Rome.’
Caninus smiled broadly.
‘You’ve a sharp mind, First Spear. As you say, without the supply of grain to the fortresses on the Rhenus, the empire’s entire north-western flank would be wide open to barbarian attack. Within fifty years they’d have settled Germania Inferior and be knocking on the door of Gaul. Not to mention the fact that not defending the lower stretches of the Rhenus would put the defences along the upper reaches of the river under threat of attack. Tungrorum is absolutely critical to the maintenance of control over the German tribes. And Tungrorum is under a threat whose severity Procurator Albanus seems determined to underestimate in favour of commercial concerns.’
He looked directly at the procurator, waiting for him to deny the accusation, but the administrator stared intently at the table, clearly determined to ignore the provocation. Scaurus waved a hand at the wall.
‘Tell us about the bandit threat, Prefect. I’m curious to know why it hasn’t already been stamped out, if the supply route to the frontier is of such critical importance.’
Caninus pointed to the map again, indicating an area to the south and east of the city.
‘March to the east for ten miles and cross the River Mosa, and you’ll find yourself confronted with a vast forest that rises from the river’s edge to form a range of hills. It’s impossible ground to police, riven by deep river valleys and covered with dense woodland where the light of day barely reaches the ground. When it’s not raining the hills are wreathed in mist, and it’s as cold as the grave at this time of the year. And that is the root of our problem, Tribune. The locals call it the Forest of Arduenna, after their goddess of the high woods. She rides a boar to hunt, they say.’
‘A German Diana, then?’
‘Yes, Tribune, apart from her association with high ground. The forest is littered with shrines to her name, hunters invoking her good favour in the main, although there are rumours of a darker side to her worship. Human sacrifices…’ He paused, touching an amulet that hung from his right wrist. ‘Not that we’ve found any sign of the kind of sacrificial altars you’d expect if the rumours are based in fact, but…’
Scaurus nodded, his face set hard.
‘When we had men captured in the war with the Quadi it wasn’t unusual for the tribesmen to sacrifice them to their gods, usually slowly, and often within screaming distance of our camps. Let’s hope your amulet brings you protection. So, tell me, what have you achieved against these bandits?’
Albanus jumped to his feet, suddenly livid at the question.
‘Nothing! Exactly nothing at all! We house these men at the governor’s request, we provide them with stabling, and yet-’
‘ Procurator! ’ Scaurus’s voice was cold, and his tone not that of a man likely to brook any argument. The civilian looked at him, his mouth open. ‘I promise you, in fact I swear to Mithras Unconquered, that if you interject your nonsensical gabbling into this conference one more time I will have you ejected from the room. Keep your mouth shut, so that those of us who have to go outside these walls and hunt down the men putting the empire’s entire northern frontier at risk can work out what is to be done!’ He held the administrator’s gaze until the other man looked away, while his clerk stared with even greater intensity at his notes. Petrus, the first spear noted, didn’t so much as flicker an eyelid; he simply watched Scaurus with the same closed expression. The tribune waited another moment to make sure his point had been made, then gestured to the waiting Caninus. ‘Prefect? Do please continue.’
Caninus looked at the map in silence for a moment, shaking his head ruefully.
‘You want to know what we’ve done? Everything we can, given our resources, but nowhere near enough. We patrol the roads as frequently as we can, capturing and killing the occasional small band of robbers, but the real threat is still out there. And why, you ask? Why haven’t we already ground them into the mud of the flat open fields that border the road for as far as the eye can see? There are two reasons, and if I have your measure you already know very well what the bigger of the two has to be.’
Scaurus nodded.
‘I think I know the first of them as well, but please continue.’
‘The first is simple enough. All the way through the war with the Marcomanni and the Quadi, a war which only really ended two years ago, no matter what the victory coins might have said before that, this province was bled of men and gold to fund the campaign’s insatiable appetite for blood and treasure. The legions on the lower Rhenus are stripped to the bone, capable of little more than guarding the frontier; and the farm owners are taxed to the hilt to make up the financial shortfall caused by the plague, so they drive their slaves like animals. As a consequence of these problems the number of army deserters and escaped slaves swells the numbers of those committing the crime of robbery faster than I can bring them to justice with only thirty men. As you expected, Tribune?’ Scaurus nodded, his expression thoughtful. ‘And your guess as to the second problem?’
The tribune stood, stretching his back before walking across to the map. As he stared intently at it a tense silence filled the room, broken by the slap of his hand on the wall.
‘Simple. You have two different types of bandit at work here. There are opportunists like those we killed yesterday, escaped slaves for the most part, running from the harsh conditions imposed on them by their masters, who are, as you say, desperate to make a profit despite the heavy taxes squeezing them dry. After all, most of them owe money, and the lenders aren’t traditionally known for their patience. This first type of bandit stays close to the road, and preys on the weak and unprepared, but keeps well away from the grain convoys. You are escorting the grain across the province?’
‘Yes. We meet the convoys twenty or so miles to the west and escort them to the city. The convoys from here to the legions on the Rhenus we accompany as far as the Mosa to the east. It’s the most that we can do with the strength we have, and the carters are sufficiently well armed to fight off most of the smaller bands of robbers.’
‘But here — ’ Scaurus slapped the wall again, indicating the forest’s sprawling mass — ‘here’s your bigger problem. The forest is less than a day’s march from the road, and provides a sanctuary that you’ll never be able to penetrate. There’s a major band operating from the forest, at a guess?’
Caninus laughed ruefully.
‘More like an army. There were already at least two hundred of them before the auxiliaries sent to hunt them down decided to mutiny and join with them last autumn. A century sent to man an outpost fort on the road south was attacked after dark and those that decided to resist were slaughtered to the last man. When their bodies were discovered, the rest of the cohort decided they’d be better off siding with the bandits. They killed their prefect and deserted, and it was only by good fortune they weren’t actually in the city when it happened or there would have been a bloodbath. The band in the forest must be at least five hundred men strong now, and that many mouths take a lot of feeding.’
Scaurus stared at the map for a moment.
‘Which puts the grain convoys at constant risk. I see the size of the problem.’ He turned away from the map, his hard stare raking across the faces of the men sitting around the table. ‘First things first. Now the magnitude of what we’re facing has been made clear, my first priority is to get my men under solid roofs, with proper food and stoves to cook it on. Once that’s achieved, you, Prefect Caninus, can show us the ground we’ll be operating across. And so, gentlemen, to business. I need enough wood, nails and tools to build barracks for fourteen hundred soldiers, plus stabling for thirty horses, and my food supplies for both men and beasts will have run out by the end of tomorrow. So are we going to work this out with the professionalism the empire expects from us, or am I going to have to show you all my teeth?’
2
‘It’s not much of a market, is it? I remember this place from when I was a boy, with every wall lined with traders, and all of their stalls loaded with fruit and vegetables. But this…’
Julius stood with his hands on his hips and looked about the forum’s thin population of traders and their limited variety of produce, shaking his head slowly. Marcus and Dubnus had volunteered to come with him on the task to which he’d been appointed by Frontinius, and the two men exchanged a glance. The state of the city’s
