After a few quiet moments Caratacus looked up and saw that there were still five of his warriors stood solemnly watching him. He looked at them all in turn and saw the sorrow in their eyes.
“Car……..” He looked back and saw that Togodumnus had opened his eyes, barely but they were open and he was trying to speak. Blood ran from the side of his mouth freely.
“I’m here brother.” Caratacus said as he leant forward again trying to block everything else out.
“Admin….” His eyes rolled into the back of his head.
“Togodumnus.” He reached down and took his brother’s head in his hands raising it slightly.
“Adminius is that what you’re saying, Adminius?” He felt the head rock slightly in his hands.
“I will ensure that bastard pays for what he has done, his treachery won’t go unpunished. He is worse than the men behind those shields, at least they have not betrayed their own. At least they are brave enough to face us without cowering somewhere in the background beyond our reach. I promise you brother I swear it on our fathers soul.”
Togodumnus closed his eyes as if the pain was too much and he sighed. Caratacus looked down at him tears rolling freely down his face. The King who was his brother opened his eyes once more and managed the briefest of smiles. He gasped once more, eyes looking heavenward and then his brother felt the weight of his head grow heavy and saw his arms go limp as life left his body. Togodumnus was dead.
“Arrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!” Caratacus let out an almost inhuman howl, the men around him took a step back as the animalistic sound made them jump. It went on for some seconds before Caratacus fell forward over his dead brother cradling him in his arms. He let the grief and hatred combine through his veins, coursing as blood pumped from his still strong and beating heart.
After a few minutes he looked up staring ahead, “Take the King,” he ordered not even lifting his head to look at the men, “I will not leave him here as a trophy for them.”
They moved forward and carefully picked up the body of their former King as if he were still alive and carried him to the chariot where they placed his body.
“We will honour my brother as he deserves but not here, be sure to be careful with him.” The men nodded and climbed aboard the chariot, two squatted down and held the Kings body gently and while one drove, the other two stood guard. Caratacus watched as he was slowly driven away.
“I’ll see you soon my brother and we’ll talk and laugh again.” He said wiping his eyes. Picking up his sword he ran into the marshes.
The Roman advance was still halted as they dealt with the dead, dying or injured and brought forward more equipment, men and horses. Their own wounded, those unable to walk were taken to the rear where doctors and physicians tended to their injuries. The Legion as a whole had paused whilst readying themselves for the next step. War was a steady business Vespasian knew, it wasn’t to be rushed or mistakes would be made and valuable lives lost.
Some dead Britons still littered the battlefield in dense patches where intense amounts of fighting and killing had taken place. Twisted pale limbs were bent at horrific angles and poked out from under legs and bodies, faces contorted in shock, anger and pain stared, dead eyes not seeing the world around them. Hundreds had gone to their gods that day but all bravely and without question or hesitation, the General realised he admired them for that.
It was midday before the army was formed up and ready to advance again. Scouts were sent forward to survey the tree line and beyond where the majority of Britons had been seen retreating towards. It was however, impossible for the main battle formation to enter the wooded area and even more so to enter the marshland beyond, the hazard the scouts had already found.
Vespasian had eventually decided to send a Batavian cohort forward after the scouts had reported their findings, marshland, water and bog dispersed amongst small patches of dry land. It was no place for the ranks of the Legion and so a different kind of advance was decided upon. He had learned harsh lessons from entering such places in their battle formations before, entire legions had been destroyed by Germanic tribes in the past. Vespasian didn’t intend to make the same mistake of Varus who nearly forty years before had led over twenty thousand men to their deaths, wiped out in the forests of Teutoburg.
The temperature was cooler under the trees as they slowly moved forward on their horses taking in their surroundings. The ground had been solid enough under the branches when they had first entered the marshy woodland but was now it was getting damper and wetter. Squelching noises sounded as the horses pulled their hooves up from the muddy water as their riders tried to find firmer ground but it was becoming increasingly impossible.
An eerie quiet covered the woods and marshland elsewhere like a blanket, there were no birds singing or hares running wild here which the mounted men found disheartening. They knew something wasn’t right. The men of the cohort knew that an attack would come but from where and when they didn’t know, the pressure was like a physical force. Eventually the Decurion leading them, Arturius Valius found some more favourable footing where the ground was almost dry, it stretched out before them as far as he could see which wasn’t very far under the circumstances because of the twines from the other trees but at least it was a better surface.
He didn’t like this country, there were too many areas like this where an ambush could come from anywhere. The entire land it seemed was covered in trees from what he had seen of it so far and couldn’t understand what use the Emperor could find for all this wood, marsh and bog. He had served in Rome’s legions for twelve years and wanted nothing more than to be able to return home to his wife and family but he knew it wouldn’t happen for a number of years yet so he had to concentrate on surviving.
He stopped momentarily and raised his right arm indicating that the men behind him halt while he paused and listened. Looking through the vines he scanned the terrain but there was nothing to hear or see. He strained his eyes trying to look beyond the trees and branches but could see nothing, nothing at all, no movement that may give away an ambush but he knew they were there, waiting, watching. He turned to his men but all he got in response was shrugs, they saw or sensed nothing also.
It went on like that for some time until he saw more watery marshland ahead. He waved his second in command forward, whispering he said to Aquilus, “There’s more fucking water and mud ahead, pass the word, tell the men we’ll take a break and get some water down us before we go further.” The soldier did as he was ordered and the men dismounted quietly and took their water skins from the horses as the animals started to chew on the lush green grass around them.
After a while just as Valius felt as if he could fall asleep sat on the ground where he had stopped propped against the trunk of a tree, he decided it was time to move on. He beckoned for Aquilus and told him to tell the men. As he turned and went to carry out the order Valius was aware of something flying passed him at speed barely missing his eye in a blur, he even felt its passing. He heard a dull thump and saw that an arrow had hit his second in command and was embedded between the chain-link armour covering his back and the bronze of his helmet in the back of his neck. He stood still for a second and then just fell face forward onto the grass like a dead weight. The Decurion turned and couldn’t believe what he saw.
Chapter Thirteen
Leaping out of the water was a large pack of enormous dogs with woad coloured Britons running behind them. Some were standing on the dry land launching arrows at the troops who were now scrambling to get to their feet. Where they had come from or how they had got so close, so quickly didn’t matter, just doing something about it did.