Peter Darman - Parthian Dawn

He spat at the dying figure beneath us. ‘That is Chosran, the eldest son of Chosroes who has persecuted my people for many years.’

The son of Chosroes lay on the ground face-up, blood oozing from his mouth as he tried to gasp for air. Around us the last remnants of the Mesenian horsemen were being killed, while their horse archers, who had been trying to break the square of legionaries, turned tail and ran. I gave orders to let them go — most likely they would flee to Uruk and we would have another chance to kill them soon enough.

Surena strung another arrow in his bowstring to shoot at the prostrate figure of Chosran.

‘No,’ I ordered, ‘slit his throat and have done with it.’

But Surena merely sniffed, spat on the ground once more, replaced his arrow in his quiver and wheeled his horse away. I slid off Remus’ back and knelt beside Chosran. He was already more than half dead, his eyes wide and vacant and his breathing very shallow. I pulled my dagger from its sheath and drew it swiftly across his throat to send him into the next life.

‘Know that it was your father’s treachery that led you to this place.’

Orodes rode up as I began to take off my arm and leg armour and dump it on the ground. Others were doing likewise, for the heat was intolerable.

‘That was easy enough, Pacorus.’

‘How many did we kill?’

Orodes looked around. ‘Difficult to say at this juncture, but our first charge must have cut most of them down.’ He looked at the dead figure at my feet. ‘Who is that?’

‘One of Chosroes’ sons. I’m hoping that when he learns of his death Chosroes himself will march out to exact vengeance on me.’

‘I doubt that,’ mused Orodes.

In the battle’s aftermath the squires brought us water and helped us take off the horses’ scale armour. It may have saved them from missiles and blades in combat but it caused them to sweat horrendously. Our own losses amounted to five dead and a similar number wounded, while we counted over three hundred enemy bodies. Not as many as I would have liked, but it was three hundred less men who would be defending the walls of Uruk.

We burnt our own dead and left the Mesenians to rot. The cohorts that I had sent to link up with the marsh people were commanded by a grizzled Thracian named Drenis, a man who had not only served under Spartacus in Italy but had also been a gladiator in the same ludus in Capua. How long ago that time seemed now.

‘They tried to charge through us at first. They must have thought we were just a bunch of ill-armed savages. So we formed into line and then emptied many saddles with our javelins. They were a bit more wary of us after that.’

‘Did you lose many men?’

‘No, about ten or twelve wounded, none killed. Our main problem was keeping these people,’ he jerked his head towards the great crowd of Ma’adan, ‘from trying to run after the enemy horsemen when they fell back to reform.’

‘Well done, Drenis, you have helped a great deal today.’

‘I don’t think those marsh people will be much help against Uruk,’ he said, ‘they have hardly any weapons and no discipline.’

‘They are the future of Mesene, Drenis.’

‘Really?’ He looked long and hard at the long line of bare-footed, scruffy individuals tramping after his cohorts. ‘No wonder it’s a shit-hole.’

Surena, though, was delighted and on the way back to camp was full of grandiose plans about how he would form all the marsh people into a great army.

‘These are only the ones I was able to muster in a short amount of time.’

‘I think that most of your people would like to remain in their homeland, Surena.’

‘I don’t,’ he announced.

I had to smile. When we had met he had been a wild boy from the marshes, content to live among water buffalo and cane and mud huts. Now he was on his way to being an accomplished officer in what I liked to think was the finest army in the Parthian Empire. For him it was impossible to go back to his former life.

‘I think, Surena, that the point of the matter is that your people should be allowed to live their lives unmolested.’

‘What king in Uruk will allow that, lord?’

‘An enlightened one, Surena; one who will respect your people and their way of life.’

‘Kings have always persecuted my people, lord.’

‘You must have faith that things will change. I predict a new dawn for your people.’

‘I hope so, lord, I hope so.’

The mood of Domitus noticeably darkened when our guests arrived at camp. He was less than impressed by a couple of thousand more mouths to feed.

‘We’ll be on half-rations in a week,’ he complained. ‘I don’t suppose they brought any food with them?’

‘They are our new allies, Domitus. Make sure they are fed and well treated.’

‘I’ll make sure anything valuable is guarded, more like.’

‘It is important that they take away with them a favourable impression of us,’ I said. ‘Surena once looked liked them, and you will agree that he has turned into a fine soldier.’

‘There’s always an exception, but I will do as you command.’

The marsh people were allocated a corner of the camp and were given food and tents to sleep in. Surena was placed in temporary command of them and he took to the task with relish. It helped that some of them had been his fellow associates in crime, and so he soon had officers of sorts to assist him. Domitus wanted them to sleep outside the camp, but that would have been an obvious insult and would have left them very vulnerable to any attacks against us. Not that there was any sign of the enemy, or indeed any signs of life at all. Byrd and Malik had ridden far and wide and reported people fleeing towards Uruk with their meagre belongings, no doubt hastened in their flight by the sight of Agraci warriors in their homeland. The latter had even approached the walls of the great city itself but had seen no enemy patrols on the roads.

‘Chosroes must be keeping what soldiers he has inside the city,’ remarked Malik as he was relaxing in my tent after he and Byrd had returned from their scouting.

‘Uruk has high walls,’ remarked Byrd.

I had called a war council when they had returned for I was eager to get to Uruk.

‘That is why we have brought the Romans and their siege engines,’ I said. ‘High walls make good targets.’

‘Sieges take time,’ muttered Domitus. He was still unhappy about the presence of the Ma’adan inside the camp.

‘Not this one, Domitus,’ I replied. ‘I have been talking to Marcus and we have hatched a plan to bring it to a speedy conclusion.’

‘Will you give Chosroes an opportunity to surrender, Pacorus?’ Orodes was a true friend, but I knew that he was uneasy about attacking the capital city of one of the empire’s kings. I would have liked to dispense with the formalities but I valued Orodes’ friendship too much to upset his sense of protocol.

I smiled at him. ‘Of course. I would prefer it if we could enter the city without shedding any blood.’

‘Ha,’ Domitus had a mischievous grin on his face. ‘There’s more chance of a mule pissing gold than that happening.’

Gallia frowned at his coarseness. ‘Perhaps you could persuade Chosroes to surrender, Domitus, as you have such a way with words?’

‘We will have to storm the city, of that I’m sure,’ said Domitus. ‘And it will take a long time.’ He looked at Malik. ‘The walls are high, you say?’

‘Very high, and there are many towers.’

‘Archers could inflict much harm on an attacker,’ added Byrd.

‘Then you are looking at between three and six months to take the city, though you might starve them out before then.’

Domitus folded his arms and sat with a smug expression on his face. Gallia frowned once more and Byrd looked disinterested. I had asked Praxima to join us, which caused something of a surprise among the others.