He beamed at the gathered officers knowingly.
‘I can however, also assure you gentlemen that it’s very much worth the expense. My last posting as a Procurator of Mines was in Mount Marianus in Spain, and we were lucky if we dug out ten pounds of gold a day. Here in Alburnus Major we’re averaging ninety pounds of gold per day, which makes the mines hugely profitable by comparison. That’s over thirty thousand pounds a year without any sign of the seams thinning out. There is said to be enough gold in these mountains to pave a road from here to the Forum in Rome itself, and I can well believe it.’ He looked around the room with a portentous expression. ‘Which means that the loss of this facility would have the direst implications for the imperial treasury.’
‘Not to mention his career.’
Ignoring Julius’s whispered comment, Marcus focussed his attention on the procurator, who was still speaking.
‘So you see, gentlemen, my original request to the governor for some soldiers to back up my own security force wasn’t made lightly. I have men from just about every province in the north-eastern portion of the empire working in this valley, and from pretty much every one of the tribes beyond our northern frontier for that matter, and there is no real way to be certain of their loyalty to the empire. I don’t doubt that among them will be a few spies sent in by the Sarmatae to wait until the time is right and then guide their warriors through the mountains to fall upon us without warning or mercy. It was something of a surprise when Legatus Albinus chose to withdraw his men from the valley, even if we did have the report that you were only a few days away.’ He looked about him with an expression of relief that to Marcus’s eye appeared in no way feigned, and spread his hands to encompass the gathering. ‘But here you are. Alburnus Major is safe again, and just in time if your encounter with enemy scouts on the road yesterday is any guide. Might I ask how you plan to establish the appropriate degree of security for my mines?’
The question was directed at Belletor, who started slightly, then scratched at his bearded chin in the manner of a man deep in thought.
‘Well, ah. .’
The silence stretched out just long enough to be vaguely embarrassing and then, just as every man present was weighing up how best to speak up without making the young tribune look foolish, Scaurus’s voice broke the silence.
‘I would imagine that my colleague’s careful thought is attributable to his desire not to provide embarrassment to the previous defenders, even in their absence. The Thirteenth Gemina Legion was responsible for the defence of the valley until recently, I believe?’
The procurator nodded knowingly, and Belletor’s face assumed the appropriately neutral cast of a man who had indeed been searching for a way to critique the mine’s defences without criticising his predecessors.
‘They were, Tribune Scaurus, and your superior is right to avoid offering offence to their deeds here, even in their absence. Although when they were recalled to Apulum to concentrate with the other cohorts of the legion I was forced to note that they left us without either manpower or physical defences to protect the emperor’s gold against the Sarmatae, other than the few men I employ to guard my strongroom.’
Scaurus nodded his understanding.
‘Knowing that we were only days distant, I would imagine that the legatus commanding the Thirteenth considered this an acceptable gamble. You’ve seen no sign of any threat from the hills to the north and west, I presume?’ Maximus shook his head. ‘I thought not. Which means that the main body of the enemy must be sufficiently distant for them to have to be content with scouting around the valley. In that case, I believe that we should proceed with Tribune Belletor’s plan for the valley’s defence. The tribune and I discussed this matter at some length yesterday, and I find myself in full accordance with his plan. Perhaps I might outline your thoughts, Domitius Belletor?’
Marcus sneaked a glance at Cattanius to find the soldier’s face a study in self-control. Arminius had confided in him that Scaurus had talked with the legion man until long after the lamps had been lit the previous evening, gleaning as much information as he could as to the dispositions and contingency plans of the previous garrison. The beneficiarius had clearly realised that the answers he had given would be at the root of the tribune’s thinking. Belletor nodded graciously, a hint of relief on his face.
‘By all means, colleague.’
Scaurus’s face hardened in concentration, and the men standing around him gathered a little closer in subconscious recognition of the real military authority in the room.
‘In simple terms, this facility is basically a four-mile-long valley with one end open and the other closed by two successive mountains which rise to heights over a thousand feet above the plain. The valley walls rise to much the same height, and there appears to be only one route in that isn’t either straight up the road that runs along the valley floor from the west, or over steep and easily defended peaks on the valley walls with excellent fields of view. It’s worth noting that the mining activity is mainly concentrated in the area of the mountains at the closed eastern end.’
Procurator Maximus nodded.
‘Indeed Tribune, that’s much as the Thirteenth Legion’s tribune described it.’
‘In which case, there are two main defensive measures necessary. Firstly, we must be ready to repel a strong attack up the valley floor. The Sarmatae might well muster a force of many thousands of men to attack a prize as rich as this, many of them mounted, and we’ll have to be ready to fight them off with only the four cohorts you saw come up the road this afternoon. Nobody else is coming to this particular party. And that means we’ll need to build a wall at the valley’s most advantageous point, Procurator. A wall high enough that it can’t be scaled without a ladder, and topped by a stepped fighting platform to allow a relatively small number of men to fight off several times their own strength. Given that the valley’s teeming with strong men I’m assuming that such a construction wouldn’t tax you too badly?’
The procurator frowned at the suggestion.
‘I’m not sure that the various businessmen who work the mines on the empire’s behalf would take well to having their workforces turned away from the mines. . not to mention the lost revenue to both them and the empire.’
Scaurus smiled at him, showing his teeth in a fierce grin.
‘I have no doubt that you’re right. But as Tribune Belletor was saying to me only yesterday afternoon as we marched into your facility, it might well be better to lose a few days’ income than risk losing the entire mine, not to mention our own lives, wouldn’t you agree? He made the point to me that the man that loses this facility must either fall in its defence or face a rather more protracted death at the hands of a disappointed imperium, and I have to say I can’t fault his logic.’
Belletor shot him a surprised glance, but kept his mouth shut. The deception Scaurus was weaving around his superior’s supposed views on defending the mine had advanced too far to be gainsaid without more embarrassment than Belletor’s dignity could bear. For his part Scaurus was making the most of his chance to put the procurator straight as to who was in command of the mine’s resources.
‘Besides, I’m sure you’re not entirely without leverage over the men you’ve entrusted to extract the empire’s gold? Perhaps you might intimate to these businessmen that their accounts are overdue a particularly thorough audit, unless, of course, the urgency of defending their investments makes such an investigation superfluous?’ He raised an eyebrow at the procurator. ‘I presume there are a variety of stringent penalties open to your discretion, if any of these businessmen is found to have more than his fair share of the profits sticking to his fingers. I can assure you that you’ll find my colleague Domitius Belletor more than sympathetic with any request to assist you in delivering imperial justice under such circumstances.’
Left with little alternative his fellow tribune nodded his firm agreement, and Scaurus held the procurator’s gaze for a long moment, waiting until
the other man acknowledged his point with a slight bow of his head.
‘Excellent. So while your partners help the bulk of our men to build this wall to our specifications, the remainder will be conducting repairs on the temporary barracks accommodation to get my men out of their campaign tents and under some sturdier cover. We’ll be needing several dozen wood-burning stoves, which I assume your smiths can turn out easily enough, given they’ll have a temporary respite from making and mending mining tools. And the soldiers who aren’t busy repairing their own accommodation will be standing guard duty in the watchposts up on the peaks, looking out for any sign of a Sarmatae attack over the valley walls, unlikely though that may be. We’ll have your facility laced up as tight as a maiden’s bodice before you know it.’
He turned to Belletor, whose expression of imperious neutrality had slowly slid into one of slight bemusement as his supposed junior had taken control of the situation.
‘That was what you had in mind, colleague?’
Left without any choice, the younger man nodded graciously, although his face bore an edge of the suspicion that he had in some way been manoeuvred without having any clear understanding as to how or why. Scaurus bowed respectfully, turning to Cattanius with a slight smile.
‘I’m gratified to have reflected your thoughts so clearly. And perhaps, with your agreement, we might trouble the beneficiarius here for a better understanding of the enemy we’re facing?’
Belletor nodded again, his frown deepening as he realised that the conference had now utterly escaped his control. His colleague Sigilis was clearly working hard to keep his face immobile, but to Marcus’s eye a hint of contempt had entered his expression, although the young man was careful to keep his gaze away from either Belletor or Scaurus. Cattanius stepped forward, clearing his throat with no sign of any discomfort at the size or status of his audience.
‘Be under no illusion, gentlemen, our enemy is a proud and noble people. I warn you, if we allow them to use their mobility and fight in their preferred manner we will face almost certain defeat. Their horsemen ride with the skill of men raised in the saddle, and carry a long lance which they call the kontos. Our legionaries have a fighting chance against them in good order, but on the wrong ground, or if the formation has been weakened by their archers, this enemy can be truly murderous. Indeed their prowess was impressive enough to persuade the last emperor to take a legion’s strength of their lancers to serve in Britannia, as part of the peace agreement after we defeated them at the battle of the Frozen River. And now it seems that some part of their nation has decided to turn their backs on that treaty and make war on us again.’
He related to the gathered officers the story he’d imparted to Scaurus the previous evening about the two Dacian kings, Purta and Boraz, although the tribune noted that he omitted to tell them about the method by which the intelligence had been gathered.
‘Our spies tell us that Purta is gathering a warband of thirty thousand men beyond the mountains to the north-west of the fortress at Porolissum. Our auxiliary forts along the border make an obvious initial target for them, after which we expect he’ll be aiming to march down the road to the south-east and knock over the legions one at a time. The governor has given orders that our two Dacian legions are under no circumstances to be separated for fear of losing them individually, and it seems he’s happy enough to give up ground in order to keep his force intact.’
‘And the mine? Will he surrender that too?’
Cattanius shook his head with an apologetic glance at Scaurus.
‘If he has an opinion on the subject then Legatus Albinus hasn’t seen fit to share it with me, Tribune. What he did tell me was that the force moving on this valley and led by Boraz is believed to be relatively weak by comparison with that being fielded by Purta. It is expected that you’ll be able to hold off the barbarians without too much trouble, given the favourable nature of the terrain.’ He shot a look at Scaurus. ‘However, he also told me that if this proves not to be the case, he believes that Albinus Major can be recaptured easily enough once the main force under Purta is defeated. His exact words were “it’s not as if the Sarmatae can take the mountains with them, is it?”.’
Scaurus shot a wry smile at Belletor.
‘So there’s no pressure then, eh Tribune? We should be able to win easily enough, and if not the legions can clean up later with nothing much more lost than our reputations. That and our lives, of course.’
‘Gods below, but I can see why the boys from the Thirteenth would have been keen to have it away from here on their toes given half a chance.’
Marcus looked back down the slope at his toiling standard bearer, grinning at the man’s red face and puffed-out cheeks. The rest of the century were strung out down the slope below him, climbing easily enough in Morban’s wake as he led them in their journey towards the morning’s objective. To their right the mountain that the miners called ‘The Rotunda’ loomed over them, while to the left the valley’s side was formed by a long, steep-sided and easily defendable ridge, but to their front was a flat expanse between the mountain and the ridgeline some three hundred paces wide which had been dubbed ‘The Saddle’, through which an attacking force would be able to enter the valley with much greater ease. The Fifth Century had been tasked with investigating the observation post that had been built to watch the gap, and to provide early warning of any such approach from the north.
‘A good breakfast followed by a gentle walk in the hills? Could a man want for anything more, Standard Bearer?’
Morban looked up at him with an expression of disbelief.
‘Where would you like me to start, Centurion? Staying in my bed past the first sparrow’s fart would have been good. Eating something better for breakfast than a piece of stale bread and a slice of last night’s pork with water to wash it down would have been even nicer. After that. .’ He paused to suck in a breath before resuming his climb, legs stamping at the grassy slope for grip. ‘After that my ideal morning would include an energetic spell in the company of some expensive professional ladies, followed by a relaxing hour or two in a private bath house in the company of those same ladies. Put all those things together and it would be more or less perfect. Instead of which, I find myself climbing a mountain in the company of quite the ugliest collection of soldiers it’s been my misfortune to fall in with for many a year, and with not one but three centurions, all of whom are apparently intent on draining what little enjoyment there is to be had from the situation.’
Qadir shrugged, a faint smile touching his otherwise inscrutable face.
‘I only pointed out to your colleagues, Standard Bearer, that I saw you deep in conversation with Beneficiarius Cattanius shortly before you started offering odds on how long it would take us to reach the lookout post.’
Morban snorted and stuck out his bottom lip, ignoring the Hamian centurion’s comment and concentrating on the climb. Dubnus raised an eyebrow at his friend, his voice lowered conspiratorially.
‘Morban? Lost for words? I really must pray to Cocidius a little more often if he’s going to answer me in such a spectacular fashion.’
The standard bearer kept climbing, sending an embittered rejoinder over his shoulder.
‘I heard that. You’re a cruel man Dubnus, given that we once served alongside each other.’
The big Briton barked out a sardonic laugh.
‘Hah! Not really, given the regularity with which you used to fleece my purse with all manner of wagers. You even ran a book on how long it would take me to get off my back after I stopped a barbarian spear last year.’
Morban raised a disgusted eyebrow.
‘Yes, a book on which I lost money due to your rude state of health and your urge to get your hands on a century again. .’
Marcus put his whistle to his lips and blew a quick blast.
‘Fifth Century, form line! We’ll make the rest of this climb ready to receive an attack.’ The soldiers quickly formed up into a two-deep line a
nd the front rankers stepped forward with hard stares at the hill’s summit, pulling on their helmets and unstrapping shields from carrying positions across their backs. In the space of a dozen heartbeats the century was transformed from a line of individual soldiers into an impersonal engine of murder bristling with razor-edged spear blades and faced with iron and layered wood. They were the century’s older and more experienced men for the most part, their arms and faces bearing the scars of a succession of bloody battles in Britannia the previous year. These, Marcus knew from experience, were the men who would stand and fight without calculating the odds against them, in the knowledge that to run would be a worse option than any danger they might face. Marcus walked out in front of them and pointed up the slope’s last two hundred paces at the wooden watchtower waiting for them, its roof intermittently wreathed in wisps of grey, scudding cloud.
‘At the walk. . advance!’
The Fifth Century followed their centurion up the hill’s last slope, the first time that any of them bar Morban had faced the potential for a fight under Marcus’s leadership, each man with a spear held ready to stab or throw as ordered by the young officer leading them forward to the summit’s uncertainty. As they approached the hill’s crest they found the watch post unoccupied, its timbers creaking softly under the wind’s intermittent caress. The building was built snugly into a half-hollow just below the summit, the bulk of it shielded from both the worst of the wind and observation from the other slope, while a wooden tower jutted up fifteen feet to provide the occupants with a view over the country beyond the ridge’s peak.
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