“We can’t stay here, we’ll freeze.” She whispered.
“Just give Lucius time to get around them, it won’t take long. Once he’s gone far enough back so as not to be heard, then he’ll quickly flank up to the left.” He fidgeted with his feet now frozen again and tried to get some blood into them and waited. It seemed to take forever for Lucius to flank the target. In the meantime they could do nothing but wait and get colder, not daring to move.
Decimus and Marcus had crawled forward to the bank below the large oak tree and were now lying against it, head to foot parallel to the rise. From the position they were in they couldn’t see what was above or their comrades behind them due to foliage, low branches and snow. They lay there getting colder and colder straining their ears for any sign of what was going on. They both knew that Varro would not have told them there was danger to the right if he didn’t fear for their safety and they also knew he wouldn’t be idly waiting for something to happen without doing something positive to rectify the situation.
After what seemed like an age, Varro saw something in the corner of his vision, move to the left. As soon as he saw it his eyes moved to its location, whatever it had been had moved behind a tree.
“Left side forty paces from Decimus and Lucius.” He whispered. Brenna looked but couldn’t see anything. He saw her screwing her eyes up trying to see what it was concentrating, “Went behind that fat dark tree at the base.”
“Was it Lucius?” She asked.
“I can’t be sure, I only just caught it as it went to ground behind the tree.” He answered. “I’m sure it wasn’t a deer, thinking about it, it couldn’t have been because it wouldn’t get that close to those two hiding by the bank, it would have picked up their scent long before getting that close.”
She looked at him, “I can’t lie here anymore.” She put her hands under her chest onto the ground, “if I don’t move I’ll never bear children.”
“Don’t get up.” He pleaded but it was too late she was already on her knees peering forward.
“Nobody move.” A voice shouted, everyone froze, almost literally. The voice was clearly that of a Briton with an unusual accent. “Come out where we can see you.” He ordered, no-one moved. “If you don’t come out, the men lying below us will die.” He shouted.
Brenna stood up hesitantly, “Who are you,” she shouted back, “why are you hunting on our land?” She said bluffing. There was no reply, just silence.
She whispered to Varro, “Stay low, he is Silures, I can tell by the voice. I can see Lucius to the left of the tree he’s aiming your bow towards him.
“If you kill my friends or injure them you will not leave these woods alive.” She shouted. “I will ensure you will die here and you will be left hanging naked upside down from a tree with your entrails open to the wolves and crow.” There was silence.
She shouted again, “I am Brenna of the Dobunni, whoever you are you are not from these lands, come out to where I can see you clearly. I will order my men to stand and return to me, do not hurt them or you will die.”
She shouted at Decimus and Marcus but they didn’t move. She whispered down to Varro, “They’re not moving, I can see them now but they’re just lying there.”
He looked up, “They do not know your words Brenna, remember.” She had got so used to talking to the Romans in their own tongue that she had forgotten that not all them could talk to her in her own language. As her mind raced to try and think of something a man dressed in deerskin appeared from behind the trees above the bank, he was pointing at Lucius who was aiming the bow at him.
“Don’t shoot Brenna of the Dobunni.” He shouted over the snow. “I am Sadgem of the Silures,” He stepped forward to the edge of the slope and looked down at the two prone men.
“You can go.” He said and gestured waving with his hand for them to return to their friends. Decimus and Marcus slowly got to their feet, they didn’t have to understand his words to know what the gesture meant.
“Why are you in our territory, you have broken the treaty.” She shouted attempting to take the emphasis from the two retreating men.
“We come in search of a common enemy.” Other men then appeared at his sides from behind trees, there were a lot of them. “We hunt Romans and heard they are here on your land, have you seen any?” He said.
“Romans,” She answered, “there are no Romans here, they haven’t moved from the Exe in months. They are in the fort by the water and won’t come out until the leaves turn green and the frost goes. They don’t like to venture out in the cold you should know that.”
He smiled. Decimus and Marcus were almost back to them now, still walking slowly backwards, she had lost sight of Lucius who she thought must have slipped back into the undergrowth. She could see at least ten men with the one who called himself Sadgem, there were probably more still hidden from view.
“Our army fired the fort and sank their boats a few days ago, we thought they would come out and follow us to our lands. We meant no offence to you or your people but are merely safeguarding our own.” He said.
“There are no Romans here, if there were, they would be hanging from trees. They may have subdued some of my people but not all.” She replied, the two men were now with her and moved beyond where she stood, the relief on their faces evident.
“Go in peace Brenna and we will return to the mountains. Your people, those who are free should join us, together we a stronger than standing alone and can defeat this common enemy.” He said not waiting for a reply. He moved backwards still facing Brenna then he turned as did the men with him and disappeared from sight.
Varro let out a breath that he didn’t realise he had been holding and slowly got to his feet. “That was too close,” he said to her, “come on let’s get the horses and get out of here.”
She walked with him quickly turning to make sure the Silures were gone and weren’t following one last time, there was no sign of them. When they got back to their mounts they had eaten all the grass that they had uncovered previously and they found Lucius was waiting for them.
“Well done,” Varro said, “if you hadn’t come out from cover with that bow anything could have happened.”
“No problem sir.” He said. He untied his horse and jumped up, “There were at least another ten of them behind that Sadgem hiding below the bank.” He said. Varro exchanged a look with Brenna they had been lucky, very lucky.
“It’s a good thing you were with us Brenna. They would have known that I wasn’t a Briton if they had heard my voice and with that my men we wouldn’t have stood a chance.” Varro said and got onto Staro.
“It doesn’t matter now, what matters is that we are alive and we know the Silures are on Dobunni land.” She climbed up onto her own horse, “It was probably just a scouting party, the main force is probably already in the mountains to the west but they aren’t afraid to come south and into other territory.”
“At least we know where they are now.” Varro said.
“You don’t understand Varro, the lands of the Silures are mountainous and the area is huge.” He looked at her with a surprised expression as they cantered away.
They found the way back to the overnight camp and told the others what had happened. Even with all of them, they would still be outnumbered nearly two to one if the Silures found them again. They knew the next time, they probably wouldn’t be so fortunate to hide their true identity. Varro decided that he would run the risk of Vespasian’s anger and broke camp. At least they knew the Silures were probing the countryside of the Dobunni and would try to ally any Britons to their side, that information alone was invaluable.
They packed their equipment away quickly and dismantled the low shelters that Quintus and his men had made from branches and logs, small and triangular in shape. Each would have only housed three people lying flat next to each other but that would have created body heat for them and shelter from the falling snow. The wood was thrown onto the fire to burn itself out. After the next snow fall there would be little sign that anyone had ever been there but it didn’t really matter now.