Tullus’ men had long since used up their pila, and had grown accustomed to picking up the enemy missiles and lobbing them at their owners when given the order. To begin with, their efforts – thrown at a foe above them, by arms that were already tired – caused few casualties compared to those they were suffering. Incensed, Tullus gave his soldiers a dressing-down during a rest break snatched when they weren’t under attack. ‘You all fucking know how to throw a spear! Ground your shield. Pick a target. Don’t loose the damn things until I give the order! Do that, and you’ll kill men. Throw them like panicked children chucking rocks at a feral dog, and you’ll miss!’
His telling-off worked. The next time Tullus directed his men to throw, more than half a dozen warriors were punched back off the top of the earthwork into their fellows. That put an end to the tribesmen standing on the rampart to better use their spears, which reduced Tullus’ losses by some degree – at least when hand-to-hand fighting wasn’t going on, but that wasn’t much of the time.
Three more savage attacks he and his men battled through that terrible afternoon, two of which were in heavy rain, with yet more thunder and lightning. Another six soldiers from his century died, and more were injured. The already muddy track was transformed into a swamp in which a man’s leg could sink to mid-calf, making combat twice as treacherous. Bodies of the fallen – most Roman, but a good number of tribesmen – lay on it, in it, among the trees, slumped over bushes. Thanks to the volumes of blood being shed, the mud was often dark red in colour rather than brown. In a sarcastic moment, his face planted in it after he’d tripped over a body, Tullus thought it similar in hue to a good Sicilian wine.
Mules, cavalry horses and men’s corpses weren’t the only things to break an ankle over. Weapons – pila, frameae, swords – were everywhere. So too were shields, pickaxes, pots, pans, blankets and more. Not all the civilians had been weeded out of the army’s ranks, as their bodies and belongings proved. Here lay a soothsayer, a startled look on his face, still clutching his lituus, or rod of office. There sprawled a merchant, his smashed, empty money box close by. A dead-eyed woman sat on a tree stump, a lifeless infant in her lap and a bawling toddler cradled in her arms. The child’s wails mixed with the piteous whining of a tiny mongrel pup, which had stayed by its dead master, a pedlar. Despite his own dreadful situation, Tullus’ conscience was pricked by the woman and the little dog. He hardened his heart and walked by both. His responsibility was to look after his century, and his cohort. No one else.
When the light began – at last – to dim so much that it was difficult to see his hand in front of his face, Tullus wanted to cry out with relief. His throat was far too dry, however, and his voice spent from shouting orders. The gloom was yet sufficient to see the tribesmen withdrawing from their earthwork in some numbers, and to receive word that a site had been picked for the night’s camp by what remained of the vanguard. The quarter-mile it took to reach the spot felt to Tullus like a full day’s march. His body hurt as if someone had taken a hammer to every part of him. His bones ached, his muscles shuddered with exhaustion and the old injury in his calf needled at him like the probing in a wound by a drunk, incompetent surgeon. Yet the end – of the day, and their torment, for the hours of darkness – was in sight. The one thing he had to do was to keep his legs moving, to call out a few more encouraging words to his men. This he managed.
Tullus also found the strength to direct his cohort to the centre of what would be the camp – nothing more than an open area of ground by the track – and to have his soldiers prepare what shelters they could. Only when this had been done did he unlock his knees and sit down, propping his back against a boulder. It would have been a good idea to do some stretches, to drink some wine, or water, to eat whatever food there was, but Tullus was too tired. Never had he felt so drained. The instant his eyes closed, he was asleep.
He dreamed not of his soldiers who’d died, but of the woman and her children, one dead, one living, and the whining pup.
Tullus jerked awake, instinct making him reach for his sword. Realising he was among his own, in their ‘camp’, he relaxed. Night had not entirely fallen, so he couldn’t have been dozing for long. As the light from the sky disappeared, the only illumination came from the fires that had been lit. Thanks to the lack of dry wood, there weren’t many. The air resounded with the moans of the wounded, dulling the soldiers’ muted conversation.
‘Damn it all to Hades,’ Tullus muttered, unable to put the woman from his mind. How far down the track had she been?
‘You’re awake.’ Fenestela loomed over him, his face concerned. He proffered a wine skin.
‘Aye.’ Tullus took it and slugged back a couple of mouthfuls. Despite the wine’s acidity, he’d have had more, but the skin was light, and it wasn’t his. He handed it back with a grateful nod.
‘I’d hoped you’d rest a while longer. You were like a beast today. It must have taken it out of you.’
‘It had to be done,’ said Tullus, worried that he would be unable to repeat the supreme physical effort again. ‘How many men left uninjured – in the century?’
Fenestela’s chuckle was bitter. ‘There are five with no injuries. Just over twenty with minor wounds, or wounds that they tell me won’t stop them from fighting. Nearly a dozen injured worse than that – a lot of whom won’t survive the night. The rest of the cohort is in the same situation, or worse.’
Clenching his jaw, Tullus absorbed this shocking news as best he could. His entire unit was down to less than half strength. These were savage losses – and if they had been repeated throughout the army, which was probable – they were losses that threatened the survival of every man in Varus’ command. For some reason, the woman and her child came to his mind again. If they were still alive, they were out there in the dark. Cold, wet, hungry, alone. Tullus cursed. Cursed, and heaved himself upright, cursing again at the pain that radiated from each part of his body. He had every reason in the world not to act, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t. Doing nothing would make him as bad as that whoreson Arminius. ‘I’m going back down the track.’
Fenestela looked at him as if he’d taken leave of his senses. ‘Why, sir?’
Tullus smiled. When they were alone, Fenestela tended to call him ‘sir’ only when he disapproved of what Tullus was doing. ‘There’s a woman back there, with a child. And a pup.’
Fenestela goggled. ‘That’s sad, sir, but … er, it’s really none of our concern.’
‘I’m making it my fucking concern, all right? Come with me if you wish. Tell the men I want five volunteers. Volunteers only. We leave at once.’
With a roll of his eyes, Fenestela turned on his heel. ‘You mad fuck,’ he threw over his shoulder.
Tullus let the insult slide, in the main because Fenestela was right. But he was going to do it anyway. If he could save her it would in some small way compensate for the staggering losses suffered by his cohort. So many had died. His heart bled. Fortuna, you’re a miserable old cunt, he thought. And what the fuck were you doing today, Mars? Having your flute played by Minerva? You didn’t look after us at all. Best do a better job tomorrow, or I’ll never sacrifice to you again. Startled by the vehemence of his thoughts, and uneasy that the gods might read his mind, Tullus concentrated on stretching his weary, cramping muscles.
Before long, Fenestela had returned with five legionaries. Three were injured, Tullus noted, his throat closing with emotion. ‘More would have come, sir, but I told them you only wanted five,’ said Fenestela, making him feel even prouder.