‘Then we will need a bigger army,’ I said.
‘Indeed we shall,’ he sighed and turned to walk back to camp. ‘Come on, let’s have some warm wine. How’s Gallia and Diana?’
‘Despite my orders, Gallia rode into battle.’
Spartacus laughed out loud. ‘She’s feisty, that one.’
‘She shot a Roman centurion and killed another legionary with her bow.’
‘She’ll want to fight again, now she’s got a taste for it.’
‘That is what I’m afraid of,’ I said.
‘In this war, Pacorus, every man and woman with us is fighting for their life. The Romans will make no distinction between the sexes if we lose. They nail women to crosses as well as men, children too for that matter. So let her fight if she so chooses.’
I remained unconvinced but held my tongue.
‘Oh, I meant to tell you,’ said Spartacus. ‘Oenomaus was killed today, pilum through his throat. So that’s one less Gaul for you to worry about.’
‘Good, that only leaves about five thousand. And Crixus?’
‘It will take more than a few Romans to kill him. I heard about your little spat. I don’t want you two squaring up to each other again. That’s an order.’
‘Yes, lord, but you had better tell him that.’
‘I will.’ He looked towards the east. ‘Dawn’s breaking. Should be a nice day.’
Chapter 9
When it was light parties were sent out to strip the Roman dead of their armour and weapons. Most had thrown away their shields and swords when they had attempted to flee, so it took a considerable amount of time to trawl the plateau for weapons and equipment. I sent Nergal and Burebista with five hundred horse to scout the area up to and beyond Forum Annii for anything that could be of use to the army, while I attended a council of war. I took Godarz with me, as it was fitting that he should be accorded the proper rank due to his age and experience. I told him this on the way to the meeting but it meant little to him. He was a man who was more concerned with the here and now rather than theoretical musings.
The battlefield was a sea of men and some women pulling mail shirts off corpses and piling them onto carts, while on other carts were placed sandals, belts, shields, swords, daggers and pila. The latter was a curious item of weaponry, as it consisted of a long wooden handle onto which was fitted a thin iron shaft. The shaft bends upon impact with a shield and thus cannot be thrown back. Quite extraordinary. Godarz assured me that bent pila could be straightened for re-use, but I didn’t see the point.
The atmosphere at the meeting was relaxed and cheerful, and in the afterglow of victory even Crixus was in a good mood, and for the moment seemed to have forgotten about our mutual animosity. His head was still bandaged, but the wound seemed to concern him not and he made a point of slapping everyone on the back as they entered, though not me, merely nodding his head when Godarz and I arrived. I did embrace Claudia, though, as I liked her greatly.
‘How are my girls?’ she asked me.
‘Excellent, lady. Gallia and Diana have a new friend,’ I replied.
‘So I hear. I also hear that you don’t approve of her.’
‘Perhaps I was being unkind. She makes Nergal happy so I should be grateful for that, at least.’
‘What don’t you approve of, that Praxima was a prostitute or that she slit a Roman’s throat?’
‘Both,’ I replied.
‘You don’t like the idea of women on the battlefield, or just a blonde-haired one in particular?’
‘I gave explicit orders that they should remain behind.’ I was aware that my cheeks were beginning to colour.
‘Gallia doesn’t take kindly to orders,’
‘I wasn’t talking about Gallia.’
‘Weren’t you?’ she teased. ‘I understand that you want to protect her, but you can’t put her in a cage. Her father made that mistake, as did Cornelius Lentulus, and you know what happened to him.’
I did not want to have this conversation. It was as though Claudia was peering into my soul and I found the experience unsettling. I was saved by Spartacus, who ordered us to be seated. Claudia smiled mischievously at me as I took my seat beside Godarz. Around the table also sat Spartacus, Akmon, Castus, Cannicus, Crixus and Dumnorix.
Spartacus started. ‘We have won a great victory. Three Roman legions destroyed and thousands of their soldiers dead, the rest scattered. Once we have finished collecting what weapons and equipment we can use, we will move south into Lucania and Bruttium for the winter.’
‘What garrisons are there, lord?’ I asked.
‘I do not know. We will find out when we get there.’
Godarz rose. ‘May I speak, lord?’
‘Who are you? said Crixus, menacingly. Clearly his good mood had its limits.
‘My name is Godarz and I was a slave for many years at Nola. But my duties required me to travel throughout southern Italy and so I have a certain knowledge of these parts.’
‘Please enlighten us,’ said Spartacus.
‘There are two large towns that have garrisons, Thurii and Metapontum, and both are walled.’
‘How large are the garrisons?’ asked Castus.
‘I do not know,’ replied Godarz. ‘But they are garrison troops, second-rate, not like soldiers of the legions.’
‘We took Forum Annii,’ said Crixus, ‘we can take these two places.’
‘Metapontum is worth taking, lord,’ added Godarz. ‘It is very rich port and the land around it is very fertile, with many farms and more potential recruits for your army.’
‘Thank you, Godarz,’ said Spartacus. ‘We will move in five days’ time.’
‘To where?’ said Crixus.
‘Which is closer, Godarz,’ asked Spartacus, ‘Thurii or Metapontum?’
‘Metapontum,’ replied Godarz.
‘Then we march to Metapontum.’
The next day, Nergal and Burebista returned with carts loaded with the fruits of victory. In their haste to destroy us, the Romans had not built a fortified camp but had just left their baggage and mules under a small guard three miles behind their army. These had been abandoned in the general rout, which meant that my horsemen came across hundreds of mules and a few dozen horses, many wandering free over the plateau, and dozens of carts that a Roman legion used. The carts came in very useful and were loaded with the legions’ supplies, which included heavy sacks of grain, entrenching tools and other implements, baskets, cooking utensils and hundreds of leather tents. To these were added cloaks, tunics and even small forges. It was a rich haul, and when the cavalry returned it reminded me of a large caravan that Hatra was used to seeing every day. Three hundred carts winding their way into camp was certainly an impressive sight.
It took three days of hard toil for the captured equipment to be distributed equally among the army. I found it rather bizarre, but Spartacus was insistent that all should benefit from our victory. ‘For if we fail, all will share equally in our defeat,’ he told me. He did, though, give me most of the horses, which meant I now had over a thousand horses and several hundred carts, plus mules to pull them. I also acquired a large commander’s tent similar to the one Spartacus resided in, though it was bulky and large and required several men to put it up. I had it stashed away on a wagon until we found a more permanent camp. Gallia and Diana shared a tent but Nergal had also acquired a Roman officer’s tent and had moved in Praxima. All three women trained every day with their bows under the watchful eye of Gafarn, and I had to admit that their archery and riding skills had improved markedly. Gallia still retained a slight aloofness towards me that I found enticing yet frustrating.
On the day the army moved south I asked her and Diana to ride with me as we followed the course of the River Aciris. I left Byrd behind with a party of scouts to make sure that no Romans followed us and attacked our rearguard, but in truth it appeared that, for the moment at least, the Romans had disappeared from the world. We left the high limestone mountains behind and entered a wide verdant plain to follow the course of the river. Winter was approaching now and the air was cooler, and already snow was capping the mountains. The army retained its discipline as it marched south, the Thracians in the van, followed by the Germans and Crixus’ Gauls in the rear. The cavalry rode ahead, partly to scout the route and also to avoid the dirt, dust and general unpleasantness of trailing in the wake of a large body of people and beasts. I felt like an eagle that had plucked a mighty fish from the river as I rode next to Gallia. Were it not for her long blond hair she could have passed for one of my horsemen, with her newly acquired mail shirt, boots, leggings, bow, helmet, quiver and sword. She also had a dagger tucked into the top of her right boot, a gift from Praxima no doubt. Despite her warlike garb she still looked gorgeous, but then she would look alluring dressed only in a sack. Behind us rode Diana, Gafarn, Godarz and nine hundred horseman, spare horses and our carts, while Nergal and fifty men were scouting ahead. He had taken Praxima with him. Diana and Gafarn had become close and to be fair her soft features, kind nature and large brown eyes seemed to invite a man to protect her. She did not have the inner steel that Gallia possessed, but I thought that she was amiable and extremely likeable. She did have strength, though I did not see it until the time of adversity. She and Gafarn were laughing, about what I could not tell.