‘I thought we had come here to fight,’ whispered Surena as we inched our way towards a magnificent Caspian red deer that was grazing at the edge of a clearing in the trees.
‘We are,’ I replied.
The deer suddenly stopped chewing the grass and looked up. We froze. Had he seen us? We stood like statues for what seemed like an eternity, our hearts thumping in our chests. He slowly turned his head to stare in our direction, displaying his massive antlers. He must have weighed five hundred pounds, perhaps more. He flicked his ears and then continued with his meal.
‘Think you can take him?’ I asked.
The distance between us was around three hundred feet.
‘Yes,’ replied Surena.
I strung an arrow as he did the same and raised his bow. He pulled back the bowstring until the arrow’s feathers were against his right ear. I too pulled back my bowstring, just in case he missed. He released the string and the arrow flew through the air, slicing into the animal’s neck. I shot my arrow, which went into the stag’s chest. The animal jerked in surprise, attempted to turn and flee with the two missiles lodged in its body, then collapsed on to the ground as its strength gave way. We both sprinted forward, Surena throwing himself on top of the jerking beast as its life ebbed away. He pulled his dagger and slit its throat, blood gushing from the wound into the earth. It jerked no more.
‘You should have shot him through the chest, to hit the heart,’ I said.
Surena smiled. ‘Too easy.’
‘I used to be cocky like you. It almost got me killed. A big Roman centurion nearly cut me in two. Dig the arrows out; we don’t want to waste any.’
Surena screwed up his face, but then shrugged and began using his dagger to work the arrows free from the deer’s flesh. Soon his hands and the arms of his tunic were covered in blood. He eventually yanked the arrows free and handed me mine. I wiped the three-winged arrowhead on the damp grass and slid it back into my quiver.
‘Why are we skulking around the forest? I thought we were here to fight Romans.’
‘You are skulking around because those are my orders. That should suffice. However, as you are my squire and I am in a generous mood, I will answer. But first, let me ask you a question.’
He too wiped his arrow clean before sitting on the dead deer.
‘When you were fighting the soldiers of Chosroes, why didn’t you meet them in open battle?’
He laughed. ‘They would have cut us to pieces. We only had knives and a few bows and spears. And we were too few.’
‘Exactly, Surena. Now go and fetch the horses so we can haul this magnificent feast back to camp.’
We had been in camp for ten days when one of the sentries came running to my tent. I was sitting on the ground sharpening my sword with a stone, while Surena was grooming his horse. Orodes was replacing the feathers on one of his arrows.
‘One of the out-riders reports two men approaching the forest, majesty.’
Orodes and Surena stopped what they were doing. I rose to my feet.
‘Good, we will go to meet them.’
I pointed at Surena. ‘Saddle your horse.’
Orodes had already thrown the saddle on the back of his mount as I walked over to Remus and did the same. Minutes later we were riding out of camp heading west. I told the officer on duty that we would return shortly.
‘Do you require an escort, majesty?’
‘That won’t be necessary.’
We followed the path out of the camp as the out-rider met us at the perimeter. I ordered him to show me the two strangers approaching and so we rode through the trees. Eventually we came to the edge of the forest and rode on to a wide mountain steppe. A chill wind was blowing from the north as I peered ahead and saw the two riders ambling towards us, now no more than a mile away.
‘Who are they?’ asked Orodes, leaning forward in his saddle.
‘Friends,’ I answered, then dug my knees into Remus.
We galloped across the grassland until we reached the mystery riders. I pulled up Remus and halted before the two now stationary men.
‘You found us, then,’ I said.
Byrd looked as unconcerned as ever. ‘Of course, you told me of your plans before we left Dura.’
‘Even so, this is a foreign land.’
‘Simple enough,’ replied Byrd. ‘Get to Vanadzor, then look for hiding place large enough to conceal a thousand men and their horses, not too far from the city. You getting predictable.’
‘Not too predictable, I hope.’ I looked at Malik. ‘Hail, prince. I trust your father is well.’
‘And in your debt,’ he replied. ‘He is most appreciative of your generosity.’
Orodes smiled at them both. ‘Good to see you again, Byrd, and you too, Malik.’
The spirits of the men rose when they saw the new arrivals. Byrd had become something of a legend among us, the man who travelled like a ghost among the enemy. His status was enhanced by his remoteness; he gave his time only to those who had been with him in Italy, or those few others he liked. Everyone else he largely ignored. Malik was liked because he was a fearless warrior who had served Dura of his own volition. No one gave his race a second thought; he was one of us now. That night we skinned the deer, cooked it over a great fire and then Surena cut strips of meat from it for us to eat.
After we had filled our bellies we sat round the fire as it slowly died, Byrd speaking as he stared into the red glow. He and Malik had journeyed to Vanadzor and I wanted to know about its garrison.
‘Garrison was stripped for campaign in Hatra, but still strong.’
‘How many men?’ I asked.
Byrd shrugged. ‘There is a legion camp outside its walls, though many empty spaces where tents should be, plus whatever within.’
‘They have horsemen as well, Pacorus,’ said Malik, tossing a rib into the fire, ‘we saw a few dozen while we were there.’
I shook my head. So much for the Romans giving up Gordyene. They had duped Phraates and had had no intention of yielding any territory. The only question remaining was how long would it take for those soldiers who had invaded my father’s kingdom to return to Gordyene. If they were in Syria, then hopefully they would stay there for the winter.
‘Not easy to move around city,’ said Byrd.
‘You are usually able to blend into your surroundings,’ I told him.
‘City half empty,’ he replied.
‘The plague?’ asked Orodes.
Byrd’s eyes narrowed and he smiled. ‘No. Romani take away half as slaves.’
I should have guessed. Any land unfortunate enough to fall into Rome’s lap is punished for its temerity in resisting, and the slave markets of Italy had an insatiable demand for new merchandise. I was going to say something philosophical about how we are fighting for freedom, but then I remembered that I was not in Italy serving under Spartacus. In any case, I had given the Romans we had taken at Dura to Haytham to share the profits when they were sold as slaves. At that moment I suddenly realised that I too was a slave trader. I hated the Romans even more for reducing me to their level. But then, I did not have to sell the Romans, I could have let them go. So that they could get new weapons and return to kill more of my people? I had made the right decision. I said nothing in response to Byrd’s news, merely avoided anyone’s gaze and stared into the fire.
The next day I called the officers together and told them of my plans. They were quite simple. I intended to ride up to the city walls and insult the Romans, who would hopefully send out a cavalry patrol to apprehend me. I would take Surena and Vagharsh with me, no one else, and would show my banner to the enemy to let them know who was paying them a visit. The rest of the day was spent checking horse harnesses, saddles, bows and swords. We wore no armour aside from our helmets, just two layers of long-sleeved tunics with silk shirts next to our skin. The winters of Gordyene are generally mild, but each man had brought a thick woollen cloak treated with lanolin oil to keep out the cold. My cataphracts did not have their scale armour or the kontus, but they kept their full-face helmets, while the men from Susa had open-faced models. Surena did not have a helmet so he wore a padded felt cap on his head, complete with ear and neck flaps.