‘Silence!’
The growing rumble of muttered comments died away, and Julius lifted one of the poles from the cart to reveal the truth of the matter. Amazed, Sanga was unable to restrain himself.
‘I’ve already got to carry a shield that’s twice as heavy as it should be, and now they want me to prance about with a ten-foot spear! How the fuck am I supposed to throw that bastard thi-’
‘Silence! The next men to open his mouth without being asked to comment will receive five lashes, here and now! Today of all days you do not want to get on the wrong side of me!’
Julius composed himself before speaking again.
‘Front and centre, Legionary Sanga!’
His face reddening, the soldier marched forward and stamped to attention, knowing what was expected of him.
‘First Spear!’
Julius walked towards him with the outsized weapon held in both hands across his body.
‘You were saying, Legionary?’
Sanga swallowed, feeling a trickle of sweat running down the middle of his back.
‘I was-’
‘Louder, Sanga, let’s all hear what was on your mind.’
‘I was wondering, First Spear, how I could throw such a thing, but now you’ve brought it closer it looks a lot easier.’
The senior centurion looked at him with a pitying expression for a moment.
‘It’s not a throwing spear, you donkey, it’s a thrusting spear! Back in ranks!’
‘If I might have a word with the legion, First Spear?’
Scaurus waited for Sanga to return to his place before addressing his men.
‘Legionaries of the Third Gallic, this is a design of spear that goes back to the days before there was anyone with the leisure to sit and write down all of the battles and wars that are now only remembered in a handful of legends! It was used by the ancient Greeks in their successful wars with Persia …’
‘And when we kicked the shit out of them.’
‘And, as some of you are apparently speculating, when we overran Greece!’
Julius glared at Sanga so fiercely that Quintus turned round and flicked his vine stick out, rapping the hapless soldier on the side of his knee.
‘I won’t bore you with the reasons why a weapon will work under some circumstances and not others, but let me assure you, these spears are going to be a large part of the difference between life and death for all of us when we meet the Parthians on the field of battle! These spears and one or two other ideas I’ve learned from my studies.’
He turned back to Julius with a nod of thanks.
‘Carry on, First Spear.’
‘The first two ranks of every century will give one of their two spears to the two men behind them. They will advance smartly to the closest cart and each man will take one long spear. They will then return to their position with both their long and short spears held in an upright position. Move!’
‘He told you what, exactly?’
‘That he has no idea where Tribune Corvus might be if he’s not to be found in Hama, Governor.’
Domitius Dexter stared at the Phrygian, a slow smile spreading across his face.
‘And there was no word of Corvus in Hama?’
‘Not in the city or the fortress, Governor.’
‘Do you believe that the tribune was ordered to travel to the city?’
After a long pause the younger man answered, clearly sickened by the implication of his words.
‘No, sir. I believe he was sent elsewhere.’
‘And did Legatus Scaurus manage to convince you otherwise?’
The Phrygian opened his mouth, then closed it again.
‘Come now, Prefect, I understand your desire not to implicate a fellow military man, but the issues here are bigger than simple loyalty. Did he convince you otherwise?’
‘No, Governor. He did not.’
Dexter smiled triumphantly.
‘As I expected. You are dismissed with my thanks, Prefect. Secretary!’
The prefect saluted, turned and walked towards the huge office’s door, only partially aware of the hubbub behind him.
‘Secretary! Where is that bloody man? Ah, there you are. Fetch my lictors immediately!’
The front two ranks of the legion had retaken their places with their new spears, as the carts raised clouds of dust in their wake as they rumbled off the parade ground. Unable to help themselves, the legionaries holding the new weapons were looking up at the long iron spearheads ten feet above their heads.
‘Nobody likes change, it seems.’
Standing next to Julius, Scaurus grinned broadly.
‘I know. Although the rest of the legion seems to be enjoying the spectacle well enough.’
Muttering and quiet laughter was spreading across the legion’s line, only the forbidding presence of their officers preventing more widespread mirth from the men not tasked with carrying the new spears. Julius strode forward, bellowing a command at the top of his voice.
‘As you were!’
Waiting until silence had fallen, the legatus stepped forward.
‘Soldiers of the Imperial Third Legion, I have orders to advance into the Parthian kingdom of Adiabene, and to secure our outpost fortress of Nisibis from the siege to which we believe it has been subjected! As many of you know, Nisibis is a mighty fortress, a stronghold whose walls will stand for many months against the most determined of foes. But without our intervention, it will surely eventually fall. Our emperor is a wise man, and he knows that Nisibis will not satisfy this enemy, but will only serve to encourage him to march on our ally, Osrhoene. And when Osrhoene falls, the next natural step for Parthia will be to cross the Euphrates into Syria, with their eyes firmly set on the great city of Antioch! To wait for the Parthian to come to us is to allow him the luxury of more conquest, and to grow in confidence and strength, and so my orders are to cross the river at the first opportunity, seek battle and defeat this aggression before it has the chance to take advantage of that opportunity!’
Complete silence now gripped the thousands of men paraded before him, and Scaurus stalked towards them until he could see the individual hairs in their beards.
‘You heard me! We will be across the Euphrates within a week, and in Nisibis ten days after that, unless we bring this Parthian army to battle …’ He paused theatrically. ‘In which case it will take us ten days and an hour!’
The men closest to him smiled weakly at the joke.
‘I know you’re troubled by the loss of your fellow soldiers in the Sixth Cohort, and in truth you wouldn’t be human if you weren’t! The gods know it troubles me! That a single cohort should be sent to its doom in such an amateur way is beyond belief! But we’re not amateurs, you men and I! We are professional soldiers, and we will make those eastern goat worshippers pay a high price for their fleeting moment of inglorious revenge on Rome!’
He turned to Julius.
‘Get them ready to march.’
The first spear nodded, taking his legatus’s place in front of the legion.
‘Prepare to move! Pack poles, spears, helmets and shields! Any man that leaves anything behind will be pulling double guard duty all the way from here to the river! On your toes, you animals!’
‘Tell me what we’re supposed to do when we get to the barracks again?’
The most senior of Governor Dexter’s lictors scowled without turning to look at his subordinate as they hurried down the road from the city’s western gate towards the Third Legion’s barracks.
‘You heard well enough the last time I told you.’
The man walking beside him shook his head, hefting the bundle of rods that he was carrying onto his other shoulder with careful respect for the axe blade protruding from its middle.
‘I heard it, I just didn’t believe it.’
His superior gritted his teeth before speaking again.
‘Our orders from the governor are clear. We arrest the legion’s legatus, we take him back to the palace and we hand him over to the governor’s men.’