“Ugh the light,” Ardwen complained rolling over. “Shut the door before you blind me.”
“I’ve spoken to Batius,” Nynniaw went on ignoring Ardwen’s complaint, “and he’ll see you in a couple of hours,” He tied the door skin open, “at his office. I trust that is acceptable?” He looked round at the prone figures. “He’s a very busy man, remember?”
“Yes that’s fine.” Caradoc replied. Do you know where we can get some food?” He asked.
“Yes,” Nynniaw said, “if you walk past the wine stall where you were last night, further along the road is a place that sells everything you could want for breakfast, although it’s mid-morning now.” He smiled. “They’re open all day though, have you coin?”
“Yes thank you.” Caradoc replied rolling up onto his knees. “We’ll meet you there later.”
“Very well, don’t go missing now or Batius won’t be happy.” Nynniaw said leaving the roundhouse with the door skin tied open.
“Ugh my head feels like a herd of cattle have stampeded through it.” Ardwen said moaning.
Caradoc stood up and stretched, “Maybe that last cup of wine was off eh?” He picked up the amphora lying beside Ardwen and turned it upside down, it was empty as was the one Brennus had taken to bed. “Or maybe it was the quantity you drank?”
“Why are you two shouting?” Brennus rolled over to face them.
Caradoc laughed, “You two need to curb your drinking if you can’t handle it.” He pulled the rough blanket off Ardwen. “I feel fine but I didn’t guzzle as much as you pair.” He looked at the groaning men. “Come on up, we’ve got work to do.” He said. Brennus and Ardwen moaned again.
A few hours later refreshed somewhat after breakfast at the stall Nynniaw had recommended, they waited for him to re-appear. They didn’t have to wait long as he met them with a smiling face, “Are you ready? I was afraid you’d still be in bed, I’m glad to see you made it.”
“We’re ready, lead on.” Caradoc said.
Nynniaw took them further along the track where already, the garrison walls were visible, tall and imposing. Banners bearing the symbols of the Twentieth legion fluttered gently on the breeze, a wild boar below three spears.
“How do you find them?” Caradoc said looking at the huge gates as they came into view.
Nynniaw smiled. “It was strange at first, we didn’t know what to expect but we’re used to them now, trade is good and they’re fair if we treat them the same and of course we do, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of these boys. I know they’ve taken some of the young men from the region but not from the garrison area itself, taken them to train as auxiliaries in Gaul with promises of money. A lot wanted to volunteer until they found out they’d be leaving Britannia, then they weren’t so keen but most went willingly nonetheless, better that than be made to go I suppose. Apparently they take men from the Provinces and they serve elsewhere in the empire, never where they’ve come from for some reason.”
“In case they mutiny maybe?” Caradoc replied looking at the wide river that ran adjacent to the fort. “Imagine training a few hundred or worse a few thousand men in your ways of fighting, equipping them; and then they turn on you? They wouldn’t want to risk that.”
“Yes, yes I suppose you’re right.” Nynniaw said as they walked into the shadow of the garrison wall. “Here we are,” he said, “I’ll talk to the guards, wait here.” He walked forward as a soldier came out from the open gate, leaving another where he was. Nynniaw spoke to him and then turned waving, “Come on gentlemen, we don’t want to keep Quaestor Batius waiting.”
“Wouldn’t want that would we?” Ardwen said under his breath.
Caradoc looked at the size of the structure, it was enormous. “It has to be over three hundred paces wide, maybe more.”
“Oh yes and this is the narrower part of the garrison, it’s twice as long along the other sides, enormous it is.” Nynniaw said ushering them forward as they walked through the large open gates of Deva. Caradoc almost felt as if he was being swallowed by some huge stone animal. Inside there were people dressed in Roman robes and soldiers in uniform everywhere they looked.
“The gate we just walked through is called the Porta Praetoria,” Nynniaw said demonstrating with his arms, as they walked further into the belly of the beast. “This road we’re on now is called the Via Praetoria and it leads all the way down to the Principia, which is the building you see directly in front of you, it’s where we’ll find Batius in the garrison headquarters. That’s the building that was first built and determined the way the rest of the garrison was built on, fascinating isn’t it?” He said smiling, almost as if he had constructed the buildings all around them. “These Romans certainly know how to construct things eh? Now to your left is the hospital and to the right a granary, which is obviously where we bring the wheat from the fields. Beyond those buildings on each side are barracks where the soldiers live, they call them centuriae. They build them near every gate of which there are four in case of emergencies. Would you believe there are still tribes resisting them, how backward eh? Fighting a people who can accomplish this sort of thing is just stupid if you ask me.”
Brennus said, “There is a settlement in the south built by Britons that is constructed along similar designs, it has straight roads and the houses are built along lines. None are high like these though.”
“Really,” Nynniaw said. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible because we’ve certainly never had anything like it up here.” He replied. “Come along now,” he said seeing the three men staring in wonder at the high buildings all around them. “We don’t want to miss our appointment, we were lucky to get this one after someone dropped out, come along now.”
He led them further along the road describing a huge building to the left where the occupants bathed called the thermae. “Oh yes that is very popular, I’ll show you inside when we’ve seen the Quaestor if you like, you’ll be amazed. They have different rooms, one where you exercise to work up a sweat and then hot, warm and cold baths where they go to relax after a hard day’s work. It’s where some of our people work for them as well scraping their skin and making sure things run smoothly.”
“Slaves you mean?” Ardwen said.
“Well I suppose you could call them that but they have meals provided for them and accommodation, some of their masters even give them gifts and take them to their villas in the summer if they have them. In the winter they are warm did you know they even have heating under the ground?”
The three men looked at him in surprise, “What do you mean warmth from under the ground?” Caradoc asked.
“Yes, yes it’s true. They have perfected a system where before they construct the actual buildings, they dig out what they call foundations in the earth, large holes for the place to stand on. Inside the foundations they put in these square blocks that the heat runs through, hypocausts they call them, amazing things. They make the walls hollow as well sometimes so that the heat flows along these hypocausts and rises into the walls so in the winter you have warm feet and don’t have to have a fire burning all day and night inside.”
The three men looked at him quizzically as they continued along the road.
“Oh yes,” Nynniaw continued, “we can learn a great deal from them, just look around, magnificent isn’t it and all built around the curve of the river so there’s plenty of fresh water and the waste gets washed away. Very clever indeed I must say.”
“You sound as though you admire them and that they’ve improved everyone’s lives.” Brennus said.
“Well I suppose I do if I’m being honest.” Nynniaw replied.
“I’ll wager those working as slaves don’t have the same view on life.” Caradoc said.
“Mm maybe,” Nynniaw replied and went on, “now on the right we have the tribunorum, this row is where all the tribunes’ live and directly in front of us is our location, my good men. Now when we get inside I will speak with the Quaestor’s secretary and when he’s ready he’ll call us forward, in the meantime we will be given seats where we’ll wait.” He looked them up and down. “You’ll have to do as you are I suppose.”