‘That’s what you signed up for, Acer. What we all signed up for. That’s no excuse.’
The optio opened his mouth to protest but saw the cold glint in Macro’s eyes and looked down in shame instead. There was no profit in undermining the optio, Cato decided, and he returned to the subject at hand.
‘If there’s been no request for supplies then it means that Quertus and his men are living off the land.’
‘Or they’ve been wiped out,’ Decimus suggested anxiously. ‘If there’s been no word from them, then what else could have happened?’
Macro corrected him. ‘The optio says he saw one of their patrols ten days ago.’
‘Quite,’ Cato agreed. ‘So we must assume the fort and its garrison are intact. We’ll know soon enough in any case. If we start out at first light we should reach the fort by dusk.’
‘You’re continuing, sir?’ asked Decimus.
‘Of course. I have orders to take command of the fort.’
‘But things ain’t right, sir. Not by a long way. It would be madness to continue. Not before you know what you’re leading us into.’
‘Nevertheless, we will continue to Bruccium.’
‘Not me, sir. I ain’t going another step. Come the morning, I’m heading back to Glevum, and then Londinium.’
Macro smiled. ‘All by yourself? On foot, with that gammy leg of yours? Sounds like more of a risk than continuing to Bruccium.’
‘I’ll take one of the mules.’
‘One of
The veteran turned to Cato. ‘You can spare me one, sir.’
Cato shook his head. ‘We’ve got a prisoner to carry, as well as our baggage. But if it’ll help change your mind, I’ll give you a hundred denarii bonus if you stay with us until the autumn.’
Macro looked startled. ‘A hundred? Are you mad?’
Cato raised a hand to silence him, his attention fixed on Decimus. ‘If it’s as dangerous as you think, then I’ll need you at my side. And that hundred denarii should set you up nicely in Londinium when this is all over. What do you say?’
Decimus looked distraught, his fears warring with his greed. In the end he stared bitterly at Cato. ‘Seems I ain’t got any choice anyway. I can’t stay here. I can’t get back to Londinium. The only way is forward. All right, a hundred denarii it is. I accept.’
Cato smiled thinly. ‘Very big of you. Now, you’d better see to our bed rolls. Centurion Macro and I will be sleeping in here. Then get some rest. It’ll be a long day tomorrow.’
Decimus nodded unhappily and left the mess room. Once he had gone, Macro let out a sigh and muttered, ‘Glad to see that Decimus is willing to stand with us. . The hundred denarii helped, though.’
‘You know how it is. Money talks.’ Cato cocked an eyebrow. ‘Actually, it practically screams.’
Optio Acer looked up at him. ‘Perhaps your servant is right to be nervous, sir.’
‘How so?’
‘I don’t quite know how to put it, sir.’
‘Well, try putting it into words, man,’ Macro growled. ‘Before I lose my patience.’
The optio winced but then took a sharp breath and steeled himself to speak. ‘I don’t know what they’ve told you about what’s been going on at Bruccium, sir, but it’s never been quite right to my mind, since the fort was built. The last prefect was, well, a bit on the weak side. Left most of the running of the garrison to Quertus.’
‘How do you know this?’ asked Cato.
‘I heard it from the men passing through here on the way to the supply base. That, and more.’ The optio lowered his voice. ‘They said that Quertus rules the fort with a rod of iron and hands out the harshest punishments for the smallest of infractions. They said he had ordered one of the optios beaten to death for questioning his order not to take prisoners following a raid on a local village.’
Macro sucked in a breath. ‘Good discipline is one thing. But that’s going too far.’
Cato shot him a look. ‘You think? Carry on, Acer. What else have you heard?’
‘The prefect looked the other way for a while, but in the end he confronted Quertus. Told him that he had put in a request to have him transferred to another unit. That was shortly before the prefect’s accident.’
Macro narrowed his eyes. ‘What are you suggesting, Optio?’
Acer swallowed nervously. ‘I’m just telling you what I know, sir. You can draw your own conclusions.’ The optio stood up and faced Cato. ‘I’ve said enough, sir. I should see to the sentries. After the attack this afternoon, I’ve doubled the watches. I don’t want to be surprised again.’
‘Very good.’ Cato nodded. ‘You may go.’
Once he had left, Macro puffed out his cheeks. ‘Now they’re all at it. Quertus has got our own side spooked as much as the enemy. Perhaps you’re right. Maybe there’s more to this than I thought.’
‘We’ll know soon enough. We should reach Bruccium tomorrow.’ Cato stretched his back and yawned. ‘And then we’ll finally meet Centurion Quertus in the flesh.’
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
‘The top of the pass should be just ahead.’ Trebellius spoke quietly, as if fearful that they might be overheard. Around them the mist was thick enough to conceal the rocky slopes rising up on each side. The clatter of their hoofs on the loose shale seemed unnervingly loud as the riders slowly made their way up the rise. Cato’s replacement mount was a steady, mild-mannered beast by the name of Hannibal. Fortunately he did not take after his namesake and presented no trouble to his Roman rider. As near as Cato could estimate, it was mid-afternoon. A light drizzle filled the air and coated the cloaks of the riders in tiny beads of moisture. The prisoner had been tied over the back of a mule and his tattooed back glistened in the damp. The stillness and quiet of their surroundings made the men of the squadron nervous and they glanced warily from side to side as they walked their mounts up the track. Cato pulled his cloak more tightly about him and tried not to shiver.
‘And what is beyond the pass?’ he asked the decurion.
‘The track leads down into the valley, straight to the fort, about five miles from here. You can’t miss it.’
‘You’ve been there before then?’
‘Once, shortly after it was completed.’
‘What’s the layout?’
Trebellius paused a moment as he recalled the details. ‘It’s well-sited, above a small gorge with a swift current flowing through it. The cliff bends round the side and then there’s steep ground in front of the other two faces which have the usual ditch and rampart. It’s a pretty formidable position and you’d need an army and even a decent siege train to break into the place.’
‘Does it command a good view of the valley?’
The decurion nodded. ‘That too. Though in a mist like this that’s of little use, and mists are commonplace in these mountains.’ He shook his head. ‘Why the fuck anyone, even barbarians like the Silurians, would want to live here is beyond me.’ He turned to Cato. ‘Once we reach the top of the pass, I’ll be turning back to Glevum, sir.’
‘I know.’
There was a brief pause before Trebellius continued. ‘We’ve already escorted you further than my orders required, sir.’
‘I know. You don’t have to justify it to me, Decurion. We’ll be fine.’
‘Yes, sir.’ The decurion nudged his heels in and urged his mount forward to resume his position at the head of the small column.
They rode on in silence until Macro edged his horse alongside Cato and muttered, ‘I hope we will be fine. If laughing boy’s Silurian friends are still around I don’t give much for our chances when Trebellius and his lads about face.’
‘If the enemy are as scared of Quertus as our prisoner seems to be then I don’t think we’re going to be in any danger once we enter the valley. Not from the Silurians, at any rate.’
