‘Well, I missed it, just my luck,’ the centurion explained. ‘Got accepted by the army and posted to Minervia in the last weeks, but did not get here until it was all over.’

‘Any trouble since?’ Ferox asked, half listening. The ditches were in pretty good order, with only a little rubbish and spoil at the bottom. A day’s graft would clear that out. He was trying not to stare at the horsemen, who were now a quarter of a mile away, still coming on slowly. The riderless horses were not a good sign.

‘No, not really. As I say, this is a quiet spot. The local Dacians are the Saldense, but they mainly live lower down. Hardly anyone winters up here. Come the spring and summer we will see the herdsmen arrive, travellers on the road, and even a few hunting parties of Sarmatians. The game is good around here.’

Sabinus nodded at the lone auxiliary who stood as picket beyond the ditches. That was regulation outside every base, set down a century ago by the divine Augustus, although far older than that. The rules said that there should be a dozen or more on duty outside the main gates of a fort this size, but it was rarely enforced, especially when things were quiet.

‘One man can see as well as twenty,’ Sabinus said, as if reading his thoughts.

‘True enough.’ Ferox could not help wishing that they had stuck to the rules. Still, perhaps it was better that way. He had to give them their chance. ‘So the camp was built during the fighting?’ he asked, continuing to stroll down towards the main road and the bridge, and forcing Sabinus to follow. There were rows of stakes and pits in front of the ditches, all suggesting that there had once been a real prospect of attack.

‘Yes,’ Sabinus said. ‘In the second campaign of our Lord Trajan, he sent a column this way, and another bigger one to the east, heading for the pass of the Red Tower. They had to storm a couple of strongholds as well as drive in bands of enemy. This place was built to store the supplies they might need and then care for all the casualties. Those Dacian castles are a bitch to take, as I’m sure you know. Hence our big hospital and all those granaries.’

Ferox nodded. The buildings had been one of the most striking peculiarities of the base, especially because they were half empty. He stopped for a moment. They were half way to the bridge, and he noticed that the riders had reined in and were waiting on the far side. Well, that seemed to settle it.

‘Vindex, perhaps you would see what is keeping Ivonercus and get his news. I can’t see anyone following them, but you never know.’

‘Lazy bugger,’ the bandit snorted, leaving Sabinus unsure whether he meant the rider or his commander, but since Ferox did not make a fuss he was not about to interfere.