Roman - The Fall of Britannia (45 page)

‘
Caligae,’ he said simply.

‘
What?’ asked Caratacus.

’
Caligae.’ repeated Gwydion standing up. ‘Military sandals!’
He looked at Caratacus, ‘Roman!’

‘
Roman?’ questioned Caratacus in astonishment. ‘How can this
be?’

‘
I
don’t know,’ said Gwydion, ‘but there is no mistake, look at their
weapons.’

‘
They must have followed us,’ said Caratacus. ‘We can waste no
more time. Gather the men, we move out immediately.’

The leaders left
to assemble the rest of the army and Caratacus turned to
Gwydion.

‘
You
have my gratitude,’ he said. ‘If it wasn’t for your alarm, many
more of our men would lie dead.’

‘
Luck,’ said Gwydion, ‘I just happened to be awake at the
right time.’

‘
Nevertheless, I am grateful. Gather your things. For the rest
of the journey, you and your woman will travel close to
me.’

‘
How
long do we have?’ asked Gwydion.

‘
About an hour,’ said Caratacus. ‘Why?’

Gwydion looked
across at the wrapped corpse of Holler.

‘
I
have a promise to keep,’ he said. ‘Where can I get a
shovel?’

----

An hour later,
the remnants of Caratacus’s army were riding south into the lands
of the Silures. High on a nearby hill, a lone Roman soldier pulled
out a small mirror from his cape and focused the suns reflection on
the raised finger of his outstretched arm, pointing its beam
southward. The signal was repeated along a line of hills and within
minutes, ten miles away, a runner crashed through the woods to
address a waiting officer.

‘
Sire,’ he said, ‘the signal has been received, they’re on
their way.’

‘
Good,’ said Mateus and turned to Remus, ‘is everything
ready?’

‘
The
trap is set,’ said Remus, ‘let them come.’

----

Gwydion rode
alongside Caratacus at the head of the column. They had ridden hard
for an hour before easing the pace to rest the horses. Gwenno had
been given Holler’s horse and rode just behind the two
men.

‘
What is your plan when you find the Silures?’ asked
Gwydion.

‘
Try
to convince them to join with me to face the Romans,’ said
Caratacus. ‘They have a feared reputation and shouldn’t take much
convincing.’

‘
You
have to find them first,’ said Gwydion. ‘I understand they hide
their villages deep in the forests and move often, depending on the
season.’

‘
They will find us,’ said Caratacus. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised
if we were being watched even as we speak.’ They rode for another
ten minutes before the King reined in his horse and held up his
hand to halt the column.

‘
What’s that?’ he asked and Gwydion gazed down the valley
following the King’s stare. At the centre of the valley, two
freshly cut tree limbs had been lashed together to form a cross
over ten foot high. Suspended from the cross bar, hung a naked man,
his head hanging down and his chest covered with blood. They stared
in fascination and behind them Gwenno stifled a gasp of
horror.

‘
Is
this the work of the Silures?’ she asked.

‘
I
have never heard of them using crucifixion as a means of
execution,’ said Caratacus, ‘only one people favour the
method.’

‘
Who?’ asked Gwenno.

‘
Romans,’ answered Gwydion.

‘
Who
do you think it is?’ asked Gwenno.

‘
It
is one of my men,’ said Caratacus. ‘He must have been taken in the
confusion last night.’

‘
But
why do this? Why didn’t they just kill him?’

Before any of
the men could answer, the crucified man raised his head and let out
an unintelligible scream.

‘
By
the Gods, he’s still alive,’ said Gwenno, ‘we have to help him,’
and before anyone could stop her, she dug her heels into her horses
flank.

‘
Gwenno stop!’ called Gwydion, but she was already on her
way.

‘
Leave her go,’ ordered the King sharply, ‘it may be a
trap.’

‘
I
am aware of the risk,’ said Gwydion, ‘but I’ve lost her once, I
won’t do so again.’ He galloped down the field to join Gwenno at
the base of the cross. As he reined in his horse, he realised why
the man’s chest was covered with blood. Not only had his eyes been
gouged out, but his nose and ears had been cut off along with his
lips. The whole effect was horrific and whilst it hadn’t been
fatal, the pain the mutilation had caused was obvious.

‘
Cut
him down!’ cried Gwenno.

‘
It
is too late,’ said Gwydion, ‘he is as good as dead.’

‘
Gwydion,’ she shouted, ‘cut him down!’

Gwydion drew his
sword and positioned his horse to catch the man’s body before
cutting the bindings. He lowered him to the ground and Gwenno
dismounted to comfort him.

‘
They have torn out his tongue,’ she sobbed. ‘Oh Gwydion, what
manner of beasts are these?’

Gwydion ignored
her, and stared at a deer that had bolted from the cover of the
forest to race across the clearing not fifty yards away.

‘
Gwenno, get up,’ he said.

‘
What’s the matter with you?’ she hissed. ‘Have some pity,
Gwydion. Give me your flask, the least we can do is give this man
some water before he dies.’

‘
Gwenno,’ said Gwydion slowly, ‘listen very carefully. Stand
up and get on your horse. We have to get out of here, right
now.’

Gwenno
recognised the seriousness of his voice and stood up.

‘
What’s the matter?’ she asked.

‘
That tree line,’ he said, ‘there’s someone in
there.’

‘
How
do you know?’

‘
There is no way that deer would risk passing a man unless
there was a greater risk behind it.’

‘
What sort of risk?’

‘
The
worst kind,’ he said. ‘Another man!’

Gwenno spun
around to the sound of galloping horses, but was relieved to see it
was just Caratacus and his warriors closing in on them.

‘
I’ve seen it,’ shouted Gwydion, ‘we’re coming
now.’

‘
Too
late!’ boomed Caratacus. ‘There is nowhere to go.’

‘
What do you mean?’ asked Gwydion.

‘
Listen!’ said Caratacus, and Gwydion strained to hear
anything above the noise of the horses. Eventually he heard the
sound of drums, increasing in volume as it got louder. Suddenly he
spun around as he realised it was coming from the far end of the
valley and as he watched, four lines of Roman infantry, line
abreast marched up the valley toward them, beating their swords
against their shields as they marched.

‘
That way?’ asked Gwydion pointing back the way they had
come.

‘
The
valley is blocked by archers,’ said Caratacus. ‘To go that way
would be suicide, the only way out is there,’ he pointed at the
advancing infantry. ‘If we ride hard we can break their lines, some
of us will die, but many will get through.’

Suddenly the
drumming stopped and silence fell. The Roman ranks had stopped and
Caratacus could see the mounted Centurion to the front of the
infantry staring at him across the plain. The Centurion raised his
right hand and after a few seconds, dropped it down sharply.
Hundreds more infantry ran from the forest, reinforcing the Roman
lines and Caratacus knew they were trapped.

‘
Dismount!’ he roared. ‘We will make our stand here. Our
swords are as keen as theirs. It will be a fair battle.’

However,
Caratacus was wrong. They weren’t in the centre of a battlefield;
they were in a killing zone carefully selected by Remus for maximum
effect. A hundred yards away, Mateus gave his own signal and two
Centuries of archers drew back their bows, aiming high into the
sky.

‘
Loose arrows!’ roared Mateus and one hundred and sixty
bowstrings propelled death from the flanking hills. Even before the
first volley landed, the second lethal volley was airborne. As
expected, most of the warriors survived by using their round
shields to protect them from the hail of death, but the horses had
no such protection. When Remus gave the order to stop less than a
minute later, most were lying on the ground already dead or
dying.

The Centurion
was satisfied. The only advantage Caratacus’s army had held over
his Cohort was the number of horses, and now that threat had been
eliminated, the enemy were isolated and had no choice but to face
them.

Remus dismounted
and gave the reins to an auxiliary to take away. He fastened the
chinstrap of his helmet before drawing his Gladius. Raising it in
the air, he gave the command.

‘
Cohort ready,’ he shouted before levelling it toward the
shocked Catuvellauni warriors.
Advaaance
!’

----

‘
Are
you alright?’ shouted Gwydion at Gwenno over the din.

‘
I
think so,’ said Gwenno and raised herself up from her grisly
refuge. If it wasn’t for Gwydion’s horse they would be dead, but
the beast had taken the first hail of arrows even as they were
wondering what was happening. After the initial panic the horse had
collapsed in pain and as it lay dying on the floor, Gwydion had
dragged Gwenno down to lie tight against its body, a still
breathing shelter against the hail of death.

Gwydion knew
they had been lucky to survive. All around him, men were screaming
in rage and pain and responding to the Roman challenge with their
own battle cries. Already some individuals had charged forward down
the slope to launch a futile lone attack on the solid wall of
armour approaching Caratacus’s army.

‘
Gwydion,’ cried Gwenno, ‘what are we going to do?’

He turned to the
girl and grabbed her by the shoulders.

‘
Gwenno, listen to me,’ he ordered. ‘Whatever happens, stay
close to the King, do you understand? Stay by his side at all
times.’

‘
But
why?’ cried Gwenno.

‘
There is no chance we can win this battle,’ he said,
retrieving his shield from the dead horse. ‘Our only hope is that
they will want to take Caratacus alive and will hold back from
killing him when the end comes. If you are close to him, they may
spare you as well.’

‘
What about you?’ asked Gwenno grabbing his arm.

‘
I
cannot stand by while my countrymen die,’ he said, ‘I will take my
place alongside them. ‘

‘
What do you mean countrymen?’ she asked. ‘They are
Catuvellauni not Deceangli.’

‘
They are Britons,’ snapped Gwydion, ‘as are we.’

The anger in his
voice shocked her, and she released his arm.

‘
I’m
sorry, Gwenno,’ he said, ‘but there is no other way. One more sword
may make all the difference. He turned away and ran to join the
assembling warriors preparing to defend themselves against the
approaching Romans. He barged his way through to join the front
row, his voice soon joining those of his new comrades as they
roared their defiance.

Within minutes,
the sound of a horn sounded above the din and the marching Romans
broke into a run as the final assault started. The sound of the
charge was answered by the screaming of the warriors as they surged
forward to meet the attack in a melee of blood, flesh and
bone.

Cassus was part
of the second rank of Romans and added his weight to the man in
front to repel the initial clash. For a few moments, the killing
stalled as bodies were rammed against each other, but as was normal
in these situations, the pressure inevitably eased and weapons were
brought to bear. The Catuvellauni’s ferocious onslaught made some
initial headway, but despite some casualties, the Romans took the
initiative, stabbing at opportune moments from behind the safety of
the body length shields. The relentless pressure took its toll and
warriors started to fall before the Roman wall of steel.

The legionary in
front of Cassus dropped to the ground, his skull cleaved clean in
two by a huge axe that had smashed through his helmet as if it was
parchment. Cassus stepped over his body and drove his Gladius into
the warrior’s face who had wielded the axe. The training kicked in
and he joined the advance, killing ruthlessly alongside his
comrades. In the centre of the front line, Centurion Remus fought
like a madman. His skill with a sword was unmatched and his manic
style belied the technical ability that he wielded with such lethal
efficiency. A path of dead warriors fell before him and a dozen
Romans joined Remus as he made his way toward Caratacus.

----

Gwydion fought
ferociously, but knew it was only a matter of time before the
battle was lost. He looked around frantically for Gwenno hoping
that perhaps they could make a last attempt to escape, but was
shocked to see how few of the Catuvellauni were still standing. He
ducked a blow from his opponent and swung his sword below the
shield, cutting into the ankle, and as the Roman fell in agony,
disengaged to run back toward the King.