Remus Rising Read online

  He began to walk out. “No man is to go outside of this fort for more than local patrols without my explicit command.”

  With this Cornelius left the tent, marching off across the fort leaving Marcus and Gaius to their contemplation. After several moments Gaius looked up at Marcus.

  “How did Lucius go?” He asked, the softness in his voice masking his upset.

  Marcus shook his head. “He wasn’t with us. He requested to go to Isurium to find out if they had heard or seen anything.”

  Gaius sighed a sigh of relief. “Then we shall send a messenger bird to them immediately telling him to report his findings by bird and to stay away from the fort until an escort can be arranged.” He said reaching for his walking stick.

  “Get some more rest Marcus, you will need all of it that you can get.”

  Gaius hobbled out on his walking stick and set off in the direction of the forts messenger post leaving Marcus to his own quiet contemplation. He emptied his cup of wine before lying back, drowsy from its effect and his continued fatigue. The horrors of the night before continued to play on his mind as he wrestled to get comfortable, finally resting on his side. His eyes began to flutter, shutting out the medical tent and luring him into darkness of his own mind.

  Marcus stood surrounded by flames and smoke, the sound of men and women screaming echoed around him. He stood with gladius in hand as he watched them flee through the courtyard flanked by great pillars and statues. Their figures ran past him like shadows fading into burning ash pursued by the blackened shapes of monstrous creatures with glowing red eyes. Overhead the screeching of winged beasts could be heard, their wings fanning the flames onwards, burning all in sight. He looked around, the figures and shadows passing him as though he was not there. Through the flames he knew where he stood. His gladius dropped as he gazed up at the crumbling arches of the colosseum.

  ‘No!’ His mind screamed as the scenes around him came into focus. Rome was burning at the hands of the beast horde.

  Marcus lifted his gladius slashing at the creatures, cutting them down with swift succession. It proves futile as more and more kept coming into focus, surrounding Marcus and trampling him into the ash laden ground.

  “Marcus!” a voice cried out. “Marcus wake up!”

  Marcus slowly opened his eyes, feeling no longer the small comfort of the bed he had been in.

  “Marcus!”

  He was no longer lying in the medical tent, instead finding himself lying on the floor just outside.

  “Wha…”

  The sudden grunting of a Satyr preparing to bring down its blunted hand axe down on him cut his sentence short as he tried to move out of the way, narrowly dodging the blow. The sharp rumble of hooves followed as Gaius cut the Satyr down from atop his horse before circling around Marcus.

  “Marcus we are under attack!” Gaius said, straining as he fended off another attacker. “Get up!”

  Marcus staggered to his feet as Gaius tossed Marcus’s sheathed gladius at him.

  “The beast horde has broken into the fort and is rampaging in the town across the river. We need to rally the troops and join the Legate in mounting a counter offensive!”

  Marcus drew his gladius, his senses heightening as he did so.

  “Go and rally your cavalry, I will find any others I can.”

  Gaius nodded in agreement before steering his horse on, vanishing in the smoke that blanketed the fort.

  Marcus in turn orientated himself based on the burning remains of medical tent and set off in the direction of the nearest barracks. There was a constant threat as he pushed on through the smoke, cutting down Satyr after Satyr as he moved further out the centre of the fort. As he neared a barracks he acquired a helmet and shield from a fallen soldier, although he still felt under equipped for the situation, wearing only a basic tunic with no protection for his arms or chest. Just outside the barracks a cluster of men fended off a group of Satyrs, spurred on by their Minotaur captain. Taking full advantage of the enemy’s ignorance to him Marcus snuck up behind the Minotaur, thrusting his gladius through the creature’s chest, his lack of armour making his movement almost silent in all the confusion.

  Inspired by his actions the men quickly dispatched the remaining Satyrs.

  “Your rank soldier?” One shouted to Marcus who swiftly replied

  “Praefectus, 2nd cohort.”

  “Very well, you have command here Praefectus” the man replied banging his sword against his shield.

  “Excellent. How many of there are you legionary?” Marcus asked, entering the barracks.

  “14 Praefectus.”

  Marcus pulled a shirt of chain mail from a stand in the barracks and put it on.

  “Enough to get us through the fort then.”

  The soldier was in amazement at Marcus, who walked around the barracks requisitioning what protection he could for himself.

  “Our Centurion instructed us to stay here and protect the barrack for medical purposes though Praefectus.”

  Marcus looked at the Legionary.

  “We can deal with medical stations once the fort is secured Legionary, now tell the men to prepare to move.”

  Marcus was a stern leader and had little time for the sort of slow action the Centurion had planned.

  Feeling more suitably attired Marcus moved out of the barrack and looked at the men. Many were equally mismatched in their preparation, as expected in a surprise attack.

  “We need to find as many men as we can and clear the fort, let move out!”

  Marcus signalled their movement with his sword leading them down the streets to the other barracks. As they moved bands of Satyrs rushed them only to be cut down and driven back with smooth efficiency. This was Roman might. The tight formation of shields and swords made the small group of men a moving tank that the disorganised rabble of Satyrs stood little chance against. Men joined the formation, springing from their little holdouts as they were relieved from their attackers.

  No one now questioned Marcus who kept the formation moving, circling the men round to eliminate any who stood in their way. As they reached the outer barrack they found a large holdout of men near the base of a tower along the wall, just beyond the barrack.

  “For the Emperor!”

  Marcus drove his men straight into the Satyrs the surrounded the men, washing them away from the shield wall like a great wave. The beasts scattered and began to run, with some being shot down by the archers atop the wall and tower. It was clear from their attire these men were the night watchmen as they stood in full armour.

  “You have our thanks, they’ve been hammering at us hard here.” A Centurion said, emerging from the rear of the shield wall.

  “Centurion Aulus, of the 4th cohort.”

  “Praefectus Marcus, 2nd cohort. Repay the act with whatever information you can give me Centurion so that we can gain the thanks of others” Marcus said sharply.

  “Well it’s still a bit unclear but the talk along the wall is that the enemy attacked from the south east, scaling our wall and cutting us off from the bridge across the river to the town. They’ve then been hitting us from inside the fort, catching us off guard.”

  “Very well, how many men have you got hold up here?” Marcus asked, roughly counting the men he had gathered himself on his way through the fort.

  “At the last count before that attack you repelled 24 auxiliary archers and 53 Legionaries, though I suspect that number is lower now.”

  Marcus nodded, settling on his own number being just short of 40 men.

  “We need to secure the entire wall before flushing these rats from the fort. Have your archers split into 3 groups, one group will stay here at the tower with 30 Legionaries while the other two groups will act as spotters and aid us.”

  Marcus scrapped the base of his shield along the floor, wiping the dust smooth and flat on top of the cobbled road.

  “Us?” Aulus asked looking both puzzled and nervous.

  “Yes us.”
/>   Marcus now used the tip of his gladius to mark the shape of the fort in the dust, placing an ‘X’ along the north east wall, marking roughly where the tower they stood before was.

  “You and I will take the rest of the men in two groups, of approximately 30 men each along the perimeter, clearing the wall of any enemies and gathering any more troops we can find along the way.”

  Marcus glided his gladius around the inside perimeter of the fort on his map.

  “Leaving small detachments at strong points as we go.” Aulus said nodding his head in understanding.

  “Once we can be sure our perimeter is secure and the enemy within is contained then we can begin working inwards.” Marcus finished explaining.

  “Very well, I’ll send your orders up the tower to the archers and have my Optio divide the men.” Aulus saluted and went about his task.

  Marcus stood among the men, listening to sounds of scattered fighting and shouting within the fort. The attack seemed strange, although Marcus could not pinpoint why. He had fought in attacks on Legionary forts before, but they felt different, the attacker’s intent had always felt clearer.

  Never the less Marcus had little time to deliberate this as the men were already lining up into their separate detachments. He looked up at the wall, receiving a salute from the designated leader of the archer group above them signalling their readiness. Confident with his plan Marcus raised his gladius signalling his detachment to begin moving, Aulus doing the same with his own. As the two began moving along the base wall in opposite directions Marcus turned and glanced behind him, seeing the other detachment vanish into the smoke.

  Returning his focus forward Marcus homed in on his own detachment. He was careful to steady their speed, keeping the Archers just in front of them along the wall. There was little room for error, Marcus knew the full effect of the enemy from the previous nights encounter and was conscious of the lack of knowledge of the enemy’s strength. Despite this the men seemed to be high spirited, the comfort of fighting on familiar ground and where they believed, naively or not, they had the numeric advantage kept their minds focused.

  As they neared another tower they came upon another group of men, standing proud at the base of their tower piling up the dead creatures around them. Marcus approached the officer, this time an Optio of a lower cohort and exchanged information as Marcus passed on the orders.

  “What happened to your Centurion?” Marcus asked as he prepared to continue his advance along the wall.

  “He led a small sortie into the centre of the fort sir, trying to establish a line of communication with the Legate.”

  Marcus looked down the road to the centre of the fort, the smoke cutting his view well short of the headquarters and Legates personal home.

  “The next towers along the wall are those of the north east gate sir, but we haven’t heard anything from them since the attack started to say they had sealed the gate.” The Optio said with a look of concern as he looked along the wall.

  A dim light glowed through the smoke from the gatehouse.

  “Have no fear Optio, my men and I will investigate. Keep your men here and wait for the order to move in.”

  The Optio saluted and set about briefing his troops. Marcus signalled for his detachment to continue its move towards the gate house.

  As they neared the gatehouse it was a scene of death. Surrounded by bodies of their fallen and that of the enemy a handful of men stood backs to the gate. Marcus approached with caution.

  “What happened here?” one of the men raised their head to look at Marcus and his detachment before collapsing from exhaustion and relief at the sight of fellow Romans. Marcus rushed forward lifting the man up.

  “We held… we held the gate.” The man said, finally passing out as Marcus signalled for water to be brought to the others who were in similar condition to their comrade.

  It was a disaster for his plan. The gatehouse was intended as a strong point that could not easily be left undefended. Marcus quickly sent 5 men back to the Optio at the previous tower to gather any men he had spare as well as half of his detachment to the next tower along the wall. Meanwhile he had the rest of his detachment attend to the wounded and place the dead along the base of the wall.

  It was not long before Marcus’s men returned from both sides. A further 10 men had come from the Optio and word of the next tower.

  “The remaining towers along the north east wall have all been secured sir, they were more prepared than most due their proximity to the original attack point. They have strong numbers and set up a barricade enclosing their positions both along the north east and south east wall.”

  “An excellent report soldier.” Marcus said, glad to hear some good news from further long the wall.

  “The commanding Centurions their have also agreed to send 40 men to take over the defence here at the gate and will still be able to aid in your assault on the enemy near the south east gate.”

  Marcus could not help but reveal his satisfaction at the appearance of the relief force at the gatehouse. It felt like the plan was now succeeding with quicker pace after a seemingly slow start. With a quick exchange of pleasantries Marcus lead his detachment towards the barricades established by the next 3 towers. Once he had identified himself and allowed through Marcus was quickly impressed by the organisation of the commanding Centurions. The second tower was the eastern corner tower, connecting the north east and south east walls and had been set up as the Centurion’s headquarters. From there they had stripped the neighbouring barracks, assembling barricades along the road that ran the inside of the wall as well as down the side streets down the side of the cluster of barracks they had raided. As Marcus approached the makeshift headquarters he had made note of the number of men he passed, concluding that nearly 4 full centuries had established themselves in this makeshift fort, as well as a large number of archers lining the wall.

  As Marcus approached the base of the tower a man stepped out, flanked by 3 Centurions. He was fully armoured and had a piece of red cloth tied across his chest.

  “Tiberius Lucius Optimus, Praefectus of the 9th Cohort. You appear to have served well Centurion, from which cohort do you herald so I might pass my regards to your commander?”

  It was clear from the tone of the man that he was from an aristocratic family, no doubt raised to be an officer and had found himself tactically placed among junior Centurions that believed in his pretence.

  “Praefectus Marcus Aurelius Sisenna, 2nd Cohort.” Marcus said proudly, although feeling a little under dressed for it.

  Marcus was had little time for those that had been born and raised as officers, instead respecting those who had a long service time and experience. Marcus himself had earned his position through long years of service and rising through the ranks. Never the less, Tiberius was a clear example of the wealthy officer.

  “Second… cohort?” Tiberius stuttered, looking Marcus up and down with horror that he was being out ranked by such a man.

  “If you doubt me because of my attire then maybe you should have paid more attention to camp talk, I led the century that was virtually wiped out in the ambush last night.” Marcus said, causing shock among the other officers.

  “We thought you would be dead, you were in the hospital.” Tiberius said.

  “Clearly not, now what exactly is your plan here? You must have the largest body of men under your command here and yet I don’t see any signs of you counter attacking.” Marcus signalled to the large number of men simply stood around in formations.

  Tiberius shook his head and waved Marcus to follow him into the tower, leaving his Centurions outside.

  “My men are the youngest and most inexperienced of the Legion, those barbarians to the south we fought with on our way up here was the first combat for some and we barely got into it before the fighting had ended.” Tiberius said, closing the door and looking at a map of the fort that had been crudely drawn up on the table in the centre of the room.

&nb
sp; “Inexperienced perhaps but with the right Centurions they will be just as effective.” Marcus replied.

  “Ha” Tiberius snorted. “Those Centurions are almost as junior as the men they command. Were it not for the barricades I had them defend they would have charged off into the fort by now looking for some glory worth a promotion.”

  Marcus began to feel he had misjudged Tiberius, while he may have bought his position he was stricken with a tough cohort to command.

  “Then glory they can have.” Marcus said.

  Tapping his finger on the map he signalled to the south east gate.

  “If this is where the enemy have made their breach then this is where we need to plug the gap.”

  Tiberius moved away from the table, opening the door and ushering the Centurions into the room.

  “Listen up, Marcus Aurelius Sisenna has some orders for you to follow.” Tiberius nodded to Marcus.

  “Thank you. A Centurion by the name of Aulus is currently working his way around the western walls of the fort clearing the wall of the enemy there. It is my job, and in extension yours, to secure the eastern walls which means we have the task of securing the breach point.”

  The Centurions immediately looked on with interest, a chance at real glory and combat beyond that of their usual duties.

  “With your blessing Tiberius I will take one of your centuries along with my own men down the south eastern wall and retake the towers and ultimately the gate as we go, sending word back to you here to send any reinforcements and garrison troops as required.”

  Tiberius nodded along with the Centurions.

  “Take Sextus here, his men are probably the most well equipped and rested.”

  Marcus thanked him and shook hands with Sextus before making for the door.

  “Hold on.” Marcus stopped and turned to Tiberius.

  “These beasts are no doubt well prepared along this wall, go up one floor and equip yourself properly and have your men do the same if they are not already.”