On the other hand, if the twentieth advanced rapidly now he could make it as far as the western mountains almost unopposed, as the Celts would not have had time to regroup and reorganize a new army. Such a bold advance would cut off opposing tribes in the south from help from the north. Since there were no unified British tribes, those in the north would have to think about accommodating Rome, while those in the south, cut off from help, would have to think about making peace. But instead of the quick, bold move, he had to go south and talk, and when he had finished talking he would advance into territory the enemy had had time to fortify. Great strategy!
However, orders were orders.
He could hardly believe the second message either. Quintus and Lucilla were travelling to meet Vespasian, and he would meet them there. Vipsania had tagged on and had joined the party.
How could Quintus be so stupid! Had he no idea that he would be travelling through a recent war zone? The party had originally been invited to Britain by Cogidumnus; apparently Cogidumnus was under the impression that Quintus had influence with Vespasian and with the Princeps. Visiting Cogidumnus was safe enough, but heading west? Was Quintus acting as some envoy for Cogidumnus? Or, more likely, did he have his eyes on tin?
Or was Sabinus the problem? Vespasian would report that he had conquered and pacified the tribes, and Sabinus would advise that the land behind Vespasian was pacified. The problem with staff officers was they spent too much time in their tents. When Vespasian said he had pacified land, what he would mean was that opposing armies were removed from the region. That did not mean that law and order was fully imposed. In the chaos following war, there would always be the opportunist criminals, ready to rob and kill passers-by, and a determined enemy would always send raiding parties to harass supply lines.
Not that he could do anything about this. He had to obey Plautius' orders, so he would prepare to travel. And perhaps there was one good outcome possible. As Vipsania must go back to Rome, she could take his writings and his engine parts. The truth of the matter was, commanding a legion on rapid advance left little time for inventing, while the continual travel through marshes was likely to damage his writings. They should be kept in safety, and that meant being kept in Rome.
He would not be separated from these items for long, as Claudius had promised that he would return to Rome at the end of the campaigning season, by which time Caratacus should no longer be a military threat. And he would not, if only he could set off in pursuit instead of going on a talkfest with Vespasian. Not that he could do much about that. He, and a small party, would leave in the morning.
On the other hand, there was no need for the legion to be sitting on its hands. The general direction was westwards, and at the very least the control of Aquae Sulis was desirable. If the legion could make that in good time, the scission of supplies and troops between the north and the tin mines of the south would be at least reasonably achieved. It was impossible to prevent squads from traversing the heavily forested country, but large troop movements and large trains of carts would be easily seen and intercepted. He would call the Tribunes to his tent, and leave orders for a march to commence as soon as the local clean up was completed. Plautius would not be pleased, but so what?
In the meantime, he must prepare to travel. He would take a small squad of soldiers and horses, together with a couple of extra horses to carry the bags of his precious possessions. There was work to do.
Chapter 32
A further reason why these orders made little sense, Gaius realized, was the denseness of this forest and the general difficulty in making progress. In all probability, Plautius had no idea because he would never get out of Army Headquarters. However, this forest was so dense and the tracks so narrow that the rear of his thirty man party could not see the leader. A perfect spot for an ambush! His men were trying to be quiet, but. .
There was a noise ahead. Celtic shouts! From a small party, judging by the number of voices. Gaius ordered some men to guard the horses, then he led the rest forward, as quietly as they could, to take cover outside a clearing. Gaius peered past a bush. On his right, four Celts were doing what they could to kill one solitary Roman soldier, and judging by the wounds already visible, they would soon succeed.
But on his left six other Celts were pursuing. . what? A man? No! But whatever it was, it had two legs, two arms and a head, and it was dressed, although it was dressed in clothes the likes of which Gaius had never seen. The colour was something like a cross between olive-green and brown, and no dye like that was known to Rome. Then there was the cut: the cloth seemed to fit the body to give maximum freedom, but that must mean an enormous amount of sewing. Two straps ran over his shoulder, to connect with a large black bag, and this seemed to be made of something that Gaius had never seen before. Then there were the boots: quite different from anything he had ever seen. To start with they were jet black, and came half way up his legs, almost seamlessly. The creature was about three-quarters as big as a man, it had a strange leathery skin, a largish head totally devoid of hair, and its arms looked so thin that it would not be able to wield a sword. Apart from a strange silvery object in its right "hand", it had no visible weapon yet it was standing its ground, threatening the Celts.
The Celts were hardly likely to be afraid of that as a weapon! They were not. Four charged, waving swords. The silvery object flashed and a Celt fell to the ground, twitching slightly. The strange creature seemed to think this would warn off the remaining Celts, and then seemed almost frightened when it did not. The object flashed again, another Celt fell to the ground, but then the remaining Celts were almost onto it. It turned to flee, then suddenly disappeared, apparently falling into some sort of disguised pit. But as it fell, the silvery object flew to one side.
There was no alternative. Whatever that silvery thing was, it must not fall into the hands of the Celts. Gaius signalled for archers. Five arrows flew, and cut down the two chasing and the two remaining Celts. The remaining soldiers broke cover to deal with those who would have finished the soldier, but for their surprise at the strange weapon. There was a moment of indecision before they turned to flee, and that moment sealed their fate. The fight was one-sided and brief; they were neither fleeing nor facing properly, and while they were off-balance gladii thrust into their ribs.
Meanwhile, Gaius had sprinted across the clearing to where he had seen the silvery object disappear. It was easily found, and Gaius carefully picked it up.
It was exquisitely made, everything so smooth, so perfect. The main features were a tube-like rod that Gaius had noted had been pointed at the intended victim. Accordingly, he made certain that this was not pointed at himself. Below that was a broad part that the creature had used to hold the object, while near the top of it, on one side, there was a small cylinder that was glowing. At the same point on the other side of the handgrip was a small lever, while in front of the handgrip, a button. At the base of the handgrip there seemed to be a catch. Carefully pointing the object at a log, he pulled on the catch, to find the inside of the handle begin to fall out. He carefully pulled this out, and noticed that the cylinder had ceased glowing. He looked at this new object. This was quite complex, and he understood little or nothing about it, except it clearly had a top and a bottom, and a front and back. It presumably had to be put back in the right way. Since it should be the right way, he pushed it back in, and pushed over the catch.