Vastly outnumbered and surrounded, Caesars legions should have been crushed but instead turned certain defeat into victory against the odds and routed the Gaul’s. More recently the Britons knew that three entire Roman legions led by another General, Publius Varus had been destroyed in the forests of Germania some thirty years before. They therefore knew these men were not invincible and could be beaten. It was just a case of finding the right ground and tactics to use against them.
Togodumnus and Caratacus led their people further to the west for another entire day and then turned north. As the daylight began to fade they turned north east following paths they were familiar with, heading towards their capital Camulodunum. His true destination however, was not the settlement itself. The last thing he would do was give the enemy an opportunity to claim victory over him by crushing a major population and he didn’t want to find himself under siege. He knew the enemy were very experienced and successful in siege warfare and were prepared to go to any lengths once they had their victims cornered. He had heard the stories of Julius Caesar building enormous towers and his men digging vast trenches around Alesia for as far as the eye could see and he didn’t want to fall into the same trap with nowhere to run if all else failed. He couldn’t turn back the days and prevent them from landing so he now had to find a way to take on the enemy that would give him the advantage.
With the moon high in the clear sky they called a halt to their withdrawal. Cattle were milked and people quickly settled down for some sleep, exhausted after the days march. They intended to travel again before the sun rose hoping to stay ahead of the pursuing Romans.
Earlier that day Varro had been given new orders, instead of continuing to scout in a westerly direction, he was now told to track Togodumnus but no contact was to be made with the Chieftain or his forces unless he wished to discuss terms for surrender. They were to be located and followed in order that they could be brought to battle as soon as possible. Varro led his small group with Brenna riding at his side, through a wooded area where the night had become cool and she now had a Roman cloak wrapped around her shoulders.
“We should rest for the night before it gets too late.” She remarked.
Varro took in his surroundings, “We can’t see if anything approaches us from here especially under the cover of darkness. It would be better to get clear of the trees first and find some high ground if possible.”
“I know these lands and this woodland, it stretches a long way. We’ll still be under its cover even if we kept riding until dawn. Whilst we can’t see anyone approaching it also means that we are concealed. The Catuvellauni you seek will also have to rest and they can’t go too far with the animals and children they have with them.”
He turned to look at her smiling, “The women of these islands are not as weak as those from Rome and if they are all like you, they are the equal of their men so they won’t slow them down but they will need sleep you’re right. Let’s try to find somewhere suitable to rest up for a few hours and get some sleep.”
After finding little other than more trees he called a halt to their progress and they began to make a small camp for the night. Brenna’s brother Tevelgus went to gather wood for a fire whilst the others took in their surroundings and unpacked cloaks and bed rolls to be used for bedding.
With arms full of dry branches for the fire, Tevelgus was about to return to the others when something caught his attention. Through the trees he could see the faint glimmer of a fire somewhere in the distance. He crouched and carefully placed the wood on the ground and moved forward quietly. After a while he could smell wood smoke and as he got closer he could now make out numerous small fires spread out below the level of land where he found himself.
Carefully moving slowly and looking at the ground to try to avoid broken branches, he got closer. Within a hundred paces he saw that he had found a large party of Britons but from this distance he couldn’t see who they were. There were far too many for it to be a hunting party, could it be the Catuvellauni he wondered, the tribe who had dominated his own for many generations.
As he got closer he could see bodies lying on the ground huddled around the fires as they slept. A sharp snapping sound broke his attention and made him jump, he crouched lower swivelling round trying to see what had caused the noise. Through the trees he saw a lookout only about thirty paces from his position. He cursed himself for almost stumbling into him because he had been so focused on the fires and then realised that he was standing on a branch or twig.
Tevelgus saw that the sentry was holding a long spear and wore similar clothing to those of his own people. He was thick set and his muscular arms were apparent under the light from the moon and he was bare chested. From this distance, with this poor light it was impossible to establish if the man was Catuvellauni but there could be no other explanation. He waited for the man to move slowly off and then quietly and carefully he backtracked and reported his findings to Varro.
Long before the sun came up the centurion and his small party, weary from virtually no sleep after the discovery by Tevelgus, prepared to follow the large group he had found whilst foraging for wood. As they had found themselves so unexpectedly close to their target, they had decided not to make a fire and so had only eaten dried meat from the rations they carried. Tired and cold they packed their horses who were more than well fed at least on the long green grass of the woodland.
“Decimus.” Varro called the legionary forward. “I want you to return to the General and tell him that Togodumnus and his army have changed direction. Tell him they are now heading north possibly intending to head to their capital at Camulodumun. If he goes north as well from their current position, they may even be able to cut them off and destroy them before they can get to reinforcements. Ride as quickly as your horse will carry you.”
Decimus saluted and mounted his horse. Brenna turned to Varro. “Do you think the General will be able get to them before they reach their settlement? If they don’t get to them first Camulodumun is well fortified and surrounded by ditches. It would be better to catch them out in the open.” She said.
“That’s why I’ve sent Decimus back to tell him as soon as he can. If we can get to them before they can reach the safety of their local lands and all that it would give them, we can end this war and save many more lives.”
As the sun began to rise, clouds gathered overhead and soon after rain began to fall as Varro and his small group walked forward. Tevelgus had ridden ahead to scout the large party they were tracking. Varro at first had second thoughts as to whether he could fully trust the Britons and that doubt was all over his face. Brenna and Tevelgus had told Varro of their tribes disputes at the hands of their enemies and of the bitter history between the two large clans. Satisfied that he could allow the big Briton to track them he had let him go forward.
He had also decided that it would be better for the enemy to see another of their own or someone that at least looked like them who they may just ignore. Although the rain got harder it was still quite warm as they continued on, leading their horses and waiting for Brenna’s brother to return. After a few more hours they had eventually got to clear land leaving the huge woodland and trees behind. Finding a stream they let the horses drink and took a short break.
Up ahead, Tevelgus tried to stay hidden from view as he continued to follow the group ahead. It was impossible for him to gauge the size of the army because he couldn’t see the front of their lines as they moved slowly north. At walking pace he led his horse constantly alert for signs that he may be seen. He had decided to keep only the rear of Togodumnus’s winding army in sight and they were some way ahead. He didn’t know where his sister was but knew they wouldn’t be far behind him. Every now and then he would find a dead body that carried wounds, someone injured from battles already fought. There had been no attempt to bury them now which showed the desperation of those they followed but it did confirm one thing, who they followed.