It was late, that first night of reading and discovery, when I finally got to bed, my mind seething with excitement. Later still, I had to rise and void my bladder, and I was glad to climb back into bed beside the silky warmth of my wife.
XVIII
The next day did not start off auspiciously. I awoke in the pre-dawn to the sound of torrential rain and decided to start off my day with a hot bath and a massage, only to find that, for the first time anyone could remember, the furnace that heated our hypocausts, our central heating system, had broken. I settled for a cold bath and a stinging massage and drew little comfort from the knowledge that an entire army of workers was busily trying to trace the source of the trouble.
I had intended to ride up to the fort in the course of the morning to check on our operations up there, but the mere exercise of crossing the courtyard to the bath house in the astounding downpour was enough to convince me that a prudent man would look for things to do indoors on such a day. And yet the house was cold because of the broken furnace, or the broken pipes, or whatever else it was that was causing the trouble, so I wrapped myself up in my cloak and made my way down to the forge and its welcome warmth.
Equus had already been there for more than an hour, I reckoned, by the time I arrived, since it was full daylight outside and he still had lamps burning. He looked up from his work as I hung my sodden cloak by the forge to dry.
"Raining outside?"
I thought at first he was jesting, but quickly saw that he was not really interested in my response, whatever it might be.
"Raining? How long have you been here?"
He was concentrating on something on the bench-top in front of him and spoke perfunctorily over his shoulder, his eyes on his work. "All night, I reckon. Wanted to get your spear done." He finished something, tapped metal with a hammer and straightened up, looking out for the first time towards the daylight. "Looks like a whore of a morning out there."
I ran my fingers through my wet hair, flicking them afterward to shake off the rain. "Not pleasant, Equus — but why a whore?"
He grinned down again at what he was doing. "Wet, and available to anyone who wants to get into it, but basically cold, unpleasant and taxing to everyone."
I returned his grin. "Philosophizing this early? You must have had a rough night. What's the matter?"
He straightened up. "Ah, I don't know." He looked disgusted. "I'm not happy with the way this spear thing turned out."
"Why not? What's wrong with it?"
"Split me if I know! But something isn't right about it."
"Where is it? Let's have a look."
"It's over there." He nodded backwards with his head. "Against the back wall."
I saw it from where I was standing. "It looks all right from here — a little strange-looking, but that's what I expected."
I went and picked the new weapon up. It felt heavy and serviceable. The blade was three feet long and double-edged, flaring from the point to a two-inch width within six inches, and then gradually to about four and a half inches at the top. The edges on both sides were wicked. The thickness of the central spine was more than half an inch. He had left the tang the full length of the shaft and had bound strips of wood around it with iron wire, making a solid, two-and-a-half-inch diameter, three-foot-long grip. It was a heavy weapon, but not ungainly.
"What's wrong with this?" I asked over my shoulder. "What don't you like about it?"
Equus shook his head abruptly and dismissively. "I told you, I don't know. I sat on the saw-horse over there and practised with it for a while. There's something not quite right about it, but damn me if I can pinpoint what it is."
"You think it's too heavy?" I raised it shoulder high, springing my arm, testing the weight of the thing.
"No, not for the job it has to do."
"Well, then what about the balance? Are you satisfied with that?" As I spoke, I gripped the shaft in both hands, holding it out straight-armed.
"I think so. Yes, damn it, I am! It balances well for thrust and stab. And it'll cut, too ..." His voice reflected the frustration he was feeling. "It's just... it doesn't feel right, Publius. Even though it does what it's supposed to do, it doesn't feel right. Does that make any sense to you?"
"No, my friend, it doesn't." He grunted in disgust. "Well, what do you want me to say? I don't know what would feel right to you. It feels fine to me, but I didn't design it or make it."
He sighed and turned back to a piece of iron he had left heating in the coals. I watched him lay it on the anvil and start to hammer it, sending sparks flying with every blow. On the fourth stroke, he stopped, his shoulders slumped in thought, and then turned back to me, the hammer dangling from his huge hand.
"I think what's sticking in my craw is that the thing is neither fish nor fowl. It's a spear, but it has to be used like a sword."
"But it's a new weapon, Equus. It will have to have rules of its own. It is different."
"Aye, I suppose it is...Well, I hope it works well for you. I'll never use it."
He sounded very despondent, and I put the new weapon down and crossed to where he stood, placing my arm along his shoulders.
"You'll get used to it, old friend. Once you see how well it works for the others, you'll be proud of it."
He grunted. "I doubt that."
"Well I don't. Britannicus charged me with the responsibility of coming up with a new weapon for his new tactics. I passed it on to you. And this is it."
"No, Publius, this isn't 'it'!" He was emphatic, his voice impassioned. "I'm not as clever as you and the Gen'ral, and I don't live well with words. But I know inside myself that thing isn't the answer. It might do for now, but it isn't right."
I picked the weapon up again, hefted it in my hand and tested the edge with my thumb. "Well, Equus, we'll see. It's too wet outside to do much in the way of testing today. If the weather dries up tomorrow, we'll see how it performs in the hands of a mounted man."
He punctuated the end of my words with a clanging blow of his hammer on his now-cool iron, cursed and thrust the cold metal back into the coals, and as he did so, Caius himself walked into the forge, his military cloak wrapped tightly around him.
"Ah, Publius, Equus! I was hoping I'd find you both here. It's the only spot in the whole place where there's a chance of escaping the chill today. What's that you have there, Publius?"
I held it out to him. "Your new cavalry weapon. Equus finished it last night."
"Excellent! Well, let's have a look at it." He reached for the weapon, but I hung on to it.
"I will, when you take off that wet cloak. You don't need pneumonia at your age, Caius."