Brasus wished that Rholes was in sole command and knew that this was wrong, for Zalmoxis would surely guide only the pure to serve his purpose, but Rholes won battles and Diegis led men to needless deaths, puffed up by his royal name. The court of the king was not a comfortable place, for all that most of his noblemen were held to be of the pure. Brasus had overheard some of them talking after the plan was announced, and saying that Decebalus was too wise to trust an army to one man’s command, lest a new hero emerge, just as Decebalus had once made his name in war and been able to supplant the old king. Another surprise had been Diegis’ interest in Ivonercus the Briton, which surely can only have come from the king, since how else would he have heard of the deserter and known his name.

The night had seemed long, even endless, for he felt that every moment had been filled with ideas and confusion. He wondered about marriage, about his bride to be, for he knew that the lust was growing, and he thought of kings and nobles, wars and lies, but most of all he felt hungry, while the dripping water was a torment for reminding him of his desperate thirst.

Far and faint, there came the notes of a horn greeting the rising sun. That was one good practice copied from the Romans, rousing soldiers to be ready. Brasus now had some six hundred warriors, almost a third of the force he was promised, and the latest band were camped just below the pass. Today he would lead them to a hidden place within the woods on the south side of the valley, for until the last moment he wanted to conceal his strength from the Romans. First he would sting them, like the ambush of their patrol several days ago. Ivonercus had helped with that and shown no reluctance to slay his own kin. Deserters could be useful, as could their ideas, although Brasus still felt that this was an unclean way of making war.

Getting up was painful, his body and especially his legs hurting with the movement, and he doubted that he could have stood upright even if the roof of the cavern had been higher. The fast was done, the time of waiting in the bowels of the earth complete. There had been no emptiness, no real peace during the long night, although he wondered whether he would lie if anyone asked him about his experience. Stumbling up the passage, he also wondered whether men had lied to him of their visions and insights. He had been alone and he had thought long and hard and that was all there was to it.