"So there is," Gaius nodded, as sunlight glinted off it.
"It wasn't there when we arrived."
"Perhaps, perhaps not," Gaius said. "It may be that it was always there, but if it's like a shield, the sun may have to hit it at this angle for us to see it."
"You think it's Celtic signalling equipment?" the Centurion frowned. "I didn't know they used the sun."
"I don't know what it is," Gaius shrugged, "but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. Keep an eye on it, and if anyone starts signalling, let me now."
"Yes, sir."
Gaius watched the Centurion leave. A good man, like all the Centurions. Gaius looked again towards the tree on the distant tree. The silver object, whatever it was, was still reflecting sunlight. It was unlikely to be a shield, because Celts invariably built shields from wood or hides. It was obviously something metallic, but it was too far away to tell what it was, or, for that matter, to tell whether there was anyone up there with it. One thing was obvious; apart from possible signalling, it was too far away to be relevant. It could be a Celt observing the Romans, and that would be a good move, except that the position was such that there would be a better view of the Celts! If Caratacus wanted an observation point, he should have got closer. In fact, Gaius smiled to himself, he should have been in the forest to the north, because then he would have seen his detachment.
Perhaps he did have an observer to the north! Well, if he did, there wasn't much that could be done about it. He just had to hope his men would put an arrow in the spy before he could report. And if they couldn't, then the element of surprise would be gone for the encirclement. That would be unfortunate, but there was a limit to what could be done to prevent the enemy from having some success. In the meantime, any shield up that tree was hardly likely to be an immediate hazard.
He looked down across the slope. Already quite impressive defensive fortifications were present. The huge ditch and its turf ramparts already presented a significant obstacle to any direct charge, especially since such a charge would be up-hill. Stakes and other obstacles were nearly in place, and at the rear of the camp, cooking was underway. The ballistae and catapults were in place, and impressive piles of rocks and the large wooden arrows were piled neatly, awaiting orders to fire them. The men were now beginning to finish their work.
The twentieth had made good use of the time.
* * *
He looked up to the north. The detachment was now approaching the huts. Nothing happened when they arrived, and it was clear that they contained no hidden enemy.
The men approached the stream. There should have been a small bridge there, but the enemy had burned it. His troops entered the water. As it happened, the stream was not particularly deep, and it had a reasonably firm bottom. His men crossed without difficulty. The horsemen then began to ride up the hill.
It was just as they reached halfway that Celtic horsemen appeared on the brow of the hill. There were whoops, and a downhill charge. At first the Roman cavalry appeared to do very little, but then, just as the Celts were almost upon them, the Romans charged up-hill, and peeled to the left and right, those peeling to the right presenting lances to the Celts.
Two Celts impaled themselves on the lances, at the same time knocking the Syrian horsemen off their horses; one Celt managed to get a lance past the shield of a left wheeling horseman, sending the rider downhill with blood oozing from his lower right side, but the overall effect was that the Celts rode through the Syrians and were hurtling down towards the stream, now pursued by the Syrians.
Say what you would about Syrians, Gaius thought to himself, but they were excellent horsemen.
The Celts, now at a disadvantage, wheeled towards the bottom of the hill, and rode furiously towards the swamp. The Syrians turned to give chase, but now a hail of arrows descended on them from above. Two Syrians were struck, but managed to stay on their horses. The remaining horsemen must have decided that this was a losing chase, for they now turned and retreated towards the stream.
The Celts on the top of the hill now sent a stream of insults at the Romans, but as the average Roman could not understand their language, this achieved little.
A Roman scouting party returning from the swamp then produced two prisoners. Gaius stared at them, and advised them in a wooden tone that they should surrender on the spot, as the Celts were far too weak to beat his legion, at which point their pride made them give away information they should not have. Gaius gave no indication that this had happened, and he woodenly continued that he would release them, and before they were recaptured or killed they should tell any Celts that wished to surrender that they should do so now. If they swore allegiance to Rome, they could return to their farms, and get on with their lives. Before they left, they should have a look at what a full legion looked like.
The men were sent away, and in due course some message must have been conveyed because a new round of fiercer insults were thrown.
Eventually both sides settled in for the night. Each could see the lights of the fires of the other, each could see the sentries of the other, a small skirmish ensued in the swamp as each side sent a scouting party to attempt to sabotage the other, but as neither side could see much, this achieved little.
* * *
The following morning saw the Celts lined up on their hill, the Romans in formation, and the insults renewed. It was obvious that the Celts intended to defend this stream and let the Romans come to them, a sound tactic for defenders, Gaius was forced to acknowledge. Since Rome had to remove the opposition from the field, there was no option but to attack. Two cohorts were ordered to march towards the swamp, while three would make a direct crossing of the stream but then move towards the gentler slopes.
The Celts responded by marching a corresponding number of soldiers partly down the hill to greet the Romans when they emerged from the swamp, and they advanced a line partly down the hill to meet those directly crossing the river. The remaining Celts stood along the hilltop. The Celts would defend along a line and hold the Romans, and if this force alone was committed, they could commit more force to outflank the Roman advance, yet have force in reserve to counter any different Roman advance.
Caratacus might not be brilliant, Gaius noted, but he was certainly better than adequate. There would be no stupid mistake from the Celts. There was now little option but to attack front on in full strength. He would time the advance so that it was just beginning to advance up-hill when the others began to emerge from the swamp. He would space the advance so that he could wheel towards the left if necessary to link with the others, or alternatively advance with a useful space between the units. One cohort would advance behind the main advance, able to block any attempt to punch between the two forward units, or be able to wheel right and give the Celts a flanking problem. He smiled to himself as he realized he would now have four groups of cohorts. Since a cavalry charge up-hill was unlikely to succeed, the uncommitted cavalry could rest for the time being.
On the signal three cohorts began to advance towards the stream. The Celts on the hill watched impassively. The Roman force now began crossing the stream; the Celts on the hill continued to watch impassively. Gaius nodded to himself. Caratacus was no fool. He was not going to give up the flexibility that came with height advantage, and he was not going to send his men into catapult range. He would let the Romans come to him.
As the Roman force emerged from the stream and continued to march forward, Celtic archers took position. The Romans immediately formed into the testudo formation and with shields locked into a seemingly impenetrable wall in front of the line and over the heads of the troops, then they marched relentlessly upward. Gaius noted that Caratacus had refused to fall into the traps of sending forces down to try to outflank the Romans, or to try to force a hole between the two cohort groups. He was going to deal with each separately, front on, and not yield the height advantage.