Bedrock of Empire

by Thomas M D Brooke

  I kept my tone cool. ‘I have been made aware.’

  Bonifatius nodded animatedly. ‘Well, it’s no joke I tell you. Since then, we’ve had to rely on slaves brought in from the provinces of Dacia, and Pannonia. Far inferior stock if you ask me. And what’s worse, my brother has all the contacts for the slave markets from those provinces, so he takes all the best slaves. What I’m left with are hardly fit to stoke the fires, let alone break down the mountain face. And then there’s the latest decree from Augustus, that all gold must be processed through Tarraco. Why? It’s madness!’

  Livianus had told me that he controlled the minting of coins. ‘How does that affect you?’

  Bonifatius bared his palms at me in supplication. ‘Because we have to accept whatever price he gives us. We used to be able to direct our trade through Gades, or Emerita, if the value dropped in Tarraco. Now that’s impossible, not to mention the amount of men, guards and slaves needed to transport the gold all that way.’

  I wasn’t going to get into this argument. ‘If Augustus has made a decree, it’s probably for a good reason.’

  Bonifatius’ face was red with anger. ‘Yes, but that doesn’t help me with my slave shortage, does it?’

  I gave a long sigh. ‘I suppose not.’ I tried to change the subject. All this talk of slaves and the troubles in Germany was making me feel slightly sick. ‘Can I get a tour of the place before I set off and find your brother?’

  Bonifatius looked surprised. ‘You can’t mean to travel further into the mountains? They’re dangerous you know? I can’t spare you any guards.’

  I took a last sip of wine. ‘I don’t need any. I have my own.’

  Bonifatius looked shaken, and he changed his tone to one more placatory. ‘Surely you can wait in my home whilst I send someone to get Cadmus? I can make you more than comfortable. I can always be relied on to be a generous host to any friend of Germanicus. If there is anything you need, I can help you?’

  Was the elder Paulus brother offering me a bribe? We hadn’t even finished our meal. ‘I thank you, but no. Just the tour of your facilities?’

  Bonifatius looked annoyed, but relented. ‘Kanutus can arrange that. I have things to be getting on with. If you don’t mind, I’ll leave you in his care?’

  I nodded. ‘Very well. I will let you know my ruling after speaking to your brother. It is only fair that I get both sides of the story, I’m sure you’ll agree?’

  Bonifatius grunted. ‘Cadmus won’t be able to tell you anything that I haven’t told you already.’

  I inclined my head. ‘I’m sure you’re right, but I need to follow the proper processes. Isn’t that right, Aulus?’

  Aulus nodded. ‘Any ruling reached without listening to both parties could later be contested.’

  Bonifatius grumbled, ‘Well, we don’t want that, then we’ll have to do this all over again. Fine, go speak to my brother if you have to, for all the good it will do you. You’ll probably find him down some dirty hole or something.’

  After Bonifatius had left us, we were taken by Kanutus to the heart of the mining works. We stood near the large fires built on the mountain’s face and below the towering aqueduct that fed water into the large wooden tanks above us. We were surrounded by sweating slaves as the heat from the fires combined with the blazing hot sun to produce a perfect cauldron of misery to work in.

  I held up my hands in front of my face to protect it from the hot ashes and sparks that spat from the large bonfires. ‘Where does the water come from?’ I asked Kanutus.

  The lawyer spoke loudly over the roaring sound of the burning and snapping logs. ‘The aqueduct is fed from a nearby river, a few miles away in the next valley.’

  The occasional drop of water spilt from the large tanks above us, giving a momentary, if brief, respite from the unbearable heat. ‘That looks to be a lot of effort to bring the water so far. What’s it for?’

  Kanutus agreed. ‘Yes, the cost of the building work was high, but worth it. The water’s use is twofold. Firstly, it is used to wash away the loose soil and reveal the bedrock and any gold-bearing veins beneath. The gold glistens after the water sweeps away the rock and debris that buries it.’

  Aulus remarked, ‘So it helps you identify where to dig?’

  Kanutus nodded. ‘Yes, but it’s much more than that. After a vein is identified, we build fires by the base of the rock face, as you see here. Then once the rock is sufficiently heated, it is swiftly quenched. Look, observe.’ He waved his arm at a man posted high up by the large water tanks.

  The man shouted orders at a long row of strong-looking slaves, who tipped the giant water tanks over in unison. The water cascaded down in a giant torrent, soaking the boiling rock and quenching the fires instantly. I retreated several steps back as we were assailed by a great blast of hot steam. ‘By the gods, you could have warned us!’

  Kanutus gave an ugly laugh. ‘You get used to it. It is necessary to help break down the rock.’

  Aulus looked at the glistening wet rock face. ‘It doesn’t look to have had any effect.’

  Kanutus shook his head vigorously. ‘It has. Now the rock has been heated and quenched it will be easier to fracture and break down. We can then get at the gold vein beneath.’

  A great rush of activity was sweeping past us as a large number of slaves set to work on the rock face. Some started to pull apart the remains of the fires with long rakes, whilst the majority, armed with iron picks, started chipping away at the bedrock. ‘There’s more to it than I thought,’ I told Bonifatius’ lawyer.

  Kanutus smiled, pleased with himself. ‘It takes a lot of organisation. Mining isn’t for amateurs. The Paulus family have built up an unrivalled level of expertise.’ He looked over at one of the overseers who was waving to him. ‘Can you excuse me for a moment? Someone appears to be trying to get my attention.’

  Kanutus walked off to speak to the guard, whilst I was left with Aulus.

  ‘This is all very interesting, but I don’t see how it helps us, Aulus?’

  My brother-in-law wiped the sweat off his brow. ‘If you’re going to adjudicate on the future of this operation, you should at least know what you are dealing with.’

  I frowned. ‘Yes, but they’re only showing us what they want us to see.’

  Aulus opened up his arms in resignation. ‘Of course, but what can we do about that?’

  I lowered my voice, despite the fact that the sound of the iron picks hitting the stone would drown out anything I said reaching the mine’s lawyer. ‘When he comes back, see if you can distract Kanutus for a bit. I want to take Blasius and see if we can take a sneaky look at those huts over there.’ I pointed to a series of stone buildings off to one side of the mine. ‘I notice he seems to be veering us away from them as much as possible, and I don’t buy his explanation that they’re just slave quarters. They don’t look anywhere near large enough.’

  Aulus looked at me in exasperation. ‘And how am I supposed to do that?’

  I shrugged. ‘I don’t know, he seems to enjoy speaking to a fellow lawyer about matters of law. See if you can get him into a discussion about that.’

  Aulus gave me an irritated look. ‘Alright, I’ll try my best. But don’t get caught. It could be more than embarrassing if you were. I don’t like the look of some of the guards.’

  I put my hand on his shoulder. ‘You let me worry about them. You just distract the lawyer.’

  After a short amount of time, Kanutus returned, telling us, ‘The overseer thinks we released the water too soon. The rock hasn’t fractured enough. They’ll have to rebuild the fires. It will take some time until there is anything to see of interest here.’

  Aulus nodded. ‘Never mind, we get the idea.’ He put his arm round Kanutus’ shoulder as he gently led him off. ‘It gives me a chance to speak to you about the will again. Explain to me again your thinking on the order of preference that you noticed in the document.’

  The lawyer looked only too pleased to be questioned on the sub
ject. He wandered off with Aulus, explaining yet again the case Bonifatius and he had constructed. As soon as they were far enough away, I signalled to Blasius that we should be off with a nod of my head. With all the activity of the slaves, it was reasonably straightforward sneaking away; there were so many slaves and only a handful of guards. My few Praetorians and Audax provided a useful screen to shield ourselves from prying eyes.

  We walked under the shadow of the aqueduct, careful not to expose ourselves under the direct sunlight until we reached the stone huts that Kanutus had been careful to avoid. Unfortunately, each door was locked. ‘Damn it. If we break one of the doors down, they’ll be sure to know that we’ve been snooping around,’ I complained to Blasius.

  My lictor shook his head. ‘We needn’t be so obvious. Let me have a look around.’

  One of the stone huts had an opening high up, presumably to admit light. Blasius found an overturned bucket to stand on. ‘The lattice covering the hole is loose. I think I can force it without looking too obvious.’

  I looked around to check that none of the guards had noticed where we were. I couldn’t see any. ‘Alright then, but make it quick and don’t make too much noise.’

  Blasius forced the lattice and then pulled himself upwards, clambering up through it. I followed him, clambering up through the opening as Blasius quickly pulled me through. As soon as I was through, he resealed the opening with the latticework he’d forced clear, so no one would notice us from outside. I looked around the room. Light still shone through the little gaps in the rough wooden latticework, so I could see once my eyes adapted to the dim light.

  ‘What are you expecting to find here?’ asked Blasius.

  ‘I have no idea, only that they didn’t want us to see it,’ I told him as I righted a heavy iron anvil that I’d knocked over whilst climbing through the hole in the wall.

  Blasius looked sceptical as he looked around. ‘There’s nothing here except mining equipment, surely?’

  I shook my head whilst picking up a heavy iron hammer. ‘No, you’re wrong. This isn’t mining equipment. This is what you’d expect to find in a metalworks.’

  Blasius shrugged. ‘What difference does it make?’

  I looked at the cast on the heavy anvil. ‘A lot. This is what you’d use to mint coins. No wonder they didn’t want me to see this.’

  Blasius frowned. ‘Why’s that important?’

  I looked up at him. ‘Because Livianus in Tarraco has the sole right to mint coins. It looks as if the reason the gold yields are down is because they’ve been secretly using a fair bit of it to mint their own coins. That’s a capital offence. Livianus would be within his rights to take Bonifatius’ head for this. Skimming off a little for yourself is one thing. This is treasonous.’

  Blasius raised his eyebrows. ‘I guess he needed a bit extra to pay for that pretty house we saw along the way?’

  I shook my head. ‘You’re not wrong. Let’s get out of here before someone notices. We’ll find ourselves in serious trouble if they find out we know.’

  Chapter Nineteen

  Blasius and I left the stone huts, careful to mask any sign that we’d been there. We then snuck back into my small unit of men, something we’d achieved before Kanutus and Aulus returned. I gave no indication as to what I’d learned to Kanutus or Bonifatius when we bid the pair farewell. We’d been forced to endure another demonstration of the the hydraulic mining methods we witnessed earlier before meeting the mine’s owner back under the awning that overlooked the mine.

  ‘It has been a very informative tour. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to witness it first-hand,’ I told Bonifatius as we readied to leave.

  Bonifatius was eager to show his willingness to cooperate with my work. ‘It has been no trouble. I hope Kanutus has demonstrated how safe and secure the mine is under my guidance.’

  I gave a bow of my head. ‘My primary concern will be to protect the gold trade. You have gone a long way to demonstrate your expertise in this field.’

  Bonifatius looked pleased with himself, obviously thinking that I was being won over to his side of the case. ‘Are you sure you won’t stay in my house tonight, you’ll be more than welcome, and you won’t be finding anywhere else to stay in these mountains?’

  I shook my head. ‘No, although I thank you for the offer. The sooner I can speak to your brother, the sooner I can come to a ruling on this case. You’ve been most helpful in providing an insight into the mining trade. I’m sure my ruling will reflect that.’

  Bonifatius bowed gracefully. ‘In that case, I look forward to seeing you again soon. The sooner this regrettable dispute can be settled the better.’

  We left them then and embarked on our journey. As we walked from the mine, I remarked to Aulus. ‘Remind me when I return to deliver my ruling to have my full complement of Praetorians with me. I have a feeling that the elder Paulus brother is unlikely to like what I have to say.’

  Aulus gave me a sharp look. ‘Why, what did you find?’

  I explained to him about the anvil and the coin minting equipment in the huts. He shook his head in dismay. ‘You were right not to say anything until we are properly protected. There must have been thirty to forty guards at the mine. You wouldn’t be the first quaestor to disappear without a trace after stumbling over something illegal.’

  I gave a wry grin. ‘My thoughts exactly. Let’s hope his brother turns out to be more trustworthy. I fail to see how he can be worse.’

  After leaving the mine, we found Viviana and her young cousin waiting by their mule. I told Audax to circle back and make sure no one was following us from the mine. I was pretty sure no one would realise the huts had been entered, but it wouldn’t hurt to make sure.

  ‘It’s late in the day to be starting our journey,’ Viviana told me as I greeted her.

  I looked up at the position of the early afternoon sun. ‘It can’t be helped. We can still make several miles today. I want to be far away from this mine before we make camp.’

  She tilted her sun-darkened face. ‘As you wish. The easiest way to Legio will be to leave the main road after the next valley.’

  I shook my head. ‘There has been a slight change in plan. Apparently there is another mine further in, one where they mine directly into the mountain.’

  Viviana turned to ask her cousin if he knew of the mine I spoke of. They conversed in their own language as the boy’s Latin was poor and didn’t go beyond a few words. The tongue they used was a variation of the Celtic dialects I was familiar with from Gaul, but with a softer Iberian edge to it, being both fast and fluid. After a short discourse, she told me, ‘He thinks he knows the one you mean. It’s not far from the path to his village, so it won’t take us greatly out of our way.’

  I looked up at the mountains that stood in the distance. ‘His village isn’t the same as your own then?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, I live in the heart of our tribal lands to the north-west. It was just chance that I was passing through and heard that Rafa had absconded in the night.’ She gave her cousin a hard look. ‘We’ll drop him off with his mother before going on to your mine. Then we can travel on to Legio.’

  Rafa understood that bit alright. He turned his back and walked off, dragging the mule behind him. Viviana gave me a sidelong smile as he left. ‘We’d better follow him. He still hasn’t forgiven me.’

  We stayed on the main road until we reached the next valley, and then started our trek up the paths that led into the Gallaecian foothills. They looked to be reasonably well-travelled, hard-beaten earthen tracks, cutting through the hills that gradually grew higher as we headed north. I told my Praetorians they needn’t march in line going through such terrain, something their most senior soldier, an optio named Maris, appreciated.

  Blasius joked with the eight men. ‘You’ll be doing well to keep your tunics white after this trip. I doubt your comrades will recognise you once you come down these hills.’

  Audax caught us up, riding quickl
y, kicking up clouds of dust from the path. He told me we were clear of anyone following us, before ranging on ahead of us. His light and fleet-footed horse stepped over the ground easily, taking well to the rough terrain.

  Viviana walked beside me. ‘Your scout looks to be quite a rider. Not many can ride a mount so quickly through these hills.’

  I gave a slight grin. ‘Yes, he’s proven quite useful on this trip so far. The horse helps, I guess. I’ve never seen a stallion so nimble.’

  Viviana gave a slight nod in agreement. ‘The horsemen of the tribes to the south of us were always well renowned. My people value their horses also, but prefer to travel on foot through the mountains. It’s safer and less liable to attract unwanted attention.’

  I looked around us. ‘You think we’ll attract trouble where we’re going?’

  She shrugged. ‘Difficult to tell. Some still hold to the old ideals and live a life of banditry in the mountains. But you’re all well armed. Most bandits prefer easier targets.’

  I gave her a sidelong glance. ‘And what’s your view on bandits? Does the idea of a life in the wild and living off your wits appeal to you?’

  She gave a snort of derision. ‘I’ve lost too many friends to the violence of our mountains to ever romanticise that way of life. Fortunately, now it tends to only be the gullible or easily led, young fools full of stories of our past, that make the mistake of following that path.’

  I thought of Marcus then, and his eagerness to prove himself. ‘I guess it’s hard to give up on a way of life.’

  She narrowed her eyes and gave me a flinty look. ‘Not if they have any sense. Most people wanting to follow the warrior’s path join your armies now.’

  I nodded. ‘I’m glad for it. I’ve served alongside many Spanish auxiliary units.’

  ‘My two brothers did exactly that,’ she told me softly, ‘and now Rafa wants to join them.’

  I smiled. ‘It might give him a chance to see the world. The auxiliaries are posted throughout the empire.’