While our own little drama was being played out, the larger events around us were picking up momentum. After the trial and execution of Acco, Caesar left us to go to the Province to hold the assizes, and the Gallic chiefs worked quickly to strike while Caesar was away. Two of the chiefs of the Carnutes, Cotuatus and Coconnetodumnus started the revolt by descending on the town of Cenabum, by now an important grain depot for the army, subsequently attracting a fair number of Roman citizens, all of whom were put to the sword. It was still winter, but late in the season, yet despite the snow laying on the ground and the overall difficulty of traveling at such a time, word of the massacre at Cenabum spread like wildfire in a drought. News of the slaughter reached the ears of Vercingetorix before a full day passed, in his hometown of Gergovia, some 150 miles to the south of Cenabum. Vercingetorix was the scion of the Arverni tribe, his father having at one time been considered the most powerful chief in Gaul. Vercingetorix was a young man, about my age I believe, and he immediately began pressing for war. His uncle, a man named Gobannito, along with other tribal elders were not willing to countenance such talk, so Vercingetorix was banished from Gergovia. Undaunted, he began raising an army, first starting with fellow outcasts and bandits of every description. Soon after, his powerful personality and name drew the young men of not just his tribe, but those surrounding Arverni territory. In a matter of weeks his power grew to such proportions that he was unanimously named commander in chief by all the tribes involved, no mean feat.
Vercingetorix was not only charismatic, he was smart. Knowing that his best opportunity was to strike while Caesar was not in command, he wasted no time in doing so. Dividing his army into two, he appointed a Cadurcan named Lucterus to march rapidly south to the border of the Province, into the lands of the Ruteni, with the goal of creating a situation where Caesar could not safely travel north to unite with us. Meanwhile, Vercingetorix headed north to pressure the Bituriges, their lands bordering the Aedui, the only tribe in Gaul who had constantly kept faith with Rome these now-six years, into making a choice. The Bituriges sent for aid to the Aedui, prompting the Aedui to ask Labienus for advice, and he ordered them to send aid to the Bituriges. Being fair, they did raise a force that actually marched to the banks of the Liger (Loire) River, the boundary between the two tribes. However, that is as far as they went; they sat on the banks of the river for a few days before turning around, returning to their homes without striking a blow. The reason they gave was that they worried that by crossing the river, they would be at the mercy of both the Arverni, their traditional enemies, and the Bituriges who might take this opportunity to throw in with the Arverni in the hopes of gaining territory. Whether this was true or just an excuse, the result was the same; the moment the Aedui left the banks of the river to return to their homes, the Bituriges indeed allied themselves with Vercingetorix. Vercingetorix’s first goal was to keep Caesar from joining his army, and he was initially very successful. By this point in mid-Februarius, the Gaul had managed to form a coalition of Arverni, Bituriges, Senones, Parisii, Pictones, Cadurci, Turoni, Aulerci, Lemovices, Andi and the maritime tribes along the southern coast. Lucterus succeeded in subverting the Ruteni and was now marching on the Nitiobriges and Gabali tribes. Within days Vercingetorix’ lieutenant managed to gather a huge army.
Caesar, and by extension, the army was in a difficult situation, to put it mildly. If he ordered his army to come to him, we would have to march south while facing a vastly numerically superior force without him at our head. This was a prospect that none of us looked forward to, even men like Vibius. I know that the conduct of Labienus during this period was called into question by some, and despite the fact I think that he is a catamite who will be dining on his own blood along with all the other traitors to Caesar, I happen to know that his inactivity was enforced by Caesar himself. Events were happening much more rapidly than anyone could safely keep track of, and as much as Caesar trusted Labienus, he did not want to expose even a part of his army to such a fluid situation. One day we would march out of the gates thinking that we were going to subdue one tribe, only to face five that had decided to join together. Compounding our own difficulties was the fact that Drappes, a chief of the Senones, managed to muster a sizable band of cutthroats and bandits who preyed on the convoys that kept us in Agedincum fed. He was not always successful, yet he caused enough of a disruption to threaten the supply line should we go on the march. Therefore, we sat tight, watching events unfold, knowing that the eagles would be marching soon enough. Of course, the detractors of Caesar did not hesitate to grumble about his seeming inaction, and Vibius was one of the loudest, at least in my circle of friends.
“What’s he waiting for?” Vibius complained one evening when I came to spend time at their fire.
These were the times I missed most of all, but I could not be seen to favor one tent section over another, even if it was the one I came from. To counter any accusations of favoritism I worked out a system where I rotated spending time with each section a few moments every evening before trudging back to my tent and Zeno, who was always waiting to hand me reports to be filled out.
“He’s waiting until he can safely rejoin us,” I was a bit surprised that it was not I who uttered these words but Scribonius. Soon enough it became clear that Scribonius had taken on the role of defender of Caesar now that I was gone.
“More likely he’s waiting so that their army is so huge that when we beat them, he gets more glory,” Vibius grumbled, poking at the fire with a stick, causing sparks to fly in every direction and drawing the curses of his friends as they frantically beat out the embers before they caught something flammable. Ignoring this, Vibius continued, “It just doesn’t make any sense, keeping us in camp while all around us the world is falling to cac.”
I watched as Scribonius thought a moment and replied, “While I agree that it doesn’t seem to make sense, I also know that there are things going on that we don’t know anything about. I think that of all men, Caesar has earned our trust.”
There was a chorus of agreement from everyone, with one exception, who scowled at everyone in turn. “You’re a bunch of old women,” Vibius fumed, “Caesar isn’t a god, he’s a mortal man, and mortal men make mistakes.”
“Mortal he may be,” Scribonius shot back, “but mistakes? He doesn’t make many, and the few that he does make he turns to our advantage quick enough that we’ve never suffered permanent damage.” This was met by another round of agreement, but Vibius was still not convinced. Sighing as I turned and left, I remember thinking wryly to myself that there were worse things than paperwork.
To increase the pressure on us, Lucterus took his new army and began to advance in the direction of Narbo, the city that was our home for two years. To counteract this move, Caesar traveled quickly to the city, drawing levies of troops from the retired Legionaries in the region and placing them at strategic points in the surrounding area, while also ordering a dilectus for fresh auxiliary troops. That arm of the army had gradually grown over the years in Gaul so that they alone numbered some 10,000 men. Leading about 2,000 such men, Caesar once more demonstrated why he was so respected and feared. Without waiting for the snows to fully melt from the passes, he marched through the mountains to descend into the lands of the Arverni, even as Vercingetorix and his army were more than 100 miles away consolidating their gains and training his army in the lands of the Bituriges. Now the tables were turned, with Vercingetorix the one who was threatened, prompting the Arverni among his army to beg him to turn around and head back to their homelands, knowing that Caesar would lay waste to it. This was exactly what Caesar wanted him to do, because it would clear the way for Caesar to circle around and join the Legions. Having his own spies letting it be known that he was not leaving the army but going to perform another dilectus to raise more cavalry forces, Caesar left Decimus Brutus in charge of the auxiliary force as they burned and pillaged everything within sight, while Caesar made great haste to Vienne, where the 7th and 12th were stationed for the winter. Vercingetorix was caught flatfooted by Caesar’s strike, but to his credit, he knew that he could not afford to worry about mistakes made in the past, so immediately he began to move his army again, this time choosing to fall on the town of Gorgobina.