by Griff Hosker
“If a man is dismounted the rest leave him.” He smiled at the two recruits. “I am grateful you came back for me but I didn’t expect it. I would have slowed down the enemy and you would all have escaped.”
Vibius asked, “Truly?”
“Truly.”
Leaving the recruits to ponder his words he rode forwards to Sextus and Vibia. “Take the rear Sextus. It is time I spoke with our guest.”
Vibia Dives turned to him and gave him a smile which melted his heart. Her green eyes glowed like those of a contented cat. Marcus forced himself to think of his wife at home and resist the stirring in his loins. “I want to thank you for coming for me decurion.”
“I was just following orders.”
She pouted, “You mean had you had a choice you would have left me there?”
Marcus blushed, “No, er, what I mean is you don’t need to thank me for doing my duty. None of us wish to see Roman women as prisoners.”
“Ah!”
“My mother was held captive for many years by the Caledonii until my father rescued her so I understand what you must have been going through.”
“Sorry for what I said. What I really meant was thank you for risking so much. You may have been under orders but I do not think those orders including sneaking into the enemy camp and spiriting me away. That was not only brave but showed great resourcefulness. And with such young boys too.”
“They were chosen because they could pass for barbarians. Any of the men could have done as they did.”
“Even so I am grateful and I will endeavour to show my gratitude when I can.” Her eyes fluttered and she leaned over to place a hand on his.
Marcus smiled and withdrew his hand; there was something about this beautiful young woman that was dangerous. He had been amazed at how calm she had been and how well she had reacted to the ordeal. There was ore to her than met the eye. “No need to miss. It is all in a day’s work here, at the sharp end of the frontier.” He would be glad to reach the fort and hand his charge over to the Legate. He could deal with her then.
“There is one thing decurion, one of the men who helped them to abduct me was one of your troopers.”
Marcus looked behind him at the turma, “One of my lads?”
“No, not these but a trooper dressed as your men in Eboracum. I recognised him.”
That gave Marcus pause for thought. It confirmed what Belenus had said and was even more specific, it was the unthinkable, and the traitor was one of their own.
The first thing Marcus noticed as he led his weary turma towards the southern gate, was the number of birds across the river. As he saluted to the sentry on duty he asked, “Where did all the birds come from?”
The sentry grinned. “The general, he hung one of the hostages when the barbarians came calling this morning. You could hear his neck snap all over the fort. The birds are enjoying a very pleasant meal.” The sentry had obviously had a perverse pleasure in the prisoner’s pain and death. He also had money in the century sweep to see how long the body would last before it became nothing but bones. He was still in with a chance!
Marcus suddenly realised that was another reason why the barbarians had been so keen to apprehend them. They had seen the ruthless side of Rome. If you broke the law then you would be punished but Marcus wondered if that might be the spark which engulfed the frontier in flame. Legate Julius Demetrius reached the gate as they entered. “Well done Marcus.” He embraced his young decurion. “Any casualties?”
“No but it was a close run thing. I’ll tell you later. I have to see to the men. Here is the hostage Vibia, Legate. Safe and sound.”
Marcus helped her from the horse and the legate summoned the four female slaves who stood nearby.. “Take this young lady to my quarters and see to her needs.” He looked at her in a fatherly way. “Whatever you need my dear just ask. There is a bath house and the slaves have clean clothes for you.”
“Thank you Legate and I would like to commend the decurion. He and his men pout themselves in harm’s way to rescue me and I do appreciate it.”
“As we all do. Will you join the officers and myself for our evening meal? I know that Appius will be desperate to see you.”
“Appius? Is he here?”
“Yes he will be sorry he missed you. He took the opportunity of hunting this morning. He said he hated having nothing to do while you were in the clutches of the barbarians. I think he is quite fond of you my dear.”
“So it would appear. I will join you and thank you.”
The troopers were in high spirits as they rubbed down their horses. They had survived a dangerous mission and their only casualty was one horse. The stood to attention when Marcus walked in. “At ease. Well done. We will not be riding tomorrow. Use the time to check your mounts and equipment for defects. I suspect that the Votadini will return sooner rather than later and make the most of the space. The rest of the ala and the new recruits are arriving soon. We’ll be cosier than fleas on a barbarian’s arse!”
Marcus would have loved to take a bath himself but he suspected that Vibia would be there and he did not want to have another run in with the green eyed beauty. Instead he went to the Principia. Julius Longinus looked up at him with the hint of smile on his face. “Returned safely eh decurion? I look forward to hearing your report. The legate is in the inner officer if you would like to follow me.” The clerk was used by the legate to write up the reports first hand rather than a second hand account from the legate himself. That way they could compare versions and end up with a truer picture. The clerk was the most trustworthy man in the whole fort.
“We found their camp easily enough and saw their leaders leave. I assume they came here?”
“Yes, Iucher and a Brigante called Briac. I deduced that he is the man behind the problems we are having in the south.”
“Yes we entered the camp as his men when we saw them leave and they told us much. Briac is the man behind the raids but even worse, he has brokered an alliance of the three tribes. They are working in concert.”
“That is bad news.”
“Yes it is legate but not the worst news.” The two men both raised their eyebrows at once. What could be worse than that news? “There is a Brigante spy in the ala! One of our men is working against us. The girl confirmed what the war chief said. It is one of Marcus’ Horse who aids the enemy. She said he was not one of my turma.” He saw the quizzical look on the legate’s face, “I asked.”
The two older men looked at each other, “Which might, explain, legate, how the Brigante entered Eboracum and managed to poison the officer’s food.”
“Yes and with the whole ala being gathered here soon we will have almost six hundred suspects!”
Julius Demetrius sank a little lower in his chair as he realised the magnitude of the problem. The clerk stood and, putting his hands behind him, began to pace the office floor. “Not so legate.” There are some men we can eliminate.”
“Such as?”
“Anyone who was with the ala more than two years ago. I mean we could say one year but let us set a realistic time frame. We can also deduce that they will probably be a Brigante.”
“How do you work that out?”
“The two years?” They both nodded, “I cannot see them having a spy and waiting too years. The Brigante are not that patient and the Brigante? Well if Briac is the man behind it then it would make sense for him to use someone from his tribe.”
“That is still a lot of men.”
“True but nearer fifty or sixty I would say. The recruits might be favourite but for the fact that he knew his way around Eboracum. That would suggest an experienced man.”
Julius Demetrius banged the desk. “The information stays in this room. When Rufius, Livius and Metellus arrive we will tell them and then we will try to catch our spy. Well done you two. And now, Marcus, you had better get changed for the evening meal eh? You are a little aromatic, shall we say?”
“I would have said smelly legate but
I will bathe.”
When Appius returned to the fort and found that Vibia had been rescued he was beside himself with a mixture of joy and anger. He had wanted to be the hero who rescued the love of his life but at least his rival, Gnaeus was still in Eboracum and he would be able to woo her at the meal. His wit and his charm would show her what buffoons these country officers were. He went directly to his room to choose the toga with the narrow purple stripe. Although not yet a narrow stripe tribune, he knew it was merely a matter of time.
The meal which the cooks had been prepared was brought in. The cook was an old servant of the legate’s but, with the news that there was a spy in the fort meant that he asked for the cook to taste and then serve the food. Titus Carbinus was not offended, especially as the legate had briefed him on what he would ask of him. He would happily taste his food for any. The Gaul gave an imperious sniff as he left the dining room. Julius had done this deliberately so that when the whole ala was based in the fort he could repeat it and no-one would think anything untoward. Fortunately no-one seemed to notice. Vibia had used her time well and her hair cascaded from a carefully crafted design which the slaves had helped her to create. She had applied the blue makeup to her eyes and the red cochineal to her lips to enhance their natural beauty. Perfume had been a problem until one of the resourceful slaves had found some rosemary, lavender and roses. When they were combined in the correct proportions with just a hint of olive oil they were applied to Vibia’s wrist and neck. As she entered the room, later than anyone else, she knew she would have an immediate and lasting effect on the men in the room. All the younger officers and Appius visibly drooled as she sinuously glided in. Marcus and Julius exchanged a look. Julius could now see the change marriage had wrought on Marcus. A flirtation did not appeal to him and he could watch the male displays with detachment as the beautiful Vibia fluttered her eyes at all the young men who drank in every gesture and flick of a red painted finger. Marcus and the legate had ore things on their mind than a siren luring young bloods on to the rocks of lust. They spent the evening talking of the serious implications of the news they had garnered.
Livius and Metellus were glad to be heading back to Cilurnum. At the fort by the river there were no distractions and, thankfully, there was no poisoned food. They could, in a strange sort of way, relax more. Even though they were close to the frontier and to danger they knew who their enemies were and that was not always true in Eboracum. Livius, in particular, had tired of the Governor and his constant whining about gold, copper and money. It seemed that all he cared about was acquiring and spending money. The men on the frontier, the soldiers who fought to keep the province safe, did not appear to figure in his calculations. They were an incidental while to Livius they were the cement which held the province together.
“I am sorry that you could only have one night in your home Metellus.”
“It matters not sir. Two years from now I shall have every night at home and a healthy income from selling horses to the ala.”
Livius gestured back at the herd which followed them. “You have not done so badly this time old friend.”
“True and poor Marcus will have the difficult job of training up these new horsemen who follow us.”
“I am just pleased that the Governor authorised the payment to enlarge the ala. I had though he would spend all the money on making a pretty wall.”
Metellus shook his head in disbelief, “What difference does it make if the wall is faced or not?”
“To the barbarians? None. To someone who wishes his name to be remembered a thousand years from now as the man who built Nepos Wall? Everything!”
As they rode through the gate to the fort they saw Rufius and the remnants of his turmae riding along the Stanegate. It was a salutatory lesson. Livius and his men had suffered few casualties but here, on the wall, it was a dangerous place and a short life span for the auxiliaries of Marcus’ Horse.
“Hail Rufius. I can see from your empty saddles that many men have gone to meet the Allfather and out comrades.”
“Aye Prefect. It was a hard fought battle but we succeeded in our mission and the Sixth was saved; not to mention this bloody wall.”
Metellus gestured behind him. “Well we have many recruits to fill the empty saddles and horses too.”
“Which is all well and good Metellus but can you give me the experience of the brave men who died? Can you give me the spirit that my turmae had?” There was a silence and Metellus leaned over to touch the arm of Rufius. “Sorry old friend. I yearn for the days when the three of us could roam at will knowing that the only men we could hurt were ourselves.”
Livius shook his head sadly, “And now we have the responsibility of command. Which is why I never envy Julius nor aspire to be another Agricola. This ala is all that I desire.”
Chapter 13
“We have no time for niceties. Let your chosen men see to the troopers, we five need a conference with Julius. I think his maps and his information may be of help.” Livius detected a nervous tone in Julius’ words. He wondered what it portended.
Once in the office Julius Longinus had spread his neatly drawn map on the table. Eboracum, Morbium and the wall were marked clearly. The legate made to speak and Marcus held up his hand saying, apologies sir.” He put his head out of the door. “Lucius. I want no one closer to this office than twenty paces. And that means anyone. Understand me?”
“Yes sir.”
Metellus cocked a curious eye at Marcus but Julius smiled grimly and said, “Young Marcus does right and I should have thought of it myself. We have a traitor in the ranks.”
“Impossible!”
“Here Marcus out, Livius and then make your judgement.”
Marcus then told of the rescue of the girl and his conversation with Belenus. “So you see, if we add that to the attempt on the officer’s lives then it makes sense. And when we add to that their early success with the wagons until we began to behave in an unpredictable manner then it becomes more obvious. It is just that none of us can believe it.”
Livius paled. This was his ala. He trusted every trooper he had under his command. “Do we mistrust everyone?”
Julius coughed, “Our clerk and part time intelligence officer has done some work on this. Carry on Master Longinus.”
Julius nodded and, like a school master, took his pointer. He had the lists of the ala pinned to a wall and there were men marked with red. “We deduced that the spy had to have been in the ala for less than two years. We also worked out that it was likely that they would be Brigante. The men in red are all in that category. Rufius, Livius and Metellus all spoke at once.
“That one is impossible!”
“Gaius saved my life.”
“He would die for the ala!”
Julius tapped his pointer against the desk. “This may all be true. There is but one spy so your comments may well be true however, until we can prove their innocence then all of these fifty men as suspect.”
Mollified the three officers leaned back. “But what can we do?”
“If you notice they are spread around the turmae. I suggested to the legate that we move them all into your turma, prefect. Use the excuse of new recruits and new officers being needed.” The legate nodded his approval for the clerk’s words. “That way we contain the threat. We watch and we, perhaps, set a trap.”
“What kind of trap?”
Julius put his pointer down and said irritably. “Give me time to think of one for heaven’s sake. I have given you one strategy. Do you want me to do it all?”
Livius smiled, “Sorry Julius. You have done well.”
“Besides,” added the legate, “we also have the added problem of the barbarians joining together. I fear that hanging one of the hostages, while justified, might just ignite the flames of rebellion and slow down the building of the wall.”
“Then perhaps we can do two things at the same time.”
“And what is that Livius?”
“Set a
trap and take the war to the tribes.”
“Go on!”
“Both Rufius and Marcus have reported that the Selgovae and Votadini are ripe for rebellion and yet the Brigante leader, Briac, is here in the north. If we tell our troopers that we intend to capture the Brigante leader then the spy will have to act.”
“You will be risking the men in the turma that the spy has hidden within.”
“True but he will have to give himself away. He will need to get a message to Briac. I think that Marcus’ turma cannot have the spy within their ranks as Vibia said that she did not see him there added to which their mission to rescue the hostage would have been compromised had they had a traitor. Looking at Julius’ lists there is only one of the possible traitors who is being transferred into Marcus’ turma and he is replacing Sextus who has been promoted. That means Marcus just watches one man. If we use just Metellus’ and Marcus’ turmae as bait we can eliminate some men quite quickly. Metellus has more but that is a risk we need to take. The majority of the suspect men are in mine and Rufius’ turmae. This way we narrow the search down quickly and we know where our bad apples are likely to be.” He looked at all their faces and knew what he asked of them. They had to go into battle believing that one of their men was a traitor. He was pleased when they all grinned and nodded.
“I believe they will have gone back to the Votadini camp. I have been there twice now. I think that we could give them a bloody nose at least.” Marcus looked at Livius. “I assume that you do not expect us to capture Briac but you want us to hurt them?”
“Exactly. The ruse is to lure out the spy but we need the mission to seem plausible. We will only tell the turmae on the morning of the mission.” He paused. “Tomorrow.”
