What little sunlight managed to break through the heavy clouds had vanished as it descended under the western horizon two hours ago. The darkness provided Gaius and his men sufficiently cover to reach the outer walls of a large estate, unseen, which was big amply that it most likely belonged to a wealthy citizen, perhaps even a senator; the high walls that encircled the property, however, didn’t allow Gaius to see beyond the walls to what was inside.
The fire that had consumed the estate had been nearly burnt out, which had survived hours, despite the heavy rain, since the smoke was first seen by Roman scouts. Still, embers burned in spots where the flames were the hottest.
Gaius slowly worked his way along the outer walls towards the front gate. A few bodies lay outside and on top the walls. None of them were dead Carthaginian or Gauls, Gaius noted, but slaves and hired guards, each of whom had tried to defend their master’s home. So far, beyond the few dead, he did not notice much else — nothing that would have indicated there was some sort of siege, or suggested the estate had been breached from the outside.
The heavy iron gates were swung open, which didn’t look as if they had been battered down, but left as if someone had had pulled them open from the inside. This conundrum peeked Gaius’ attention as, he, and his men worked their way to what he hoped would be answers.
Gaius led the first part, six men, including him. Maurus commanded the second group, which hurried over to the opposite side of the entrance and took positions alongside the wall.
None of his men wore armor or carried shields. The Romans carried only their swords and daggers, and had made sure to muddy their faces before striking toward the estate, where they left their horses on the other side of a low hill, with one man guarding.
Gaius took a deep breath as he peeked round the corner, fixing his eyes beyond the open gateway. He saw a few more bodies hacked to death; one lying in the middle of the entrance about twenty paces from him, another two slumped up against the walls, their bodies covered with blood as their heads were brutally mutilated lie a few inches from their owners.
With the few fires that still burned, Gaius saw nothing else — no one alive that was. He decided it was time for him and his men to advance.
Taken a deep breath, Gaius hesitated for a moment. He did not like this and wasn’t altogether sure he was prepared to face whatever might be beyond these walls. He wondered for just a moment if he was ever going to get used to death.
Putting caution behind him, Gaius darted around the bend and ran down the gateway, his men quickly falling behind.
An overturned blackened cart was his destination. Gaius threw his back up against it, half expecting to hear a sentry call out once he was spotted, soon followed by a volley of arrows or spears. However, there was no sound beyond the slight dripping of water, and sizzling as it cooled the smoldering embers of the burnt-out buildings.
The rest of the Romans hurried across the courtyard and also took cover; their swords held at the ready as their eyes and ears scanned the surroundings for any sign of movement. Like Gaius, they too saw nothing, or had been seen.
Gaius looked for Maurus, finding him knelt down behind a stack of wet logs. He hastily gave him a silent hand signal, ordering him and the rest of the Romans to move quickly and spread out, and begin their search for signs of life, or the attackers.
Maurus nodded his reply as he passed along Gaius’ instructions to those men around him. A moment later, everyone moved from their cover, hurrying as fast, and as carefully as they could. While they hadn’t been seen yet, that did not mean there wasn’t still a presence in the compound.
Gaius chose to begin his search of a long building that looked as if it had served as a storehouse. It was one of the few still erected.
He moved by himself, wanting his men to cover as much ground as quickly as possible.
There was a short flight of stairs leading into the storehouse, which were partly burnt, but still sturdy enough to support his weight. The two doors were left wide open, a long dark abyss greeting him as he ventured into the structure.
A streak of lightning momentarily illuminated the dark interior, causing Gaius to jump at his own shadow. The light, however, did illustrate that the building had indeed been a warehouse. Where normally stacks of crates, jugs, sacks of grain and other assortments should have been the storehouse was mostly empty. There were signs that what had been inside was taken, and with haste as trails of spilled grain and flower covered the wooden floors.
Gaius saw nothing or no one that would raise his alarm, but as he continued deeper into the building, he noticed a far room, most likely an office where the quartermaster would have kept a tally on the goods kept inside the building, before being sold.
Inside the office, there was still a fire burning, not enraged that it threatened the whole structure, but still sufficient that it provided adequate light for Gaius to notice the room, unlike the storehouse, wasn’t empty.
There was no way for Gaius to be stealthy as he approached, which unnerved him even more as his feet scratched against the spilled contents that would have stacked the building’s walls, or the increasing creaking the floorboards made with each careful step. However, as he drew nearer, he noticed what appeared to be legs sticking out in front of the doorway. Upon seeing them Gaius called, “I’m a Roman officer, do not be alarmed. If you have a weapon, lower it now!” He spoke the last part of his sentence with more authority, or as much as his shacking nerves could allow. Still, there was no movement or reply.
Gaius was about to call again, but he decided against it as he came closer to the open door. Only then as he came within sight of the pair of legs did he notice how small the feet were, like that of a child.
“Do not be afraid, I’m a Roman — “Gaius froze as he gasped.
In the flickering light from the flames, he saw two girls, lying next to one another, their clothes torn to shred, eyes wide open, and limbs covered with their own blood. Their throats had been cut, and their legs were spread broad, telling Gaius all he needed to know. Whoever had sacked this estate showed no mercy, not even for the very young.
Gaius fixed his eyes on the girls, one of whom had half of her body burnt to a crisp.
His back dropped against the side of the doorway as the sword in his hand felt too heavy to carry any longer.
He couldn’t help but tear at the sight as he studied it, unable to turn away, but wanting too badly. It was only when he heard his name called out by Maurus did he pull away from the sight.
“What is it?” he asked, not allowing Maurus to cross the threshold.
“We found no signs of attackers, only tracks leading outside. I don’t’ suspect the assault happened from out there, but from within.”
“What else?” Gaius asked. He could feel that Maurus was holding something back.
“We…” he struggled to say. “You should see for yourself.”
Gaius tried not to look back inside the small room, forcing himself to pull his gaze from the carnage and replied, “Lead the way.” What greeted him next was worse.
Moments later, Gaius stood in the center courtyard, surround by his men who each looked down at the collection of thirty bodies, most of whom were slaves, and others that weren’t, including children. Everyone was executed, head's cut off, limbs hacked, or throats slit. The women were all naked, having clearly been rapped before they too were murdered and left face-down in the mud.
The bodies that held Gaius attention now were different. Each was knelt down on their knees, hands tied behind their backs. There was one woman, middle aged, four children, and one man, his age impossible to determine as he had been set on fire.