Dawn of The Eagle

by Francis Mulhern

  “I trust your journey here was uneventful?” quizzed Postumius as he guided Mamillus to the central chair and clapped for a slave to bring him some wine.

  “Quiet as a dead man’s whisper” replied Mamillus looking at Postumius with one eyebrow raised “though I did notice we had an escort of, what, twenty men once we arrived in Rome who kept the roads clear for us. Yours I presume?”

  “Well, one likes to ensure ones special guests are cared for” drawled Postumius nodding as some of the other guests smiled and nodded.

  “So, we have nine of the oldest families of Rome in this room my dear Publius” he said nodding to the men reclining around the roasted suckling pig dripping in honey which had just been placed in the centre of the room. “I take it from your letter that there is something that we all have in common?” he questioned taking a plate of carved meat from a slave who was slicing the roasted pig.

  “Indeed” Postumius smiled “and I have something more interesting than that to discuss. But first I am afraid we need to light a candle to Angerona to bind us in, ah how do I put it, yes secrecy for this meeting.” He clapped three times and the door opened as two slaves brought in a statue, some seven inches tall of a woman with one finger pressed to her lips, her neatly carved stola draped in small flowers. The goddess was placed in the centre of the room and a candle was placed beside her. “Octavius Mamillus, would you do us the honour of calling this meeting to order and lighting the candle to Angerona” said Postumius handing a smaller lit candle to the man on his left.

  Mamillus’s face cracked into a broad grin “I think we are all going to get on extremely well” he said as he lit the candle and sat back on his chair.

  “We have one other member of the group who cannot be here today” smiled Postumius as he lifted a small scroll from his tunic. “I think you will be pleased when you see his name” he added passing the parchment across to Mamillus.

  Mamillus took the scroll and with no chance to the expression on his face he said “Well, well. That is both a surprise and a pleasure”. He reclined his head to Postumius and raised his ornate silver cup to all in the room “maybe these plebeians will come to our heel after all” to which the whole room laughed raucously.

  Chapter 16

  “No the arm was tight from his muscles so he had to lean forwards when he attacked” Mella motioned with his arm. “So staying just out of reach meant he had to over-reach and stretch, which put him off balance because of the injury to his thigh as you had seen.”

  Marcus’s silence and blank face led to Mella continuing. “Look” he said grasping Marcus’s arm and pulling it forwards. “As he reaches the arm stays slightly short and he pivots on his right leg to add force to the blow, leaning forwards” he pulled Marcus forward at the shoulder and Marcus felt his centre of gravity shift and he took a small step to counterbalance the movement. “There” said Mella standing back and smiling. “That is the time to strike and is what I did”.

  Marcus looked to his Optio and tutor and slowly did the same thing again himself. The weight of the sword in his hand moved his body exactly as Mella described and he grinned as he tried it again with the same effect.

  “And if the sword was shorter what would that do?” he asked quizzically as he shifted his hand along the blade of the wooden sword and tried again.

  “Why would anyone want a short sword?” replied Mella without even looking at Marcus. “You need a good long blade to create the downforce needed to split wood or metal or to simply batter you opponent’s sword out of the way.” He said dismissively.

  Marcus stepped back and looked at the sword, “but” he weighed the sword in his hand, “the weight causes the imbalance and allows the room for the counter attack. If the weight were central and the feet like so” he moved his feet into a half step “then the action would allow the attacker to drive the point into the defender” he looked up as he motioned the action.

  “No good” said Mella. “A short sword would not stop the blade of a longer and heavier sword. The wielder would be sliced open like a melon” he added with finality as he took the sword from Marcus and placed it back into the pack on his animal. “And it’s time to move out, come on we are already falling behind”.

  Marcus walked over to his horse, his mind already thinking of ways a short sword could be more effective, especially when in a confined space as he had been at the entrance to the cave. Ever since he had almost lost his life at the cave entrance in the skirmish with the Aequians he had been consumed with how his long sword had continually battered against his shield causing him to stumble and leave himself open to attack. He decided to go through the actions of the fight with Mella when they next had a moment to practice.

  The column moved slowly through the woods and then came to the forest edge, where the trees were replaced by barren, rocky, ground and small hillocks of stumpy thick grass. Marcus had to blink as the brightness of the autumn sun hit his face, the dark green of the trees replaced by the white-blue sky and low sun. Ahead of him he could see miles of marching men and animals throwing up a cloud of grey and brown dust as they wound up the grey-green incline ahead of him. The sudden change of light and the cloud of dust made it difficult to see anything clearly. “Can we get out of this dust?” he coughed to Mella waving his hands in front of his face.

  “Over there then” pointed Mella moving his horse away to the side, at which the ten bodyguards Lucius had appointed to Marcus also moved out of the line and away to a small grassy knoll which gave them a clearer view of the surrounding hills and forests.

  “That’s better” breathed Marcus, taking deep lungfuls of clean air. “How much farther is it?” he asked turning to Rufus, the red-haired soldier who Lucius had placed in charge of the bodyguard.

  “It depends on the enemy sir. If they tarry us with skirmishers it will slow us down to two days. Without” he shrugged his shoulders “maybe forty-eight hours”. Some of the guards hid their laughs at the joke that a Roman army had only one marching speed.

  “Funny” said Mella, drinking from his pouch and passing a clean one to Marcus, who accepted it gratefully.

  “What’s that?” asked Marcus, wheeling around and pointing to a cloud of dust away to the right on the horizon.

  “Bugger” said Rufus urgently and shouted to one of his men “Ficus, get to the General and tell him to send scouts to the woods to the north to see what is beyond” he added slapping the rear of his colleagues horse to urge it on its way.

  “Good spot” he turned and nodded to Marcus “you have a good eye, sir. That dust could be an attack column trying to outflank us. That much dust must be at least a thousand men” he added rubbing his chin and watching the tops of the trees where the dust was faint but distinct. The tree line away to the north rose over a small hill and beyond that was a river that tumbled down to the valley where the cross-roads stood. The group of men were watching the dust when the sounds of the horns from the front of the column brought them abruptly back to the present. The horns signified that the commander wanted all officers to attend him urgently.

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  Lucius watched as a family of eagles soared overhead, their wide wings spread lazily to catch the last thermals of the day. The smallest bird was playfully dipping and diving, annoying its parents as they did their best to avoid its antics, and every now and then there was a loud screech as the bird let out its playful laughter. As he watched he wondered if it was some portent that he could not divine or whether Antonicus would just shrug his shoulders and say it was birds looking for food. He watched for a few moments longer until he noticed that all the men closest to him were staring at the birds as well.

  “I wonder what it means.” Magnus shifted his view so that he shielded the low sun from his eyes.

  “Without the Augur we will never know” added Lucius “but the birds do seem to be following us” he added slightly louder as a thought came to his mind. “Where is Marcus?” he looked around at the fifteen leaders of his army
who had gathered on a small crest from where they had a view down the long valley towards the crossroads where Scipio was encamped. Whilst they couldn’t see the camp they could see thick black smoke rising above the horizon and a number of smaller, wispier, clouds of smoke from the general location where the crossroads were. Having surmised that the thicker smoke was a beacon from the soldiers under siege the Roman commander had sent scouts further ahead to reconnoitre the area and check the smaller smoke clouds for enemy positions. Good information was key to this battle, thought Lucius, but as a small smile appeared on his grim features, he added to himself that a little good luck charm for the men might be an added bonus.

  “Where is Quintus?” he asked, his eyes continuing to follow the eagles.

  “Caedicius, sir?” asked his Optio looking down from the skies.

  “Yes. Ask him to fetch Marcus to me and find Antonicus as well, I think he is in the baggage carts sleeping”.

  As the man left the group of soldiers Lucius gave orders for the army to halt and take a rest, which were relayed by riders across the two miles of the column. Standing defences were set by every third cohort as the men threw down their marching yokes and quickly unpacked food and water. Lucius looked out over the troops below him. He felt a stirring of pride as he watched the men who he commanded quickly and efficiently set their pickets, move their pack animals to a central position and drop to the ground to eat their fill. The sounds and noise of the army were something he lived for every winter as he wiled away cold days in Rome or at the family villa in Tusculum. Saving Scipio’s column could avenge the defeat of his grandfather and bring glory to his family, he thought. The people of Rome liked nothing more than a Patrician family getting revenge on Rome’s enemy and he wondered how he could maximise the benefits for the Furii as he strummed his fingers on the hilt of his sword hanging at his side.

  As he looked upwards he noticed the eagles had disappeared and he quickly scanned the horizon to see if he could pinpoint them, but to no avail. The prophecy Marcus had shown him, if it was a prophecy, might have some value if and when he decided to use it to his advantage. But with Postumius potentially thinking the prophecy was about him there was an added complication. Marcus could be the key to a great shift in the fortunes of the family, he contemplated, but he could also, if used by Postumius, be a bit-part player in a wider game. Lucius was just thinking he needed the advice of some wise counsel when he heard the approach of some horses and looked back to see his brother and his bodyguards riding slowly towards him.

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  Chapter 17

  A campaign table had been set close to the top of the hill and Lucius was perusing the large but roughly drawn map of the area. The thin leather of the map had seen better days he thought as he pointed to a red blemish and, tapping it, said “this is our location gentlemen” and sliding his hand down and to the left “this is the cross roads. If the scouts are correct our plan will still work. Here” he looked to Magnus, “is where you will be Magnus” and the remainder will be here” he tapped the map again “with the reserves here” he said pointing at another location. “Cossus will lead the forward column” he added, smiling to the grinning soldier to his left. “But” he looked up with a stern countenance “the problem is that we need to be here before dawn. Can it be done?”

  The surrounding officers looked to each other. Lucius had spent twenty minutes reading out the scouting reports which painted a very grim picture. The besieged camp of Cornelius Scipio seemed to be on the edge of being over-run. The latest report suggested that it was almost destroyed at the western tower and constant fires were eating away at the wooden walls. However, the encouraging news was that after three or four days the camp was still standing and it seemed most of the soldiers were still fighting for their lives. Indeed, the scout had managed to get close enough to see that the Aequians had lost a lot of men and there was some dissent in the camp, with a large force leaving that day to head back to their home city. This must have been the dust cloud that Marcus had seen earlier that day, but the scouts had not yet returned to confirm this. It was the end of the campaigning season and many of the Aequians would want to be safely at home with their families as the days grew colder, this could play into the Romans hands Lucius thought.

  “A night march in this territory could be a disaster” said Fulvius as he stretched his hand across the map. “The land here is a death trap if the Aequians set an ambush. We’d have to send a half decent force there immediately to secure the area just in case” he added pointing to a tree line on the map and looking at his fellow officers who were nodding or voicing agreement, “and this line of trees would need to be flushed just in case too, but would need at least five hundred men” he sat back and looked to Decimus.

  “You were at the night march in Bindisci weren’t you a few years back? That went badly as I recall because the Volsci had dug pits which, in the dark, the horses blundered straight into. And they used archers in the trees to cause chaos in the Roman lines. Lost hundreds of men and horses for nothing” he added grunting as he leant forward to stare at the map.

  “Yeh. Piss poor planning” added Decimus tapping the map. “The only way we will be in position for dawn is a night march. If the scouts are right the Aequii don’t know we are here yet, which is good” he said nodding at the men around him, “but” he looked at the sky “we have no more than two hour’s light and it’ll take at least four in daylight to reach these positions, so double it for night marching” he added with a look of resignation on his face.

  “And if we delay till tomorrow” said Lucius “it is likely Scipio’s camp will be over-run and we will have failed” he added glumly as he scratched at an itch on his forearm. “Rome will not accept failure gentlemen, so the plan remains” he said without moving his eyes from the map. “We have to act now or it will be too late to have the men ready to march before it becomes dark. Surprise will be our friend in this battle if the gods favour us” he said, looking at the faces of the assembled men.

  “Marcus, what do you think?” he suddenly asked, leaning back on his campaign chair and steepling his fingers to his chin, his cool eyes looking at his younger brother. Decimus smiled a cold smile as he glanced at Marcus. Lucius, Decimus and Marcus had met briefly before the meeting and Marcus had produced a plan which his brother and Decimus had finally agreed to. It was now time for Marcus to play the card Lucius had dealt him.

  “I have consulted Antonicus” he said, glancing at the soldiers around the table and noting with satisfaction that they were all, suddenly, interested in what he had to say. “He is preparing a reading as we speak and will bring the result to us as soon as the proper ceremonies and rituals are complete” he added looking at the map whilst sitting forward in his chair. He sat up as he spoke. “You have all seen the eagles following us?” again he looked at the men around him, watching as they nodded and gripped the amulets they carried on chains or in pockets. He waited a heartbeat before speaking again, just as Lucius had told him to do. “As they foretold success at Mount Algidus they will foretell success here, I am certain”, as he spoke he turned to Decimus. “If the Aequians have not seen that we are here, and if their camp is fractured and Scipio’s men are holding the fort, then we can presume that they have been too busy to set ambushes or scouts. Do you agree?” There was a general murmur of agreement from the officers as Decimus agreed with Marcus. “And the General is right” he added, nodding to Lucius “that there is need for a night march to achieve our positions before dawn.” Again there were nods of agreement. “Then I propose we act, and act now” he stood pressing his hands on the map and looking closely at each officer. “Decimus will lead a unit of three thousand foot soldiers to here” he tapped the map at a point at the foot of the tree line overlooking the position of Scipio’s camp. “These men will be the elite of each of our individual units and will include Cossus and his kinsmen. They will move into action just before dawn, covering the march of the main body of the army and
buying time for them to get into their positions before the final push” he noticed a look of concern on one or two of the senior officers and glanced to his brother who nodded and smiled at him, urging him to go on. “These soldiers will travel with swords, shields and javelins only, no spears, as they will not be fighting in formation and need to travel lightly and quickly. They will have one objective” he paused and looked to Decimus.

  “To break into the camp and reinforce it” Decimus said loudly as he too stood, breaking the silence that had ensued as Marcus spoke and capturing the attention of all the officers.

  “They will confuse the enemy by marching at the fort and not at the Aequian camp. The scouts have highlighted three areas where the guards are light and are far enough away from the main camp to give us a good chance to fight through to the fort”. He leant forward and tapped the map in three places. “We will send a cohort ahead to get Scipio to open the gate and we will carry extra food and water to the men inside. Cossus, as his kinsman this will be your job” he added standing and tapping the fort as he looked each officer in the eye. “The march to the fort will make the Aequians think we have sent a relief force to support Scipio and that a larger force is following. They will attack the camp in an attempt to win a victory before the main relief force arrives as we know Comus wants a quick victory because his troops are already leaving. Yesterday we now know over two thousand men left his camp to return to Velzna, and there were probably others who left too. His attack will create an opening in the defences which will enhance our previous plans and give us an advantage we can exploit. We need to leave the baggage train here overnight and get them to kick up as much dust and smoke in the early morning as possible to make the Aequians think the main army is a day’s march away so they are forced to attack quickly”.