Brasus positioned each man with great care. All were in trees, for this was an important skill to practise.

‘As you have seen, the first shot can be the deadliest, which makes it vital to wait for the right opportunity.’

Four men could only see so much, so he placed one in the woods on the opposite side of the valley to the tower, and the others spaced out a mile or so further on. Brasus found a tree not far from the place where the youngsters had attacked the Brigantes. He did not hurry to climb, for he doubted that any Romans would appear until well after noon. Yet his senses told him that they would come today and that they would come here and he would learn.

The tree was not at the edge of the woodland, but about twenty paces in. Brasus climbed when the time felt right, and found a sturdy branch with others on which he could fasten the loops of rope to use as rests for his feet. He could just glimpse the ground beyond the treeline and the dead horse, its belly already bloated as it decayed.

Romans appeared an hour or so later. He heard the sound of horses and equipment, for the wind was blowing towards him, and at the same time caught the stale smell of leather and sweat.

Brasus waited. He heard voices without catching more than the odd word and at last glimpsed a rider by the dead horse. Another man appeared, walking in a crouch and staring at the grass. He was big, bare headed at the moment showing a mop of black hair, and when his cloak parted there was the gleam of mail and the pommel of a sword. Another horseman rode in front of him, talking to the man, and by the time he moved the first man was out of sight. There were shouted orders and the sound of jingling harness, growing fainter, which meant that some were riding away.

The floor of the forest was a mass of needles, most faded brown and dry and they muffled the sound of the horse’s feet until they were very close. They came closer. Brasus glimpsed the black-haired man riding a grey horse towards him. The Roman came closer and closer, passing out of view. The only way for Brasus to see down would have been to shift his feet from the ropes and move, but that was bound to make noise. If he stayed absolutely still then he would be very hard to see, even if the man thought to look up – hard, but not impossible. He doubted the Roman would come up after him, but there must still be soldiers close by and they could wait for him to come down or perhaps reach him with javelins or arrows.

‘Trying to get killed, are we?’ Another Roman was approaching from the opposite side. He spoke good Latin with an accent much like Ivonercus, so was probably another Briton. ‘Wandering off on your own.’