VIII

Piroboridava

Nonis of April

‘WHAT! BASTARD WAS up a tree all the time!’ Vindex was as angry as he was surprised. He and Ferox were up on top of the gate tower, and they spoke in the language of the tribes because the only sentries nearby were legionaries.

‘It’s an old trick in these parts. They hide scouts or archers up in the trees. They use ropes so they can stay for a long time – even tie themselves in place. Then they wait. Some of them are good at waiting.’

‘And you didn’t say anything.’

‘No point. And it took me a while to be sure. Only glimpsed him once even then. He did not try to kill either of us, so maybe he did not have a bow, or maybe the angle was wrong or he just wanted to stay hidden up there. In that case showing that I’d spotted him might just make him think a shot was worthwhile.’

‘Why didn’t we scrag him?’

‘Mongrel was up a tree. Remember Mona?’

Vindex sucked in a deep breath, his big teeth making his face more horse-like than ever. ‘It gets worse. Why bring up that dark place? Of course I remember, no matter how hard I try to forget. You kill the last great druid, so that’s bound to bring us all wonderful luck!’

‘You helped,’ Ferox said, ‘and we are all still here.’

‘Here – in this fort you reckon is on the brink of being overwhelmed by hordes of enemies! That’s good luck!’

‘Perhaps,’ Ferox spread his hands. ‘I may be wrong.’

‘Aye, but when it comes to predicting misery you have a knack of being right, don’t you?’

‘It’s usually a safe bet. At least it has been in my life so far.’

‘All right, I’ll bite,’ Vindex said. ‘What has the sacred and terrible island of Mona got to do with a Dacian bugger hiding in a tree?’

‘Back on Mona I had to climb that big oak, remember? On my own because you reckoned you couldn’t climb. … So I don’t reckon you’ve been practising much in the last five years. Which meant I’m on my own, trying to find and kill or catch him without falling out and breaking my neck. Let’s say I didn’t like the odds and did not feel my story should end that way.’

Vindex again sucked in air through the gaps in his teeth. ‘Aye, suppose so. More likely to end when a close friend bludgeons you to death in frustration.’

‘No doubt about it,’ Ferox agreed.

They were interrupted by the arrival of Sabinus and Dionysius, followed by one of the veterans. At morning orders, Ferox had outlined his suspicions, and changed the routine, so that patrols would regularly go up as far as the abandoned Dacian tower and fort, just to check that it was abandoned in accordance with the treaty. Although he had seen nothing when they had taken a look, Ferox’s instincts told him that someone had been in the place, and not simply wanderers or hunters looking for shelter. He had carved another symbol in the wooden frame around a doorway just in case.