Petronius shook his head with a smile.
‘I’d say the place is more or less impregnable, unless an attacker manages to starve the garrison out. I asked one of the elders why the place had been made so strong when there’s nothing here worth having …’
He shook his head at the memory, and Scaurus tilted his head in question.
‘The cheeky old bugger looked me up and down with a pitying expression, then folded his arms and gave me an ancient history lecture. He was a damned sight more interesting than my old tutor, I can assure you of that! Apparently, once we’d got past his repeated assertion that Rome was just another empire, and would one day surely fall, he pointed out to me that the city has been besieged at one time or another by all manner of people. Mesopotamians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Parthians, and of course ourselves, all wanting the wealth to be had from possession of the only decent spring for a hundred miles. Everyone’s had a go at the place at one time or another, and so, he told me with more than a hint of pride, they’ve got rather good at the whole fortification thing. And he has a point. After all, all we’ve ever done since the Parthians ceded the place to Avidius Cassius is keep the brickwork in good order, because the place was this strong when we took control of it.’
‘Defences are all very well, but what about supplies?’
‘If you’re worried about feeding your men, First Spear, then put your mind at ease. Since the city sits right astride a major trade route, money isn’t overly hard to come by and therefore neither are the staples of life. There’s enough spare grain in the stores to feed your legion for a year, and those men out there will have vanished off to their homelands long before that. Besides, the first decent storm of next winter would clear them away even if they had the staying power to sit out there for the entire summer.’
He frowned.
‘Exactly what it is that this Narsai hopes to achieve isn’t clear to me, or for that matter why King Osroes thought it would be a good idea to sit watching a fortress that he’s got no hope of breaking into. Surely they’ve both got better things to be doing than banging their heads against these walls?’
Scaurus shrugged.
‘An interesting potted history, thank you Prefect Petronius. And I see your point as to the futility of whatever it is that the kings thought they might achieve by besieging the city, but to be frank I’m too relieved to have fought my way through to you to be giving much thought to what their aims might have been. My only concern now is to how we’re going to get Osroes back to his father in Ctesiphon.’
Petronius raised an eyebrow.
‘You’re going to return the King of Kings’ son to him, having taken him fairly in battle? What’s the ransom?’
The legatus shook his head.
‘The arrangement wasn’t financial. I used him as a means of keeping Narsai from attacking us on the march, promising his nobles that I would return him to his father if he lived to see Nisibis. But the fact remains, getting him to Ctesiphon isn’t going to be easy.’
The prefect raised an eyebrow.
‘Your generosity amazes me, Legatus. After all, the payment that you could have demanded simply to let him walk from these gates would be enough to make you among the richest men in Rome.’
He pondered the thought for a moment.
‘But never mind, we don’t all want to be wealthy. And if all you need is a way out of the city that will set you on your way to the Parthian capital, I think I have something that might just work …’
‘You’re sure this is wise, Legatus? Sending a Roman officer to the Parthian capital might just be a very good way of getting him killed.’
Scaurus sat back in his chair, nodding in the face of his first spear’s disapproval. Petronius had cheerfully vacated his office in the city’s headquarters building in favour of the legatus, and from the windows on each side of the generously sized room it was possible to see the entire length of the fortress walls.
‘I know, I’m asking a lot of him. If he manages to get Osroes away from here by means of this trick that Petronius has in mind, there will still be a long journey in front of them. And at the far end …’
‘He’ll be at the mercy of this King of Kings.’
Scaurus nodded again.
‘Indeed. Although you shouldn’t look at our enemy as simple barbarians. It’s not as if they’re Germans. The king claims direct descent from the men who ruled the first Persian empire, and the Parthian nobility have always prided themselves on being Greek in outlook. Since Tribune Corvus will also be an emissary of Rome, and as Parthia has no formal quarrel with the empire of which we are aware, bringing the Great King his wounded son by the most direct method can only count in his favour, so I’d be surprised if he were to be mistreated. He can take that monster Lugos with him, that will provide the Parthians with some entertainment, and perhaps Martos? The novelty of meeting a king from the far north will be something new, even for a man of Arsaces’ age and experience.’
Julius bowed his head in acquiescence to his superior’s command.
‘I can see you’re set on this, Legatus. I’ve got rounds to make, with your leave, sir?’
Scaurus leaned back in his chair.
‘I’ll consume a moment more of your time, if I may, First Spear?’
He waited until the older man had retaken his seat before speaking again.
‘I know you don’t want Tribune Corvus to carry out this task, and I understand why. You believe that his place is here with the legion, and that the risks he’ll be taking are unnecessary. But you miss my point, partly because you’re concerned for his safety and partly because you don’t have my wider responsibilities. Your role is to provide this legion with leadership, to manage it in battle and to ensure as many of the enemy are killed for as few of our own as possible. It is a role you play as well as any man I’ve met, and better than most of them. I, however, am a legatus. That does not simply mean that I am a legion commander, but also, whether I hold the social rank or not, that I am effectively a senator of Rome. I have a duty to the empire that goes beyond simply leading her legionaries, but which also encompasses diplomacy. Diplomats prevent wars as often as soldiers win them, and it’s clear to me that our one legion isn’t going to snuff out the flame that Osroes and Narsai have lit here. One man with the right ear, however, might just manage it.’
He stood, walking to the office’s window and looking out at the city.
‘I have a greater need for the tribune’s skills than yours, First Spear. You’d have him stand on those walls, looking out at Narsai’s army and waiting for his arm to heal. I, on the other hand, need both his intelligence and the wit that his father made sure was developed by his education. Any other man I can send will simply be a soldier, whereas in Marcus Valerius Aquila I can present the Great King with as close to an old-fashioned Roman gentleman as the empire can manage here and now.’
He shook his head in amusement.
‘In days gone by I would have elbowed him aside to have made such a journey. To meet the King of Kings? To set eyes on a man who rules a dozen kingdoms solely by force of personality and his ability to set one man against another, and thereby set them both to his will, a role so difficult that I doubt our own emperor would see out the week? Such a chance will never come again, be sure of that. The tribune’s friends will be safe enough behind these walls, safe and bored beyond measure, whereas that young man will have the opportunity to visit a city that few Romans have seen in any other circumstance than from behind a sword.’
He stood, gesturing to the door and releasing the first spear to his duties.
‘He’ll thank me, when he returns.’
‘This makes a pleasant change from the temperature up above, doesn’t it? Standing guard duty down here is one of the most sought after places to be during the day, although I don’t think the soldiers are quite so keen once the sun’s below the horizon! How are you liking the tour, Centurion Avidus?’