Arthur II Chapter 4

4.

Gaheris watched his brother rode out following Percival. He had wanted to ride out too but then he saw the slave signaling him. He knew the slave and took the message. His direction was the opposite.

The tent was not as big as Prime but it had a fire going which was what Gaheris was looking forward to then. He dismounted at the tent and handed the reins to the slave. He took his way past the tent flaps and smiled at the family facing him.

“Legionnaire, we are having supper. Do join us.” The head of the Augustus invited the young Legionnaire. It was rare for a Legionnaire to be seen in the company of a noble family from Rome. Gaheris saw the vacant seat among the five at the table. The food and drinks on the table was few but it was a relief from the camp’s food.

“We are simply bare here.” Lucius Augustus formerly a noble from Rome has helped many to the Senate but his days were over. He chose to retire from Rome, and Britannica then seems like a good choice.

“We are to go to the land of barbarians and druids? You must be mad in your old age.” Augustus' peers have sounded to him. “Retire down south to the beaches at Hispania where the sun shines daily. Or move to the Dark Continent where there are plenty of lands for grab. And slaves which we can use or trade.”

“Or I can go to Gaul. We have tamed the barbarians there.” The talks were there but Augustus ignored them all. All those lands are filled with their other families. He wanted someplace new. He was set on going across the sea. He took his family then under objection. His only daughter Elaine Augustus had objected greatly. He did not argue with her but he made her followed him. It was to let her cool down but she was stubborn like him. She wouldn’t talk to him until they reached the shores of the new land. There they met Gaheris and all changed.

Elaine was once more the grateful daughter.

‘Tell me, Gaheris. Are we at the final stop? We can build our homes here.” Augustus asked the young man. “We need to rest after so many months of moving. And Elaine needed to …find a home soon.”

“I think so, Master Augustus. We are at the Antoinne Wall.  We are to restore the wall and protect it.”

“Like the Hadrian Wall. It will then flourish the lands before it. I was there during the debates on building this wall. I was a weakling then.” It was Augustus's way of making himself small to the audience but he held influences on some members of the Senate.

His way then, Julia had seen the greatness in him.  

“No, Lucius. You were young then. My father had seen the greatness in you but you refused to run for the Senate..” Julia Augustus was the daughter of the local Lord in Hispania and wedded the younger Augustus from Rome than for the coming glory as promised by her lover then. He did deliver it but in his elderly years, he had moved her to the new land soon after Julia’s death.

“We are all weaker at a young age. That’s why we needed the guidance of the elderly.” Gaheris was diplomatic in his reply. It was one of the qualities liked by Augustus who met the young man on the journey. There were others including the Centurions but he settled on young Gaheris.

“So, you do.” Augustus smiled at the young man. He knew in his heart that Gaheris will be a great man one day. “Tell me of Lucius. Have you been to his tent?”

Augustus knew his way around the powerful. He knew that Galahad had dined at the Centurion’s tent. He knew also the young Gaheris was there before.

“Not of late. I have been busy with the patrols.” Gaheris replied. “Centurion Lucius has his aides to dine without me. His quarters are almost ready.”

“Yes, I heard too. The Optio looked to his Prime well. They are building the outer walls with the stones from the nearby quarry and I heard wagons of woods from the South. The Emperor must favor the Prime here.”

“Yes, Prime Artorius is well-liked,” Gaheris replied. “He held some influence at the Head Quarters.”

“I best be going back to re-join my unit. We will be having supper soon.” Gaheris asked for permission to leave but was stopped by the later.

“Aye, you must dine here too. We can always hold a seat for you here…. anytime.” Augustus smiled. “I am sure Elaine will be pleased.”

Elaine Augustus's expression beamed up in embarrassment on the mention of her name. She had liked the young rider because they shared some interests but beyond that, she was unsure. She had nothing to wish for than to be wedded to the one she loved but the decision lies with her father. She cannot decide but could influence. She looked to Gaheris and smiled.

“I am honored to be here,” Gaheris replied once more in a diplomatic tone. He then decided to change the subject matter. “Tell me, Master Augustus. What do you know of the wall?”

“Besides its name, I am afraid not much of it. I was not there when they voted for it. It was the other wall, I was involved in.” Auric was referring to the Hadrian Wall. “That wall served its purpose and then the Emperor was ambitious to have a new line of defense against the barbarians from the north. The Emperor does not favor an open boundary like in Gaul. So, he decided on the second wall and maybe the third until he cornered them like we did the barbarians at Gaul. The difference was we have both the seas at the sides. Today, the Antoinne Wall, tomorrow maybe the Caesar Wall…”

“Or one day, Gaheris Wall.” Those words came out from Elaine without thinking. “Sorry, I was out of line.”

“No….” Gaheris raised his goblet. “It may not rival the wall here but it will keep the families safe.”

“The families then. May they all prosper here.” All the six of them raised the toast.

It was the toast or was it, an agreement then by the group of warriors seated there by the small fireplace far beyond the wall. They are not the Romans but barbarians from the land. They don’t need a bigger fire with the coats of furs worn by them there; a single coat may not work on a cold night and the extra fur does sometimes stop an arrow from piercing deep. There were four of them, and their mind was fixed.

“We strike at them before the next moonrise.” The one who spoke was a huge one with the broad shoulders and wider girth on the waist but his huge forearms held the double-edged battle-ax. He picked the ax from a dead warrior who almost cleaved him with it. “I am unhappy to wait for long.”

“Kay…” The one on the left was snapped off.

“It’s Sir Kay to you all except for him.” Kay the Huge made his point. He was motioning to the one the enemies called the Ghost. The others nodded. They held command of eight warriors but seated there, they were all equals except for Sir Kay. He was their leader.  

“We are facing the First Cohort. I had been tailing them.” One of the leaders seated opposite of the Ghost voiced out. “That is about a hundred and sixty legionaries and maybe forty Auxiliaries’.

“I know.” The one who was named the Ghost replied. “I have fought the Legions before. Now we plan the skirmish.”

“Skirmish? I thought we were going to …” Another one hit out but Sir Kay snapped in.

“Are you mad? I am the one who was supposed to be mad. Not any of you.” Sir Kay was upset. “We can’t fight them all. We can only engage them with hit and run. We are outnumbered and they have the wall.”

“Yes, we will hit them but not at them. We can go behind them. We can hit the Roman families. If we hit them there, it will hurt them.” The Ghost told them.

“The wall had the other cohorts to guard it. So how are we going over there?”

“There are sections of the wall which are yet to be reinforced. We will cross there and regroup at the rear. More to it, the other cohorts are stationed elsewhere along the wall. The Legion is stretched and we will sneak across in groups of three or four.” The Ghost told them. “We will sneak in at a different location. Then we hit tomorrow dawn.”

“Which one?”

“The one which I will lead all of you.” The Ghost told them. “We will hit them hard and then leave.”

“Which one? And where do we meet?” The fourth one asked again.

“You will know tomorrow when we will meet at the dry river bed by the lilac.” The Ghost told them. “Now let me consult with the druid.”

The Ghost stood up and looked to the wall. It was a fine wall before and when restored, it will be theirs. He will use it to stop the new invaders coming from the North. Never again will the land be ravished by the others.

“I will take what is mine, Roman.” The Ghost swore at his oath.

On the wall, Optio Lamorak was watching the wagon's load of wood unload their wares there at the wall. The peasants grabbed the long trunks of the fallen trees to implant them at the breaches forming spikes toward the Northern side. It will hold any cavalry attack but behind the spike will be the stone wall where his men will hold their position on the wooden palisades. He had assigned for fire torches to deploy for the invading alert. At every strategic distance clustered of woods and leaves were left in a mound to be lighted to alert the others.

The concern he had was the pace they could get the wall up before the enemy's attack.