A trickle of sweat traced its way down his side under his linen tunic.
'Shit, it's hot!' he muttered.
One of the staff tribunes raised his head and looked towards the legate, but Vespasian dismissed him with a wave of a hand, as if swatting some annoying fly or gnat. 'It's nothing… Might have a swim later.'
Both men gazed longingly across the slope of the hill towards the river, a quarter of a mile away. The white forms of naked men lay stretched out on the grassy banks, while others waded and swam in the glistening water. Here and there the surface of the river burst into glittering spray where the more exuberant men were indulging in horseplay.
'I'd kill for a swim, sir,' the tribune said quietly as he wiped the sweat from his brow on the back of one hand.
'Some of them already have. Let them have their fun. But there's work to be done.' Vespasian nodded up at the remains of the hillfort. 'Keep 'em at it. I want nothing left by nightfall. Nothing that can be easily fortified.'
'Yes, sir.'
Even though it was late afternoon, the sun was blazing down on the legionaries toiling on the hill. The few native buildings that had escaped the incendiary bolts of the Second Legion's artillery battery had been set alight. Now the centurions were organising teams of men to tear up the palisade and hurl the timber down into the defence ditch. Soon the hillfort would be no more than a few black smouldering wooden frames and rings of ruined earthworks scarring the natural landscape. And after that, merely a fading memory in the minds of the legionaries who had destroyed the settlement and those natives who had ever passed this way.
Vespasian nodded his satisfaction at the progress in dismantling what fortifications remained, then turned away, striding back into the camp towards his headquarters. There were few men around, since most of those who were off duty were sheltering from the blazing sunshine in the shade of the leather tents that stretched out in neat rows on either side of the main thoroughfare. Even with both flaps open Vespasian knew that the interiors of the goatskin section tents would be stifling. That was why he had given permission for the cohorts that were stood down to swim in the river – they might as well be comfortable. Certainly they would be cleaner. To one who was raised in the Roman custom of frequent baths, the acrid stench of dirty sweating men was quite abhorrent. So the chance for the men to wash their clothes, and at the same time themselves, was to be seized with relish. Besides, the legion's chief surgeon was constantly urging his legate to force the men to adopt more hygienic practices. The men should wash as often as possible. Aesclepus claimed that it reduced the sick list. But then he would, being a follower of the more fancy eastern medical practices. Not that Vespasian lacked faith in Eastern medicine, it was just that he, like most Romans, believed that the East was a corrupt stew of soft, self-indulgent effeminacy.
The men of the headquarters guard stood rigidly at their posts in full armour. Vespasian wondered how they could stand the heat, and saw the glistening trickles of sweat running down their faces as he strode by them into his tent. Inside, the shade offered no respite from the hot, still air; indeed, it was actually far hotter inside the tent than outside. Vespasian beckoned to his steward.
'I want water. From the river. Make sure it's drawn upstream from the camp. I want a light tunic, my silk one. Then have someone take my desk outside and have an awning rigged over it. As fast as you can.'
'Yes, sir.'
When the man was gone, Vespasian stood still as his body slave unfastened the buckles of his armour and then lifted the breastplate away. Beneath, the thick military tunic was drenched with perspiration and clung awkwardly to his body as Vespasian impatiently lifted the hem and pulled it over his head. Outside the tent he could hear the commotion as men struggled to set up his campaign desk and the awning. There was too much to do and he shook his head when the body slave asked if he required a wash.
'Just get me the tunic.'
'Yes, master.'
The silk felt good against his skin – soft and smooth, and scented with dabs of the citron oil his wife had sent him from Rome. After he had briskly rubbed his matted hair in a linen cloth Vespasian made his way out of the tent and sat down at the desk. A clerk sat at one end, ready to take notes, and a neat pile of scrolls and wax tablets was waiting for the legate at the other end, beside the plain Samian jug and goblet. Vespasian poured himself some water and downed it in one go, relishing the cool and refreshing sensation. He poured another goblet and, with a deep breath, began to tackle the day's paperwork.
First he dealt with the casualty lists and unit strength returns. The numbers on the sick list for the Third Cohort looked excessive and he made a note on a wax tablet to call the cohort's commander in for a little chat. It was unlikely that Centurion Hortensius would sanction such a large number of men unfit for duty out of leniency. Vespasian well knew the man's reputation for driving his men on savagely, and while the legate approved of firm discipline, he would not countenance unnecessary harshness and cruelty. He sighed. It would not be an easy meeting. Most legates only served for a few years and it might seem presumptuous for Vespasian to lecture the vastly more experienced centurion on matters of discipline. Yet he could not afford to let the centurion abuse the men under his command, if that was what was causing the inflated sick list. If not that, then what? Either way, Vespasian had to know, and then deal with the problem.
Vespasian cast a quick glance over the latest set of supply and equipment inventories, approved them with a quick scratch of the stylus and thrust them towards his clerk.
'File them. We're low on javelin heads – add that to our next supply requisition.'
'Yes, sir.'
Next, Vespasian read the latest dispatch from Calleva. Centurion Macro reported that he had raised enough good men to fill out the ranks of two cohorts. Training had begun and, despite the language difficulties, the Roman instructors were making pleasing progress in training King Verica's men. Vespasian had received a copy of a message sent to Calleva, authorising Centurion Macro to arm his native cohorts, and was still surprised that the general had agreed to this quite so readily. While Plautius might be desperate for reinforcements to safeguard the supply lines south of the Tamesis, it was not accepted practice to raise units to serve in the province of their origin. There had been occasions in the past when loyal tribal allies had treacherously turned on their Roman friends. Despite Verica's obvious affection, and affectation, for all things Roman, he had not quite shaken off the taint of barbarian ways. Vespasian quickly drafted a reply to Macro, commending him for his efforts and requiring that the centurion report to him at once on any sign of disloyalty amongst the Atrebatans.
'Copy for our files and then get that off to Calleva at first light.'
'Yes, sir.'
Finally, the legate moved on to the intelligence reports. The small complement of mounted men that accompanied the legion served as scouts as well as messengers and last-ditch cavalry reserve. They had been patrolling the countryside around the hillfort, and the squadron commanders' reports provided detailed information about the surrounding geography, which was carefully added to the maps being prepared by Vespasian's clerks. The scouts also reported the presence of native settlements they encountered. The locals were then bribed or beaten into supplying information on any enemy troop movements they had observed.