Frankly, I thought he was within his rights;he had been named the acting Quartus Pilus Prior by Gnaeus, infront of witnesses, but I also understood his caution. More thanone man has run afoul of the veritable mountain of regulations thathave sprung up over the last few decades, and which seem to beadded to every year.
He offered his arm on the dock, and as weclasped, he assured me, “I’m going to tell Germanicus the truth aswe agreed on. But,” he hesitated, “I’m also going to tell him thatthe sooner the Pilus Prior is ransomed, the better. If that meanshe wants to intervene,” he shrugged, “then that’s his choice.”
Even if I had been disposed to try anddissuade him, I am a clerk, he is a Centurion, so I did not eventry; that I thought it was a good idea certainly helped. Then I wasin the saddle, while the men of the First and Second Century, whowere all out on deck now to see me off, shouted down to me.
“Get that money, Alex!Bring the Pilus Prior home!”
“We’ve faith in you!You’ll get him back to us!”
These were the kinds of things the men werecalling to me, and I fervently wished that Gnaeus could have beenthere somehow, because the men of the Fourth Cohort sounded everybit as sincere about the son as they would have been with hisfather.
Of course, there is always one wit, and Iwas riding away when I heard someone who, since I have no wish forGnaeus to thrash him, I will not identify, who shouted, “But if youwant to take your time so that we have a slack winter, that’s finetoo.”
Of course, his comrades roared withlaughter, and I was grinning as well as I made my way down thestreet leading away from the harbor. Once out of Gesoriacum, I seta quick pace, at least for a period of time, but I realized that Iwas counting on the idea that Saloninus’ order would be accepted. Ireached Samarobriva shortly before sundown and decided to spend thenight, then set out shortly before dawn, occupying myself withtrying to think through everything I knew about the Pullus familysituation as I was aware of it at the moment. Gaius was dead,Septimus had been put in charge by Titus, which Gnaeus had made noattempt to modify in any way. And, despite the circumstances, I waslooking forward to seeing my mother, my sisters, and myhalf-brother, Gaius Gallienus, who I had actually come to knowbetter during the few days I spent with Gnaeus when he broughtUncle Titus home than in all the time before my mother sent me withUncle Titus to serve him. And, while I confess my feelings towardsmy stepfather Sextus, Uncle Titus’ brother, are somewhatconflicted, I realized that I like young Gaius a great deal, and infact, I see quite a bit of Pullus in him. Gnaeus likes to have mewrite things that make me uncomfortable, or even blush on occasion,but I will exact my revenge with this observation. Every member ofthe Pullus family has a deep understanding of what it means to bearthat name, and every member takes it seriously, and I sensed thatin Gaius Gallienus, but it is not just confined to those attachedto the Prefect by blood. I am the son of Diocles, once a slave thena freedman who adopted the Pullus name, and my siblings, my brotherand two sisters, are just as cognizant of what it means to bementioned with and connected to the Pullus name in the same breath.Now I was riding to Arelate, as quickly as I could, to ensure thatthe one man who can carry the legacy of Titus Pomponius, GaiusPorcinianus, and Titus Porcinianus Pullus into the future wasfreed, and I cannot lie, it was a heavy burden. This was what keptme going when I thought, “It would be nice to stop and rest” as Irode through the heart of Gaul, heading towards Arelate.
The Brigantes did not tarry as long asIvomagus hoped they would. Two days after the warning had beensounded, another rider came in, this one seriously wounded andbarely evading capture to warn us that the village, the first onewhere we had put in, had already been attacked. I am experiencedenough to take the immediate reports in the aftermath of a suddenattack with some skepticism, but even if it was not as dire as thecourier claimed, the news was grim. The only question was whetheror not that, now that the Brigantes had crossed the river, whetherthey would move west, upriver towards Petuar, or whether they wouldstrike inland, moving southwest towards Danum. However, the onepiece of information that I felt certain was accurate was in thenumber of the attackers, because they more or less aligned withwhat I had been told by Saloninus. Not, I will freely admit, that Imentioned this to Ivomagus. Speaking of the king’s brother, he wasunderstandably nervous, but I also noticed that he was not takingthe proper precautions in the event the Brigantes chose not to giveCogidubnus the opportunity to arrive. Consequently, it was withmixed emotions and a fair amount of doubt on my part that he wouldrespond positively that I approached Ivomagus when he was shoutingout orders to some of the Parisii warriors.
I waited him for finish, but before I couldopen my mouth, he saw me and snapped, “What? What is it, Centurion?I am very busy.”
“No doubt you are,” I agreed, whichseemed to surprise him considerably. “There’s a lot of things thata commander has to remember.” Taking a breath, I plunged forward,“Which is why I am offering to help you and your men in any waythat I can.”
Perhaps, just perhaps, if I had kicked himin the balls rather than speak, he might have reacted similarly,and I confess that I felt a stab of satisfaction seeing his jawdrop.
“What did you say?” These were thefirst words, but before I could repeat myself, he went on, “Youwant to help us? Are you serious, Centurion?” He did seem genuinelybaffled. “Why would you want to do that?”
Personally, I
