Roman - The Fall of Britannia (16 page)

‘
I
told you,’ said a voice behind him. ‘A common thief, right here in
the very midst of us.’

Gwydion sat up,
but remained facing the fire.

‘
To
whom do you direct your insult, sir?’ he asked staring into the
flames.

‘
You
are the only Deceangli pigs around here, so I guess it must be
you.’

‘
There are no thieves here,’ said Gwydion slowly. ‘Leave us in
peace.’

‘
Ah,
but thieves you are?’ said the voice.

Gwydion stood up
and turned to face his accuser. In front of him stood five men, led
by one of great stature, swigging from a flask of ale.

‘
And
what am I accused of stealing?’ he asked.

‘
It
is no accusation,’ answered the warrior. ‘The evidence is right
before our eyes.’

Gwydion looked
around.

‘
I
see nothing that has been stolen,’ he said.

‘
Then what do you burn on your fire?’ asked the man feigning
surprise.

‘
What?’ gasped Gwydion in astonishment. ‘It is but
firewood?’

‘
Catuvellauni firewood and I don’t recall giving you
permission to burn it.’

Gwydion’s men
stood up in support of their leader, their hands resting on their
swords.

‘
But
never let it be said I am not a fair man,’ continued the warrior,
‘you can keep the firewood for a price.’

‘
Over my dead body,’ said one of Gwydion’s comrades and drew
his own sword.

‘
Wait!’ shouted Gwydion and grabbed his arm before the sword
was fully withdrawn.

‘
What price?’

‘
Sensible man,’ said the warrior, ‘I want that heathen bow you
carry.’

Gwydion looked
down at the Parthenian recurved bow he had been given by his
father.

‘
That is not going to happen!’ he said quietly.

‘
Then I guess I will have to take it myself,’ said the warrior
and reaching over his shoulder drew his long sword from the
scabbard fastened to his back, closely imitated by his fellow
Catuvellauni.

Gwydion’s
comrades followed suit and all faced each other, the tension rising
in the firelight.

‘
Hold!’ ordered a voice, and all men looked up to see
Togodumnus watching the confrontation outside the flap of the tent,
along with Idwal, King of the Deceangli.

‘
Brallot, these are our guests,’ said Togodumnus. ‘Why do you
draw your sword, have they borne you insult?’

‘
Their very presence insults me,’ answered Brallot. ‘This is
our war and we need no aid from Deceangli pigs.’ He spat at
Gwydion’s feet.

‘
You
are a good warrior, Brallot,’ said Togodumnus, ‘and I know your
blade itches to taste blood but let it be Roman blood. These are my
guests and I will not allow you to slay the boy.’

‘
He
stole firewood from my pile,’ said Brallot, ‘and I seek
payment.’

‘
I
did not know it was yours,’ said Gwydion. ‘It was
untended.’

‘
Mine nonetheless,’ said Brallot.

Something landed
in the thin layer of snow at Brallot’s feet.

‘
Is
that payment sufficient?’ asked Cody, Gwydion’s right hand
man.

‘
What is it?’ asked Brallot, his eyes not leaving
Gwydion.

‘
A
bracelet,’ said Cody, ‘Khymric gold.’

Brallot
hesitated, and then bent quickly to pick up the
bracelet.

‘
The
debt is paid,’ he said eventually and sheathed his sword before
turning away to leave the clearing.

‘
Wait!’ shouted Cody and the man turned back around to face
him. ‘You and I still have unfinished business.’

‘
Which is?’

‘
You
call my people pigs in front of my own King. I demand
redress.’

Brallot looked
at Togodumnus and the King’s brother nodded in agreement. It was a
matter of honour.

‘
I
paid you a fair price for your firewood,’ said Cody, ‘now you must
pay me a fair price for insulting my tribe.’

‘
I
am not returning the gold,’ said Brallot.

‘
You
can keep the bracelet,’ said Cody,’ I want something of
yours.’

‘
What?’

‘
Your head!’ said Cody and drew his own longsword.

The men in the
clearing gasped and formed a circle. It was a fair challenge, as
honour was at stake. A grin spread across Brallot’s face and he
drew his sword for the second time that night. The surrounding men
picked up burning branches from nearby fires to light the
circle.

Both swords
swished back and fore as the two wary men circled each other,
Brallot the experienced Catuvellauni warrior and Cody, a young
warrior of the Deceangli. A few heartbeats after squaring up, the
forest rang with the clash of steel upon steel as the first blows
were dealt.

Brallot launched
himself into the attack, raining blow after blow on the Deceangli
warrior, the strikes from his broadsword falling thick and fast.
His bigger frame and muscular arms meant his attack was stronger
and Cody was forced backwards as the seemingly inexhaustible
Brallot rained his rage down on the younger man. Gwydion stared in
horror as Cody struggled to defend himself, constantly retreating
and not landing a single blow in return, but as the minutes passed,
he realized that his comrade was not even attempting to return the
assault, but was absorbing the frenzy of the attack, deliberately
soaking up the ferocity with a mix of patience and
technique.

Slowly, the
strategy started to tell and Brallot’s blows eased in intensity as
he strained for breath, his arms weary from wielding the heavy
sword. Finally, he stumbled as he missed Cody completely and the
young Deceangli took the initiative. Now it was Brallot’s turn to
retreat, throwing his sword up wildly to parry Cody’s counter
assault as he stumbled backward, with a look of fear on his face.
Despite this, he countered bravely, seizing the opportunity of a
mistimed strike by Cody to smash him in the face with the butt of
his sword and knocking him to the floor in the process.

He screamed
wildly and drove his blade downward to deal the deathblow, but Cody
had rolled away, kicking Brallot’s legs from beneath him as he went
and Brallot fell to the ground, losing his sword in the process.
Cody was on his feet above Brallot who lay on the floor gasping for
air. He picked up the Catuvellaunian sword, holding it in his left
hand.

‘
Get
up!’ he said.

‘
Just do it!’ gasped Brallot.

‘
I
will not kill an unarmed man,’ answered Cody.

‘
You
have defeated me, I seek no quarter.’

‘
And
I offer none!’ said Cody. ‘This is yet unfinished!’

Brallot lifted
himself to his feet and faced Cody, both men breathing heavily.
Cody threw Brallot’s sword across to him.

‘
Like I said, I do not kill unarmed men.’

Brallot caught
his sword and stared back at the younger man.

‘
That was a big mistake,’ he said and suddenly launched a huge
swing at Cody with unexpected ferocity. Cody ducked instinctively
and spinning around, whirled his heavy blade in a wide backhand
strike of his own, connecting cruelly with Catuvellaunian
flesh.

The surrounding
men stared in shock as Brallot’s head bounced across the clearing
and his dead body fell forward into the snow, the dying heart still
pumping blood from the severed arteries. Collectively they looked
toward Togodumnus for guidance, all willing to strike down the man
who had killed their comrade. Togodumnus walked over to the severed
head lying on the floor and stared down for a moment before kicking
it into the fire.

‘
It
is done!’ he said. ‘Return to your fires and take his body with
you. Honour is satisfied. He returned to his tent closely followed
by Idwal.

The rest of the
men dispersed into the darkness and Gwydion wrapped himself in his
oiled cape once again, watching the flesh peel from Brallot’s head
in the flames.

----

Chapter 11

High above the
legionary fortress, Cassus’s lungs burned as he pushed himself up
the last steep rise of the mountain. Before him lay the summit, a
twenty foot rocky escarpment that rose vertically in their path
like the palisade upon the fort walls. The Century were spaced out
in single file up and over the crag, passing their equipment along
a human chain to the top, and as he waited his turn to clamber up
the rocks, he stared at the scene far below. From this height, he
could see the whole military camp and marvelled at its enormity.
Over five thousand troops were stationed within its barricaded
walls, and a further four thousand auxiliaries outside in a tented
village. The cavalry horses were corralled within fenced paddocks,
as were the herds of donkeys intended to carry the legions supplies
to Britannia. Cassus realized that this was a rare sight for many
soldiers were often away from their legionary headquarters on
postings or expeditions, and only the fact that the invasion was
imminent had prompted their return, ensuring the legion was at full
strength.

Finally, the
signal came to continue and he followed the man in front of him as
they scaled the granite crag. When the last soldier had joined the
rest of the Century on the plateau, Centurion Severus addressed his
men.

‘
Five minutes rest,’ he said. ‘Eat some Buccellatum and drink
deep. From here on in, there will be little rest.’ Within minutes
they were formed up in their three ranks and adjusting their kit
for maximum comfort.

‘
Right,’ shouted Severus. ‘Optio get us moving, we have a
standard to obtain.’

‘
Century,’ shouted Remus, ‘double time,
Advaaance!’

The column
started down the track in unison at two steps per second, the thud
of their steps enhanced by the clank of their armour. The hill soon
levelled out and the pace steadied to a regular pattern. Two
hundred paces at double time, followed by one hundred at single,
repeated over and over again, eating up the miles between them and
their destination. They stopped at a stream to refill their water
bottles, resting for two minutes to catch their breath.

‘
How
far now, Optio?’ asked Montellus between swigs of his water bottle,
his two Pilae lying on the floor between his feet.

‘
An
hour!’ responded the Optio. ‘I reckon we are ten minutes ahead of
the nearest Century. If we…’

‘
Optio!’ interrupted Prydain urgently.

Remus stopped
mid-sentence, his expression angry at the interruption.

‘
Did
I give you permission to speak?’ he asked menacingly.

‘
No,
Optio, but...’

‘
Shut your slave mouth,’ snarled Optio, ‘I thought I made it
clear you don’t talk to me unless I tell you too.’

‘
Yes, Optio, but you should know something.’

‘
Nothing you have to say is of interest to me, now get your
shit together and move out.’

The soldiers
scrambled to form up, ready for the last push to Chabal.

‘
You
never learn, do you?’ said Cassus, drawing his sword belt a notch
tighter.

‘
I
thought I saw something,’ said Prydain. ‘Up there on the
hill.’

Cassus followed
his stare up to the wooded slopes of the valley.

‘
What did you see?’ he asked.

‘
A
reflection.’ said Prydain.

‘
Like a waterfall?’ asked Cassus.

‘
Like a weapon,’ said Prydain grimly.

‘
Double step, Advaaance,’ screamed Optio and the column
started again down the track.

‘
What do you mean a weapon?’ hissed Cassus between breaths,
trotting alongside Prydain.

‘
Just that,’ said Prydain. ‘A reflection off a piece of steel,
like a sword or helmet.’

‘
It
may just be a local hunter, or something,’ said Cassus.

‘
Maybe, but if it is, there are several of them and they have
been following us for the last two miles.’ Suddenly Prydain peeled
out of the rank and ran back along the column.

‘
What are you doing?’ shouted Cassus, and Optio Remus, who had
been leading the Century at the front, spun around to see the
commotion.

Prydain ran back
along the column toward Centurion Severus who was bringing up the
rear, ensuring there were no stragglers.

‘
Hold fast, soldier.’ screamed Remus behind him. ‘Get back in
line!’

Prydain ignored
him and ran back to the Centurion, who was now staring at the
disobedient recruit in quiet anger. He ground to a halt before
Severus.

‘
You
had better have a good reason for breaking ranks, soldier,’ said
Severus menacingly.

‘
Sir,’ he began, ‘I think…’

Before he could
finish, Remus came up behind him and smashed him across the side of
his head with his Scutum, knocking Prydain to the floor.