by Griff Hosker
*
“Romans! Horsemen and they are following the trail of the others.”
The sentry had seen the column of riders as they left the fort. Tadgh had a sentry placed where he could see the fort and yet not be seen. Since they had acquired Decius’ horses it made communication much better.
“Take two men and find them but do not let them see you.”
Tadgh raced into the cave. “Majesty there are Roman horsemen nearby. Do we fight?”
She slowly shook her head. “No get Decius’ men to drive most of the mules down the path towards the two lakes. Stampede them if necessary and then bring everyone else into the cave with their arms. Perhaps we can make them believe we fled north.”
Decius was in the cave. “You will have to send Centurion and one of your more reliable men otherwise my other men might just run.”
“Is that a bad thing? You told me you could not trust them. Do not tell them that the Romans are here give them some gold and tell them to take the mules north to Brocauum to buy grain.”
“But if we give them gold and the mules.”
“Exactly they will just go and when the Romans follow them we will leave and find another base.”
“Where will I get gold?” asked Decius innocently.
She reached under the sheepskins of the bed and brought out one of the packs. “Give them this and pretend that we trust them.”
The mercenaries looked slyly at each other when Decius gave them their instructions. “Take the mules and head north past the two lakes. Turn east at the main road and head for Brocauum. There is enough money to buy enough grain for the animals and for us to grind for flour. Do not let me down. Since Scarface you have not betrayed me. Do not start now!”
Protesting their innocence they took the gold and began driving the mules across the shale and stone which littered the hillside below the cave. The mules were as keen as their drovers and, without the gold bags they skittered and slid their way down. The mercenaries rode six of the biggest mules and drove the rest before them. Decius smiled to himself. They were getting away as fast as possible. If the Romans came from the lake, as Tadgh had said, then they would not be able to miss the tracks of the mules. Even as he helped to gather their belongings and secret them in the cave, Decius wondered just what was in the lake. Could that be where they had hidden the gold? When the Romans had either gone or been dispose of he would have to go to the lake and find out. According to Tadgh the Roman cavalry had been on their way to the lake and that was over two miles away. They had time.
*
Livius and the patrol spread out on a wide front to make sure that they could find the trail. Whoever had killed the legionaries had taken the engineer’s mule and its distinctive hoof prints were easy to spot. They were keen to avoid an ambush and followed at what to Livius seemed like a snail’s pace but he knew was the right speed, cautious. The engineers had been killed some time ago and the only reason they could follow the trail was that it had not rained since the massacre.
Rufius raised his arm and Livius walked slowly to join him. The young scout spoke quietly but confidently. “Look sir. There are more hoof prints. We have a herd and they have been move recently. He picked up a still steaming piece of mule shit.
“I’ll take your word for it Rufius.”
“Been round animals my entire life sir. And it seems to me that this is where the glow was last night.”
Livius looked around. The boy could be right. He could see, about half a mile away, what looked to be an overhang, and possibly a cave. He signalled for the others to join them. “Looks like they have left recently. Perhaps last night…”
Rufius shook his head. “No more than an hour ago sir. We’ve got ‘em.”
“They have mules so they will be mounted. The trail is so wide that even a blind man could follow it but they could be setting up an ambush so be careful.”
Rufius breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the wide swathe of open grass before him. There was nowhere for an enemy to hide and the land slowly dropped away to a large rocky shelf which was below a steep rocky face. It was quite obvious to the young scout which way the mules had gone for there were many of the rocks overturned showing a darker face. The scout halted below the cliff. There looked to be a ledge which jutted out and could hide enemies. He unslung his bow and notched an arrow as he waited for the rest of the patrol to catch up.
“Well done Rufius. See anything? “
“No sir. Just not taking any chances.” He gestured with his head. “You can see which way they went. “
“Right, let’s follow and then we can come back here afterwards. I don’t want these bastards to escape.”
Livius’ words carried up to the cave although they were distorted by the rock face. They confirmed Tadgh’s worst fears. The Romans would return. He would suggest that they ambush the patrol to the Queen but he was not certain that she would want to take the risk. What Tadgh did not want was to traipse around this wild land with three women and a baby but that was the future. He leaned forward to hear when they left.
Cassius took over the scouting duties and his keen eye soon spotted the movement in the distance. “There they are sir. I can see them. There must be fifty mules at least.”
As the decurion crested the rise he could see them for himself and the riders who were urging them along at a great pace. “Drusus they are riding along the far side of the lake. You keep on after them and I will take my section to the left of the lake that way we can cut them off.”
“Right sir.”
“And Drusus.”
“Yes sir?”
“Try to get a couple of prisoners but take no risks we don’t know how many others are hiding in these hills.”
The mercenaries felt that they had pulled a fast one with Decius. They had no intention of heading for Brocauum, instead they would continue north and bypass Luguvalium. They would sell the mules, share the profits and then go their separate ways. None of them owed any loyalty to any man but they shared a need for self preservation. They had more chance of survival together. It was Ban who led them now. He was the biggest and certainly the toughest of the last of the mercenaries. He was not a stupid man and knew that there was some reason why they had let them leave so profitably. He could discern no reason but the fact that they wanted them to go to Brocauum, with a Roman garrison meant that was the one place they would not go.
The mules were slowing and Taile shouted over, “We should slow or even rest, we cannot maintain this pace.”
Ban shook his head angrily. “No we push them on. If any die it matters not. We need to get as far away from that bitch as soon as possible.” All of them feared the Queen and her powers. Fighting men was one thing but fighting magic was quite another. Even had they not been given the opportunity they had, all of them would have deserted Decius sooner rather than later. Ban glanced to his left and the open expanse of the lake. To his horror he saw sunlight glinting off helmets and the helmets were atop horses and moving parallel to them. Romans! No wonder they had been given the gold; they were bait. He cursed Morwenna and Decius to Hades but he now had to hurry even more. “Roman cavalry to your left!”
The fear spread though the men like wildfire and they whipped their slow moving mules even more. Ban now understood why they had not been given horses. They wanted them to be caught. He loosened the sword in its scabbard. He hoped that the cavalry was not the auxiliary cavalry with the bows and javelins or any stand they made would be a short one. He could see the head of the lake approaching and saw that the Romans would have to cross a stream and a swamp that, perhaps, would give them the edge. “Take the mules to the right, away from the lake!” A plan was forming in his mind. When they reached the head of the lake he would leave the exhausted mules and just take the one with the bag of gold. They could then ride up through the woods and abandon their mules when the going became too difficult. The high peak could be crossed by men but not horses. The Roman cavalry would have to
slow down to negotiate the mules and that might just give them the time they needed.
Already the first of the mules were entering the woods and slowing down. “Ride through them!” His men needed no urging as they saw what they assumed were the scouts of a larger cavalry force hurtling towards them. The mules began to struggle as they climbed up the steep banks of the woods and that suited Ban for mules were better at climbing than cavalry mounts. It was as they cleared the tree line and scrambled along a rocky bank that Ban saw the second column; they had been flanked but all was still not lost for soon they would leave the mules and climb on foot. When Ban saw the first mule stumble he yelled. “Leave the mules and climb on foot.” His men obeyed instantly and, grabbing the bag of gold Ban led them up the rocky slope. They could all feel the air being ripped from their throats and their legs soon burned with thee exertion. As he glanced over his shoulder he saw that his plan had, at least in part, worked and the cavalry scouts too were now afoot.
Livius had to admire the ingenuity of the enemy who had conspired to thwart his plans. They could not know how fit the Exploratores were nor that their bows could reach men two hundred paces away. Livius took his bow from his shoulder and saw that his men were doing the same. He drew an arrow and halted. As soon as he shot his arrow into the air ten others followed. One lucky arrow hit the man who had climbed the highest and he tumbled down taking the man who had the large bag over his shoulder down with him and the two tumbled down the slope. A second man was mortally pierced by two arrows whilst a third was hit in the leg. The other two continued to climb but as the first three had all been hit these were the closest to the Romans.
“Drusus take your men and secure the prisoners we’ll take these two. “The last two were now panicking and increasingly lost their footing. Once again the men of Decius’ section drew their bows and this time all six arrows found their mark and the two of them died instantly. “Cassius search them and get their weapons. Agrippa; help him. The rest of you down the hill.”
He turned in time to see one of Drusus‘ men reach the wounded and unwounded man. Perhaps he thought they were both wounded but his lack of care cost him his life as the unwounded man plunged his sword into his throat and he took off down the hill. The rest of Drusus’ section drew their bows and the killer fell to the ground with four arrows in him.
Drusus was kneeling over the boy who had died when Livius reached him. “I am sorry Drusus. Our first casualty.”
“He was just a boy sir. I’ll kill the other bastard!”
Livius grabbed his arm. “No you won’t Drusus you will carry the boy down and bury him while I question the prisoner.” Nodding, Drusus picked up the corpse and walked slowly and sadly down the hill.
When Livius found the prisoner he was still alive but only just. The arrow had entered his back and looked to be in his stomach, a death wound. During the fall he had also shattered both his legs. The man looked at Livius his eyes pleading. “The pain. Have you anything for the pain?”
“Sorry just water. Here.” He gave him his water skin and watched as the man swallowed a draught. It did not help the pain indeed it seemed to aggravate it. “You are going to die. You know that?” The man looked at his legs and nodded. “You have two choices. Answer my questions and I will give you a soldier’s death or else I leave you here to be eaten by the animals. Which is it to be?”
The man owed no allegiance to a leader who had used him as bait and as he nodded he coughed up blood and croaked, “Questions.”
“Who are you?”
“Guard for the gold.”
“What gold?”
“The gold my master stole from the mountains.”
“And who is your master?”
“Decius Sallustius.”
Livius almost froze with shock and anger but he knew he only had a short time as the man’s life was ebbing slowly away and he needed his questions answered before the man became unconscious. “Where is your camp?” The man’s eyes closed and Livius had to shake him. “The camp where is it?”
“Cave near the rocks.”
“Who else is there?”
“Witch queen.”
Before Livius could ask any more questions the wounded man coughed up a mighty pool of blood and then fell unconscious at Livius’ feet. He would answer no more questions. “I am true to my word. “ He drew his sword and slit the man’s throat. Walking down the hill his mind was filled with so many thoughts it was a wonder he did not fall down the steep slope. His brother was here and his mortal enemy Morwenna. The one question he had not asked was how many men did she have?
Chapter 7
As they watched the Romans race after the fleeing mules both Decius and Tadgh were working out how best to escape and the quickest method. Morwenna had also ventured to the ledge to watch the flight of the bait. She seemed satisfied with what she saw. The two rivals for Morwenna’s affection faced her, both waiting for the other to make a suggestion so that it could be mocked and their own idea accepted. The High Priestess of the Mother did not allow them the time for she knew what she intended and had made her own decision.
“We outnumber them. Prepare an ambush and when we have weakened them further we will leave for the coast.”
Tadgh looked at Decius and then back at the Queen. “But the gold?”
“We will take it with us. We still have some mules and your men have strong backs. It is but one day to the coast.”
Decius gestured towards the now unseen Romans. “These are Romans how can we weaken them?”
“They will not expect an ambush and I can count, Decius there, were only eleven warriors. We outnumber them two to one and if you noticed they had neither shields nor spears. This is not Marcus’ Horse.”
Now that the decision was made Tadgh threw himself into the task of making it work. “You take your two lads and I will send Brennus and some of mine.” He pointed to the part of the path which curved below the ledge. “There are lots of stones there. Build a wall and when they are below you then you push the rocks on to them. I will wait in the woods on the other side of the path with my men and we will trap them.”
“If they come that way. They may not be as stupid as you think.”
“Brennus and some of my lads will wait up the hill in case they try to flank us. You and your two brutes should be able to push down a few rocks eh?”
Decius resented having to take orders from a tattooed, long haired barbarian but he had no other suggestion to make. Whilst he could fight he did not have a strategic mind or an understanding of war. The time for a confrontation with Tadgh would come but it would be when he knew where the gold was and they were safely away from the Romans. “Very well.” He turned to Morwenna. “And when we get to the coast, what then?”
“You have too many doubts Decius. Trust me for I see beyond the seas. There is a sanctuary across the water.”
“Not Mona. The Romans have a garrison there.”
“No not the Holy Island but we will return there one day. Get on with your wall building we have work to do.” With that enigmatic comment she disappeared into the cave with Maban and Anchorat.
“Centurion, Tiny! We have a wall to build.” There were many stones left from the quarrying of the stone and, with Brennus and his nine men, the wall was soon man high. Brennus and his men had not spoken a word and they trotted off to guard the flank as soon as it was completed. Decius had to admire Tadgh’s plan; the wall effectively appeared like part of the cliff and, if they had not been there before, would assume it was a natural feature. The only other approach was through the woods up a steep path and, there too, rolling rocks would disrupt any assault.
Centurion wandered over and offered Decius a piece of mule meat roasted the previous night. “Well it looks like we all have a bigger share of the gold we buried.”
Decius pointed to the far hillside where they could see mules milling around. “They could escape.”
Centurion snorted. “Those maggots were worm meat as soo
n as they left here. Roman cavalry in the open can catch anyone. He,” Centurion pointed at Tadgh who was toiling below them to make a barrier against horses, “knows what he is about. Even a turma couldn’t dislodge us from here and those eleven men stand no chance.”
Decius had to respect the old soldier’s view. “But they will be armoured.”
“So are we but they have no shields and their horses will be blown. This is a steep hill. No we will beat them and we will escape but where will we be going afterwards do you think?”
“Across the sea somewhere. Away from Rome. I am not sure. Caledonia? Scotland?”
“From what these Brigante told me the Queen is not welcome in Caledonia.”
“Ireland then. Allfather but that is a wild country.”
“Aye and a poor one. A good place to buy warriors perhaps.” Decius nodded. Perhaps this witch queen knew her business.
*
Livius gathered his nine men to the head of the lake. They now had three spare horses having buried their only loss. All the way down the fells he had been remembering the ill advised pursuit by Prefect Julius of the man who had betrayed and killed his brother. It had resulted, ultimately, in the destruction of Marcus’ Horse as well as the death of Decurion Macro. As much as Livius wanted revenge and wanted to capture his brother he was mindful of his responsibilities. He would not hazard his command for a personal vendetta. “Drusus, take one man and two of the spare horses. Find Marius and ask him to meet us at the cave. You ride and find the legion. Tell the prefect that we have found the engineers, Morwenna and the man who stole the Emperor’s gold. Have your man go to Brocauum and give the same information to Centurion Cursus.”
“What will you do sir?” Drusus knew of Decius’ brother and worried that his superior might do something stupid.
“We don’t know how many they have so we will do what Exploratores are supposed to do and follow. This is our first real lesson Drusus. We no long fight, we find. Now go, time is of the essence.”
