He was still musing on the matter, which did nothing to lighten his already subterranean mood, when they began up the slope towards the oppidum of the Eburones. The climb was long and slow, much like everything he’d experienced so far in Arduenna’s unpleasant forest. The relief he felt as they began to level out at the plateau was quickly demolished as he took in the welcoming committee.
The defences of Atuatuca were of the usual construction: stone-faced, with a lattice of timbers betrayed by the visible ends along the length of the wall, all packed with earth and backed with a bank. The gates were of timber, heavy and well-protected, set back slightly from the walls to provide a killing area. The gates, in this particular case, stood open.
And in that killing zone stood a nobleman with his entourage of half a dozen bodyguards, the usual druid with a sour expression and a beard you could lose a bear in, and several dozen warriors standing about armed to the teeth as though expecting trouble.
‘You are not welcome here.’
‘You don’t know who we are, yet,’ Fronto replied with low menace.
‘You are Roman. You may not be dressed like one, but you have the stench. And your pets from tribes who betray the Goddess are no more welcome than you.’
‘Believe it or not,’ Fronto said quietly, ‘that is not the coldest welcome I’ve yet had. We are not here to cause you any trouble. We seek only information.’
‘Ambiorix is not here,’ the man replied quickly. Too quickly, in Fronto’s opinion.
‘Then it’s lucky for you that we’re not seeking that pointless rat.’ A qualified truth, but a truth nonetheless. He was gratified to see the noble’s expression slip for a moment as he was clearly not expecting such an answer.
‘You will have nothing from us.’
‘Really?’ Fronto curved his mouth into the sort of smile people back away from. ‘You are Ambiorix’s men to the heart; I can tell. As such, I am leaning towards the belief that you will hold no love for the weasel-king Cativolcus? He did, after all, abandon Ambiorix after last year’s massacres.’
Again, the noble clearly had not been expecting this, and his face twisted in confusion. He turned to his companions and a quick, hushed conversation took place, along with a lot of animated waving of arms and slapping of fist on hand.
‘We owe Cativolcus for his part in the uprising,’ Fronto said as they argued. ‘Caesar intends to deal with Ambiorix by wiping the world clean of the stain of the Eburones and burning down every timber they ever built.’
The noble and his companions had fallen silent at this and were now peering with suspicion at Fronto again. ‘Rest assured that the little turd has his end coming to him soon enough, and Caesar will see to it. You can stand here and cast your spittle at seventy thousand armoured men as they pound your walls to dust and mate with, or murder, every living thing, but right now I seek the whereabouts of Cativolcus.’
He stretched. ‘I was led to believe that the old man was hiding from Caesar and Ambiorix both in this very oppidum.’ He watched the men’s faces and confirmed what he had initially thought. ‘But it is clear he is not here and never has been. But…’ he took a single step forward, ‘it is also clear to me, from your very expressions, that you do know of his location. Tell me where to find him and I may consider interceding with Caesar in the manner of your end. After all, there are worse things to experience than simple death, are there not?’
His threat had carried endless layers of potential agony and misery, and the nobleman had clearly spotted a number of them as he turned and had another quick, hurried and muttered conversation with his companions. Finally, he turned back.
‘Espaduno.’
Fronto frowned and turned to Samognatos, who nodded. ‘It is a town in the south of Eburone lands, almost in Segni lands. If Ambiorix has been in Segni territory, then the two kings are close.’
Fronto nodded. ‘Time to get ourselves to this Espaduno as fast as we can, then. Seems to me that that Segni warband we came across after we left your lands might not be the last we see.’
He turned back to the nobleman.
‘I offer you a piece of advice. Eschew your connections with Ambiorix, and when Caesar comes rapping on your gate, welcome him with open arms. Ambiorix is not the man to throw your support behind, this summer. And if you feel the need to hold to your vows with your king, make sure your walls are a sight higher and thicker than they are now. But most of all, do not pin all your hopes on that little shitbag Ambiorix, and don’t expect to ever see him at your gate again.’
The nobleman, clearly shaken by the whole exchange, simply watched in consternation as the Roman party turned and began the descent back to the valley below. As soon as they were out of both sight and hearing of the Eburones on the plateau, Masgava pulled ahead to walk beside Fronto.
‘Do you think they told us the truth?’
‘I do. The location’s too convenient. The old king hides himself at the very edge of his lands, close to the Segni, where Ambiorix was last thought to be. I wouldn’t be surprised if the two of them are already together. Certainly he’s not been to this place for a long time. I would say from what I saw of them that these locals are desperately hoping Ambiorix will hove into view with an army of Rome-hating Gauls and Germans before Caesar arrives.’
A thought occurred to him and he turned to view the column of men behind him, wondering who he could spare. The answer, obviously, was: no one. Numisius, however, still nursed his broken arm as he rode, and nights wrapped in his cloak were bothering him with the cold and damp.
‘Numisius? I have a task for you… and Biorix. Sorry about this, lads, but we need to get a message to Caesar. He’s somewhere up around the Rhenus delta stamping on the Menapii, but when he’s finished with them he’ll turn south, and the last thing we need is for him to then fix his attention on this area. Things could get very busy and dangerous round here if a number of legions start stomping towards us. Get to the general and tell him what we know and that we’re closing in on both kings at the Segni border. Tell him to give us more time. You can take two of the pack horses as spare mounts. Head along the Mosa until it meets the Rhenus and then along that until you find word of the army. Ride fast, and be careful. Once you’ve delivered the message, find Priscus and stay with him until we meet up again — you’ll never track us down if you come back south.’
Pausing, he retrieved a small, easily-portable wax tablet from his purse and carved a few hasty lines in the wax with the stylus from the same container. A simple note that took mere moments, and then he snapped it shut and passed it to Biorix.
‘This is for Priscus alone. I’ve no wax to seal it and no time, but if you open it and read it, rest assure, I will know.’
Biorix took the tablet and nodded, and the two legionaries, looking somewhat perturbed at their lot, saluted and dropped back to unrope two of the pack horses. The supplies were now seriously diminished, and so the beasts could easily be spared. The idea of more than one hundred and fifty miles of enemy territory with only hard rations and what they could forage was not enticing, and Fronto could hardly blame them for the mix of nerves and disappointment that showed on their faces. But Numisius was the man most expendable because of his arm, and Biorix was one of the men Fronto trusted most in the unit, and a Gaul by blood, so if any pair could get to Caesar, it was them.
He straightened in his saddle. ‘Whatever Ambiorix is up to, I believe Cativolcus is at this Espaduno waiting for him, close to Segni lands. Whether he’s changed his tune and is looking to throw in his lot with his brother king or has other ideas in mind, I think we have to hope that they have not yet met and we need to get there first if we can. What do you know of the territory between here and there, Samognatos?’