On the third day after we crossed theborder, we left the banks of the Strymon (Struma), turning more tothe northeast in the direction of Serdica. Shortly after we beganthe march that day, the Thracian scouting party showed itself,skylining themselves on a low ridge directly in the path of ourline of march. There was the usual flurry of excitement whenever apotential enemy is first sighted, with men stepping out of thecolumn to try and catch a glimpse, yet not staying long enough toattract the attention of their Centurion or Optio and a swat of thevitus. I had ordered Libo to keep two hundred troopers withthe main body at all times, so now I called for him.
“Sweep those bastards off that hill,” Iordered. “We can’t stop them from watching us, but we don’t have tomake it easy for them.”
Libo and the troopers immediately set off. Iwatched them pound past the vanguard and up the hill. The Thracianstook one look at the oncoming troopers then immediately turned tailto vacate the ridge. When Libo and his men crested the ridge, I wasstruck by a pang of anxiety, realizing I had not specifically toldthe Tribune I just wanted him to disperse the Thracians and notpursue them. More times than I could count through the years, thecavalry had gotten themselves in trouble by being too aggressive,and it was a common tactic for an enemy of Rome to use that totheir advantage. Of course, the Parthians are rightfully the mostfamous for this, seeming to retreat in disarray in order to lure apursuing force away from the support of the main body beforeturning on them. I did not know that the Thracians used thistactic, yet it was an oversight on my part that I hoped Libo andhis men would not pay for. Watching the skyline anxiously, I couldonly see the dust cloud churned up by the hooves of Libo and hismen hovering just above the hilltop. Just when I was on the vergeof rounding up Scribonius and the rest of the Evocati with us,despite the fact they were only about fifty in number, to go afterLibo, I saw him cresting the hill with all of his troopers. Ibreathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived, as Libo camecantering up to report.
“There’s a large group of Thracians formedup on a hill about two miles away,” he said breathlessly. “And itlooks like they plan on trying to stop us.”
Marcus Primus had come bouncing up in timeto hear Libo’s report, and he let out a squawk of what sounded likesurprise and fear.
“Already?” he gasped. “I wasn’t expectingthem to muster a force for several more days.”
“Yes, it’s funny how the enemy refuses tocooperate sometimes,” I replied dryly, prompting a scowl from thePraetor.
Ignoring me, he turned to Libo and said,“You didn’t think to attack them and take them by surprise?”
Libo looked astonished, his face undoubtedlymatching my own expression.
“Praetor, I’m not sure, but it looks likethere are perhaps five thousand men gathered on that hill.”
“Five thousand Thracians,” Primus saidscornfully, looking over to Masala for support.
Somewhat surprisingly, his aide lookedsimilarly doubtful at the wisdom of the Praetor’s words.
“Surely they would have been surprised,”Primus protested. “You could have inflicted a great deal of damage,then gotten away. You are mounted, after all.”
“Oh, they would have been surprised,” Iagreed. “They would have been shocked that we would throw men awayso callously, without any hope of success. So yes, it would haveachieved surprise.”
Primus’ face turned a deep red, but he didnot reply. Without saying another word, he turned his mount andtrotted away. After he had gone, I turned to Libo.
“Let’s go take a look.”
Indeed, as Libo had reported, the Thracianswere arrayed on a hill across a small valley from the ridge thatthe vanguard was just at that moment ascending where we had firstseen the Thracian scouts. Too far away to make out individuals, Istill believed that Libo’s estimate of five thousand was close tothe mark. Sitting astride our direction of march, we were now facedwith a choice.
“Do we go around, or do we go through?” Iwondered aloud, looking carefully at the surroundingcountryside.
“Why don’t we just brush them off the hill?”Libo asked, flush with the aggressiveness and verve that comes frombeing young.
“We could,” I conceded. “But I don’t knowhow easily they'd be brushed. From this distance, I can’t tell ifthey're entrenched at all. We also don’t know what tribe theybelong to.”
“What does that matter?” the Tribune asked,and I swallowed the urge to make a sharp retort, forcing myselfinstead to explain.
“Libo, we can handle the Triballi with thearmy we have. And we can handle the Serdi. We might be able tohandle both tribes together. But can we handle a third tribe?” Ishook my head. “Until we know, or at least have a good idea exactlywhat tribe those men belong to over there, I’m not in any hurry togo try to knock them off.”
“And how do we find that out?”
I considered for a moment.
“We could approach them under a flag oftruce and try and find out, but then we’d have to explain whatwe're doing here. The better way is to take some prisoners, exceptthere’s not much chance of us doing that, since they’re preparedfor us.”
I turned Ocelus to go back to the main body,having seen enough.
“So we have to figure out a way to surprisethem.”
When we returned to the rest of the army,Primus was waiting for us.
“Well?” he demanded. “Are they there?”
“They’re there all right,” I told him.
I did not relish telling Primus what I hadin mind, yet I also knew that any choice I made was liable to getan argument from him.
“Until we know exactly who these Thraciansare, I think we should look to go around them.”
“Go around them?” Primus scoffed. “What for?First, we don’t engage with our cavalry, and now you want to skulkaround them as if we’re afraid? No!” He pounded on the pommel ofhis saddle with a pudgy hand. “I order that we attack that mob andshow them the might of Rome!”
Macrinus and Flaminius had joined us by thistime, their faces revealing none of their thoughts,
