Caledonia

by William Kelso

  He felt his way forwards along the deck until he saw the large group of warriors sitting ahead of him. They all looked wide awake. There was a sullen, forbidding atmosphere about the group.

  "Dawn's in an hour," Vellocatus called softly, "When we launch the boats I want half of you to come with me to the cave and help me load the sacks." He paused, "There are so many stones, you won't believe it."

  "Is that so?" a voice replied from the darkness.

  There was no reply from the rest of the warriors. Vellocatus was conscious that the men were staring at him in a strange way.

  "Just be ready when I give the order," he snapped. He turned and nearly tripped over a heavy iron chain that someone had carelessly left about on deck. He was just about to swear when he recognised the chain. It belonged to him. It was the neck irons in which he had held the girl captive. He frowned. Had he really just left it lying here?

  In the gloom one of Baldurix's men laughed. Vellocatus stumbled back towards the spot where his mercenaries were sitting feeling his heart thumping in his chest. Oh it would be such a relief to see those men's corpses floating in the sea. He bit his lip. In a few hours time he would be rid of Baldurix's men for good. In a few hours he was going to have wealth equal to that which that prick Agricola possessed. He undid the small leather pouch from around his belt and touched the piece of amber he'd taken for himself on his first visit to the sea cave. The stone felt smooth and hard. For a moment he allowed himself to enjoy the touch. Then he slipped the stone back into its pouch. He could not celebrate yet.

  As the first glimpse of the sun appeared to the east Vellocatus jumped to his feet and looked up at the watchman who was standing high up in the ship's mast.

  "What can you see?" he shouted. "Have the Romans arrived?"

  The man took his time in answering.

  "No, can't see anything," he shouted.

  Vellocatus shook his head impatiently and clenched his hand into a fist. If he waited for too long the Caledonians would surely notice the galley half a mile out to sea. If the Romans had been delayed or the plan had changed it would give the men in the fort time to intervene. In frustration he looked up again at the watchman.

  "Nothing? What is happening now? Can you see anything?"

  "There is no sign of anyone," the lookout cried.

  "Damn it," Vellocatus hissed. What had happened to the Romans? They were supposed to be in position outside the fort at dawn. He turned to look at his mercenaries. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to make a decision. At the front of the boat Baldurix's men had stood up.

  "We go," Vellocatus shouted, "we can't wait for the Roman attack. Get the small boats into the water. You," he pointed at Baldurix's men, "half of you come with me. The rest will stay here. "Bring the empty sacks and the rope."

  The ship broke out into a hive of activity. The rafts and log canoes were dropped overboard and men swung their legs over the side of the ship and jumped into the sea. Vellocatus turned to his mercenaries. Some of them were smiling at him with knowing looks. Vellocatus nodded.

  "Stay here, you know what to do," he said quietly.

  Vellocatus moved to the side of the ship and swung his legs over the edge. He was just about to drop overboard when the captain appeared. The man folded his arms across his chest.

  "I want double what we agreed upon," the sailor muttered.

  Vellocatus's face darkened. "What is this," he hissed, "I don't have time to negotiate with you. We made a deal, we are going to stick to it. Now fuck off."

  But the captain didn't move. He looked at Vellocatus with a stubborn expression.

  "I want my share doubled," he repeated.

  Vellocatus shook his head in disbelief. He had no time for this.

  "Alright agreed," he growled as he made a mental note to add the captain to the corpses that would be floating in the sea. Then he jumped down into the sea and grabbed hold of a log canoe.

  The sea was calm and Vellocatus had no difficulty in getting into the hollow tree trunk boat. He pulled the oar from the bottom of the small narrow vessel and dug it into the waves. When he looked round he noticed that only six of Baldurix's men were following him. The rest had remained on the galley. He twisted his neck and yelled at the warriors but the men onboard ignored him. Damn it, what were they up to? Had he not told half of them to follow him? Angrily he turned to face the cliffs of the headland. The sun was rising steadily and it was growing light. He looked up at the tops of the cliff but could see no lookouts. What the fuck had happened to the Romans? They were supposed to be besieging the Caledonian fort by now. Well he would have to hurry. Maybe he would just fill one cargo of sacks instead of the two runs that he had planned. He dug his paddle into the water and began to force his way towards the rocks beneath the cliffs. The shore looked just as rugged as he had imagined it to be when he had slipped in at night a few days ago. The waves crashed against the rocks sending white spray flying up into the air. A seagull drifted on the breeze and then swooped down towards the sea. Vellocatus pushed on glancing now and then up at the cliffs but he saw no one. With a bit of luck the villagers would not know what was going on until it was too late. He snatched a glance over his shoulder. Baldurix's men were still with him, strung out in a line behind him.

  Then after what seemed an eternity he was under the cliffs and close to the shore. He swung himself into the water and grabbed hold of a boulder and with his other hand pushed the canoe up onto the rocks. The narrow dark sea cave opening was a few yards to his left. He turned and pointed at it guiding the men behind him to the right spot. Then he hauled himself up onto the rock. All around him the sea broke onto the boulders with its gentle rhythmic routine.

  "Pass me the sacks," he cried impatiently as the last of Baldurix's men dragged themselves up onto the boulders.

  One of the men handed them to him and Vellocatus snatched the tied bundle of empty sacks and turned for the cave entrance.

  "Two of you follow me and help me load up the amber," he snarled.

  Without waiting for an answer he slid down the boulder into the sea and started edging his way towards the cave entrance. Then he was through the dark entrance and inside the tunnel. He felt his way forwards until he came to the bend to the right. Then he paused to listen. He could hear nothing apart from the noise of the sea. He glanced back. A shape was following behind him blocking out the early morning light. Vellocatus felt the cold steel of his sword touch his leg as a sudden idea came to him. In the darkness his face hardened.

  He started forwards and scrambled into the cave. The torches were still burning. Someone must have replaced them. Why would they do this? He frowned but everything was forgotten as he saw the great mountain of coloured stones just as he had left them. He sniggered in delight and threw the bags onto the cave floor. Then he stepped aside to allow the man behind him to get into the cave.

  "Beautiful aren't they," he said as the second man scrambled out of the tunnel and grunted in surprise at the sight of the multicoloured mountain of amber. "There is enough here to fill an entire galley," he said stepping up behind the two men. Then swiftly he drew his sword and stabbed one of the men in the back. The man cried out and collapsed to the ground with blood pouring from the wound. His companion just had enough time to shout and half turn towards Vellocatus when he was stabbed in the chest. The force of Vellocatus's blow sent most men tumbling into the mountain of stones. There was an animal like fury about Vellocatus as he stabbed the man again and again. Then at last he stopped and scrambled to his feet. The man he'd killed lay half buried under the amber. The other lay on the cave floor in a large pool of blood. Vellocatus was breathing heavily. He wiped the sweat from his face and covered the corpse completely under the stones. Then he stooped and dragged the other body to the far end of the cave. From the entrance passage he scooped some sea water in one of the bags and cleaned away the blood. When he was done he paused to catch his breath and stare at the amber. The cold stones were indeed beautiful, they
were so beautiful they were worth killing for. He turned and with a last glance at the amber entered the tunnel. When he could see the daylight up ahead he called out.

  "We need two more of you to help us in here."

  From outside there was no answer. Vellocatus took a step forwards and repeated himself. Again there was no answer. Carefully he sheathed his sword and clambered towards the cave mouth. The four men were sitting on the rocks watching him as he emerged.

  "What, are you deaf," Vellocatus cried, "I said that we need two more men to help us in there."

  Then he choked as if someone had just placed a hand around his throat. Lying on a rock before the cave entrance was the heavy metal slavers chain he had last seen onboard the galley. Baldurix's men must have deliberately placed it there. As he stared at the neck iron the four men unsheathed their swords. Their faces looked hard and brutal.

  "What is this?" Vellocatus stammered.

  As he spoke he heard a terrified high pitched scream coming from the galley. The boat was closer to the shore than when he'd left her. He stared at the ship and his eyes bulged in horror. There were bodies floating in the sea but they were not Baldurix's men. They were his mercenaries.

  "What is going on?" he croaked. "What is the meaning of this?"

  "You know what is going on," one of the men replied as they slithered towards him. "Do you really think that we didn't know that you intended to kill us all and take the amber for yourself. A pity for you that your plan hasn't worked."

  Vellocatus stared at the boat in absolute horror. As he did so he saw two men hold up one of his mercenaries whilst a third cut his throat and kicked his body overboard.

  "Look I can make a deal with you," Vellocatus cried as he retreated into the cave entrance, "Did Baldurix make you do this?"

  The men closed in on the entrance with drawn swords and knives.

  "Baldurix thinks you are an blithering idiot," one of the men grinned. "Of course he planned this. He wasn't going to just let you get away with all the amber."

  "We can share the amber, you can have as much as you like. Baldurix can have as many of the stones as he wants," Vellocatus cried out holding up his sword in a futile effort to force the men back.

  "In exchange for what?" one of the men asked.

  Vellocatus leaned against the wall of the cave entrance.

  "Let me go free with a single sack of stones. I will go right away. You will never see or hear from me again."

  The men exchanged looks.

  "Agreed, lay down your sword and come out of the cave," one of them growled.

  Vellocatus turned to look at each man in turn. Then he waded forwards and placed his sword on a rock. One of the men kicked it into the sea. Then two others grabbed his arms and dragged him roughly up onto a boulder. They pinned his arms down as the fourth man picked up the slavers chain and raised it in the air with a smile.

  "But we agreed," Vellocatus cried out in alarm, "You would let me go. What is this? Treachery!"

  "Yes," the man holding the chain nodded, "I told you what I needed to tell you in order to get you to come out of that cave. You could have held up an army in that confined space but now I am going to place these on you." He held up the slavers chain for Vellocatus to see.

  "No! You promised," Vellocatus roared with sudden fury.

  One of the men struck him in the face and Vellocatus cried out in pain as his head bounced into the rock beneath him.

  "I may have been inclined to honour our agreement," a voice whispered close to his ear, "if you hadn't killed my two friends inside the cave."

  Then Vellocatus felt the cold wet iron clamp shut around his neck.

  The two men pinning down his arms turned him over onto his back and his hands were bound tightly behind his back. Then they dragged him higher up the boulder until he was leaned against the rugged, jagged cliff. Out to sea he could see bodies floating up and down on the waves. One of the men disappeared into the cave and reappeared dragging one of the corpses by the arm. Vellocatus looked on horrified as the second neck ring in the slavers chain was placed around the dead man's neck. They were chaining him to a corpse.

  "What are you going to do with me?" he muttered.

  "Baldurix will decide what to do with you," one of the men answered.

  Suddenly a great roar rose up from the galley a hundred yards away. Vellocatus blinked in surprise as he saw men tumbling overboard into the sea. The four men around him rose to their feet in alarm.

  "What is going on over there?" one of them shouted.

  As Vellocatus stared at the galley he saw another man being knocked over the side by a blow from an oar. Someone screamed. Then there was another high pitched shriek and two more men tumbled into the water.

  "The crew," one of his captives muttered in shock, "the crew have taken control of the ship. Look, those are our men in the sea."

  Vellocatus strained to see what was going on. He heard another scream. Some of the men in the sea were still alive. They were shouting and raising their arms towards the shore. Then as he stared at the spectacle the galley sail came rolling down and a few moments later oars poked out of the ships side and began to dig into the waves. One of the oars bounced of the waves and sliced into a man's head as he bobbed in the sea.

  "She is leaving us," one of his captors snarled. And sure enough the galley was heading out to sea. Despite his condition Vellocatus started to laugh. It seemed as if the ship's crew had had enough. The sailors were going to have the last laugh. As the ship began to pick up speed Vellocatus caught a glimpse of the captain standing beside the helm staring in his direction.

  "Double my share," he cursed, "You fucking weasel."

  High above him on the cliff top a Carnyx suddenly rang out in an angry blast. The trumpet blast was followed by another and then another. His captors peered up in sudden fright.

  "What's that?" one of them said nervously.

  "Let's get out of here," the man who had placed the neck iron on Vellocatus, murmured, "It sounds like the Vacomagi know that we are here."

  "What about him? Baldurix said to bring him," another exclaimed pointing at Vellocatus.

  "Fuck him, leave him here. He won't get far chained to that body. Let the Vacomagi have him. I am going," one of the men said as he slithered down into the sea.

  "No, don't leave me here," Vellocatus cried. "Give me a chance, give me a chance."

  "Fuck you," one of the men said giving him a kick. The three remaining men lowered themselves into the sea, pulled their log boats free from the rocks and set off after their comrade as he paddled away along the cliffs. Then they were gone.

  Chapter Forty Eight - The smell of roasting pork

  Vellocatus was left alone on the rock but he could hardly move. His hands were tied firmly behind his back and the heavy chain weighed on his neck. He forced himself up onto his feet and stared at the sea. His captors were right. If he went into the water the weight of the heavy chain and the attached corpse would in all likely hood drown him. He looked around for his sword but it had gone. His captors had released the remaining boats when they'd left and as he stood up he saw his drifting away on the waves. He turned and shuffled towards the cave entrance and felt the weight of the corpse pull him backwards. The men he'd killed inside the cave had had weapons. Maybe he could use them to at least free his hands. He sat down on the boulder beside the cave entrance and glanced down at the water. He blinked in surprise. The sea water was very clear and suddenly on the sea bed, a yard or so down he saw a multitude of coloured stones glinting back at him. He gasped as he realised what they were. The amber was everywhere. The sea was washing the stones onto the shore. He turned to stare at the cave entrance. That must be why the villagers above him stored all the stones in this cave. They must sweep the shoreline and pick up any stones that they found and bring them to the cave. That was why there was such a mountain of the stuff in one place. The villagers didn't want anyone to know about or find the amber. That was why the girl had m
urdered her kin. She had done so to protect a secret. His mouth opened in astonishment. What sort of man could have been behind such a careful plan? Whoever had devised the idea of the amber cave would have known about the value of the stones. They would have understood what would happen if the amber source was ever revealed. So they had thought up a plan that would keep the source of the amber secret. Vellocatus's eyes widened as at last he understood. And whoever had come up with the whole idea had been prepared to spill blood in order to maintain the secret.

  As he stared at the cave entrance a log dugout canoe nosed its way carefully around the rocks. It was followed by three more. Vellocatus stumbled backwards against the cliff as he caught sight of a pair of pale blue eyes coldly staring up at him.

  ***

  He lay on the grass inside the headland fort to which they had brought him. The druid with the pale blue eyes had not said a word to him. Vellocatus looked up at the sky with listless eyes. What had happened to Baldurix? What had happened to the Roman attack? The Romans had never shown up. Something had gone terribly wrong, terribly wrong. But at least the men had removed the iron chain from around his neck.He turned as he saw smoke rising up. Nearby someone had started a fire. A woman was feeding the flames with wood and coal. The wood crackled as it caught fire. His captors sat in a small circle a few yards from where he lay on the ground. They seemed to be waiting for a feast. He watched as two men appeared carrying two metal tripods and a spit used for roasting meat over to the fire. The men were silent as they placed the spit over the rapidly growing fire. They looked solemn. No one looked at him.