‘Think we’re clever, do we boys? Think we can have some fun with the new recruits while my back’s turned, eh? What were we doing then, loading him up with four buckets to see how many times around the camp he could carry them? A big strong lad like him? My money would be on ten, at least. What was your money on, eh lads?’
Sanga kept his mouth shut and his gaze locked on the fort’s wall, but Scarface lacked his mate’s ability to know when his mouth would be better kept closed.
‘You know how it is, Quintus, we was just seeing how tough the barbarian really is. .’
The chosen man raised a finger to silence him, pointing at the buckets on the ground in front of the two soldiers. Sanga nodded minutely, his face taking on an expression that told Marcus he knew only too well what was coming next. Quintus patted the recruit on his shoulder, pointing in the direction in which Morban had vanished and gently telling him to be on his way, then turned back to the soldiers, his voice rising to parade-ground volume as he put his face less than an inch from Scarface’s.
‘He’s not a barbarian, he’s a fuckin’ soldier! He’s in your tent party for a fuckin’ reason, you pricks! You’re supposed to be the responsible men, the lads that can help the new boys to adapt. .’ He shook his head in disgust and moved to face Sanga. ‘If I catch you pair, or anyone else in your fuckin’ century picking on the poor bastard, I’ll have your fuckin’ cocks dangling from my belt. As of now he’s your baby, so you’d better make sure you start looking after him, hadn’t you!’
The veterans nodded in swift agreement, Scarface shooting a quick glance at his mate that made Sanga shake his head in disgust. Quintus grinned evilly at him, nodding vigorously as his voice returned to a conversational volume.
‘Oh yes, I saw that. Your thick-headed mate here thinks you’re going to get away with just getting a bollocking, but you’re far too smart to agree with that, aren’t you?’ Sanga nodded, turning a jaundiced eye on Scarface. ‘So, Soldier Sanga, what punishment would you give the pair of you if you was me, eh? Get it right and I’ll let you off lightly, get it wrong and I’ll double what I have in mind.’
Sanga looked down at the buckets, then up to see Quintus nodding.
‘Good guess. And?’
Sanga thought furiously.
‘Ten times round the camp?’
‘Good guess! Get on with it then! If you’re not back here with them fuckin’ buckets still brimming by the time the centurion and I are ready to move on, then you can double the number of times each sentry gets to rip the fuckin’ piss out of you.’
The veterans took a pair of buckets apiece and hurried off, water slopping over the sides of the containers. Quintus watched them go with a smile.
‘I was only going to make them do it five times, but there’s no arguing with keenness.’
‘I wouldn’t have had you down as being soft on the new boys, Chosen Man.’
Quintus looked up at his centurion for a moment before answering, one eyebrow raised.
‘Well, sir, just because I’m a little harsh with the men on occasion doesn’t mean I’ve forgot what it feels like to be the new boy myself. I was bullied half to death before I learned that the best answer is to meet fire with fire, and started knocking men over and then kicking them until they stopped trying to get up again. That Sarmatae lad is going to be stood in line with the rest of us soon enough, and if we treat him right he’ll be trying to stick his spear in the enemy and not Scarface’s fuckin’ arse, begging your pardon Centurion.’
The Roman smiled at him with new admiration.
‘I can respect that point of view, Chosen. Shall we continue?’
Quintus nodded deferentially, then turned to stare at the veterans’ retreating backs.
‘Faster you apes! And stop spilling that fuckin’ water!’ He turned back to Marcus. ‘After you, sir. Let’s go and find out which one of the sentries it was that tipped off your pet standard bearer that we was on our way, an’ whoever it was can join those two in their fun and games.’
‘It’s not an outcome in which I can take very much pleasure, First Spear.’
Scaurus regarded Julius levelly over the rim of his cup, sipping at the wine it contained. Julius shook his head in only partly feigned exasperation, tossing back his own cupful and putting it down on the table with a bang.
‘You’ll have to forgive me, Tribune, but I’m nothing less than bloody delighted by the whole thing! I’m going to find Cattanius and get him properly pissed as his reward for making sure that his legatus knew exactly how big a fool Belletor made of himself. Between the two of you, you’ve got that prick off our backs and you’re in undisputed command of the cohorts once again. It’s a shame we didn’t keep the Sarmatae horsemen, but that’s a small price to pay.’
The tribune mused on the meeting’s conclusion for a moment, and Belletor’s incensed behaviour, as it had become clear that Albinus intended siding with his old friend.
‘Nothing good will come of this I’m afraid. He’ll be writing a long letter to Rome even as we stand here discussing the matter, telling his father how he’s been robbed of the command he was granted by Legatus Decula only as a result of my political connections with Clodius Albinus. And don’t forget he can play on his famous victory over the Sarmatae, and how he defeated the bandits in Germania before that. I’ve already told you that my family is still under something of a shadow given our previous history, and then there’s the fact that he’s from a senatorial family while I’m only an equestrian. No, my instincts are telling me that Albinus has perhaps missed his judgement in this matter.’ The tribune shook his head, reaching for the wine flask. ‘Boyhood friend or not, I suspect he would have been wiser to have stuck with the status quo in this case.’
Julius shrugged, accepting the offer of another cup of wine.
‘You did know that the legatus would take your side though, didn’t you?’
Scaurus nodded his agreement.
‘In truth, I did. From the moment that Cattanius mentioned his name I knew that I could do what was needed to defend the mines, because Albinus would ultimately protect me from Belletor’s sense of inadequacy if I stepped too hard on his toes in the process. I just didn’t realise he’d be that harsh with the man. And I don’t expect that Cattanius has made any friends in the matter either.’
He winced at the memory of the beneficiarius’s unequivocally expressed opinion on the matter of Belletor’s command of the mines’ defence.
‘He tried to avoid being too blunt, but once Clodius Albinus ordered him to stop dancing around the issue he was positively scathing about the man. “It was self-evident that the tribune was keener on his bath than on the welfare of his men” was one of the kinder things he said.’
He took another mouthful of wine, shaking his head as if to dismiss the matter from discussion.
‘Anyway, here we are again, masters of our destiny more or less. If we forget for a moment the two legati at whose whim we’ll be dancing over the next few weeks. Yes Tertius? There’s no need to raise your hand with me man, just spit it out like your colleague here does.’
The Second Cohort’s senior centurion was slowly but surely gaining confidence in the presence of his tribune, and was now willing to venture an opinion where a month before he had been content to allow his brother officer to do the talking.
‘Begging your pardon, sir, but given that there’s snow on the ground shouldn’t we be setting up for winter quarters? Surely there won’t be any more fighting now until the spring?’
Scaurus smiled ruefully.
‘And so you might think, First Spear, but that would be to underestimate Dacia. This is the land of the wolf, you see, it’s literally the meaning of the name in the natives’ language, and the wolf hunts all year round. The tribes won’t be pulling back from the frontier, and consequently neither shall we. Legatus Albinus has arranged for the legion stores here to issue us with the appropriate cold weather clothing, after which we’ll be declared as fit for duty.’ He raised an eyebrow at the two senior centurions, shaking his head slightly. ‘But whether the gear we’ll be getting will genuinely be fit for the weather we’ll be facing is another question entirely.’