Harry Sidebottom - Iron and Rust

‘That,’ Gordian said, ‘was almost poetry.’

‘You may well laugh,’ Sabinianus said, ‘but I have a lot to live for. It would be a tragedy if talents such as mine were cut off before their time. I want to live. Do not expect me to sacrifice myself in a doomed cause.’

‘Young Mirzi will not betray us,’ Gordian said. ‘He has been treated well as a hostage. His father has sworn friendship.’

‘Your philosophy claims the gods do not listen to such oaths,’ Menophilus said.

‘On the whole, I find it unlikely that Nuffuzi chief of the Cinithii is a follower of Epicurus. Besides, we have promised him a share of the plunder.’

They moved out before first light. When the sun came up it revealed the great rocky plain they traversed. Off to the right were the first sands of the true desert; to the left the foothills of the grey uplands. The day grew warmer. Even in this wilderness there were signs of life. Lizards scuttled out of their way with surprising speed. Gordian saw larks, wheatears and shrikes in the sky.

Mirzi told them about the men they had come to kill. ‘Canartha is a man of much evil. No stranger who has entered his lair at Esuba has ever left. The fortunate he asks to join him; the rest die. When he raids, he tortures his captives not to discover their hidden wealth but for his own enjoyment. He ruins the looks of attractive women and boys. Afterwards, they are no good for pleasure, and are worth little.’ The young tribesman shook his head at such profligacy. ‘Those who follow him are little better. Most are from the Augilae tribe. They worship only the infernal gods. Like the Garamantes, they hold their women in common. They are very dirty, the women foully soiled.’

‘In the West,’ Sabinianus said, ‘the Atlantes curse the rising and setting sun. Alone among men, they have no names, no dreams.’

Mirzi looked at him, puzzled.

‘Take no notice,’ Gordian said. ‘It is from a book. For us, the desert is a mysterious place.’

Gordian was tracking a flight of sandgrouse when Aemelius Severinus motioned him to pull his horse aside.

‘We are being watched.’

‘Where?’

‘My men have seen movement in the hills to the left.’

‘Not goatherds?’

‘They are following us.’

‘How many?’

‘Not many.’

‘Your men should not tell the others.’

Aemilius Severinus wheeled his horse and cantered away.

Gordian rejoined the head of the column.

‘What was that?’ Arrian asked.

‘Nothing.’

Gordian had faith in the report of the speculatores . Aemilius Severus’ Frontier Wolves knew the desert. He would tell Arrian and the other officers in camp that night, when they could not be overheard. He had trusted Mirzi. Now, he was not so sure. Perhaps the cynicism of Sabinianus was not misplaced.

It rained that night. A cold, hard rain. Mirzi was delighted. It showed their expedition was blessed by one of his seven gods. Neither the Roman officers nor the men were convinced. They ate cold rations. Gordian had ordered no fires — although, by now, everyone knew they were observed.

In the morning, they turned east and entered the hills by what should have been the dry bed of a watercourse. The rain had turned its surface to mud. Men and horses sunk to their knees. The going was particularly bad for those towards the rear. The carts got stuck. Soldiers cursed as they laboured to free them. After an hour, progress was so slow Gordian decided to leave the carts. The water and food were strapped on to the baggage animals. The infantry would have to carry the timber to make the siege ladders.

By midday, those following them had abandoned all pretence of secrecy. Small groups of horsemen sat on the heights and regarded the column’s laboured advance.

Gordian moved up and down the line, assuring the men that it made no difference. ‘They know we are coming. They will be all the more afraid. A rabble of barbarians cannot stand against us.’

They sighted the village late in the afternoon. It was built on a spur of rock jutting out from the hills like the ram of a warship. Mirzi led them around up into the hills behind, where they camped. As the bare rock prevented entrenching, they made the best perimeter they could with thorn bushes. The men gathering and arranging these took many nicks and cuts. It did nothing to improve their mood.

The only blessing was that the natives did not intervene. In fact, their scouts had disappeared.

The sun was arcing down towards the horizon when Gordian and his officers rode forward with Mirzi to inspect the enemy position. Not tempting fate, they were screened by a party of speculatores .

There was only one approach, along the causeway from the hills. It was flat and wide enough for twenty men abreast in close order. Some time long ago much effort had been expended to dig a ditch in front of the village. Although its banks did not look too sheer, it was about six feet deep. A pace or two behind it was a wall of unmortared stones, perhaps twelve feet high, with rough battlements. There was one solid-looking gate. There were no other fortifications. On all other sides the slopes were as precipitous as if they had been deliberately cut to make them so. The settlement itself consisted of close-packed, flat-roofed stone huts. There was no citadel, but if the dwellings were defended, it would be hard to fight through the narrow alleys between them.

The Romans had no siege engines. Artillery would have been useful, playing on the wall and the village from the higher slopes of the range. But the trouble of getting them to this place would be prohibitive. As for rams and towers, even if you hauled them all the way here, a sally by the defenders might easily topple them over the edge of the causeway. Mining was out of the question. It would have to be the ladders and a frontal assault, with all the heavy casualties that entailed. Send in the auxiliaries first. If they did not take the place, their attack would kill some barbarians, tire the others, and then the legionaries would have to storm the wall. The Frontier Wolves could provide some support by shooting over their heads. This was going to be a bloody business.

‘There is another way,’ Mirzi said.

‘You have waited until now to tell us.’ Gordian tried to keep the suspicion out of his voice.

‘The cliff at the far end can be climbed. It is dangerous, but possible.’

‘How do you know?’

‘I saw a child climb down to collect snails.’

Sabinianus rounded on the youth. ‘You said no one left Canartha’s village unless they joined him.’

‘My father talked to Canartha before he knew the evil of his nature. I came with my father.’

Gordian intervened. ‘Could armed men climb this cliff?’

Mirzi fiddled with the bandage on his right wrist as he thought. ‘Not with shields and spears. Not with helmets or in armour. It would be best if they were barefoot.’

‘If they were seen from the top, they would not stand a chance,’ Menophilus said.

‘They would have to climb at night,’ Mirzi agreed.

‘If I took fifty of the Frontier Wolves,’ Menophilus said, ‘we could make the ascent tonight. When you attack the wall just before dawn, we could take them in the rear.’

‘Why you?’ Arrian asked.

‘I am a great deal younger than the rest of you,’ Menophilus said with a straight face.

‘This is madness!’ Sabinianus exclaimed. ‘We are miles from anywhere, deep in tribal territory. To divide our forces, send some off almost unarmed into the night, is the final idiocy. The barbarians knew we were coming. We have been led into a trap.’

The damaged hand of Mirzi automatically went to his hilt. ‘You doubt my word?’