He drank from his cup and looked at me.
‘Perhaps we may achieve more if the famed army of Dura will stay in these parts to aid me.’
‘We have a chance to trap and destroy the invaders,’ added Vistaspa.
‘I had thought of taking the army south to aid Babylon,’ I said, looking at Orodes. ‘Surely Hatra can raise enough men to match the combined forces of Anauon and Drangiana?’
My father nodded. ‘I can raise a host of men, yes, but they are not trained soldiers, not like those whose only task is war. I still need Vata to hold the north but will take his five thousand men with me. The lords in these parts can muster their retainers to hold Nisibus and the surrounding area. Gafarn can hold the city of Hatra with the garrison and a muster of my lords — a total of sixty thousand men, give or take. That leaves me with seven thousand horse archers and a thousand cataphracts that I will collect at Hatra, plus my bodyguard and Vata’s five thousand horse archers.’
‘Thirteen and a half thousand men,’ said Domitus.
‘How many march against you, lord?’ asked Orodes.
My father looked at Vistaspa, who answered.
‘We have no accurate reports, but a tally of eighty thousand has been mentioned more than once.’
Orodes’ eyes widened at this great figure and even I was a little surprised.
‘With your own army, Pacorus, that will give us a fighting chance,’ said my father.
‘Under thirty thousand men,’ added Domitus.
Vistaspa looked confused. ‘Do they not teach mathematics in Italy, Domitus? You marched into these parts with over twenty thousand men.’
Domitus looked at me to reply.
‘I sent some horsemen away with Atrax,’ I lied, ‘as reinforcements.’
My father frowned. ‘It would be better if they had remained. Still, we might yet prevail.’
I ordered food and drink to be brought from the field kitchens as he and Vistaspa revealed their plan to us. They had brought with them the map of the empire that the pedantic archivist had unearthed among his records, and which was now spread on the table before us. Despite the current dire situation the western kingdoms found themselves in, my father and his subordinate appeared to have been animated by the prospect of the coming fight.
I looked at the map, specifically at the course of the River Tigris, which the enemy had to cross to enter Hatran territory.
‘The first question is, where will the enemy strike?’
‘That is easy enough,’ replied Vistaspa, pointing at the river to the east of the city of Hatra. ‘They will cross the Tigris at Assur, which lies only sixty miles to the east of Hatra.’
‘Even though it is now nearly summer,’ added my father, ‘there are only a few places that large numbers of horsemen can ford the Tigris. Assur is one such place. The water level will have dropped by now and its depth will be around six feet, perhaps less. The Plain of Makhmur lies across the river from Assur, which is flat and fertile. An army can establish a camp there prior to fording the river. Once over the river they can ride across flat land all the way to Hatra. They have to be stopped at the river.’
‘They could be allowed to cross the river and advance inland,’ I suggested, ‘to walk into a trap.’
‘I do not want eighty thousand horsemen running amok in the east of my kingdom,’ replied my father. ‘No, they have to be stopped at the river.’
‘How far away is this place, this Assur?’ asked Domitus.
‘Two hundred miles south of here,’ replied Vistaspa.
‘Ten days’ march,’ mused Domitus. ‘And how far away is the enemy from Assur?’
‘They have halted at the city of Ecbatana, two hundred and fifty miles east of the Tigris,’ said Vistaspa. ‘The governor, one of Mithridates’ friends, is entertaining Cinnamus and Vologases, so I have heard.’
Domitus stared at the map and counted on his fingers.
‘They can reach the river in nine days.’
My father smiled. ‘Do not worry, Roman, they will linger at Ecbatana a while longer.’
‘We have received reports that a lavish festival has been laid on to celebrate their arrival,’ said Vistaspa, ‘with games, apparently.’
‘We will leave at dawn,’ I announced.
My father smiled and Vistaspa nodded approvingly.
‘Trees,’ Domitus said suddenly.
Orodes looked at him in bewilderment.
‘Trees?’
‘Are there any trees at Assur?’
My father frowned. ‘You are a keen student of foliage, Roman?’
Domitus looked at me. ‘Remember Mutina all those years ago, how we faced a forest of stakes? I have not forgotten that day.’
I nodded. ‘You are right, well done. And no, as far as I can remember there are no trees in the vicinity of Assur, at least no tall ones.’
‘Then we will be marching in three days’ time,’ said Domitus.
Having explained what Domitus was referring to, my father and Vistaspa rode back to the city to inform Vata that they would be taking his troops with them when they rode south and that he was to summon the lords and their men to perform garrison and caravan protection duties.
It took two days to recall Vata’s men from the outlying villages and assemble them in Nisibus, during which time Domitus and Kronos organised parties to cut down as many trees as they could. Six cohorts were sent into the forests to fell trees and the others organised transport to ferry the lumber back to camp where it was fashioned into six-foot-long stakes. Working all day and through the night with the aid of torches and great fires made from freshly cut branches — which produced a great deal of choking smoke — in two days we must have cut down a thousand trees. After we had finished it looked as though a giant had been to work at the edge of the forest with a massive scythe.
I asked Vata to send additional wagons from Nisibus to carry the wood and eventually we filled a hundred and fifty for the journey south. The day before we left Byrd and Malik returned to us with their scouts to report that Surena and his men had entered Gordyene unseen. I told them both what had happened since they had been away and how we were marching south to Assur. That night I wrote a letter to Gallia telling her everything that had happened and adding a footnote concerning Orodes’ desire to marry Axsen. I also asked her to remain at Dura. I said nothing of the army forming at Ctesiphon preparing to march against Babylon. If she got wind of the city being in peril she might be tempted to muster Dura’s lords and march south to Axsen’s aid. If she did they would be cut to pieces by Narses’ heavy cavalry. I prayed to Shamash that He would prevent Dobbai having any visions about Babylon’s predicament until I returned to Dura.
Heavily loaded with provisions and lumber the army marched southeast to the Tigris and then followed the river south to Assur. As the days passed the heat of a Mesopotamian summer began to roast our backs as the country turned from a lush green to a parched brown and then a sun-blasted yellow. The men stashed their leggings on the wagons and horsemen brought out their floppy hats to shield their necks and faces from the unrelenting sun. We made twenty miles every day, most of the horsemen walking beside their mounts for most of the journey, riding only when they were sent out on patrol. Even though we were in my father’s kingdom I sent out reconnaissance patrols to scout the surrounding country, and Byrd and Malik rode far ahead, sending patrols into the villages. With eighty thousand or more enemy soldiers somewhere on the other side of the Tigris I did not want to run into any nasty surprises on our journey south.
The first five days were quiet and uneventful, the only opposition being the heat and the dust that was kicked up as we marched across the parched earth. The days were cloudless, windless and very hot; the nights clear, cooler and welcome. On the sixth day, in the early afternoon, Byrd and Malik rejoined the army after having spent the night with some of their men south of the army. They found me walking with Orodes, Domitus and Kronos in front of the Duran Legion’s colour party. The sun was illuminating its golden griffin and making it appear almost molten.