Fronto shaded his eyes to stare once again out to the front. Somewhere out there, a hundred thousand Belgae were waiting to make minced meat of any Roman that came within reach.
A shape swam into focus. No… several shapes. On horseback.
Fronto frowned for a second and then held up his hand to halt the column. He turned to the six tribunes marching along behind him. They looked generally unhappy about being relegated to traipsing along without their horses but, as Tetricus had pointed out to the rest of them, if Fronto was on foot, it would make them look lazy and feeble if they were to ride. Tetricus raised an eyebrow.
“Something up, sir?”
“Get word back to Caesar and the staff. Riders approaching.”
The tribune nodded and turned to Priscus. Oh, he could run alongside the column and find the staff, but there was nothing in the world that moved faster than word of mouth. He told Priscus, who told his lead man, who passed the word back, and so on, through hundreds of lines of men until it reached the optio at the rear of the legion, who approached Caesar and, saluting, informed the general of the approach. By the time Tetricus could have reached the staff, Caesar and his closest consorts were already slowing as they reached the vanguard.
There was a tense moment as they waited for the riders to come fully into view. And when they did, relief swept over many a man. Three of Caesar’s outriders with a native on a fourth horse. As they reined in, the general addressed them in a clear voice.
“What news?”
One of the scouts, a member of the Remi serving under Varus’ auxiliary units, saluted and spoke in clear, though accented, Latin.
“This man is one of the Ambiani. He is wounded and was fleeing, sir. He is from a village on the banks of the Selle River.”
Caesar shrugged.
“Yes?”
“The Selle is about ten miles north, Caesar. Not a wide or deep river, but it’s the border of Ambiani lands. But, Caesar…”
“What?” demanded the general irritably.
“He says the Nervii are on the north bank awaiting us.”
Caesar frowned.
“Did he say how many?
The man shrugged.
“I tried to ask him sir, but all he said was ‘all of them’. And not just the Nervii. He says he saw the standards of the Atrebates and the Viromandui and several small local tribes." He said there are too many to count. Like a field of wheat.”
The general nodded thoughtfully, though Fronto frowned.
“No sign of the Aduatuci?”
The scout blinked in surprise and Caesar turned to glare at the legate.
“The Aduatuci, Fronto? Explain?”
Fronto shrugged.
“They’re a Belgic tribe from the east where…”
“I know who they are, Fronto! My tent is littered with maps in case you hadn’t noticed. Why would you expect them?”
Fronto looked momentarily taken aback. Galronus had told him about the Aduatuci, but hadn’t told Caesar? Was there a reason? Probably Galronus never got invited to briefings and never got asked. ‘Can’t drop him in it’, he thought to himself.
“I heard the Remi levies talking. Apparently the Aduatuci are big supporters of the Nervii. Closest thing they have to allies. They’re very Germanic and they hate us. From what I’ve heard, I’m just surprised they’re not here. Perhaps we should be worrying about where they are?”
Caesar fixed him with a long glance and then frowned.
“I’d love to know where you hear these things, Fronto. I have men posted specifically to listen for gossip among both the legions and the levies and I never heard any such thing…”
‘Interesting’ thought Fronto. The fact that the general might be trying to infiltrate his own army had never occurred before, though it really should have done. He expected nothing less from the man.
“How sure are you of your facts, Fronto?”
“Positive, general. If the Aduatuci aren’t with the Nervii, then they’re either still on the way, or they’re waiting somewhere to close the door behind us when we meet the enemy.”
Caesar nodded.
“Thank you for your assistance, Fronto. Timely as ever.”
The scout cleared his throat.
“There is something else, Caesar.”
“What?”
“The man says he saw the enemy rounding up all the local farmers. All the women, children, old men and so on have all been sent north. They were herded in hundreds on carts. The only people for many miles in any direction are either us, enemy warriors, or occasional Ambiani farmers who have been dispossessed by the Nervii.”
Caesar grumbled under his breath. Fronto turned to Priscus, an unasked question in his eyes, but the primus pilus merely shrugged.
The general leaned forward.
“All their non-combatants are beyond our reach, then?”
The man nodded.
“They’ve been taken past a swamp, Caesar, to the north. It could take many days and many lives to find a way through to them.”
The general leaned back again and then turned to address the staff and senior officers together.
“Very well. We are ten miles from an enemy that outnumbers us and is prepared for us. They are so prepared, in fact, that they have withdrawn all non-combatants beyond our reach to remove any leverage and to clear out the locals that could cause trouble. This means we must be prepared for anything. If the Nervii have prepared this much, they have likely prepared more. We might encounter traps laid in the ground, siege engines, defensive works or anything. I have noted that the recent farms we passed have been harvested early; something I might note that none of my scouts seem to have spotted. An early harvest suggests to me that the Nervii have already removed any possible supplies we might draw from the natives, so we will be required to rely on the rations we carry, alongside anything that can be hunted and foraged as we travel. In other words, be alert and be prepared.”
He turned back to the scouts and gestured Labienus to join them.
“Take the chief engineer from each legion, along with two alae of cavalry and tribune Tetricus of the Tenth. Move ahead to the river opposite the Nervii and check the ground very, very carefully. Find the absolute best position for a camp and I want to know every inch of ground around that site. Once you’ve done so, return to the column immediately. As soon as we get there, I want camp set up immediately. I need to engage them on good ground, but they outnumber us two or three to one, so I want a good defensive position ready to begin with.
Fronto stepped out from the front ranks of the Tenth.
“Caesar? If I might suggest, it would be worth having some of the Remi forward there too. They know the enemy and their customs and they know the land better than us.”
The general nodded.
“Have Galronus join the advance party.”
Fronto nodded.
“I’d like to accompany them too, Caesar. I have an odd feeling about all of this.”
Caesar shook his head quietly.
“No, Fronto. We’re about to go to war against a very prepared enemy. Did you not hear what I’ve been saying? I want all of my legates to stay with their legions. I keep the same man with the same legion season after season for a reason, Fronto. You are tied to the Tenth like Balbus is tied to the Eighth. It makes you better officers and it makes them better legions.”
“I’d still be more comfortable if I’d seen for myself what lay ahead, Caesar. As I said: I have a bad feeling.”
The general laughed.
“Keep you old woman superstitions under control, Fronto. Sacrifice a goat if you can find one, but I want you to stay with the Tenth until we are sure of what’s happening.”
Fronto grumbled, but stepped back into line.
* * * * *