Arthur II Chapter 22

 

 

22.

Auric Augustus looked at the old villa that he had taken over and refurbished to its once greatness. It held two levels with the dozen rooms not including two libraries and one grand dining hall, facing the two huge gardens one on the left and right side of the building. The stables and the servant quarters were on the left and the barracks for the guards were on the right. When fully restored, Auric could have a total of fifty guards and twenty servants. He liked the property for its rear was facing a pond and beyond it was the fruit orchard.

“It once belonged to a rich Lord but he had moved south.” The mason told him before he commissioned the works. “It shall be ready soon, my Lord.”

“I am no Lord, mason. I am just a noble without a title.” Auric reminded the other. “How far are my neighbors?”

“The villa that belongs to the Marcellus lies yonder.” The mason indicated with his hands toward the east. “And the Meleagant not far to the west.”

“And the wall is to the North.” Auric pointed out the direction of the wall which was on the rear of the villa. “We face south standing here.”

“Yes, Master Augustus.” The mason replied.

“What is there to the South?” Auric asked.

“There are two villages there; the Shire and Lindt; both are small settlements but you can get your supplies there.”

“Are there any knights nearby?” Auric asked. “Someone I can visit?”

“The Black Knight lives yonder near the Meleagant estate.” The mason replied. “He is an unfriendly neighbor. Whereas there is the Sir Bernlak of Haus or better known as the Green Knight. He lives a life of seclusion. I heard that he had offered his service to the Marcellus.”

“Interesting. I am sure he will serve well.” Auric then looked at the mason. “Send out words, I am recruiting guards and knights. I pay handsomely.”

Auric had just recruited four guards alongside their leader, Julian Grain to handle his horses. The four have proven to be a good help in the estate. They have offered to ride with him on the hunts. Auric have not hunted before but was willing to try it out. His daughter, Elaine had offered to join but asked for Gaheris to follow along. Auric had gladly accepted it. He felt the companionship of the two was most encouraging.

In the stables of the near completion villa of Augustus, Julian was looking at the employer of his service. He had planned a trip tomorrow morning but when he was told of the accompanying Roman, he hesitated in doing it. He was in the stable when he saw a shadow. He turned towards it and saw a lady standing there. She was dressed in a green dress that covered her from neck to toe. She was wearing a cone hat with a long tail trailing from the top.

“Julian Grain, you will fail unless you follow my instruction.” The lady told him.

“Who are you?” Julian reached the dagger he wore when he was not riding. He approached the lady.

“I am who may not matter to you. You will die now.” With that Julian fell to the ground clutching his heart. His body laid on the ground while the lady stood over him chanting some old spells. The fallen stable hand body then got up before it straightened its head. It looked to the lady and greeted her.

“Lady Igraine, I will do as bid.” The lady nodded to the undead standing there.

“Harm the intended and your soul will be released.” Lady Igraine then walked off. Her spells will prevent her from being seen. She has ears and eyes in the castle. She was told that Lord Pendragon had asked the stable hand to kill Auric. She knew from her reading in the bones, Julian will fail. He needed some reinforcement.

“Reinforce the settlement. The Romans ride to kill us.” Eric the One-eyed called out to the neighbors at the fork of River Glein. They were about four families there when they started there but after several seasons, more families joined them. They were already forty strong with four families from the Highlands, and even one lonely Pict who stayed a distance away. The later was exactly welcomed but allowed for they were all tenants of the land, or soon to be paying tenants. Eric had started off the settlement soon after the invasion had left. He stayed behind to tend to the wounded and then they formed the first settlement. Initially, there were some fights with other land grabbers but they prevailed as more families join in and added to their numbers. They had a wall built around their homes. And they had themselves armed with more weapons.

“Where are the others? I heard Horsa rides with hundreds.” The one is known as Toric asked. He was part of the earlier settlers. “We were given a promise.”

“Hengist promised many things but he only carries the ones that he held the most benefits/” Eric replied in anger. “I trust my sword and shield. Call the others to come in and we will fight the Romans here.”

“I heard the Ghost rides with them.” Toric once more voiced out. “We cannot fight the Romans and the local peoples together.’

Eric approached Toric and with one swing of his left arm, he punched the other in the face.

“Surrender if you want. I will stay and fight.”

The fight was soon to taken place.

“I can see they have a wall there.” Prime Pilus looked to the settlement. “The gates are closed.”

“Yes, Prime. I have scouted the settlement. They are ready for us.” Galahad reported.

“What is our strength now?” Prime asked.

“Twenty Legionnaires, a dozen riders of mine, and about two dozen local warriors. We picked up five or six local warriors on the ride here. Ghost rides with them.” Decurion reported in. “We can take the settlement. It held no more than forty warriors. They will fight well to protect their families.”

“Spare your warriors, Prime. I will call upon nature to make them surrender.” Merlin the Druid stepped forth. “They are on sacred grounds there. It was the place where the local peoples released their dead to the main river that will soon take them to neither land.”

“You will do nothing of that sort. We will fight this battle as trained by the Legions.” Prime Artorius told the Druid. “If I am to conquer the land, I will do it my way. That also applies to you, Lawnslot.”

“Roman, you do not tell me what I am to do?” Lawnslot replied.

“Lawnslot, he is the ….” Merlin cut in.

“No to me. He is a Roman and will remain as one.” Lawnslot snapped back. He then turned to Prime. “You can take the gates. I will stalk the other side. Whoever gets in first, wins.”

With that Lawnslot led his men away. Prime Artorius gave the orders then.

Back at the Roman wall, the call for battle went out too. Decurion Percival rode to the wall and climbed it. The wooden palisades were partially completed but it was manned at the strategic points. Optio Lamorak was there to give the orders.

“Mount the huge archer machines on the wall.” The legionnaires helped to load the wooden contraption that was designed like a huge crossbow and it held four arrows the length of two feet with the iron arrowhead. The contraption was over four feet in length and stood at waist level. It takes a warrior sometime to load the contraption but its range in the fire was over two hundred feet. It was seen the arrow having pierced one body through the back to impale on another body at the rear.

“I see you brought your toys here.” Percival looked at the wooden contraption. He counted four on the wall and there were more on the end.

“Yes, the other cohorts have contributed some. We are preparing for battle.” Optio Lamorak motioned to the trees out beyond the wall. Percival saw the movements there and assumed that they were the invaders.

“Who do you think they are?” Percival asked.

“Picts or Scots or maybe the Anglo Saxons there. Who cares?” Optio Lamorak replied. “They are addressing the First Cohort and we do not yield that easily.”

“Are we to hold the wall?” Percival asked.

“Yes, that was my order given by the Prime Pilus.”

Back at the Glein River, Galahad rode towards the settlement with his riders. They were armed with archers and they notched on the flaming arrows. They came to distance and let loose the arrows. The arrows struck the wall but it was not causing much damage.

“Move in closer and toss the jars.” Each rider carried a dozen small jars of oil which they tossed when they were near the wall. The oils from the jars spilled over the wall, and in contact with the flaming arrow, it spread the fiery flames around it. The flames also created a smokescreen on the wall.

“Bring water. We need to stop the fire.” Eric called out. He had his men on the wall, but they held back their arrows. They want to use it on the foot soldiers which were easier to shoot at. The others brought water and threw it over the wall. When the water came into contact with the flames, it created a smoke cover.

It was then the Legionnaires marched in with their mercenaries at the rear.

“Form the line and marched.” The Legionnaires marched in three rows with their shields raised and their pilum leveled out. They marched out in unison led by Prime.

“The Romans are here,” Eric called out. “Release the arrows.”

The arrows rained on the Romans who had raised their shields above their heads.

“Form the testudo.” The legionnaires broke into two groups and then regrouped into their formed battle formation called the testudo. The testudo was a solid formation with the shield wall on the sides and the top. It was a tested formation that works for the Romans.

On the other side of the wall, Lawnslot looked at the wall. He heard the battle on the other side. He waited for the signal and then it came. The rear door towards the river was opened. It was his sign to attack.

“Take them down!” Lawnslot called out to his men. The dozen more warriors charged at the rear opened the gate. It pays to have traitors inside.