‘We have our orders.’ Valens wished he was wearing armour, or even his sword. He felt foolish and vulnerable barefoot, in just an unbelted tunic, with a piece of half-chewed bacon in his hand.

‘Severus is dead,’ Aulus said.

‘A great loss,’ Valens said, ‘but he was only one man.’

Quintus stepped up. ‘We have to go back, before we die in this wilderness.’

‘You served in the fleet.’ Valens attempted to sound confident, as if this was merely a discussion, not a direct challenge to his authority. ‘If you can plot a course across the trackless sea, you can guide us home from anywhere.’

The flattery seemed not to have swayed Quintus.

‘The mission has failed,’ Aulus said. ‘To go on is suicide.’

‘You are a Gaul,’ Valens said. ‘I thought the only thing you feared was the sky falling on your head.’

‘If we follow you,’ Aulus said, ‘you will get us all killed.’

The men stood, mulish and stubborn. A few had their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Mutinies were not unknown in the Roman army. Valens knew the stories of how others had dealt with them. Julius Caesar had dismissed entire legions with a word, just by calling the men citizens, not soldiers. That was hardly appropriate, and most likely Caesar had not been clutching a part-eaten bit of bacon. When rebellious troops had refused to return to duty, the imperial prince Germanicus had threatened to kill himself, had reached for his sword. A veteran had offered his own, saying it was sharper. This was no time for histrionics. No nonsense about going on alone. Humour and cajolery had failed and Valens lacked the means to punish – all that was left was a bare appeal to discipline and duty.

‘We will do what is ordered, and at every command we will be ready. We all took the military oath again at Zeugma. Do you think the sacramentum is just empty words, a thing of no account?’

No one replied. Valens caught the eye of Zabda. Gods below, the Palmyrene had already tried to kill him once. Valens could not lose his nerve now.

‘Severus was your commander. Severus is dead. Now I am your commander.’

Aulus and Quintus looked to the others for support. The silence stretched.

‘At every command we will be ready,’ Clemens said, ‘no matter how insane the command.’ A wry look flitted across his careworn old face. ‘I have no doubt that Aulus is right, that none of us will return. But I am equally certain that Marcus Aelius Valens is the ranking officer.’

‘True words.’ Iudex, beaming like a baby, came and stood by Valens. ‘And travel enhances a man. I have always wanted to see the east, observe their customs, converse with their wise men.’

‘A man has to die somewhere,’ Hairan said. ‘One place is as good as another.’

It was over. Aulus and Quintus, deflated and anxious, looked at each other.