Salonius shrugged. “I can smell it. Honestly, sir, I can virtually feel it. I don’t know whether any of your servants or friends here would notice, but I know the signs sir. No amount of spiced oil is going to hide that scent.”
Varro’s frown deepened. “You speak from experience.”
The young man nodded.
“Tell me…” the captain urged.
Salonius squared his shoulders.
“I’ve seen him twice sir. Both times have changed my life. Cernus is a Lord of Portents. To see the stag himself is to be given a portent; a herald of things changing. Something for you will change. I can’t speak for what you saw sir, but my first vision was pretty clear.”
He smiled, wistfully, his eyes glazing slightly with the memory.
“I was hunting with my brothers in the woods near our village. Somehow we got separated and I ended up deep in the undergrowth on my own. I had a bow, you see, sir? I was after game really, or a coney. Whatever I could find. Other than that I just had a long knife on my belt. I stumbled into a clearing just as a bloody great boar burst out of the other edge. I didn’t really have time to react. I dropped the bow and reached for my knife, but I’d have been dead before I’d freed the blade…”
“And?” Varro had moved to the edge of his seat in rapt fascination.
“And the wolf saved me, sir. A big grey wolf came from nowhere and hit the boar in the flank. He tore its throat out as I stood there, then he looked at me just once and settled down to eat his kill. I turned and ran back into the woods and after a dozen steps, there was the white stag. I’d been saved by the wolf, sir. It was clear to me anyway, but I went to see the village healer and he confirmed what it meant. I set off for Vengen the next morning and enlisted to serve the Imperial wolf, sir.”
Varro blinked and sat back.
“I don’t think your God showed me anything; don’t think he told me what to expect. I just remember the feeling; the aura of the place and the thing.”
Salonius nodded thoughtfully.
“You’re not one of our people, sir. You might not have recognised whatever signs you were given, but rest assured there will have been signs.”
“So a visit from Cernus means your life’s going to change?” Varro sat back heavily, with a strange smile on his face. “Well, it certainly did. And now I’ve seen him twice it’s going to change again?”
“Not necessarily, sir.” Salonius steepled his fingers. “A visit from the Stag Lord is rare enough sir. A second visit is not something that happens very often even in legends. A second visit is… it’s sort of a confirmation of destiny, sir. A chance to change things, sir. Something world-shaking.”
The captain sighed.
“Your God has, I think, taken something from me. I think that’s what our first meeting was. But it’s possible that this morning he gave me something in return. I need to tell you the full story, Salonius. But I need you to keep this totally secret at the moment. Not about Cernus; I don’t think there’s much else to say about that, and most any man you speak to in the army will think you a madman if you start telling them you had a one-on-one with a forest God. I think Corda sent you to me for a specific reason and I need to tell you what’s happened over the last twenty four hours.”
The young man nodded hesitantly.
Varro drained his now tepid lemon drink and cleared his throat.
“I’m dying, Salonius.”
He looked across at his young companion and studied his features.
“You don’t seem all that surprised?”
Salonius shook his head slightly.
“I’m sorry about that sir. I really am. But no, I’m not surprised. I knew something was going on and it makes sense, I think. But why and how?”
“Poison, my lad. On the blade that stuck me.”
Varro squared his shoulders.
“The larger picture, and the larger problem too, is that this isn’t some random viciousness on the part of a barbarian. The sword was an imperial blade and the poison is far too expensive and exotic to have fallen into the lap of a random tribesman. This was done by one of our own; a soldier. And that means I can’t trust anyone. Well, hardly anyone.”
He narrowed his eyes and focused on his young companion.
“But you’re new, you see. I can think of no reason why you can’t be trusted. In fact, it may be that your Stag God sent you to me as the only soldier I can trust. Apart from Corda, of course.”
Salonius frowned.
“What do you intend to do, sir?”
“What do you think?” the captain smiled coldly. “I’m going to track down the bastard responsible, and I’m going to make him pay. Very painfully. And very slowly.”
“Good, sir. And Corda has assigned me to you personally so I’m here to help in any way I can,” Salonius nodded in fierce agreement.
‘And now something the stag lord showed me falls into place’ he thought as he clenched his fists.
Varro nodded gratefully.
“Ok then, while we wait for the serg… the captain, I mean… tell me more about Cernus.”
The door opened to Corda’s knock and he was surprised to find Salonius admitting him rather than Martis. Of greater surprise was the faint smell of wine on the young soldier’s breath. He furrowed his brow in disapproval but issued no comment as he strode past and into the room. Catching sight of Varro on the couch, he saluted and then stood at ease.
“Alright. I’ve briefed the cohort on the temporary command change. Can’t say anyone likes it much though, including me.”
The door shut with a click and Salonius returned to the room, stopping momentarily to salute the sergeant before walking over to stand by the window, also at ease.
Varro grunted.
“Can’t say I’m too thrilled about it myself, but if these last few hours have taught me anything, it’s that time is too precious to spend it messing around feeling sorry for myself. Thank you for assigning Salonius. He’ll be of great use.”
Corda nodded.
“Until we have a little more information on how this all occurred, we have to be very careful in whom we place our trust. In fact, captain, I would not take it personally were you to dismiss me for now.”
Varro laughed.
“Corda, we’ve been friends for longer than some of our men have been alive. I know I can trust you. Unfortunately, with you taking on command of the cohort, you’ll be tied to that job, so I doubt we’ll be seeing a lot of you. And really I can’t think of anyone else I’d be willing to trust in the cohort at the moment.” He sighed and sat back. “Or out of the cohort either, for that matter.”
The sergeant took a seat and leaned on his knees.
“So there’s just the three of us. And with me busy and you incapacitated it’s going to be difficult following anything up.”
Varro shook his head.
“Whatever Scortius cooked up for me this time seems to be doing the trick. I’m thinking clearly and I seem to be functioning almost normally. Alright I’m achy and it hurts a bit from time to time, but not enough to stop me. Salonius and I can deal with all this.”
Corda nodded.
“Alright Varro. I went through the quartermaster’s list of all loot accounted for from the battlefield and there’s no sign of a sword anything like your description. Plenty of weapons, but nothing like that.” His eyes slipped sideways to Salonius. “Have you briefed this young man yet?”
Varro nodded.
