius Proculus. He was, therefore, really annoyed to find that the Prefect was not at Cataractonium but had chosen to visit Derventio which was just a little too close to the blue painted savages who inhabited the land north of the Dunum. It was too late to return to Eboracum which was nothing more than a building site and quite basic and the officers of the ala, most of them barely beyond barbarians themselves shunned him.  He eyed the vicus; he would spend the night there and perhaps, away from prying eyes indulge himself in those pleasures he enjoyed the most.

Trooper Marcus Aurelius Maximunius was more popular with the other recruits since he had demonstrated his skill as a rider.  Even more importantly he had a natural ability with horses.  It was almost as though he could talk to them and the more nervous of the riders had reason to thank the young Spaniard for he had helped them control their horses.  He was the youngest of the troopers and he and the next youngest, Lucius, had formed a close friendship.  The barracks was a noisy and intimidating place and Lucius, in particular, was a shy youth with a face which made him look little more than a child.  He was lucky to be in Wolf’s turma for they were protective as well as proud to be serving what they took to be the best turma in the ala. 

As they headed towards the vicus they were all excited.  They had their first pay and it was burning a hole in their purses.  They couldn’t wait to get into the vicus and spend the money. “They have whores there!”

Lucius’ eyes widened, “Women who sell their bodies for money?”

Drusus laughed, “Well I hope so or I will have to spend more on the ale they sell in the tavern.”

Metellus put a bear like arm around the two young troopers. “Tonight boys, is the night we become men and we find out what a woman feels like.”

The two young troopers looked at each other in terror.  They were still close to being children and to them women meant mothers. Marcus shook his head. “Perhaps next time.  Lucius and I haven’t had ale before, well not men’s ale.  We just had small beer.  We are looking forward to that.”

Drusus laughed, “Well I can manage both.  My dick is so big the women will be begging me to drink more ale and make it smaller.”

“I never knew a Gaul yet who wasn’t hung like his horse! “

“I am from Gaul Lentulus and I do not boast.”