When the Eagle hunts c-3

by Simon Scarrow

  Cato nodded his assent, and both of them bolted across the open ground, over the track and into the welcome shadows of the trees. They dulzked down and Cato listened for any sign that they had been spotted but the pounding of blood in his ears drowned out ariything he might have heard.

  He dragged Prasutagus further into the trees, through a dense tangle of undergrowth. The gr,.ound sloped upwards until it eventually levelled out on the.crest. Both men slumped down on a fallen tree trunk, covered with the moss and lichen of ages. Breathing heavily, Cato suddenly felt very dizzy and braced himself with both hands to stop himself tumbling to the ground. Prasutagus reached over to Cato's shoulder to steady him.

  'You rest, Roman.'

  'No. I'm not tired,' Cato lied. He was exhausted, but more pressing than that was his hunger. He had not eaten properly for days, and the effects were becoming apparent.

  'Food. We must have food,' he said.

  Prasutagus nodded. 'You stay here. I find.'

  'All right. But be careful. No one must see you. Understand?'

  'Sa!' Prasutagus frowned at the unnecessary warning.

  'Offyou go then,' muttered Cato. 'Don't be long.'

  Prasutagus waved a farewell and disappeared through the trees along the crest. Cato eased himself onto the ground and leaned back against the soft moss on the tree trunk. His eyes closed and he breathed in the forest-scented air deeply.

  For a while his mind was clear and he rested peacefully, indulging his senses as he listened to the different bird calls from the branches above. Now and then he was jarred by the sound of other animals making their way across the forest floor, but there were no voices and the sounds receded quickly enough. It was strange to be alone for the first time in months, to savour the peculiar serenity that comes from having no other person nearby. The euphoric feeling quickly faded as his mind started working on the wider situation he found himself in. Macro was gone, so was Boudica. All that remained was himself and Prasutagus. The Iceni warrior's knowledge of the area and the customs of the Druids was vital. He even claimed to have some familiarity with the hill fort where Lady Pomponia and her son were imprisoned.

  The image of the terrified boy running to his mother plagued him. Cato cursed himself for not going back for Aelius, even though the Druids were only moments away, pounding down the track towards the wagon. Cato and the boy might have got away. He doubted it, but it was still a possibility. A possibility that Vespasian and Plautius would not overlook if he ever returned to the legion to tell the tale. His harsh self-judgement was burden enough, without the sidelong scorn of the men who would question his courage.

  Hours passed and, as the sun began to dip from its midday position, Cato decided he had rested enough. There was still no sign of Prasutagus, and Cato felt a pang of concern. But there was nothing he could do to speed the man's return; he could only hope that he had not fallen into the hands of the Druids, and that he had found food.

  Cato looked round at the nearest trees, and picked one that had plenty of branches, promising to be an easy climb.

  Limb by limb he pulled himself up the tree, until the trunk became thin enough to sway hnder his weight. With one arm wrapped round the rough bark, Cato parted the slender branches. He had lost his belarngs and could not see the hill fort at first. Then, adjustifg his footing, he tried another direction and gazed down.n the grassy sward running beside the river. He could se.e the trestle bridge and followed the line of the track leading up to the hill fort.

  Cato was awed anew by the scale of the ramparts. How many men had laboured fo how many years to create this vast monument to the might of the Durotriges? How many men would it cost Rome to take this hill fort when the time came for the legions to march-west? Of course it would be his legion, the Second, that would be tasked with storming those ramparts. The legion had only just managed to best the Britons in setpiece battles. Would they be able to storm their formidable fortresses? Cato had read of siegecraft as a child but had not been called upon to practise it since he had joined the eagles. The prospect of assaulting those towering ramparts of earth filled him with dread.

  A heavy thump from below startled him and he nearly let go of the trunk. Cato looked down through the branches and saw Prasutagus searching around for him. By the tree trunk lay the body of a dead pig with a bloody tear in its throat.

  'Up here!' Cato called.

  Prasutagus tilted his head back, then laughed as he caught sight of Cato. He reached for one of the lower branches.

  'No. Stay there. I'm coming down.'

  On the ground, Cato eyed the pig appreciatively. 'Where did you get it?'

  'Where?' Cato pointed at the pig.

  'Ah!' Prasutagus pointed along the ridge, and mimed a valley, and another ridge. Then he paused, frowning, as he tried to think how to mime the next part. The word suddenly came to him. 'Farm!'

  'You took this from a farm?'

  Prasutagus nodded, smiling widely.

  'Where was the farmer?'

  Prasutagus drew a line across his throat.

  'Oh great! That's all we need,' Cato said angrily.

  Prasutagus raised a calming hand.

  'I hide body. No one find.'

  'I'm glad to hear it. But what happens when he's missed?

  What then, you fool?'

  Prasutagus shrugged his huge shoulders, as if that was no concern of his. He turned to the pig.

  'We eat?'

  'Yes.' Cato's stomach rumbled. Both men laughed spontaneously at the sound. 'We eat. Now.'

  With long-practised skill Prasutagus gutted the pig with his dagger, placing the inedible organs in a glistening pile.

  Then he shoved the lot down the hollow interior of the tree trunk, saving the liver for a little snack later. After wiping his bloodstained hands with clumps of damp moss, he started gathering branches.

  'No fire,' ordered Cato. He pointed upwards, then towards the hill fort. 'No smoke.'

  Prasutagus had obviously,fixed his heart on roast pork and for a moment he baulked at the prospect of eating the pig raw. But then he shrugged and drew his dagger again.

  He hacked strips of flesh from the pig's loin and tossed one to Cato. The pink flesh had' blood and white membrane on it, but Cato hungrily sank his,.teeth into the still warm meat and forced himself to chew..

  After they had eaten their fill, Prasutagus pushed the carcass into the hollow trunk and covered the end with some branches. Then they rested in turns until nightfall, when they moved down the slope, carrying the pig with them.

  They headed away from the hill.fort until they discovered a small hollow where an ancient oak had fallen, wrenching up the earth attached to its myriad roots. There they toiled to light a small fire with dry moss and flints from Cato's haversack. When the kindling had finally caught, they carefully built the fire up and roasted the pig. In the red glow of the warming flames, Cato sat with his arms round his knees savouring the sizzle of fat and the rich aroma of meat. At length, Prasutagus stood up and carved it, placing a large steaming pile on a stone beside Cato. They feasted till they could not eat another scrap and fell asleep with warm, full bellies.

  For the next two days they took turns to keep watch on the hill fort, and saw a steady stream of tribespeople making their way towards it. There were wagons too, and small herds of animals, including sheep, driven up from their spring pastures, even though the lambing season was imminent. Clearly, the Durotriges were preparing their people for a siege, which meant they had had news of an approaching enemy. Right now that enemy could only be Rome; the Second Legion must be on the march. Cato's pulse raced at the realisation. In days, perhaps, the legionaries would throw a ring of steel round the hill fort and the Druids and their prisoners would have nowhere to flee. The general's wife and son would be used as bargaining counters to ameliorate the terms of the hill fort's surrender – unless the Durotriges were every bit as mad as the Druids and opted to fight Rome to their last breath. In that case there was little hope for Lady P
omponia and Aelius.

  Cato had agreed with Prasutagus that on the third day one of them should return to the place Boudica had left them; that was the earliest she could be expected to return.

  So at dusk Cato slipped back across the track and headed towards the forest. Despite his certainty that he could recall the route by which he and Prasutagus had travelled, the trees seemed strange in the dark, and he failed to find the ruins of the silver mine. He tried to retrace his steps and "only succeeded in becoming even more lost. As the night wore on, caution gave way to speed and the undergrowth crackled and rustled under his feet. He was on the point of calling out for Boudica when a dark figure stepped out from behind a tree directly in front ofhim. Cato flipped his cloak back anddrew his sword.

  'Why not just sound a trumpet next time you want to attract some attention?' Boudica chuckled. 'I thought I must have discovered one of Claudius's lost elephants.'

  For a moment Cato just stared at Boudica's outline, then with a nervous laugh he lowered his blade and took a deep breath.

  'Shit, Boudica, you scared me!'

  'You deserved it. Where'i my cousin?'

  'He's fine. He's keeping watch on the hill fort. Unless he's gone hunting for pig farmers again.'

  'What? Never mind. Exilain later. Now listen to me.

  There's not much time, and I've got something really scary to tell you.'

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The edge of the night sky was washed with the pale glow of dawn by the time Cato and Boudica reached the hollow where Prasutagus was waiting. They had left her horse tied to a tree in the silver workings, with a full bag of feed to keep it company. The two Iceni embraced warmly in greeting, each obviously relieved that the other was safe and well. Although safe was pushing it a bit, Cato reflected.

  Being camped in a forest barely a mile from their savage enemy was not so very safe at all.

  Boudica gratefully accepted some cold pork, but sniffed suspiciously before taking a bite.

  'How old is this delightful morsel?'

  'Nearly three days. It should be all right to eat.'

  'Well, I'm hungry enough, so thanks? She tore offa strip off the grey meat and chewed. 'Now then, my news. You'll have to excuse me if I talk while I eat.'

  'Fine.' Cato nodded impatiently.

  'I managed to reach an Atrebate village the night after I left you. They told me that a Roman army had passed through earlier in the day. Seemed quite awed by the experience. Anyway, I set off straight away and we caught up with Vespasian a few hours later. The Second Legion is making directly for the Great Fortress. Vespasian aims to knock it out of the campaign first, as an example to any Durotriges planning to hold him off in other hill forts.'

  'Makes sense,' said Cato. 'And he'll go in hard. But how's Macro?'

  'Macro was taken straight to the field hospital.'

  'He's still alive?'

  'For the moment. The,chief surgeon didn't sound hopeful, but then I suppose quickly when she saw the look on Cato's face. 'Vespasian was delighted to see the general's daughter, but then showed me something tha had been tied to an arrow and shot over the camp gate just after nightfall…' Boudica paused.

  'Go on.'

  'It was a finger, a small finger. There was a message from the Dark Moon Druid on the strip of cloth that tied it to the arrow. One of the legion's native scouts translated. It said that the finger was cut offthe hand of the general's son as a warning not to try any more rescue attempts.'

  Cato felt sick. 'I see,' he muttered.

  'No, you don't. Plautius left orders with Vespasian that if any harm befell his family, then the head of the senior Druid in Vespasian's charge was to be cut off and sent to the Durotriges. The others are to be killed at two-day.intervals and their heads sent back, until the surviving members of the general's family are released.'

  'They're dead the moment that first head arrives, aren't they?'

  'If they're lucky.'

  'Has Vespasian carried out the order?'

  'Not yet. He's sent the daughter back, with a request for confirmation of the orders.'

  'Which Plautius will give, the moment he hears his daughter's story.'

  'I'd imagine that's how he might react.'

  Cato did some quick calculations. 'That was two days back. Allow two days each way for the message to reach the general and the order to be confirmed, then a day for the head to be delivered… That means we've got two days, three at the outside. No more.'

  'That's what I reckon.'

  'Oh great…' Cato looked down at his folded hands, then continued thoughtfully. 'Unless Vespasian delays carrying out the order.'

  'He might,' agreed Boudica. 'But I think he has other plans. Your Second Legion will arrive under the walls of the hill fort in two days' time. I think he means tO storm the fortress as quickly as possible and rescue the general's family himself.'

  Cato was shocked. 'The Druids would never let it happen.

  They'd kill the hostages the moment the wall was breached.

  All we'd find are the bodies.'

  Boudica nodded. 'But what choice does he have? They're dead either way.' She looked at Cato. 'Unless someone gets in there and gets them out before the legion tunas up.'

  Cato returned her gaze steadily. Just as Vespasian had no choice in his actions, neither did he.

  'We have to try it. There must be a way in. Prasutagus would know.'

  The Iceni warrior raised his head at the sound of his name. He had not been able to follow the discussion and was staring into the flames, with an occasional contented glance at Boudica. She turned to him and spoke in their tongue.

  Prasutagus shook his hed firmly. 'Na! No way in.'

  'There has to be sometling!' Cato replied desperately.

  'Some small opening. Anything. Just a way inside the palisade. That's all we'd need.'

  Prasutagus stared at the optio, bemused by the look of utter despair in his face.,: 'Please, Prasutagus. I gaye my word. If there is a way, all you need do is lead me tO it. I'll go alone from there.'

  After Boudica translated, Prasutagus considered a moment, spat into the fir, and nodded slowly before he replied to his cousin.

  'He says there might be a way. A drainage outlet on the far side of the fort, opposite, the main gate. It might be possible to climb through it and get inside. He'll take you there, tomorrow night, but that's it. Then you're on your own. He'll wait at the drain but the moment he hears any commotion, he'll go.'

  'Fair enough,' agreed Cato. 'Tell him I'm grateful.'

  Prasutagus laughed when Boudica translated. 'He says he doesn't want gratitude from a man he's leading to his death.'

  'Thank him anyway.'

  Cato knew the risk in what he planned to do was appalling.

  They might be discovered as they clambered up the ramparts, the drain was likely to be guarded, especially after the rescue attempt on the wagon. And once inside, then what?

  Where would he look inside that vast fortress filled with Durotrigan tribespeople and Dark Moon Druids? If he escaped their notice, and actually located the general's wife and son, could he really free them on his own and lead them to safety, from the very heart of the enemy's greatest fortification?

  In a more rational world Cato would have dismissed the idea out of hand. But he had given his word to Lady Pomponia. He had seen the terror in the boy's eyes. He had witnessed the terrible atrocities that the Dark Moon Druids had visited on Diomedes, and on the peaceful village of Noviomagus. The blond child's face, submerged in his memories these last few days, loomed forth again, cold and beseeching. Then there was Macro. The centurion was all but dead, and he had been prepared to gi;e his life to rescue the general's family.

  The moral burden of all he had seen and experienced was overwhelming. Reason had nothing to do with it. He was driven by a compulsion far stronger. There was no reason in the world, he reflected somberly -just an endless sea of unreasonable compulsions, shifting with the tides and carrying its hum
an flotsam where it willed. He could no more turn his back on a final attempt at rescuing the general's wife and son than he could reach up and stroke the face of the moon.

  When he rose in the morning, Cato prepared himself for his fate. Numbly he chewed the last of the cold pork, then he climbed to the top of the hill. More Durotrigan warriors were streaming into the hill fort, and he marked them down in the small waxed tablet he carried in his haversack. The information might at least be of some use to Vespasian if he did not return. Boudica would carry it to the legate.

  While Boudica took her turn in the tree, Prasutagus mysteriously disappeared, and for a while Cato wondered if the Iceni warrior could not face the night's impossible task.

  But even as he wondered,,.he knew this was not the case.

  Prasutagus had proved himself a man of his word. If he said he would lead the way to the hill fort's drainage outlet, then he would.

  Shortly before the stm dipped beyond the trees and plunged the forest into gloom, Prasutagus at last reappeared, carrying a bag filled withroots and leaves. He lit a small fire and began to boil the plaa. ts in his skillet, producing a sharp odour that irritated Cato's nostrils. Boudica came and joined them.

  'What's he doing?' Cato nodded towards the bubbling brew.

  She spoke to Prasutagus a moment, then replied, 'He's making some dyes. If you get into the fortress you'll need to blend in with the tribesmen, as far as you can. Prasutagus is going to paint you and lime your hair.'

  'What?'

  'It's that or be killed on sight.'

  'All right then,' Cato relented.

  In the light and warmth of the fire he stripped off his tunic and stood in only his loincloth as Prasutagus knelt before him and traced a series of swirling blue patterns across his torso and arms. He completed the work with smaller, more intricate patterns on Cato's face, painting with an intensity of concentration that Cato had never seen in him before. While he worked, Boudica prepared the lime and plastered it on his hair. He flinched at the tingling sensation on his scalp and then forced himself to be still when Boudica tutted.