Remus Rising Read online

  “We will have to march quickly if we don’t want to get caught out in the dark.” Lucius said.

  Marcus nodded, “I’ve brought 3 carts along with us to bring back the dead. They shouldn’t slow us down too much on the way.” before signalling for the century to march again.

  In quick organised step the century marched out the gate in their long column, pulling the carts along with them, followed by the Equites who filed in behind.

  The men were anxious. Marcus was an experienced commander and could tell that this was not the normal anxiousness his men felt before going out of the fort. Before they had left the fort rumours had already begun to spread about the Satyrs and their attack on the Equites. He had hoped the men would have missed the rumours before they left, aware that the idea of a herd of Satyrs roaming the countryside would do little for his men’s morale. Never the less Marcus was confident. He had served with these men for several years and they had never failed him before.

  As they neared the village the sun had dropped to just above the horizon. Lucius rode upfront to Marcus who had kept his men at their quick march the whole way.

  “We are almost at the village now Marcus, it’s just up on the hill up ahead. We won’t have long though if we want to be back in the fort before dark.”

  Marcus nodded. “Send your men up to the village now and ensure it is clear for our advance. Once you’ve given the signal that it is then my men will surround the village so you and your men can collect the dead.”

  “Yes Praefectus.” Lucius turned his horse back down the column, returning to his Equites at the rear before galloping past with them moments later.

  Marcus steadied his men’s march and ordered them into a wider formation. As they edged closer to the village a single rider appeared at the edge of the village signalling the all clear to Marcus, who could almost hear the sighs of relief from his men. As they reached the village Marcus ordered them to halt.

  “Legionaries surround the village and lock your eyes on the tree line. The village may be clear but we know these woods could be hostile so if anything starts moving in them I want to know!”

  Marcus strode up into the village where Lucius’s men had already begun to gather the dead Equites who had been left in the centre of the village.

  “Not a single Satyr in the village, they were sure to be clean this time.” Lucius said as he dismounted from his horse besides Marcus.

  “That will make it easier to track them down, the weight on the hooves will leave deep imprints on this wet ground.”

  The two men began to look across the ground and wander the edge of the village, looking for the direction that the Satyr’s had left in. Lucius stopped and knelt down on the north side of the village. The hoof prints were deep and directed out of the village northwards.

  In the distance the forest petered out and the vast hilly landscape of the north stretched off into the horizon. Marcus stood behind Lucius.

  “If I was going to pick somewhere to hide I’d chose those hills.”

  Lucius nodded, “Vast, difficult terrain, plenty of high spots to keep lookout from. Even if we managed to track them down we’d never get enough troops close enough to surprise or trap them.”

  “Then we need information.” Marcus said.

  Lucius signalled for one of the Equites to come over to them.

  “How much longer until you have gathered the bodies to be returned to the fort?” Lucius asked.

  “Not long sir, there are only a few left to be loaded onto the carts.” The Equite replied.

  “Very good. With your permission Praefectus I will take half my riders north to the fort at Isurium and gather any information they may have.”

  Marcus looked at the sun as it almost touched the horizon.

  “It will be dark before you reach them, are you sure you want to risk it?” Marcus asked.

  “If we stick to the roads and clear of any forests we will be there in only a few hours, trouble free if we’re lucky.”

  “Very well, ride to Isurium. I will inform Gaius of your movements and have the rest of your unit follow in the morning.” Marcus replied.

  With this the two men parted. Lucius returned to his horse and gathered his men before selecting half for his mission and riding off down the hill towards the road leading north. Marcus stood and watched as they disappeared into the ever-darkening light before addressing his own men. Positioning the carts towards the rear of the column and the remaining cavalry at the front Marcus led his men away from the village.

  The men were more anxious than before. The sun was vanishing behind the horizon and the road was dark among the forest. Although it was only a few miles back to Eboracum, the heavy carts slowed the column to a steady walk. Combined with Marcus’s extra precaution, the speed they were travelling at was half that of their outward journey.

  As the road opened up and dim lights could be seen in the distance emanating from Eboracum the column was ground to a halt by the almighty sound of splitting wood. The front cart’s wheel had struck a rock and under the pressure split free from the cart. Marcus had run up the line to see what the problem was. Optio Augustus, Marcus's second in command, had already begun organising men to lift the cart up and the wheel be refitted but to no avail.

  “What’s happening here Augustus?” Marcus asked, removing his helmet.

  “The wheel has come off and we can’t lift the cart long enough to fit it back, I fear we will need to unload some of it before we can get it back on.”

  Marcus sighed and looked across to the lights of Eboracum.

  “Very well Augustus, get the men on it at double time.”

  Augustus nodded and saluted before shouting his orders to the men.

  Marcus walked along the column. Wind howled from the dark cluster of trees just off the road, barely lit by the torches of the column. The horses began to grunt and stir at the front of column, ignorant to their riders attempts to comfort them. From the trees a screeching sound echoed, causing many to clutch their ears in agony.

  “FORMATION!” Marcus yelled as large black figures charged out from the trees. The men barely had time to turn and face when the first of the figures smashed into them, tossing two men into the air with its great horns before cutting another two down with its two handed axe.

  Now bathed in the torch light a dark furred Minotaur stood proud, grunting and snorting as it swung its axe above its head. Overhead the sound of screeching grew louder as Harpies descended onto column, scratching at the men’s faces with their clawed feet and beating on the raised shields with clubs. Marcus saw the panic set about his men as they desperately tried to form shield formations against both the Minotaurs on the ground and Harpies from the sky.

  “Equites! Ride to Eboracum! Send for aid!”

  In a disorganised move the Equites rode off into the dark, lightly pursued by the Harpies who picked off several riders, dragging them from their horses before dropping them.

  Marcus returned his attention the chaotic fight unfolding around him. The column had been divided into 3 groups, scattered and broken apart by the Minotaur charge. There was little hope for survival like this as the Minotaurs pushed against the fragile shield walls and Harpies penetrated any openings.

  “ROMANS! DRAW PILUM!” Marcus ordered as he picked up one of the javelins that had been dropped. As he did a Harpy descended on him only to meet the tip of the pilum which Marcus quickly thrust into the creature’s chest. He pulled the creature down to the floor before finishing it with his gladius.

  With a quick twist and pull he tore the pilum from the creature and approached the ranks of his soldiers, pilum in one hand, gladius in the other.

  “Tighten the square! First rank shields up, second push pilum through the shields and third keep those Harpies off our back!”

  The true power of the Roman Legionaries suddenly appeared as the men followed Marcus’s order to the letter forming a tight 3 rank square. Marcus stood centre of his formation which now repul
sed the attacks, even from the long reach of the Minotaurs, whose huge weight could not be thrown against the porcupine like shield wall.

  With his own cluster secure in the centre of the column Marcus turned his attention to the other two. Through the chaos it was clear the enemy had hit the front of the column hardest as only a handful of Legionaries remained, desperately trying to fight the creatures. At the rear however Augustus had formed a light defence, preventing such heavy casualties.

  “Formation move to the rear, two step!”

  Shields were lifted as the formation moved in perfect unity two steps towards the rear cluster. Every two steps, stopping and thrusting their weapons beyond the shields, pushing any attackers away before driving the formation another two steps. As they drew closer to them a large Minotaur wielding an axe the size of a man stepped between the two units before swinging it at the rear unit.

  “We can’t charge into that thing Centurion, it’s too big!” One of the shield bearers cried to Marcus.

  “Lift me up! Quickly!”

  Two men broke from the formations inner line and lifted Marcus up onto the air, still clutching the pilum. As he was thrust up into the air he turned it in his hand and launched the pilum at the Minotaur. The pilum whistled through the air before smashing into the back of the beasts neck, killing it instantly as it staggered before falling to the ground. A great cheer was thrown up by the men at the rear cluster were able to join Marcus’s formation and joined ranks.

  “Augustus, have you any idea of our losses?” Marcus asked.

  “No sir, I only know that I had about 20 men with me at the rear. Would you like a report now?” Augustus replied, panting from the hard fight.

  “I doubt it will help us much.” Marcus looked around the formation. The Harpies had landed and were desecrating the bodies of the fallen Romans while the Minotaurs paced around the formation from a short distance. In this moment a strange peace occurred.

  “What are they doing?” Augustus asked.

  “They’re planning their next move, examining our formation and looking for the weak points.”

  “Should we try to break away and make for Eboracum?”

  Marcus shook his head, “No, they can move faster than us and it’s still 2 miles away. Rotate the ranks, we need to keep the men fresh and it will buy more time if the Minotaurs are examining us.”

  Augustus nodded before going about the formations bringing the front rank to the rear.

  There was an almighty roar from the Minotaurs as they opened their line to reveal the largest of them walk forward. It was clear that this one was different to the others, with larger horns and a great sword on its back. The creature walked forward and looked at the Roman formation before raising one hand.

  “Kill them all” it grunted before giving the signal for the Minotaurs to charge.

  With a great thundering of their hooves the Minotaurs charged hitting the shield wall hard enough to open it up.

  “Hold the line!” Marcus ordered, moving forward to stab at the creatures breaking through.

  It was no good, the sheer weight of the Minotaurs broke through the Roman formation and the organised lines became desperate fights against the tall, muscled beasts. The large, sword bearing Minotaur stood and watched over the ensuing slaughter as Legionaries were cast aside by the large axes of the beast’s kin. Marcus struggled desperately, managing to bring down two Minotaurs himself before being pushed back into the tightening group of men.

  “Stand together!” Marcus cried, picking a shield up from the ground and standing shoulder to shoulder with the remaining men.

  Augustus stood alone, separated from the group, wielding two gladius he dodged the heavy swings of the Minotaurs before slashing and cutting anything they exposed.

  He could not last though as 4 Minotaurs encircled him, attacking him on all sides before beating him down to his knees. Marcus rushed forward, smashing his shield into one of the Minotaurs, causing it to stagger back before stabbing his gladius deep into its shoulder. Inspired by their commander the dozen or so remaining men charged up behind him to similar success. Marcus swung his gladius with a divine strength cutting down the remaining Minotaurs before dropping his shield, trying to lift the Optio to his feet. The Legionaries encircled them, forming a tight circle of shields around them. Marcus looked around him. Only eight men remained.

  “Run Marcus… for Rome’s sake run.” Augustus said softly, struggling to breathe as the Minotaurs surrounded them again.

  “I don’t think we have that option anymore.” Marcus lowered the Augustus to the ground to rest, picking his shield back up and joining the circle of shields.

  “Remember men, we die in the service of Rome and the Emperor so make sure you take down as many beasts as you can!”

  As the Minotaurs readied their attack a distant rumble drew the attention of all.

  Echoing through the darkness the sound of thundering hooves was followed only by a single cry.

  “FOR THE EAGLE!” Like lightning the cavalry struck from the darkness, smashing aside the Minotaurs and scattering the Harpies.

  “Those are Roman riders! We’re saved!” a Legionary cried out. Equites dashed about the area, cutting down any Minotaur or Harpy who tried to resist causing panic to set into the creatures who turned tail and began to flee back to the forest. The sword bearing Minotaur still stood unmoved as its troops fled past it. A single rider charged at the Minotaur only to test the steel of the great sword which the Minotaur drew from its back before cutting both rider and mount in two with one swift blow.

  Marcus and the beast exchanged stares. Although it was difficult to read the beasts expression Marcus could tell the beast was intrigued by Marcus as it stared straight at him. As the Equites circled around the beast turned and ran back into the forest, vanishing into the darkness. Marcus now stood with his men in exhaustion, dropping his shield and sheathing his gladius. He looked around as Equites began to dismount and a relief column of at least two centuries began to reach the area. They quickly split off, forming a large oval shape around the battlefield and taking up defensive positions in case of the enemies return.

  Marcus looked around. Roman dead littered the road side with all 3 of the carts tipped over and broken. There was little doubt they had fought well as fallen Harpies and Minotaurs were scattered among the dead in close number. In all of it Marcus spotted his helmet, where he had dropped it in the opening chaos of the attack. Slowly he walked across to it, lifting it up in front of himself. One side was heavily dented where a Minotaur had stood on it, buckling one side.

  “Praefectus, it is good to see you alive.” Marcus turned to face the Centurion.

  “Not as good as it is too see reinforcements.” Marcus was distant, his mind wandering, and his body exhausted.

  “The Legate himself has mobilised half the Legion to come here when he was informed of the attack. I’m sure he will be pleased to hear of your survival and interested in your report.”

  Marcus grunted.

  “My report is death.”

  Chapter 4

  Light blurred Marcus’s vision as he awoke in similar surroundings. In a sudden rush he rose from his bed grasping for his gladius.

  “Peace Marcus!” Gaius said, prompting the attendant to hold Marcus down.

  As his vision cleared and his senses regained Marcus gently pushed the attendant off him, who had gripped his shoulders.

  “Where am I?” He said rubbing his eyes.

  “You’re in the medical tent back at the fort. You passed out on the way back to the fort last night, exhaustion the medic reckoned.” Gaius said pouring Marcus a cup of wine and topping up his own.

  “An entire century… I lost an entire century.” Marcus took the cup of wine from Gaius before downing it sharply. “80 men. Dead”

  “You aren’t to blame Marcus, we could not have known they were so close to the fort. The Legate…”

  “The Legate will think I am the fool who marched 80 men
to their deaths for nothing.” Marcus lay back down on the bed.

  “I actually think you are the man who bravely held the line against a scourge from legends.” Legate Cornelius said entering the medical tent. Gaius and Marcus both moved to rise in the presence of their commander but were prompted not to.

  “What you faced are creatures no man is trained or equipped to fight. To survive is an accomplishment out weighing the loss of life.”

  Marcus was still disheartened, the weight of command bearing down on him for this first time.

  “I have not come here to merely exchange sympathies and admiration with you Marcus. The creatures that raided the village and attacked both you and Gaius are a threat to all of us in Britannia. It is our duty as the garrison Legion to end that threat.”

  Gaius poured Marcus another cup of wine as well as handing Cornelius one, who politely refused.

  “With all respect sir, we don’t know where the creatures are based or truly how many there are. Until last night we thought there was only Satyrs, now there are Minotaurs and Harpies working together as well.” Gaius added.

  “A dark notion indeed Decurion. If they truly are working together they must have a leader among them capable of rallying them together.” Cornelius said, the formality of the conversation was clear, this was no longer a visit to the wounded but a war council.

  “The huge Minotaur with the big sword.” Marcus said gently, his eyes staring out into nothing. “There was a huge Minotaur with a sword large enough to cut a man and their horse in two with one swing. He was leading the ambush.”

  The three men sat in reasonable quiet for a moment.

  “Very well then, we target this Minotaur commander for now.” Cornelius turned to leave the tent. “It is my intention to cut off the head of the snake and watch its body die. You will both receive your orders after a 3-day respite.”