Marcus and I were locked up in the same cell. A small, sturdy room with no windows, from which escape was impossible.
I learned that day that Marcus and I shared at least one character trait. No matter how gloomy the outlook, we were still not willing to give up hope.
Seeing that we were not in chains, we concocted a hare-brained scheme where we would disarm the guards and escape using horses to swim across the Danube. Fortunately we never had to test our plan as Corbulo visited us later that afternoon.
He threw us two unbleached tunics and said: “Put these on.”
We quickly changed and he continued: “As you know, the emperor holds Hostilius in high regard. They have fought together for years. He went to the emperor and begged for your lives. At first Maximinus refused, but then Hostilius told him how you had paid off Titinius to get rid of the rumour mongers.”
“The Thracian is a hard man, but he understands that Hostilius’s loyalty is paramount to his control over the legion. He agreed to pardon you, but as from this moment, you are discharged from the legion. You will leave with your lives intact, but your possessions will be divided amongst your century.”
In silence, he led us to the gate of the fort. The legionaries on duty opened the gate on Corbulo’s command and he left us to walk away with only our tunics.
Just like that, in the blink of an eye, we were civilians again. We stopped fifty paces from the gate. We managed to get away with our lives, but we had lost our careers.
I could not help but recall Cai’s unheeded advice: “Lucius, you must prepare for storm. Be careful not to associate too closely with emperor.” I felt like a fool. I had been forewarned, yet I ignored the advice.
We just stood there for a while, too flabbergasted to know what to do. Legionaries on the wall pointed their fingers at us and I could hear their laughter echoing off the walls.
“Marcus, we had better get away from here before the Thracian changes his mind.”
He nodded and we continued down the road towards the town of Noviodunum.
As we entered the gates of the town, a hooded figure fell in behind us. I heard the familiar voice of Pumilio whisper: “Just keep walking, Umbra. Act as if I ain’t here. Follow me when the time comes.”
He walked past us and when he was at least thirty paces ahead, he turned into a side alley.
We waited a while, loitering in the street and then followed him into the dark alley.
Pumilio pulled us into a doorway and related the story.
“Hostilius told us what had happened. The Thracian instructed him to divide your possessions amongst the century. All refused to take anything. It is a sure death curse to steal from Mars’s favourite, it is. We all know that. So we decided somethin’ different. All of us who owe you a life gave some money. That meant all of us in the century. Hostilius and Optio Didius gave even more ‘cause they owe you more than one life, see. We got you two fine horses, we did.”
“Leave town and walk two miles down the Via Militaris on the way back to Sirmium. Turn off the road by the burnt out wagon on the left and walk into the shrubs.”
He clasped each of our arms, turned to me and said: “It has been an honour serving with you, sir”, and saluted.
As he turned around to leave, he added: “And be careful, the Thracian is a right bastard he is. He will send his guards to do his dirty work. I’ve heard them rumours too often.”
Marcus and I did as Pumilio instructed. Next to the road we found Silentus holding the reins of two scruffy looking horses with dilapidated saddles.
There were two bundles on the ground next to the horses. It was our personal possessions and weapons smuggled out of the camp by my century. I was overcome with emotion. I had regained the jian sword and the Hunnic bow. Even the scale armour Bradakos had gifted me was there.
I embraced Silentus and he said: “The lads from the first century all helped to smuggle these items from the fort. May Fortuna protect you.”
I was shocked. Silentus actually spoke. He looked at me and said: “Of course I can speak, sir. I just don’t fancy it.”
We kept to the undergrowth on the side of the road, acutely aware of Pumilio’s warning.
After an hour, we decided that it would be better to put as much distance between us and Maximinus Thrax. We led our horses to the road and mounted. I donned my scale armour and assisted Marcus to get into my chain mail.
Despite Pumilio’s efforts, our mounts were not of the best quality. Both Marcus and I knew horses well and we could go no faster than a slow canter with frequent rest periods in between. It proved frustrating. Looking over our shoulders all the time, knowing that we had no chance to outrun the agents of the emperor should he wish to have us killed.
By the middle of the afternoon there was still no sign of pursuit, but I had a feeling, call it a premonition, that they were coming for us.
“Marcus, I know that these bastards are coming for us. It is just a feeling, but I have come to trust my feelings.”
Marcus replied: “It is common knowledge that the god of war speaks to you, my friend. I, for one, will not gainsay him.”
I have been watching the road for a while and once I found a suitable spot, I called a halt. We would ambush our assailants and I was looking for an area where the sides of the road were inaccessible due to thick shrubs or loose stones. In addition, Marcus and I needed a route of escape.
We spent a third of a watch preparing the ambush. Exhausted, we sat down on the side of the road to eat some of the stale bread Silentus added into our packs. We washed it down with the disgusting legionary issue wine which was watered down. In my mind’s eye I could see Ursa taking huge gulps from my not so insignificant stash of high quality red wine. Of course, my century had failed to send any of it along.
I any event, we had just finished eating when we heard the unmistakeable sound of horsemen approaching.
The sound had an urgency to it as the riders were no doubt pushing their mounts to catch their elusive quarry.
I had chosen a flat area between two hills to act as the killing ground. The crests of the hill were about four hundred paces apart with dense shrubbery on both sides of the rock strewn ground. The horsemen would have no choice but to stay on the road.
Our horses were tethered just beyond the crest of the second hill. We were hidden in the cover provided by huge boulders on the side of the crest.
Twelve riders appeared. They were the Thracian and German bodyguards of the emperor. Big men riding heavily muscled horses. Yet, in his haste, the emperor had made mistakes. There were only twelve of them and none carried bows. To keep the weight to a minimum, they wore no armour. That was the second mistake.
I had given Marcus my Roxolani bow to use. He would start shooting when the enemy was within a hundred paces. Anything further would just be a waste of arrows. My quiver contained forty arrows and Marcus had twenty at his disposal.
We would try to kill them all. To allow them to escape would just intensify the pursuit and enrage the emperor further. Their complete disappearance would be baffling, hopefully causing delay and confusion.
We allowed the horsemen to reach the midway point of the narrow valley. I had to show myself to enable me to shoot and as I stepped out from behind the rocks, I released two arrows. The horsemen became aware of our presence when two of them dropped from their horses with broad headed arrows embedded in their chests. I was used to shooting arrows from the back of a horse. Shooting with both feet firmly on the ground is like child’s play in comparison.
My arrows were heavy hunting arrows, made to match the incredible power of the recurve Hunnic bow. Only eight riders reached the hundred paces mark when Marcus stepped out from behind cover, adding his arrows to the attack. We had agreed that he would aim for the horses rather than the riders, who presented a much smaller target.
As the riders were relatively close, I took aim with an almost flat trajectory and aimed for their heads. On impact, their heads were thro
wn back and they flew from the horses, dead before they hit the ground.
Marcus hit three of the horses which went to ground heavily, their riders crushed by the rolling mounts. Another hit the paved road with such force that his bones shattered.
The last rider died twenty paces away. For good measure I put two arrows in his chest as he was already waving his sword around dangerously. Better safe than sorry.
Dead men and horses littered the road.
It took time to gather the skittish horses that survived the attack. In the end eight of the twelve were uninjured. The rest were put out of their misery.
We needed coin so Marcus and I resorted to looting the dead. The guards of the emperor were well paid and most carried coin on their person, which was the barbarian way. We ended up with a substantial amount of gold and silver.
It took the rest of the afternoon and early evening to clean up the site of the massacre. We used our horses to drag the corpses of the guards and the dead horses off the road into the dense shrubs. The soil was hard. We had no tools so we heaped the corpses and piled rocks on top. That would keep the scavengers at bay for a while.
Although it was dark when we were done, we did not want to spend the night in the proximity of the dead. The men who were supposed to get rid of us actually did us a favour as both Marcus and I were now well dressed, having looted the best of the clothing of the guards.
We set our horses free and took the best of the saddles of the guards. Apart from the excellent horses we were riding, each of us had three spare mounts.
We camped well away from the road and did not light a fire. Marcus and I took turns to stand guard throughout the night, but it passed uneventfully.
Having woken up early, we re-arranged all our loot and armour on the spare horses, keeping only our bows and swords available in case of an emergency. We started off before first light, knowing that we would make excellent time back to Sirmium.
We rode like the wind, only stopping briefly to sleep, buy provisions or to change horses. Marcus and I wanted to reach our homes before the emperor could dispatch his cronies to confiscate our properties and possibly kill our loved ones.
No messenger could have kept up with us. We arrived at the outskirts of Sirmium within nine days. Two hours later we stood before the gate of my farm villa, utterly exhausted.
Cai opened the gate, with the Roxolani guards looking over his shoulder. “I expected you earlier. You must have dragged your feet on the way home.” With that he turned on his heels and walked towards the living quarters.
I looked at Marcus and said: “He tends to be a bit of an oracle from time to time.”
Both of us burst out laughing and followed Cai into our home while the guards secured the gate.
Segelinde had already formed a bond with Nik and Cai. That was clear to me. It actually made me feel slightly jealous. Nonetheless, I was glad to be re-united with her. Nik had been teaching her Latin and although she still struggled with forming the words, I could see that she understood a great deal of what was said when we conversed.
It was too late for Marcus to carry on to his farm and he decided to spend the evening with us and share a meal.
Servants poured buckets of hot water into wooden tubs placed in our rooms. I was soaking in the hot water when Nik entered my room.
He sat down on my bed, a few paces away and said: “Segelinde is a wonderful woman. You have made a good choice.”
“Nik, a lot has happened since my last visit. I may have placed all of us in grave danger.”
Nik nodded and said: “Cai had told me about his dreams and visions. I knew some kind of trouble was upon us, but he speaks in riddles that is difficult to decipher.”
Nik added: “I just wanted to tell you about Segelinde. You can relay the rest of your story during dinner.”
He rose slowly like the old man he was and walked towards the door: “Before I forget, your friend Felix is doing a good job, and he fits right in. Cai had sent him into the hills with most of the horses, just in the event that there is trouble.”
To call it dinner was an understatement. The cook had prepared roasted boar, wild fowl and even some fish caught in the small lake on the farm. Nik and Cai had tried their hand at making cheese and it was delicious. Needless to say, Nik produced some or other incredible red wine which he extorted from a wealthy farmer.
Marcus and I relayed the tale of the happenings since we had parted ways with Segelinde. The tale of my fight with Hygelac was told to Nik by Cai and Segelinde long before my arrival.
Nik said: “We need to leave this place tomorrow morning at first light. Maximinus Thrax will send his dogs to kill all of us. His power is growing and he is a cruel bastard, or so I have heard.”
Nik looked at Marcus and said: “You need to do the same. If you want to you can join us. I know someone who will give us shelter.”
Marcus replied: “My father and mother have passed away long ago and my brothers run the family estate. I think it best that I travel with you, without even showing my face on their farm. I know them. They will not leave. Maybe the Thracian will leave them be.”
Nik spoke then: “I am owed a favour by old senator Crispinus. Let’s just say that I assisted him to remove certain obstacles, if you know what I mean.”
Of course, nobody knew what Nik meant, but we were all interested to know where we would be going.
Nik continued: “Crispinus is a favourite of the senate and he has an enormous villa in Aquileia.”
We all looked confused but Marcus was the one to pose the question. “Sir, where is Aquileia?”
Chapter 28 – Aquileia (Oct 237 AD)
We left the farm early. Our party consisted of Marcus and I, Cai, Nik, Segelinde and three of the Roxolani who volunteered to travel with us.
The distance from Sirmium to Aquileia was just short of three hundred and fifty miles. The Huns could have made the trip in five days. We would be lucky if we made it in half a moon.
Nik was too old to travel fast. We would stop over in Siscia for a rest day and later on in Emona for a day or two. Technically we were not fugitives, as we were pardoned by the emperor, but knowing Maximinus’s vindictive nature, we looked over our shoulders continually.
Most of my gold was stashed away somewhere on the farm where no one would be able to find it, but I did bring enough to allow us to travel in comfort.
To reach Siscia took five days. Nik insisted that he was in good health but I could see that the pace at which we travelled affected him.
We arrived at the gates of Siscia late in the afternoon. I was not familiar with the town, but Nik led us to an upmarket inn. We were dressed like wealthy merchants and we rode quality horses. The guards at the gate admitted us without a second glance. Nik and Cai shared a room as did Marcus and I. Segelinde had her own room and the Roxolani shared.
The owner of the inn was a heavy set man. It soon became evident that he revelled in exchanging gossip. It might have been a sideline business.
We were served whole roast fowl, heavily spiced with garum. The meat was complemented by a light red wine which we enjoyed neat. Afterwards our host brought us platters of cheese and thinly sliced smoked pork accompanied by a dark fruity red wine.
Our host sat with us as we enjoyed the platters and wine. I could see that he was itching to exchange gossip. “I heard that there are certain ‘problems’ in the province of Africa and the mob in Rome is on the verge of rioting.”
He was no fool, and he did not indicate where his loyalties were.
He looked at us with eyes filled with expectation. To either choose sides or provide news from the east.
Nik said: “What kind of problems?”
Again, our host replied without commitment: “I am only a simple innkeeper and politics are far above my understanding. I only repeat what I hear.”
Nik decided to repay his information with some news: “We did hear that the emperor is on his way back to Sirmium after meeting with the bar
barians at Noviodunum ad Istrum.”
The innkeeper replied: “My news is fresh. Real fresh. The emperor will probably only find out when he reaches Sirmium.”
Nik said: “Then you will probably soon see the army moving through Siscia en route to Rome, eh? To crush any uprising and all.” Nik was only toying with him, not knowing that his words were to be prophetic.
The man turned white in the face and replied: “I just hope there is no trouble. Trouble is bad for business, you know. I will have to find out if the city prefect is a supporter of the emperor.”
He continued: “Thank you for the advance warning my friends.” He signalled to a servant to attend him and soon enough the man appeared with a small amphorae of wine.
“Something special for my guests for warning me of impending danger.”
He left as the excellent dessert wine was poured. No doubt trying to establish whether Ciscia, and his skin, were at risk.
We left early the next morning, heading for Aquileia via Emona.
September was not the ideal time to cross the Alps, but it was still accessible.
We made camp early every afternoon, piled a huge fire and ensured that Nik was snug in his tent after a warm meal.
Most of us were used to the bitter cold of the Sea of Grass so to us the Alps were bearable.
The weather held during our passage across the passes. We descended along the heavily wooded slopes until we reached the fertile plain below.
We travelled through vineyards, olive groves and miles and miles of fruit orchards. Aquileia was truly blessed by the gods.
Nik rode up to me from behind and pointed to a stone villa perched against a low hill. “That red you like so much. It is made there. When we go home to the farm, we will take a wagon and make sure we fill up the cellar properly.” He winked at me, knowing our shared love for red wine.
Later that same day, the walls of the city came into view above the fruit and olive trees. In times past, this border city must have been a formidable fortress. Thick stone walls towered thirty feet above the surrounding landscape. The city was built with the Natiso River bordering the eastern and southern walls. Stone bridges led to gates in the wall, providing access on both sides. As we neared the bridge over the river, I could see that the walls were in a state of disrepair. In some instances the walls had completely collapsed. The residents did not view the wall as necessary for defence, but treated it like a relic from a bygone era. Since the borders of the Empire had expanded hundreds, if not thousands of miles in all directions, walls were of little significance.
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