Hosker, G [Sword of Cartimandua 03] Invasion- Caledonia (13 page)

Glanibanta

“Messenger coming in and he looks like he’s in a hurry.”

“Who trained you to give a report you lump of duck shit?”

“Sorry Decurion Princeps.”

Julius smiled and turned to Gaius. “I just love his turn of phrase.  He is so eloquent. Reminds me of Socrates or Aristotle.”

“Yes but he is effective.”

The Imperial messenger was taken straight to the Praetorium.  Imperial messengers were rare and the decurions all found excuses to gather near to the Praetorium to find out quickly what was going on. They did not even bother with idle desultory chatter they just lounged.  When the clerk came out to give his instructions to the guard he looked around with his mouth open. “The prefect would like to see all the decurions as soon as they can be found. “ He paused. “Very efficient gentlemen, very efficient. The Prefect will be pleased with such a prompt response.”

“Sit down. “ From the look on his face they knew that it was good news. “We have a new governor.  Gnaeus Julius Agricola.” The sentries heard the cheer from the office and wondered what it meant. “He is at Deva and will spend the next few months tidying up the area south.  Next year he marches north and we are to conquer the rest of this province.  We are heading for Caledonia.”

“When do we start sir?”

“Macro don’t be so keen.  We have to wait for the troops who will be guarding Glanibanta. They are a local auxilia force from Eboracum.  Once they arrive we head north to the Taus and wait there for the general. We have at least six months before we start.”

The portly quartermaster groaned, “That means living in a tent and sleeping on the floor.”

They all laughed and Decius snorted, “What do you mean? You sleep in a bed in one of your wagons.”

“I know I was talking about you not me!”

Part Three

Caledonia

Chapter 9

When Marcus arrived in Deva he immediately noticed the vast changes which had taken place. The building was strongly built in stone and his journey to the impressive building had been on Roman roads. Travelling down the west coast he had seen the peace which the Roman influence had wrought. In the lands of the Carvetii and Brigante through which he has first journeyed also displayed this prosperity now that the warriors had been defeated. He had felt so secure he had travelled alone, enjoying the peace and solitude it brought. It was the first time since he had arrived in the province that he had had any time to himself.

The fortress itself was a hive of activity and the Prefect of Cavalry was surprised to see so many different units represented. When he presented himself to the sentry he was directed to the Praetorium where he was greeted by Agricola himself.  The general warmly grasped Marcus’ arm and greeted him as an old friend.

“Marcus it is good to see you. Thank you for doing such a fine job for me up near Glanibanta.” He looked thoughtfully at him. “You are fully recovered from your ordeal?”

“Yes sir. “

“Good for I shall need both you and your cavalry if we are to subdue the north. You now complete my leaders.  Return here after the noon break and I can brief all of you at the same time.” He smiled.  “I think you will find some old friends here.”

Marcus did indeed and he was greeted loudly by Furius and Cominius as soon as he entered his quarters. As Marcus looked around Cominius said, “We are no longer the only auxiliaries Marcus.  As he glanced around the room he saw that his friend was right; the room was filled with auxiliary prefects some cavalry and some infantry.

“It seems, “said prefect Strabo chewing on the bone of some deceased animal, “that this invasion will not be the work of the legions but of the auxilia.”

“So the general has carried out his idea.”

“What?”

“Oh nothing it is just something he said while we were travelling to Mona how he could conquer this land with just the auxiliary units.  He said that he did not need the legions to conquer the province.”

The meeting was the biggest one Marcus had attended and the room was crowded.  One wall was dominated by a crude map of Britannia; it was detailed up to the land of the Caledonii but just drifted into nothing north of that. It was a sobering thought for Marcus and the others. They knew not where they were ultimately going and what awaited them there. The superstitious Roman soldier still believed that the edge of the world and the abyss beyond lay somewhere close to this barbaric land.

  The only legionary presence was the prefect of the Ninth although Marcus noticed an officer from the Classis Britannica stood in the corner. The rest of the room was filled with an eclectic mix of auxiliary officers. Some of them had the pale skin of northerners, some the olive complexion of the Mare Nostrum but some had the dark skin of Africa. General Agricola had certainly gathered a varied force drawn from all four corners of the Empire.

“Gentlemen.  Welcome. I know some of you, “he nodded towards the trio of Marcus, Furius and Cominius who were sat together, “from our wars against the Brigantes and the Ordovice.  Others are new to me. You will all have noticed we only have one legion with us. That is because I am leaving the legions to consolidate our success in the west and maintain order in the north. The Emperor Titus may well need those legions for the wars in Dacia and it is our task, “he emphasised the word
our
, “to conquer this province as soon as possible. I have faith in your ability to defeat the barbarians without the need of our legionary brothers. It is you the auxiliaries who will fight the battles and enable us to win this war. When we win the war we will have conquered the province. There will be more lands to the west for us to conquer!” There was a buzz around the room as the prefects commented on and discussed the idea. The general smiled and studied his maps briefly. “You may have noticed a sailor amongst us, Marcus Maenius Agrippa.  Some of you may know him from his time in the auxiliary. He knows Britannia and I for one am pleased that he is to control the fleet in the east for I also intend to supply us using the fleet as an aggressive arm. Our ships will sail up the east and west coast. They will not only act as supply ships but as scouts for the barbarians have neither ships nor the ability to build them. Our fleet can act with impunity. They can sail into bays and inlets before we arrive and support our attacks with their artillery. First we will gather at the Taus and conquer the tribes north of Danum Fluvius. Thanks to the Pannonian cavalry and the Batavian infantry this will be easier than it was.  I intend to raise local cohorts to build forts and guard the key routes across this mountainous land. That will not be the role of you and your men. You are the cutting edge of my blade not the spade. Others can build, you must fight.”

He paused again to allow his comments to sink in. “Another change will be that we will take prisoners if only to provide slaves to help build the buildings in the southern half of this province. I will also try to negotiate where I can. Any questions up to now?”  His briefing had been so detailed that all the questions had been answered and the prefects sat, some of them bemused at the radical ideas he had put forward. The only man who looked unhappy was the prefect of the Ninth, Tulius Broccus for he had been relegated to a supporting role, a reversal of the normal way the legions worked. Marcus suspected that Agricola must have spoken to him prior to the meeting for he kept his mouth shut and offered no comment. “We will meet,” he pointed at a spot on the map north of Glanibanta at Luguvalium where the Ninth will build a fort. It should control the area and means we have a large base of operations. Those prefects whose units are in that area will sail with me and a cohort of the Ninth to begin the construction. The remainder can rejoin their units and make their way there as soon as possible.”

Walking back to their quarters the three prefects who had shared such trials in the north and Wales each caught up on the exploits and events of the others. The two Batavians were most interested to hear of the demise of Aed.”That decurion of yours, he is a handy bugger in a fight.  I certainly wouldn’t want to face him.”

“Me neither Furius and yet he has such a gentle looking face.”

Marcus laughed, “His fellow decurions call him the baby faced killer.  It does annoy him but then a few moments later and he is smiling again.”

“Well I for one am pleased to be travelling on a ship. It is more comfortable than the roads, or what passes for roads.”

“Aye and we will get to see what the land looks like from the sea that has always interested me.”

“I didn’t see Prefect Bassus. Any idea what happened to him.”

“Oh he’s here but he is with the surgeon he fell over and broke his arm.”

“Fell over Cominius?”

“Fell over drunk. It was Strabo’s fault he gave him unwatered wine.”

“These Gauls can’t handle decent wine. They are too used to drinking gnat’s piss. It was a waste of good wine.”

“Thank the Allfather you never change prefect.”

Furius stopped and looked offended, “Me change? Why should I? I am perfect as I am. I am the perfect prefect.”

As the bireme sailed on the sluggish wind northwards Marcus found himself looking south to the towering peak of Wyddfa and the other terrifying mountains which towered over Mona. Despite his assertion to Agricola that he was unchanged by the incident with the wicker effigy it had affected him. It was as close to death as he had come. What had frightened him was that he was not afraid of death in fact part of him wanted to die. That was worrying. Would he feel the same when leading his men for he had their lives in his hands? Would his death wish result in the deaths of friends? His hand went, as it did in times of worry, to the hilt of his sword, the sword of Cartimandua and he found it reassured him. It was the physical link to his closest companions, Ulpius, Macha and the Queen Cartimandua. He could only hope that the Allfather still protected him from himself through the power of the sword.

“Reflecting on the past Marcus?”

He almost jumped when the quiet voice of Agricola spoke. “A little. That campaign changed the way we fought and the way we thought about fighting. Yet we are travelling to the very edge of the known world.”

“Yes but the enemies we face are the same. They all fight the same way. It is only numbers that cause us problems. Our men are worth five of theirs. If we continue to be flexible, to use good defensive positions, to use missiles, men on horse, men on foot then we will beat them.” He leaned in confidentially. “Have we ever found a leader who could beat us? Have we ever been in danger of losing a battle?”

Remembering Prefect Demetrius, Marcus found the courage to say. “It was close up near the Taus.”

“You are right Marcus and that taught me a valuable lesson. It is the prefects and leaders that I need. If they trust me as I trust them and follow my orders exactly then we shall win.” He looked around conspiratorially. “That is why you and the other prefects I have fought alongside before are invaluable. Some of the others may turn out to be like Prefect Demetrius, I hope not but,” he looked directly at Marcus, “I would hope that you and the others would tell me next time before a disaster occurs. I need loyalty.”

Marcus was shocked, “Are you asking me to spy on the other prefects?”

“No. I am expecting you and Strabo, Sura and Bassus to make sure that all the prefects follow my orders and tell me if you think they are not.” His voice had become hard and Marcus could tell that he was being given an order.

“You know you never need to doubt my loyalty sir.”

The smile returned, “I know Marcus.  I know.”

Marcus and his fellow prefects were astounded by the variety of landscapes they viewed. Once they left the estuary and turned north they saw vast beaches backed by huge sand dunes and pine forests. There appeared to be no humans at all, no sign of settlement, house, hut, shack, tumble of twigs, there was nothing to show man’s mark on the land. Even as Cominius saw land to the northwest the other two saw the peaks of the land of the lakes slowly rise like a smudge of smoke on the horizon, “That must be an island, look it is steep and has a mountain top but it does not spread like those mountains to the north east.”

“There is much more to this province than meets the eye.”

“And we are about to see much more of it I believe.”

They reached their destination soon after dark and Agricola decided that they would stay on the moored ships rather than risk a camp close to the enemy for although Marcus had cleared south of the estuary the lands to the north were most definitely hostile. The arrangement suited the prefects who enjoyed the fine food and wine of a generous general. “The fleet will be invaluable. I am assigning a marine to each auxiliary unit so that he can translate the signals from the fleet and transmit your requests. As you have experienced they can travel far faster than we on horses or foot. Today we were lucky to be able to use sail but they can row against the wind and still travel faster.”

“They do have powerful storms here general.”

“The commander knows that but there are many inlets and estuaries such as this one.  I have ships from the fleet on the west coast. Even now they are sailing up to Morbium with reinforcements for the east coast invasion.”

“Do you think the tribes will fight or negotiate sir?”

“Good question Marcus. I am prepared to fight but I hope to negotiate. The Carvetii proved amenable to diplomacy after the last battle.”

Furius let out an enormous belch, “Was that the negotiations which followed the slaughter of thousands of their warriors?”

A slight tic was the only sign that Agricola did not like the comment from the outspoken Batavian. “A good point well made prefect. But if you remember there were Pictii and Caledonii there that they day so they may negotiate having had a lesson paid for by their Carvetii brethren.”

As the prefects left the next day to bring their commands to the new camp Agricola said to Marcus, “We will not be needing the fort for a while but we will need it. Do you think the locals would be likely to invest it?”