Vae Victis

by Francis Mulhern

  “Agreed” he replied.

  “I wish we had some scorpions” Narcius said as he sat on a tree stump and whistled again, the sudden flurry of feet from their left, and shouting from the running Romans, causing all three men to turn and watch.

  “Better” said Narcius, his voice loud enough to bring smiles to the defending shield wall. As he stood up and started to move towards the shield wall a call came from behind them, all faces turning anxiously at the voice.

  “Camillus, sir” came the call from a sentry. “Riders approaching.”

  Glancing to the officers Marcus strode across to the sentry and followed his angled finger to see thirty or more riders approaching along the main road.

  “Gauls?” asked Narcius.

  “I doubt it” replied Mella. “They know we have a thousand men here in Ardea, they wouldn’t send such a small force. And anyway” he added “they wouldn’t be riding along the main road.” All the faces around turned to Marcus, who simply nodded his reply.

  “Well my friends, let’s line the men up anyway, and give them a show whoever they are” he smiled.

  Dust clouds and the clanking of metal and wood announced the movement of the few hundred men who were training outside the town as a rider was sent back to call the defensive units to order within the walls. The three officers stood watching as the riders approached their group and signals to show that they were friendly were made.

  “Keep the men on their guard” Marcus whispered to Narcius, who nodded and strode back to the waiting soldiers, his voice booming across the space as feet were shuffled into position as he spoke.

  The riders slowed as they approached, walking the last fifty paces as the horses blew off steam and the riders stretched their backs. Marcus squinted as they approached, Romans for sure and a few faces he knew. He smiled and nodded to Mella. “From Veii” he said as his old friend grinned back at him.

  Marcus stepped forwards as a legionary moved to hold the reins of the first horse, the rider sliding to the floor and saluting.

  “Caedicius?” Marcus asked as he held out his hand.

  “Marcus Furius Camillus, sir” the man said with a wide grin across his face.

  “Comminus, Festus” Marcus nodded at each man in turn as they reined in and slid from their mounts. Other men came to a stop several yards further back and sat atop their horses as the leaders of the small group all moved forwards. Marcus took a short breath but held his head high as he stared at the latest man to slip to the floor and step forward, his dark hair and darker eyes unmistakable. “Apuleius” he nodded, his face taut as he looked at the man who had engineered his exile from Rome. Apuleius raised his chin, a short scar visible along his left cheek as he nodded and came to stand next to Caedicius. Numerius Fabius was greeted with an equally cautious glance and nod as he stepped into the small group of men, his eyes cast down to the floor.

  Caedicius glanced to the soldiers behind Marcus. “You have been busy Marcus” he said with a genuine smile.

  “It pays to keep the men fit” Marcus replied. “It is good to see you” he said, his eyes moving to Apuleius “all of you, fellow Romans” he said loudly as the group shuffled under his gaze. “What news?” he asked as Caedicius caught his eye.

  As Caedicius took a small sealed tablet from Comminus, the younger man beaming with delight, Marcus caught his breath. His eyes glanced to Apuleius as the man stared defiantly at him, his eyes showing no anger, only a sense of pride as Marcus had come to expect from the plebeian leader. He looked at the tablet, the red wax pressed tight into the white coloured wood. “Marcus Furius Camillus” said Caedicius as he held out the tablet. “I am the appointed representative of the remaining men of the Senate of Rome” he started as mutterings from the soldiers around them were greeted by hushing noises from others. “Pontius Comminus risked his life for our cause. He stole into the city and braved the Gauls as he climbed to the Capitol. Jupiter, greatest and best, watched over him as he surely watches over us, his people. He blinded the barbarians to his feat of daring as he scaled the Hill and brought our request to the leaders of the Senate. Yes, Camillus” said Caedicius as he saw the gleam in Marcus’ eye “they are still alive on the Capitol Hill, many men, women and children remain” he added before coming back to his speech. “The Senate met under the eyes of the gods. The priests held their vigils and read the auspices. I have here the approval of the Senate of Rome to appoint you, Marcus Furius Camillus, as Dictator. Will you accept the call of your people to defend your homeland, to repel the invaders and to serve the gods?” he said, his words not exactly as they should be, but good enough, Marcus thought. Caedicius and the others had fallen to one knee as they had spoken and Marcus fell to his knees and lay prone on the floor, as was decreed by the ceremony, even though it was not being completed by the Pontifex Maximus and the lead Senator of the leading families of Rome, but it was good enough in these hard times.

  Marcus came to his feet and took the sealed tablet. He glanced at the bowed heads of the soldiers around him as he took his dagger and split the wax to reveal the scrawled words and the impression of the Senate held within.

  The soldiers waited with bated breath. Marcus held the tablet to the sky and turned to Caedicius. “I, Marcus Furius Camillus, accept the Dictatorship” he said. “I promise under the eyes of the gods to lead the men of Rome to glory in the name of the people of our glorious city. I promise to lead with humility and to honour the families of Rome as Pater of the people.” His voice was strong and he looked at Apuleius as he said the final words of his acceptance. “I promise that as Dictator I will seek not my own glory or to enhance my own wealth, but all that I do I do for Rome and the greater glory of our city and its gods. I accept” he said loudly as a great cheer rang out from the men around him.

  “Now, we move to Veii and let’s see what forces we can build to wipe these Gauls from our city” he said as an even louder cheer split the sky.

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  Chapter 17

  “It has been weeks since we gave Camillus the role of Dictator and what has happened” Aelius Tubero said with an angry shrug as his dark brows creased into a snarl. “Nothing” he snapped “that’s what has happened. For all we know he has run off and set up a new colony in Veii. Left us to starve and set himself up as king of the city” he added as the men of Rome sat and frowned at his words.

  “Never” retorted Lucius angrily.

  “So why haven’t we seen any sign of soldiers on the hills or received word that he is coming?” said a small man with an overly large beard, untrimmed and straggly. Tubero glanced dismissively at him before he turned to Manlius.

  “Marcus Manlius Capitolinus” he said, his eyes firmly locked on the older Manlius brother. Since he had rallied the troops at the wall of the Tarpeian Rock and repelled the raiders Manlius had been hailed as a great saviour of the people and given extra rations and blankets from his fellows on the Hill. He had been proclaimed ‘Capitolinus’ by the Senate and the people had cheered his new cognomen as he soaked up their praise and thanks with as much humility as he could muster. He had gained a new status in the small group of leading Romans as they saw that he was surely blessed by the gods by his actions and said so loudly. Manlius had enjoyed every minute of it.

  “Tell us, Capitolinus” said Tubero “Do you think the Dictator Camillus will come to our rescue and remove these dogs from our city or should we accept their offer?” he asked.

  Manlius smiled and took a moment to consider his thoughts. He looked at the questioning faces of the Senators, each man waiting on his words and his mind ran over what he knew of Marcus Furius. He rubbed his hands together as he turned to Lucius and tightened his lips as he took a slow breath. “No” he said, as Lucius’ jaw went slack at the words “I don’t think he will come.” He held up a hand as he continued, Lucius biting back an angry retort which showed in his stiff shoulders and dark eyes. “If it were I” he said, his voice growing stronger as he considered his choice of w
ords carefully “with my undoubted loyal service to the city and people of Rome I would have sent further word here. I would have sent riders to harass the Gauls as they slept in the houses our fathers built for us, bled their Roman blood to preserve us” he said more forcefully as a few of the older men shook their heads as he spoke. “I, gentlemen” he said, “if I were Dictator, would have come with every available man and I would have taken these Gauls by the scruff of their necks and thrown them out of the city.”

  “How, Manlius?” Lucius said calmly but coldly as he stared at the newly elevated man. “Tell us how you would defeat thirty thousand armed Gauls with just a few thousand Romans?” he said with a slight shake of his head.

  “With Roman iron” he replied angrily before he caught himself and took a quick breath before replying more calmly. “But Tubero is right” he said in an attempt to dismiss the talk from areas he knew he could not win to those which might hold better fortune for him in his newly elevated position within the elite families of Rome. “It has been too long that we have heard nothing, too long for us to ignore this offer from these Gauls. One thousand pounds of gold, if we have it, is a cheap price to pay for the lives of every man, woman and child on this Hill” he said. “I agree, take the offer. Agree the terms and let the barbarians leave. We will rebuild Rome, a Rome in which men will flourish once again under the gods of our forefathers. A Rome in which the oldest families and greatest new men of the city can create a nation that we will once again be proud of. A nation which will gather its strength and then sally forth and defeat these Gallic invaders on our own terms” he said as he thumped his fist onto the table menacingly, the action causing a storm of agreement from the men around him. He felt his heart beat faster as the men rallied to his words, thoughts of his new status filling his mind as he caught Javenoli’s narrow slits of eyes staring at him in curiosity.

  Over the next half hour several Senators argued against the plan, stating that the captives on the Hill could hold out for another few months if required, but tiredness and the thought of returning to their homes, in whatever state they were, soon got the better of the men of Rome and it was agreed to accept the offer of the Gauls. Lucius had frowned and stated that he wanted no part of the agreement, but that he would give his remaining gold and that of his wife and family to the cause despite his opposition to it.

  As Manlius smiled, he noted that strange look on the face of Gaius Javenoli again, the old man looking at him as if he was seeing something that he hadn’t seen before. He cocked his head and turned to stare into the Senators eyes as the old man smiled a knowing smile and nodded to him. Javenoli rose from his seat, his somewhat thinner frame than several months ago, moving slowly across to the newly acclaimed Capitolinus. Javenoli’s part on the attack by the Gauls had largely gone without comment from the Senate and people on the Hill, and the old man had certainly kept quiet about his own activity on the night of the sneak attack by the invaders but had lauded praise on Manlius which he had been surprised by at the time. Indeed, it was in no small measure that his elevation in the standings of the new Capitoline community had been risen by Javenoli’s compliments and acclamations.

  Javenoli cocked his head towards the door as if he wanted a quiet word with Manlius. He then stood and slid quietly from the room at the back of the Temple as the other Senators were working through the reply to the Gauls and how to ensure that all the remaining gold was collected.

  Excusing himself Manlius worked his way through the throng and out into the bright sunshine of an early spring morning, a cold snap in the air yet bright blue sky with thin wisps of clouds scudding left to right high in the heavens. Manlius saw Javenoli move around the back of the temple towards the wall by the Rock, his eyes catching the younger man’s to ensure he had seen him.

  “Senator” Manlius said with deference as he approached. Manlius had known the old man as both a military tribune and leading Senator of Rome in his youth and contemplated the figure who was now sitting on the remains of the small wall which surrounded the back of the Temple of Jupiter, his eyes watching the statue of the god who adorned the heights above them. The older man had lost a lot of his bulk from his recent bout of fever, which some said had left him close to death, and the deprivations of the past few months. But he had an energy in his eyes which belied his years and his potential frailty. Indeed, Manlius thought, Javenoli had fought like a demon against the Gauls. His were not the actions of the weak man he tried to portray.

  As Manlius took a seat next to Javenoli, both men facing the rear of the temple where people were congregating as they awaited the outcome of the Senate meeting, Javenoli offered him a small piece of stale bread and took a mouthful himself. He sighed a deep, tired, long, breath as he looked around the scene that was laid out in front of them. People sat or lay on the floor. Small tents were leaning against the walls of the temple, makeshift shelters for the population. Children sat, empty eyes staring at the sky or at the walls.

  Javenoli munched quietly as the two men sat and watched the world around them. “The people need a good leader” Javenoli said quietly as he continued to chew on the stale bread without looking at Manlius.

  Manlius placed the last of his bread in his mouth and nodded a silent reply unsure what Javenoli wanted of him.

  “It seems to me that if the Gauls leave there will be much to do to restore the city, probably too much to do” he continued, his voice extremely calm and almost hushed. “The Senate will be at its weakest point since the days of the Kings” he added as he sighed, his eyes moving up to the chariot of Jupiter sat atop the temple, the white horses mid-stride.

  Manlius took a moment to understand the words, his heart starting to beat faster in his chest as he wondered if Javenoli had implied exactly what he thought he had. The man simply continued chewing and Manlius shifted nervously on the wall in silence as he waited for confirmation of the thoughts that were running through his mind. Javenoli, for his part, continued to breathe slowly and deeply, as if he were asleep with his eyes open.

  “If a man were to have wealth in the next few months, he could buy himself a great portion of this wonderful city” Javenoli said as a young boy rushed past with a thick stick in his hand, waving it about and shouting for his soldiers to follow him into battle. Several smaller boys followed him, each one marching smartly after their leader. Javenoli smiled at the boys. “He could buy more than simply wealth” Javenoli added as the boys wandered away. “He could buy power” he added as he flicked at a buzzing fly that had appeared around the two men.

  Manlius gulped slowly, his throat now dry and his mind racing.

  “Drink?” suggested Javenoli as he drew a leather flask from his toga and proffered it to Manlius. Manlius drank in silence. “It strikes me Capitolinus” Javenoli said with emphasis on the name “that if someone had money, lots of money, and the people loved him deeply because he saved them from certain death at the hands of their enemies” he glanced to Manlius with a knowing smile. “Then that person could begin to build a dynasty which would rule Rome for many years to come.”

  Manlius stared hard at the back wall of the temple as the treasonous words flowed into his mind. Was Javenoli offering him something? Something he had only ever dreamt of? His thoughts went back to his father and how he had felt cheated by the inability of the man to raise the family name. He, Marcus Manlius, had worked tirelessly to further the Manlius cause and had championed the plebeian party in the Senate, making many enemies of the older patricians at the same time. His new standing and his new name Capitolinus were proof that the gods favoured him. But did the people love him? Was the time right to challenge the new democracy and return to the old ways. One man, one power. This is what Javenoli seemed to be discussing, but he wasn’t sure. He glanced to Javenoli as his mind worked through his thoughts.

  “Money would not be enough to bring back what the patricians destroyed” he said slowly, trying to remain discreet. “Families would need to benefit from any changes in le
adership. Old families and new” he added. “The Senate are opposed to such things. Violently” he added with a look down his nose at Javenoli, the man nodding slowly.

  After a moments silence Javenoli spoke again. “Your star is rising Manlius” his head moved to look up at the figure of Jupiter above them as he said the words. “The gods appear to be on your side, my friend. I should know, I’ve backed many men over the last thirty years and most have lost, but you. You seem different. I’ve backed men I thought would bring greater glory to Rome and men I believed would offer me a place of high standing in a new world, a world where men of power might gain the proceeds of the lives they have lived for their city. A world where the money spent” he gritted his teeth “and lost” he added before turning to Manlius “would now be rewarded with recognition.” Javenoli sat silently for a moment as his eyes stared longingly at the statue of the god above them.

  “A statute to a great servant of Rome” whispered Javenoli, his voice sounding far away. “New slaves, girls and boys. The best houses, and” his red-rimmed eyes turned to Manlius “wealth beyond your dreams.” His eyes turned back to the wall as his body became calm and still again after the last few moments of agitation.

  Manlius was shocked, too shocked to speak. What Javenoli spoke of suggested a return to the Kings of Rome, something that his own family had worked so hard to fight against. His heart thumped in his chest. Yet in the back of his mind words were forming, asking why not, why not now and why not me. Javenoli was right, there was no better time for anyone to take control of Rome. One man. One power. So, thought Manlius, as he looked back at the smaller figure sat next to him, what exactly was Javenoli offering him?

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  Chapter 18

  Mella and his scout troop trotted into the clearing between the forest and the city of Veii. In three days, they had had one close encounter with a raiding party of Gauls and had managed to capture two prisoners, one of whom had slit his own throat before they could question him. The second prisoner had given them some very important news which had turned the small troop of men back towards Veii a day sooner than they were expected. As the men approached the city, they watched the legions training around the foot of the walls, men on horse, men on foot and everywhere they looked they saw and heard the shouting voices of officers as they berated the troops who were not keeping up with their fellows. Mella smiled. It was good to be back.