Читать книгу The Lost Knights - William Speir - Страница 10

117 A.D. – Caledonian Territory

Southwest of the River Esk

Gaius Valerius watched his Legionnaires marching north. If there’s one thing that Rome knows how to do better than anyone else in the world, it’s building roads.

It had been almost three weeks since the Legion had left Eburacum and set off on this expedition. The Legion made good time and encountered no resistance on their march northward. The problem was: they didn’t encounter anything at all – no villages, no armed parties, nothing. It was as if the entire frontier had been deserted.

The Legion stopped at several of the Roman outposts along their route, only to find them barely manned and preparing to be abandoned altogether. Orders had been sent out from the Governor to send most of the Legionnaires from the Caledonian outposts south to help with the main defenses, leaving only enough Legionnaires at the outposts to trick the Caledonians into thinking that Rome still had a sizable force within their territory. The remaining Legionnaires were also to maintain lines of communication should an invasion force be sighted.

Legate Marcus Sestius had ordered the Cohorts to march in tight formation with flankers, and he wanted to make certain that each Cohort never lost sight of the Cohort in front of it. This would make it more difficult to ambush the entire Legion at once while keeping the Cohorts close enough to respond to an attack on another Cohort should one occur.

The cavalry attached to the Legion had a number of functions on the march. Some of the troopers guarded the supply lines, while the rest rode well to the front and on the flanks of the Legion to make sure that the way was safe and to report any enemy sightings along the march. So far, they had nothing to report.

Twenty-five days after leaving Eburacum, the Legion arrived at the place where the base camp was to be set up, but Marcus Sestius didn’t care for the ground at all. The area was too flat and too wooded to be defensible without having to cut down a number of trees and building some sort of fortification. He didn’t have that kind of time. This was supposed to be a reconnaissance expedition, not a campaign. He called a halt to the march and ordered his cavalry commander to send out a company to scout for a more defensible position.

Several hours later, the cavalry company returned and reported. They had found a small hilltop about two hour’s march to the northeast which stood in the middle of a small clearing. The hill provided a more defensible position, while the clearing would make it easier to spot a potential attack. It wasn’t a perfect location, but the perfect location from a defensive perspective would also leave the Legion exposed and visible to the enemy for many miles. Marcus Sestius ordered the Legion to begin the march to the location that the cavalry had found.

They arrived at the clearing late in the afternoon, and by nightfall the base camp had been established. The base camp was organized so the supplies were in the center of the hilltop with the Cohorts in a ring around crest. Cavalry was stationed between each Cohort, and guards were placed around the hilltop and in the clearing to raise the alarm should enemy forces arrive. All cooking fires were kept in the center of the hill so the supply wagons and tents would mask the light from a distance. The goal was to keep their presence from being known for as long as possible.

The next morning, just before dawn, Marcus Sestius met with his senior officers to finalize the reconnaissance plans. The Fifth Cohort would deploy first toward Doune, which was the fort to the farthest north. The Third Cohort would deploy toward Camelon as soon as the Fifth returned. The Sixth and Eighth Cohorts would deploy toward Castle Greg and then move south to see if the enemy could be discovered. Once those two Cohorts returned, the Tenth Cohort would be sent toward Elginhaugh, which was the fort to the farthest east. The Legion would move eastward and meet up with the last Cohort at a crossroad between Elginhaugh and Camelon before moving south along the eastern coast and returning to Eburacum. The meeting ended, and the Fifth Cohort made their preparations to leave within the hour.

Even though it was springtime, the air stayed cold at the base camp. The arrangement of the tents helped block the wind somewhat, but the decision to keep all fires in one central location made it harder to keep warm. Gaius Valerius understood the reasons for the layout of the base camp, but he missed having a fire close to his tent. Still, he suppressed the desire to spend his time near the center fires, knowing that he needed to set an example for his men. He spent most of his time inspecting the perimeter of the base camp and reviewing the guards to make sure that the camp was in the highest state of readiness that could be achieved.

Toward the end of the sixth day after the Fifth Cohort had left, the clearing perimeter guards raised the alarm. Within the hour, the Fifth Cohort marched into the clearing and the safety of the base camp. Soon after that, a messenger found Gaius Valerius overseeing the changing of the guard and summoned him to a council meeting.

“What did you find?” Marcus Sestius asked the Tribune commanding the Fifth Cohort when Gaius Valerius arrived at the council meeting.

“Very little,” the Tribune replied. “We saw no sign of the Caledonians at all. Just abandoned villages and settlements. The fort was completely destroyed. Only the stone walls remained. Everything else had been burned. We found bones, but not much else. There’s no telling what happened to the rest of the garrison, but they weren’t anywhere near the forts.”

“Could you tell how long ago the fort had been destroyed?”

“Several months by the look of things. Rain had washed away most of the ashes and anything else that might have given us more information.”

“Did you examine the deserted villages and settlements?”

“Yes, sir. Like the fort, they appeared to have been abandoned for some time. Grass was growing in places that would have been dirt had anyone been walking or working around there recently. There was no evidence of fires having been lit for some time, and the huts and other dwellings looked like they hadn’t been repaired all season. There was no evidence of cattle, although smaller animals had definitely moved in.”

“What does that tell you?” the Legion’s Prefect and second-in-command asked.

“That the Caledonians have been mobilizing for months. Whether it’s to move south, or to move west, we don’t know. But they wouldn’t have destroyed the forts unless they either didn’t want us knowing what they were doing, or…” The Tribune’s voice trailed off and he looked disturbed. He looked at Marcus Sestius, who finished the sentence for him.

“They wanted us to come and investigate.”

“Do you honestly think that this is a trap?” Titus Aurelius asked Gaius Valerius later that night as the two men made the final preparations for the Third Cohort to depart in the morning.

“I’m not sure, but it fits the facts. If the Caledonian’s were just moving west, they would have moved west and left the eastern forts unmolested. If they were getting ready to invade, they would have just invaded. Destroying the forts would get us to send a force up here to investigate and reduce the strength of our defenses to the south. I don’t know if they anticipated that we’d send an entire Legion, but I think it’s safe to assume that they expected us to send some forces. That means they’re watching us. I think that’s part of the reason we haven’t seen any Caledonians since we crossed the frontier. The invasion force is already assembled and waiting to see what we do next.”

“What do we do next?”

“We carry out our reconnaissance mission as ordered and as planned, but we take extra care. We move quickly and quietly, and we get back as quickly as possible. We must be thorough, but with speed. We’ll leave well before dawn so that by first light we’ll be at least a league from here. With luck, we may be able to slip out of camp without the Caledonians noticing. If they don’t know we’re out there, we may be able to get back without being harassed.”

“Very well. I’ll inform the officers.”

Titus Aurelius left Gaius Valerius’ tent and went to find the other Centurions under his command. After he was gone, Gaius stood and went over to the far side of his tent. In the corner was an ornately carved wooden box with images of a man killing a bull carved onto the sides. This was Gaius Valerius’ traveling altar to Mithras, the soldier’s god of the Roman Empire, and he never went on any campaign or expedition without it. As he ran his hands along the carved images, he bowed his head and prayed to Mithras to protect his Legionnaires from harm. Keep us safe so we may continue in our worship to you.

After a moment, he removed his hand from the altar. It was time to get ready for the morning.

The Third Cohort had been marching for almost two hours before the morning sun broke over the horizon to the east. As they neared the River Esk, the ground became flatter and less tree-covered, exposing the Legionnaires but making the march easier and quicker. It would take several days to make their inspection of the area and return to the base camp, and Gaius Valerius was uneasy.

To make the Cohort move faster, Gaius Valerius decided to dispense with anything that could slow them down. They wouldn’t take any tents with them – not even the officers. They took minimal supplies, preferring to forage as part of their reconnaissance of the land. Only a couple of wagons followed them with water and other items that couldn’t be easily obtained during the deployment. When they marched out of camp in the pre-dawn stillness, the Legionnaires moved quietly. Each Legionnaire carried his armor, weapons, and a single leather bag for his day’s rations. The Cohort also took a company of cavalry to act as flankers and messengers should the enemy be spotted.

On the first day, there was no sign of the enemy, but that was to be expected. Gaius Valerius knew that, if the enemy were watching, they’d do so from a distance to keep from being spotted themselves. And if the Cohort had managed to keep its departure from the base camp a secret, there’d be no one watching them at all. Still, Gaius Valerius felt uneasy. He had only six hundred men with him – six Centuria with a Centurion commanding each, and a handful of cavalry. They were all good men but no match for Caledonians attacking with a large force.

That night, they made camp in the woods just off the Roman road to Camelon. They lit no fires that would give away their position to the enemy. Veteran Legionnaires were accustomed to cold camps and cold rations, and no one complained. The officers and men all slept in the open together. Only the teamsters slept in their wagons to guard the supplies.

Toward the end of the second day, they arrived at the fort at Camelon and found it in the same condition as the Fifth Cohort had found Doune. A careful examination of the remains showed that it, too, had been burned. Bones were everywhere, but the rest of the garrison was nowhere to be seen. They made camp inside the walls that night, and it was a cold camp again.

The Third Cohort stayed in the Camelon area for a day, looking for any signs of the enemy. All they found was a few deserted villages and settlements looking like they had been abandoned for some time. The countryside seemed deserted, and this worried Gaius Valerius. There should be someone in the area.

When the Third Cohort set out the next morning to return to the base camp, Gaius Valerius felt a great need for speed. The longer he was away from the rest of the Legion, the more concerned he became. He wanted to leave the main Roman roads and take a more direct route to the base camp, but the rivers and streams in that part of the Caledonian territories would take more time and effort to cross than he wanted to spend.

The Third Cohort approached the base camp at mid-day on the fifth day of their reconnaissance mission. In the distance, Gaius Valerius thought that he saw a plume of smoke coming over the trees. As the Cohort got closer, he saw that what he thought was smoke was actually a large number of black vultures.

The Legionnaires had seen those birds before and knew what it meant. Gaius Valerius called a halt to the march and ordered the cavalry to ride forward and report back on the condition of the base camp. As they rode off, the Centurions immediately deployed the Legionnaires in a square defensive position to guard against an attack from any direction.

Gaius Valerius stood completely still with his men, trying to preserve an outward appearance of calm. Inwardly, he was deeply concerned. The presence of so many vultures circling one area meant that a battle had taken place and dead bodies were present. Carrion birds were always attracted to battles. The flesh of the dead would feed them for some time. Bones could be picked clean in a few days, leaving nothing behind but armor, weapons, tents, wagons, and the skeletons of the nameless dead.

After what seemed like an hour, Gaius Valerius heard his cavalry returning. The company commander looked grim and he rode up to give his report. “The base camp has been attacked and overrun,” he said as he dismounted his horse. “The Legion has been destroyed. They’re all dead!”