Tale of Rome - Book Two - Chapter 1 (Updated)

[Rex Anglorvm]

Rex, what a story! This is like the Buddenbrooks! I've read it from the beginning and......this is a true Historical Novel, this is a Novel like those Russian of the XIX century!

Side note: Kill Jason slowly, please.......I like the splatter!

I'm very glad you have caught up my friend, and even happier that you have enjoyed your trip! As for Jason we shall see...

I don't know why but for some reason I think this will go terribly wrong...

I hope it doesn't, but still nothing like a bit of drama.

Drama?....let's hope there's more of that to come

I was late to comment my friend, but I assure you these last updates have got me on the very edge of my seat!

+rep Rex!

Well lets hope you don't fall off!

Next update by the end of the week I hope.

[Rex Anglorvm]

Chapter Forty Five – A German dreams of home


The big man made his way silently through the woodland, his feet lightly touching the surface of the frozen ground, delicately brushing against the fallen leaves and broken twigs that lay on the forest floor. Breathing deeply he savoured the smell of the land all around him, he listened intently for any sound that might betray the presence of men, the thin light cast by the moon aiding his eyes in the search of the ground around him for any signs that either passing animals or humans had come this way…. nothing.


The woods reminded him of his home in the far North, making him think again that when the time was right and he had repaid his debt to Jason that he should strike for home and return to the land of his people.


Erhard smiled and thought of the loved ones he had left behind, it had been a summer raid that had gone horribly wrong that had robbed him of them. His tribe had struck into Gaul in search of loot, only to find that the Gauls outnumbered them and had been waiting for his raiding party, he had been wounded, tied up and then knocked out; the next thing he had knew was that when he awoke he had been sold to a Roman slave trader and carried a brand on his shoulder, much like cattle would had scorched into their skin.


The German had been left onshore by the Thracian and instructed to follow the Appian Way northwards and see if he could find either signs of Roman troops in the area searching for them or more importantly to see if he could spot the young man known as Lucius Ulpius Verres, luckily for the German he knew the Roman by sight from his time as a galley slave aboard Aulus Verres merchant fleet. The warrior had set off accompanied by other ‘barbarian’ types; he had personally selected the small party himself, it consisted of seven men including himself who knew the ways of the countryside and more importantly how to remain unobserved and unheard whilst moving through rough land.


Satisfied that nothing was out of place in the immediate countryside, his attention switched back to the Appian Way itself, holding three fingers from his right hand up he signalled that three of his men should stay within the confines of the wood making sure that any Roman was detected; while he waved forward his other three men to his side and then laying prone on the ground and with his men following suit, he edged his way close to the edge of the tree line that bordered the most famous of Roman roads. Already a dozen times or more today he could have struck at unwary traders or small groups of travellers; his eyes immediately focussed on another such traveller who was using the road to head south, back in the direction from which the German’s group had come from, on closer inspection Erhard could see that the man rode a fine black coated stallion, as was dressed in the uniform of the Romans, but confusingly an infantryman’s.


So there were Romans in the area!? But what was a foot slogger doing on a horse? It made no sense, unless the men was a messenger using an officer’s horse, and more importantly if there was one soldier here than the rest must be nearby, the man did not seem weary, so he could not have ridden that far. For an instance he toyed with capturing the man, questioning him and then lastly cutting the messengers throat, but he was under strict orders from Jason not to attract any unnecessary attention, as far as the Romans were concerned the pirates were still terrorizing the lands further south. The fools had not realised that they could move far faster than a weighed down century of legionaries!

Africanus sat on the horse well aware of the several pairs of eyes now fixed on his back, he had sensed the men were lurking in the tree-line even before the horse’s ears had picked up and he had snorted at their intrusion to his night time exercise. He had played the situation calmly, he knew that the only reason these men were concealed was to create mischief somehow; if they were bandits he could urge the horse into a gallop to avoid being set upon, if however they were the pirates of the mad Thracian they would most likely leave him alone, content to let him ride by and find out where the rest of his unit were encamped. So he sat upright in the saddle looking like a man without a care in the world, whilst all the time he mouthed a silent prayer to whichever God would listen to him.


Erhard could sense that the men lying prone on the ground with him were tense with anticipation; they were waiting for his order, just one signal and the men on the horse would be his to inflict a world of pain on. Bunching his fists in disappointment, Erhard let the man go by unmolested. The big man could sense the disappointment of the men with him, sighing he rose to his feet slowly after ensuring that the rider was now in the far distance.


Gradually the other men came to their feet and stood next to their leader, one of the men a Libyan looked at Erhard quizzically and used a mangled form of Greek to address him ‘why did you let him go Lord?’


It had been an age since any man had called him ‘Lord’ it felt good. Letting his voice carry to the other men he spoke ‘I let him go because we now know there are soldiers here, we just need to head up this road a short way and we will find them. The man was fresh, he had not travelled far.’

The Libyan nodded satisfied at the answer and waited with the rest of the men for further instruction.


Signalling the men still stationed in the woodland with the sound of a night owl, Erhard waited for all of the men to gather around him and then gave his orders. ‘We head back North following the road still, I think we will find the enemy there, our Lord had instructed me that we only attack when he is present, and we do not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves in the meantime. He hopes still to find the Verres whelp we seek!’


The German moved off again, his men following single file behind him, each man now more alert than ever now that the likelihood of encountering the enemy was now substantially increased. Erhard had been puzzled at first, when Jason had instructed him to stay on the land and look for Lucius Verres, but he had learned not to question the instincts of the Thracian, even now he would not be amazed if he found that the unit that they were seeking was not the boy’s own, perhaps if he found him he could bring the head of the Roman to Jason himself? No, Jason wants that privilege himself, after all the man was responsible for his son’s death, if there was one thing that a German understood full well it was the concept of a blood feud. This could only end in one of two ways; the extermination of the whole Verres family or the death of Jason. And the German knew who he would back in that little contest.


Suddenly he stopped, the men behind him halting in the same instant. He could smell it before he saw a thing.


Cooking.


It was the unmistakeable smell of a large body of men in one place preparing their late evening meal. He motioned for all the men to lie flat and stay perfectly still; then lying on the frost bitten ground himself he slowly worked his way up a small incline were the wooded area ended. There in front of him was a marching camp, perfectly laid out in miniature, in most likelihood only a single century occupied it. Inching forward on his muscled belly, his eyes searched for the centre of the camp and the standard that would be grounded there.


There….his eyes found it…yes he could make the characters out…IV…the 4th! He could not believe his eyes, he had found the soldiers and he had found Verres. Jason would be pleased! But supposing the boy had already left? No, he couldn’t have, he would have used the road and the only soldier he had seen had been the small dark skinned one on horseback.

No he had to be in the camp! But why hadn’t he left? Perhaps he was waiting for daylight?


It didn’t matter the Roman was here…. and he would die here.


Erhard slowly turned round on his stomach and then crested the hill again; he motioned his men back into the trees and then signalled the Libyan to come forward. ‘I want you to take two men with you and tell the Lord that we have found Verres and the enemy, only one century. Go back to the coast and signal that we have found our prey.’


Watching as the trio of messengers departed for the coast, the German settled down for the night with his remaining men, he decides to take the first watch, satisfied that Jason will be well pleased with this nights work. A little voice is nagging at the back of his skull, the messenger, where was he heading?


Ah, it didn’t matter….


Soon he would be back in the forests of his own people and all that stood between him and freedom was a single century of men.

[Rex Anglorvm]

Chapter Forty Six – A Thracian’s vengeance


Demetrious watched the moon high in the sky and prayed that it’s silver arc of light did not betray the Moon Star to an enemy, as she silently rode at anchor in the mouth of the small bay that Jason had selected to stay in overnight; a small bay with only one way in and one way out….


On shore he could see the two small night fires of the encampment, Jason had only allowed those two small beacons of light for fear of drawing unwanted attention. The majority of the men were now disembarked; all of them no doubt now trying to find a decent night’s sleep before being led into battle once more. A skeleton crew remained on board the ship ready to up anchor on his command.


The Greek captain could hear the sound of the light tread of the Thracian as he paced the deck like a caged beast behind him; Jason had been in a foul mood all day long and had hardly spoken a word to a single man of the crew. Although the Thracian’s legs were constantly moving his eyes were locked on the shore, for hours he had watched the coast for the signal that Erhard would give if he found his quarry.


Suddenly the Thracian stopped walking; he took a deep breath like a man who had come to a weighty yet painful conclusion and then approached Demetrious, for the first time that day he spoke to the ship’s captain. ‘My name is Zyraxes Thrax, I am of the Dii, and we are renowned warriors, known for our ferocity in battle and our skill with the blade. I have not shared my name in many years, but tonight I would speak as a man of my people, rather than as the creature of invention known as ‘Jason’. I would tell you of a time before I became such as I am now, if you would listen Demetrious?’


For a few moments the Greek was taken aback, in the time that he had been sailing with this man, he had prided himself on being able to pierce the walls of stone this man had around his soul, but only now, upon seeing the honest and almost pleading expression on his face did he realise that the man needed to unburden that very same soul. Until now Demetrious realised that Jason, no Zyraxes, had only let him see what he wanted him to see. Finally, prepared to hear the story of the man he nodded his approval, ‘Yes I would be most pleased if you would share your story with me my Lord Zyraxes.’


The Thracian’s face just for an instant showed a shadow of a smile, ‘You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear my name on another’s lips, only one other person alive knows my identity; and they share my reluctance to use it more widely.’


‘I was brought up in the royal household of my people, although not a prince in a traditional sense. For I was the son of the chief of our people and his lover, my sister and I where brought up by his principal wife after the death of our mother, we thought that she was a wonderful, kind and loving woman to do such a charitable act.’


‘But then when I had grown to early manhood and my sister was but eight years old, our father died and everything changed, the chief’s wife showed herself for the true harridan that she was. She told us how she had killed our mother and had only took us in until she could extract further revenge for our father’s infidelity upon us. Before I could react, soldiers burst into the room and manacled my sister and me together; we were then marched from the room screaming and crying until we were flung into the back of a cart and then gagged. By the next morning we found ourselves on a slavers ship headed to Rome.’


‘That journey was not like your pleasure cruises Demetrious, every form of depravity was practiced upon my sister and I by the crew of that vessel, it was beyond suffering for me, but for my sister, only a mere child she had the foulest of deeds visited upon her. What is worst is that when they were carrying out their acts they told us they had been paid a great deal of money by our step-mother for inflicting those agonies upon us.’


Demetrious swallowed hard as he heard the anger in Zyraxes voice, he could feel and see the fury and the hatred emanating out of every fibre of the Thracian’s being, Zyraxes body was tensed like a lion preparing to leap upon his kill.


‘When we reached Rome we were sold to separate masters, I became a body slave, pretty young man as I was, whereas my sister was sold as a house slave. In time I slit the throat of my Master and left burdened down with both the gold of that man and the guilt of leaving my sister behind, fore I knew not where she was.’


‘With the money I had acquired I bought passage on a ship where the Captain asked no questions and soon enough found myself in the port of Carthage, with my wealth I bought weapons and armour and became a mercenary, in time I became renowned for various acts of bravery and mendacity, so I moved into the more profitable world of terror and personal killings. In time after having found a sponsor and generating enough wealth I equipped my own vessel and war band and led them to the royal household of the Dii, we attacked from the shore on a night not to dissimilar to this and I and my men killed my step-mother and her entire foul brood, but I encouraged my men do to her and her sons and daughters what had been done to my sister and I, before I sent them on their way to the underworld. The joy of that revenge still lives with me.’


Demetrious’s head was spinning from all the information; he could remember the dozens of tales of depravity and fearlessness that had been associated with the name of Jason across more than a dozen different countries, but now he could see how and why the man was so thoroughly without good conscience.


‘But it did not slake my thirst for vengeance on the Romans, I found that very same vessel that had carried my sister to this fetid land that we sail so near to; and I cared not if the same crew sailed it or if the same Master commanded it, I impaled every last one of them, but I was still not satisfied.’


‘And then, I find my sister and liberate her from her slavers, only to find that she had lost her mind because of ill treatment and a lost love that was taken from her, though who this man is or if he still lives I know not. Finally I find solace in bringing up a young man as if he was one of our own family, Manugas, and for in instant I find happiness. Perhaps at last I have found peace? No! The Roman swine kill my son and that happiness is ripped from me once more. I would kill every last one of the Latin speaking dogs if it brought me peace but it will not! The Verres scum are just the start!’


Zyraxes voice had risen to a crescendo by the time he had finished. At last seemingly satisfied that his story was concluded, the Thracian looked down at his hands and then removed a large signet ring from his right hand, he held the ring up for a last lingering inspection and then gestured for Demetrious to open his hand. Zyraxes dropped the ring into the palm of the open hand of the sea captain, ‘If anything happens to me so that I do not return, I would have you give this ring to my sister, even though her mind is not what it should be, she will know the meaning of its return, it is the ring of my father that I took from the corpse of my half-brother. Stowed in my belongings in the cabin is an amount of gold that you can keep, but you will also find some correspondence with my sister’s location clearly addressed, take her the ring.’


The captain of the Moon Star nodded his agreement and folded his fingers over the heavy ring, ‘I will do as you ask my Lord, although I am sure that you will return, for I cannot possibly see how you can fail’. Demetrious meant what he said, to him Zyraxes was a man like no other, more a force of nature than a mortal being, he was as wild as storm at sea or as destructive as a monstrous wave.


As if on cue, the signal that the Thracian was waiting for shot out of the dark night sky from the shoreline, a single flaming arrow pierced the ebony canopy of the night, swiftly followed by another. At once the visage of an open and earnest Zyraxes was replaced with the ugly determination of Jason.


‘So it seems you maybe right after all my Greek friend, it seems that the Gods have not deserted me after all. Two arrows; one for troops found and the other for Lucius Ulpius Verres!’ Jason thought of the temptation he had felt recently to gut the Greek, in the end he was glad he hadn’t if things went wrong he may still do one more service for him.


Sticking his hand out he shook the hand of the Greek captain, ‘I thank you for your service captain; you have been of great help to me. I will take the small boat to shore; you should expect me back in a day or two at most. If I have not returned by the end of the second day then leave.’


Demetrious watched the back of the Thracian as he left the ship and jumped into the small boat that was kept as a captain’s skiff. For just a second the captain was almost tempted to wave farewell to the man, but he thought better off it, such emotions would not be welcomed by Jason. Perhaps they would have been by Zyraxes, but it seemed that that man had died a long time ago.


For the most part the captain was glad to see the back of the man, but another part of him had come to see that the man had a different side, maybe there was a little bit of Zyraxes left after all?


In no time at all the small crew of the rowboat had reached the beach and Demetrious could clearly hear the Thracian shouting at the men to rouse them, he knew that Jason had decided to take no risks and would take all but the skeleton crew back onto land and head after his prey, Demetrious turned away from the beach and walked back across the deck to his cabin, he would rest and await the return of a victorious Jason.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

So that explains it... man I've been waiting a while for that. Although you aren't trying to make us sympathise with him are you Rex?

I can't wait to see who wins this epic confrontation, and great to see you're rolling out the updates.

[Diocle]

Mon Seigneur De Bodemloze used the right word 'Epic', and the Epicness of this Tale is fascinating, and astonishing!



Compliments for your epic work RA, I hope it will never end!

[Scottish King]

So that explains it... man I've been waiting a while for that. Although you aren't trying to make us sympathise with him are you Rex?

Perhaps Jason wrote this update Very good updates!

[Rex Anglorvm]

So that explains it... man I've been waiting a while for that. Although you aren't trying to make us sympathise with him are you Rex?

I can't wait to see who wins this epic confrontation, and great to see you're rolling out the updates.

Well he had to remain a man of mystery for a while, at least you can see why he hates Rome so much now. Feeling sympathetic then?

Mon Seigneur De Bodemloze used the right word 'Epic', and the Epicness of this Tale is fascinating, and astonishing!

Compliments for your epic work RA, I hope it will never end!

Thank you, there may be an end and there may not be an end.....

Perhaps Jason wrote this update Very good updates!

Thanks SK, I like to think the characters help me write!

[Tigellinus]

:o epic! Amazing chapters Rex! Can't wait to see how they get out of this one

+rep

[Ybbon]

My but he is a blood-thirsty one isn't he. A man should know when his revenge is satisfied!

[McScottish]

Zyraxes Thrax? His last name is 'Thrace/'Thracian''? That just seems quite odd to me, so does the fact that the Dii have a 'royal household', but I shall rep you for being British, an amazing writer and for making him a member of arguably my favourite Thracian tribal group.

Please, Rex, continue...

[Rex Anglorvm]

:o epic! Amazing chapters Rex! Can't wait to see how they get out of this one

+rep

Thanks Tig, I will be polishing these recent chapters when I have more time though.

My but he is a blood-thirsty one isn't he. A man should know when his revenge is satisfied!

Ah, but you see that is what drives him onwards, a thirst for a revenge that can never be satiated

Zyraxes Thrax? His last name is 'Thrace/'Thracian''? That just seems quite odd to me, so does the fact that the Dii have a 'royal household', but I shall rep you for being British, an amazing writer and for making him a member of arguably my favourite Thracian tribal group.

Please, Rex, continue...

I knew that I took a liberty with his last name and the royal household, but the former sounded suitably great for the villains last name and the 'royal household' was a necessary plot device. Glad you enjoyed it though, and it shall continue! Rex

[Rex Anglorvm]

Chapter Forty Seven – Jason sets his trap


Jason had wasted little time upon landing upon the beach, he had kicked, cursed and punched his men awake, threatening to slaughter any sluggard that refused to wake from his own roughly made bed on the beach.


The Libyan that Erhard had dispatched to carry the news back to the Moon Star had swiftly recounted the scouting party’s movements and had sketched out the rough details of the fourth century’s encampment. Jason had immediately discounted the idea of an assault on the fortified encampment, it would mean far too many casualties, with the pirates that he now led unlikely to stand firm if many men were lost.


No, he would need an easy and decisive engagement.


He would have to lay in wait for the enemy to leave their entrenched position, and take them by surprise. Jason had ruthlessly pushed his men onwards so that he could extract his vengeance, ideally he wanted his men ready and waiting before the onset of daybreak, it would be far easier to conceal his men before sun-up.


For the next couple of hours Jason had watched his men struggle over the wintery landscape, he had refused to use the Appian Way for fear of the Romans being forewarned of their coming; the Thracian had thanked his own foresight in estimating the speed of Erhard’s patrol and making sure that the Moon Star had followed them as closely as possible in the last of the daylight hours, he had been right to push the ship onwards, now it meant that his men would only have to travel a short distance to their objective. With the onset of darkness a worried Demetrious had insisted they would have to stop before it was impossible for the men in the crow’s nest and the bow to see the way ahead, the Greek had protested that the vessel was at risk of being run aground, only then and after Jason had estimated that Erhard would have to halt at some point too had he finally relented and allowed the men to leave the ship and encamp on the beach of the bay he had selected to lay anchor in.


The Libyan was at the front of the column of men winding their way through the southern Italian landscape, Jason had told the men to push on and not wait for stragglers; the Thracian was afraid that the Romans would leave their camp before he could lay a trap, although he thought it unlikely they would move in the darkness. The right hand of the Libyan shot up in the darkness and then quickly he crouched down, limiting his silhouette in the moon’s slivery light to any watching prying eyes; Jason hurried towards him in a crouching movement, glaring at any man who had been too slow to react in a similar fashion to himself to the Libyan’s warning signal. As Jason approached him and then hunched down by the side of the Libyan, the man nodded and pointed away down a small incline towards a small forested area that abutted the Appian Way, ‘my Lord, down there in the woods Lord Erhard awaits us, on the other side of the area is the camp of the Romans, it is no more than a minute away from our current position. I would humbly suggest that most of the men should stay here while I take you forward, too many men may bring us unwanted attention.’


The warlord nodded his agreement; the German had chosen well, the Libyan was cautious, a good trait for any scout operating in hostile territory. Turning back to face his 150 or so men, now bunched up and looking very sorry for themselves on a bitterly cold night, Jason hissed at them while motioning at them to stay were they were with a downwards palm ’stay here and await my return, no talking, no eating and no fires!’ He could see a couple of sour looking faces amongst the men, but they knew better than to voice their objections.


Nodding at the Libyan to proceed, Jason mimicked the man’s movement as he crouched low and headed towards the tree-line that lay in front of them, the Thracian being even thoughtful enough to tread in the path of the man leading him, soon he found himself amongst the trees, moving ever forward until the Libyan stopped once more and hissed into the darkness around them ‘Moon Star beckons!’


A disembodied voice replied from out of the night ‘advance and be recognised’, looking back over his shoulder at Jason the Libyan nodded a careful approval and both men inched their way forwards, until they could be seen clearly by two men poised with drawn bows ready to dispatch nosy interlopers. The two bowmen looked at the Libyan and their leader and dropped their bows to the horizontal, easing the tension on their bowstrings. The smaller of the two bowmen inclined his head and whispered a short command ‘my Lord please follow us.’


Following after the two men, Jason and the Libyan soon found themselves in a small clearing with only the German Erhard waiting for them. Jason assumed that the last of the men that accompanied Erhard was watching the Romans at rest.


Erhard bowed low and spoke in a hushed undertone ‘My lord, I am pleased to tell you that the enemy have not moved from the encampment; it seems that they remain unaware of our presence. I am concerned however that the man we saw leaving on horseback that alerted us to the existence of this camp may have been on route to gather more men.’ In the time that he had been watching the enemy camp whilst waiting for the Thracian, Erhard had listened to the still small voice of doubt in his head and had decided to voice his concerns upon the arrival of his leader.


Jason had been told of the soldier on the fine horse by the Libyan, unlike Erhard however he was not concerned, ‘I’m not concerned about a lone messenger, I think he may have been dispatched to alert Numerius Verres that a whole century would be arriving and not just his son and a few comrades so that he could be prepared to welcome them with enough supplies and shelter, that, or perhaps these men are on route to Capua to beef up the garrison and the man had rode forward to alert the town commander that quarters would be needed. I doubt we will see the man return before we launch our attack, the chances are he will be sleeping if he had arrived in Capua or will be running scared to the town if he has headed to Numerius’ farm and seen the slaughter there.’


The German still had his doubts, but so far Jason’s instincts had been proved correct at every turn; barring when he had been outwitted by Aulus back at the farm of course. But everyone was entitled to one mistake; even he after all had been captured and enslaved. Shrugging his doubts aside he accepted his leader’s logic and pointed back through the trees behind him in the rough direction of the enemy encampment. ‘My Lord, I have been watching the camp closely as have my men, it seems that the Romans have settled in for the night, apart from a doubling of the guards, which I assume is down to them knowing of our raids along the coast there has been nothing unusual about their activity; as I said nobody seems to have left the camp either.’


Jason nodded his appreciation to his subordinate, the German had done his job well, if he had been harbouring any small hopes of attacking the camp, the doubling of the guards had now put an end to them. ‘Well it seems that our Roman friends are cautious, the doubling of the guard is a wise precaution. I had already concluded that we would need to wait until they leave their marching camp behind, so I propose to have the men arrayed in this tree line to await their departure, a simple plan will suffice. I will array our archers and slingers in a simple skirmish line at the front of the woods, whilst I command a left flank of infantry while you take the right, of course we will have to wait until they have dismantled the camp and march beneath us to use the Appian way, but I am convinced that they will move in the morning, the camp does not have enough of a mark of permanency about it.’


The big German grunted his approval ‘I would agree my lord, best to keep it simple with these pirates, some of them are ex-soldiers but most are simple thieves, if we can take a few of the Romans out at a distance it should give some of the more lily-livered amongst them some heart.’


Pondering on Erhard’s reply Jason clasped his hands together almost mimicking the loathsome priests that he detested so much, it was an unwelcome habit that had formed when he had been a body slave, the one detail he had not mentioned to Demetrious when he told him about his true identity had been the fact that his ‘owner’ had been a priest of Bacchus. He snapped out of his reverie, looked down at his own prayerful hands in disgust and snarled at Erhard ‘see that the men are so set out, and make sure none of the clumsy fools gives way our presence, for if they do I will have their head long before any Roman can get to it!’


Marcianus had left the encampment shortly after speaking to Lucius, heading off to the ambush sight and taking with him the bulk of the century, leaving behind only three Contubernia’s worth of men, two to mimic the movements of the century and Lucius’s own to march out of the camp into the jaws of the pirates. The Centurion’s timing had been perfect as shortly after his departure some of the more sharp eyed men on duty had noticed subtle changes in the shadows of the woodland that could only signal the movement of a large animal, in this instance the most dangerous of the Gods creations, Man.


Lucius stood on the earthen rampart his eyes watching the tree-line for further signs of movement, and he was not surprised to see yet more subtle signs from the woods that shadowed the camp, such as the darkening of the tree-line as more men moved to its edge and the sound of small animals scurrying away in the darkness from heavy footed pirates; soon he would have to leave the camp, for in a few hours it would be daylight and he would set out with his contubernia on their ‘patrol’; he had not been surprised when the lads had agreed to accompany him as bait, they trusted that Marcianus’s plan would work, he prayed that it did. Deciding he needed to rest Lucius carried out one more tour of the camp, men were taking it in turns in making a little noise or keeping extra fires going in order to convince the pirates that the whole century remained encamped, for the moment it seemed to be working, continuing on his rounds Lucius checked on the wakefulness of the duty guards and finding that they needed no reminding of their duties he headed to his tent and hoped for a few hours sleep.

[Rex Anglorvm]

Chapter Forty Eight – Numbers alone will win this day


Daybreak came late in this part of the world in mid-winter. Jason watched intently from the edge of the woods at the front of his men, he had had them stand to in preparation for battle; he was sure that the Centurion would move soon, suddenly the north facing entrance to the camp came alive with movement. His gaze focussed with keen interest as a small file of men left the camp and marched smartly away at a crisp pace, leaving a group of sentries behind them. He ruminated on why the camp commander would send out a party northward back in the direction of Rome, the very direction where the century would have come from in the first place.


Perhaps the Centurion in charge had decided to reconnoitre the immediate area for signs of the ‘pirate menace’ that was plaguing the coastline! Scratching his chin in contemplation, with its day old growth of stubble his eyes wandered to the front of the departing file and to the young man who had removed his helmet to readjust its chin strap, even at this distance he could mark the resemblance to Numerius Verres, casting a sharp eye at Erhard who was crouched in the trees next to him he waited for the German to confirm his instinctive recognition of Manugas’s murderer.


The big man nodded a demonstrative confirmation and whispered ‘It’s him.’


Maintaining an outwardly calm visage Jason’s heart leapt in his chest, the boy had been ordered out on a routine patrol that played directly into the hands of the Thracian. He would follow the patrol until it had covered enough distance between itself and the camp and then finish them off; it now seemed that he would not have to tangle with a century of soldiers after all. A sly smile crept onto his lips as he thought of the minor victories his pirates had won so far, he had led them on slowly, first the attack on an unarmed town, then the merchant ship, then Numerius’s farm and then finally the ambush of Aulus’s men, all carefully planned to encourage their growing sense of invincibility. It was a shame; they had been on a natural training trajectory to take on some regular troops, another time perhaps?


In a low voice the pirate leader gave Erhard fresh orders ‘I want you to take your scouts and track the patrol, when we have a suitable distance between us and the camp we will strike, we don’t want any added resistance. I will lead the rest of the men but take them in a wide sweep away from the camp. Make sure your men don’t get to close as to alarm our quarry.’


Erhard nodded his acceptance of his orders but posed a question of his own, ‘my lord of course I will do as you command, but do you not think this could be a trap? It seems very convenient for us that the man we want is marching away from safety with a handful of his comrades!’


Jason replied with a scornful expression on his face, ‘of course it could be a trap! Why do you think I am bringing the rest of the men with me and not ordering them back to the ship, if it is an ambush, then numbers alone will win us this day! If I was secure enough to believe that no surprise could await us I would let you take the whelp on alone and have you bring him back to the Moon Star as a sacrificial offering, but no, I do not trust the Verres clan, that wily fat man Aulus has outwitted me once already and it won’t happen again. Now be about your business.’


As the big barbarian stalked away looking rather crestfallen, not daring to question Jason once more, the Thracian watched as Erhard signalled to his waiting scouts with a finger to his own right eye, the half dozen men that now made up the informal scouting team trooped after their leader dutifully and were soon invisible to any wandering eyes. Carefully allowing some extra time for Erhard’s scouts to create distance between themselves and the main body of men, Jason pointed at the two closest men and beckoned them to him, ‘I want you each to pick out four men, one set of you will watch the road and the other will stay in the woods, I am taking the rest of the men with me; if either of you spot troop movement from the camp or road notify me immediately. You will not have any issue finding us, I am sure you can follow a trail over a hundred men strong.’
‘Yes lord’ the men barked together turning away and selecting the rest of the men they required from the ranks. Lastly Jason turned to his men and spoke three words ‘follow me, quietly!’ Nobody dared asked where they were following him to, not that he knew himself at that moment.


Marcianus and the men had spent a night shivering in the woods, the Centurion could not risk having a fire lit that may give away their position, so the men had spent a night on front covered ground shivering under blankets to wake up to a breakfast of rock hard bread and cups of water, he had allowed no cooking fires either. The centurion thought about the geography of his plan, he and his men were sitting in the southern woods, expecting Aulus and Romulus to come out of the northern and western woods respectively, the forested area formed an inverted C with the only direction that was not forested being the east, the area which was crossed by the Appian way and the direction from which Lucius and his patrol should arrive, shortly followed by Jason’s pirates at least that was how the plan should work.


There was always the chance that Jason may order his men to capture Lucius before he could get to the ambush site of course. A shiver ran down the spine of Marcianus at the thought of what this ‘Jason’ would do to the lad if he captured him, the centurion pushed the depressing thought to the back of his mind and concentrated on factors he could control.


Watching the clearing that was bordered on three sides by the wooded areas he could see a small group of men marching from the east, a group of soldiers none the less, they were moving smartly along, not to quick to look like they were being followed, but fast enough to keep warm and keep a distance between them and their shadowy followers. Smiling to himself he realised that at least one part of the plan was working; Lucius had arrived, and no doubt the pirates would soon be following, but as to Aulus and Romulus he had seen no sign of them….

[Rex Anglorvm]

Chapter Forty Nine – Jason’s mask falls…


Lucius could almost feel the breath of the men following his small patrol on the back of his neck, like any scouts worth their salt he had not seen or heard them, but he could sense them. He knew that they were there, and his men knew it too. Nobody said a word but you could sense it in the nervous energy that propelled them over a frost covered landscape at a brisk pace. The Optio knew what he had to do, and soon he would give the order to do it. Only then would his own and his men’s nerves be stretched to breaking point.


‘Rest for five minutes and then training begins!’ the words had almost broken out of his mouth unheeded, Marcianus had told him to march until he reached the centre of the wooded area and then proceed to train his men.


After following the patrol in its easterly direction and then slipping into a tip of the southern woods to avoid detection, Erhard and his men watched as the Romans stopped and rested in the middle of a clearing bordered on three sides by heavily wooded areas. ‘I don’t like this, its too much like home a man could hide an army in here, we need to check out all of these woods before the rest of the men are brought up. I want you to pair up and take a wood each, I will wait here and keep an eye on these dogs.’


In the end the waiting had been too much for Jason, for too long now he had wanted to extract revenge upon his ‘son’s’ murderer, he was now almost within touching distance of his goal, he had tried desperately to remain patient and not charge after Erhard and his scouts, but in the end it was a struggle he could not contend with, he had ordered the pace of the men doubled and arrived less than a minute behind the big German. His trait for impatience was one gift he had hoped not to share with Manugas, he had failed; he had been as impatient as the Thracian.


From his position in the southern wood, Erhard swore as he realised that Jason had brought up the men far too soon, now there was no point in lurking in the woods, as the small party of Romans could now clearly see that a vast number of pirates had arrived to seek their heads; walking away from the woods and from his bemused group of scouts he headed towards his leader, the German spread his muscled tattooed arms wide in exasperation, ‘my Lord why have you brought the men up so soon? They now know we are here!’


Looking over Erhard’s shoulder at the small band of Romans who were now busily forming a pathetically small shieldwall Jason shrugged his shoulders and laughed ‘should I be afraid my apprentice? Look at them, a handful of men against nearly one hundred and fifty, we will roll over them and treat the son like the father!’


Erhard emphatically shook his head ‘But my lord, we have not scouted the woods, there could be a thousand men in there we don’t know about!’


Jason snapped, ‘enough! My patience is at an end, both with you and those Romans! Don’t question my orders again German!’ with that the Thracian’s hand hovered meaningfully over the hilt of his razor sharp sword.


Biting down his anger, the German stifled his urge to retort with an unsavoury comment to his leader, promising to himself that after Lucius Verres was captured that he would have done enough to repay the unhinged warrior. Erhard awaited Jason’s next order.


Shouting at the top of his lungs Jason ensured that all of his men could hear him ‘no bows, no slings, no man is to kill the Optio except me, we need no ranks for a handful of Roman scum, Charge!!’ Jason drew his sword in one swift elegant movement and ran for the small Roman shieldwall. An unruly surge of manpower followed after their leader screaming their rage at the roman line.


Lucius stood waiting with Andronicus on one side and a man called Balbus on the other, his small group of eight men nervously awaiting the crash of the pirates and hoping that Marcianus’s timing would be perfect. Andronicus gave his friend a reassuring smile and then focussed on the howling mass of pirates that was now hurtling towards them at great speed.
Nearer and nearer the enemy came to Lucius and his tent mates, his heart now firmly in his mouth he crouched low behind his shield and prepared as best as he could for the inevitable impact that would probably send him flying from his feet.


Then just as Lucius expected his world to erupt into a confusion of colour, impact and violence a startled cry arose from the crowd of pirates who checked their speed for several vital seconds. From the north and the west woods came two perfect centuries of Triarii, one led by the tall athletic form of Romulus, whilst the other was lead by none other than the squat powerful form of his Uncle Aulus.


Seeing the arrival of these new troops, Jason reacted immediately, ‘charge! Keep going through the small line and we can form up in the southern woods!’ The Thracian’s heart sank when he finally he saw the last Roman arrivals to the battlefield, an under strength century of Hastati who had come out of the southern woods behind the small Roman line. Already he could see that the three blocks of infantry were closing in fast on his pirate rabble and any hope of escape, even back via the way they had come was now lost. A snarling angry Erhard shouted over the heads of several men at his leader ‘So numbers will win this day after all! Just not our numbers fool!’


Jason ignored the ridiculous posturing of the German and focused on extracting his revenge by going headlong after Lucius and his small band of companions. ‘Come on men we can still win, fight through to the South!’ If he could finish off the small roman line and the Verres whelp with it he could then than roll over the Hastati and get his men to form up in the southern woods. Perhaps he could even slip away and back to the Moon Star to extract further vengeance on Rome? Encouraged by his shouted orders his men began to rally and head once more for the Romans by the southern woods.


All thoughts of possible survival ended as he realised that the small group of soldiers led by Lucius Verres had gradually been moving backwards as their comrades had sprinted out of the southern woods to join them in a united front of defiance. Soon he could feel the men at the front come to a grinding halt as they entered the meat grinder that was the roman century at its most effective. Casting a glance back over his shoulder Jason could see that barring the odd lucky pirate that had broken free of the trap, the two centuries of Triarii had now closed a complete vice like grip that had now ruled out all possibility of escape.


All around Jason the sounds of a desperate battle could be heard, but the superior numbers and training of the Romans making itself immediately apparent, with a nod acknowledging that he had been outwitted once more he looked at Erhard and screamed ‘to the death!’


Erhard already bloody with the life-blood of friend and foe alike, looked at his leader, laughed and then in a harsh resigned voice shouted back at him ‘to the death my lord! Thank you for the sword!’ Jason watched as Erhard plunged into the front of the melee heading for the biggest legionary that the Thracian had ever seen, a man standing next to Lucius Verres! Jason snarled and launched himself into the physical space that had been created by Erhard.


Marcianus’s men were now carving through the pirates like a hot knife through butter. The Centurion watched as his men simply took the enemy apart, his group of men had bested war elephants, and no thieving pirate scum would be a match for them! His eyes turned to the part of the line that was held by Lucius and Andronicus, only to witness a huge tattooed Northman who was exchanging mammoth blows with the giant Greek; whilst Lucius was engaged in a dazzling display of swordsmanship with a slim man dressed all in black. The centurion felt like a spectator at a gladiatorial game, Lucius seemed to match the sword play of the man move for move, their swords a blur of silver moving at a speed that was almost unimaginable…. all the sounds of battle seemed to fade around Marcianus as he watched the duel unfold.

[Tigellinus]

MOAR!

Fantastic chapters Rex! Loved how this turned out. I have a feeling that either Marcinius or Andronicus will die.

But I will have to wait and see....

[Rex Anglorvm]

MOAR!

Fantastic chapters Rex! Loved how this turned out. I have a feeling that either Marcinius or Andronicus will die.

But I will have to wait and see....

Glad you liked the last three chapters, as for the rest you will have to wait see!

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Yeah great work mate, I can't wait to see how the duel of the century (geddit it? ) turn out!

[Scottish King]

I thought you were going to wrap the Jason storyline in one update to my dismay but I see I was wrong! This ought to be epic!

[Rex Anglorvm]

Yeah great work mate, I can't wait to see how the duel of the century (geddit it? ) turn out!

Thanks SB, I hope to have a chapter up next week, so there so should not be long to wait.

I thought you were going to wrap the Jason storyline in one update to my dismay but I see I was wrong! This ought to be epic!

I certainly hope it will be!

[Rex Anglorvm]

Be ready....the tale will be resumed shortly....I hope.