Approaching Serdica from the south, there isa river valley that we were following through the range ofmountains that blocked easy access to the plain where Serdicastood. That was not all that blocked access; on the shoulder of ahuge mountain that looked down onto the wide valley where the citystood to the north was a fortress that looked like it had beenthere for some time. The only way to get to the city was to passdirectly underneath the walls of that fortress. We were perched ona ridge perhaps three miles away from the ridge where the fortresswas located and, at first, I could not see Serdica until theCenturion pointed at a spot past the ridge. Squinting, I couldbarely make out a straight, dark line that experience told me hadto be the wall of the city, since there are no truly straight linesin nature. However, the most pressing problem was how we would getpast that fortress and, after examining it, I was resigned to thefact that we would have to reduce that fort before we could safelyapproach the city. Even from our vantage point, I could make outthe nearly invisible dark spots between the crenellations of thefort that I took to be men lining the ramparts, obviously havingspotted our dust cloud. We were watching them watching us while Isurveyed the fortress, looking for weak points. As I looked, whatappeared to be an obvious weak point was perhaps not quite asvulnerable as it appeared. The Thracians had built this fortress onthe lower slopes of a very imposing mountain, the peak of which wasstill covered in snow, meaning that there were heights above thefortress that could conceivably be scaled with artillery to scourthe defenders from the walls. Looking at the slopes above thefortress more closely, I was dismayed to see bare crags, so steepthat the snow would not stick, leaving exposed rock that lookedlike ribs poking out of white flesh. It would be extremelydifficult if not impossible to get men on those heights, whileartillery bigger than a scorpion was out of the question. Thepassage leading into the larger valley where Serdica sat was narrowenough that even if we hugged the far side, next to the opposingslope and on the opposite side of the river, the garrison barelyneeded to move farther than a couple hundred paces outside theirwalls with slingers and archers to pepper us when we tried to passby. And even if we bypassed the fortress somehow without dislodgingand destroying the enemy troops inside, we would have a force ofunknown size in our rear. That was the final problem; at thatmoment, I had no idea how many men were in that fortress. For all Iknew, the entire blocking force that our scouts had spotted, whichhad withdrawn back toward Serdica, had gone only as far as thatfortress, and they were all inside waiting. My judgment was that itwould be an extremely tight fit for the number of men that ourscouts had reported, but I simply could not discount thatpossibility. I also had to assume that they were well supplied;judging by the amount of snow packed on the upper reaches of themountain, there was undoubtedly plenty of fresh water as the summersun slowly melted the mass. Food was another matter, and I felt aslight twinge of hope that this might be a weakness we couldexploit. Not wanting to show my concern in front of the Centurion,I gave every appearance that what I was seeing was not much of achallenge.
“That’s an afternoon’s work,” I said loudlyto the Centurion, who looked dubious but also recognized I wasspeaking for the benefit of the men.
“If that, Prefect. Especially if you let myboys lead the way.”
I clapped the man on the shoulder to showhis men I appreciated his fighting spirit, while giving him anunobtrusive wink. Remounting Ocelus, I turned back toward thecolumn, only to see Marcus Primus come bouncing up. I groaned atthe thought of having to explain what the situation was in front ofsome of the men, knowing that Primus would feel goaded into puttingon a display that none of them would buy.
“Well, Prefect, what’s the delay?”
I did not answer, instead turning back andbeckoning Primus to follow me; disrespectful, I know, but I did notcare. Returning to my original vantage point, I waited until thePraetor was alongside, then simply pointed. Like I expected, he satthere looking blankly at the vista before us. I waited, andrealizing that I was expecting something, he cleared his throat,giving the men a sidelong glance.
“Yes, well. I see. Very good, then.”
Then, without another word, he wheeled hishorse about, leaving me sitting, mouth agape, watching hisretreating back.
“Pluto’s cock,” I muttered. “Not even hecould have missed seeing that fucking fort.”
I heard the Centurion snicker, and Icringed, knowing I should not have spoken aloud. I went trottingafter Primus, Ocelus easily catching the other man’s mount. Pullingalongside, I risked a glance at the Praetor’s face, seeing that itwas unreadable as he stared straight ahead.
Finally, somewhat desperately, I was movedto ask, “Now that you’ve seen what’s ahead, what are your thoughts,Praetor, if I might ask?”
He looked startled that I had asked.
“What? Oh, yes. Well,” he pretended toconsider the question carefully, but I could see the desperation inhis eyes. “I don’t see a problem. Serdica is sitting out in themiddle of that plain, so it shouldn’t be too hard to surround it.We should dig a ditch around it,” he finished, the last part morequestion than statement, and his eyes darted over at me to read myreaction. Apparently, he took what he saw as approval, because henodded vigorously.
“Yes,” Primus continued, enthusiastic now.“That’s what we’ll do. We’ll surround the city with a large ditchto cut it off. Then maybe some tunnels to undermine the walls.”
Before he could get too carried away withhis dreams of Alesian proportions, I interrupted.
“Excuse me, Praetor, but what about thefortress?”
Primus gave me a blank stare, my stomachtwisting, seeing this was even worse than I had thought.
“You did see the large fortress on the slopeof the mountain we
