As they neared the edge of the marsh and could see the dark swell of land rising up above the mist, Macro heard the sound of a horse approaching behind them.

‘Halt,’ he called out softly. ‘Grab your shields and spears and follow me.’

He led them back down the track a small distance and detailed four men to hide each side in an extended line to be sure of providing the approaching rider with no means of escape. Cato lay down close to the ground, too tired by the day’s action to be anxious any more. Moments later the dark shape of a rider and horse loomed out of the mist and cantered into the middle of the trap.

‘Now!’ Macro shouted, and eight shadows detached themselves from the grass on either side of the track and converged on the horseman. Startled by the sudden movement, the horse reared, whinnying in terror, and the rider struggled to regain control of his mount before tumbling to the ground. Macro pounced on him, slamming a punch into his face before hauling the man to his feet.

‘Well now!’ He laughed. ‘What a fucking surprise it is to see you again, sir.’

Vitellius wiped his bloody nose on the back of his hand. ‘Get your hands off me, Centurion!’

‘Get my hands off you?’

‘You have to let me go. I’ve got to get back to the Legion.’

‘Listen, you bastard, if you think—’

‘There’s no time for this!’ Vitellius shouted. ‘There’s a bloody army coming down the track. Nearly rode right into them. I don’t think they saw me, but they’ll be here soon. I have to tell Vespasian!’

‘He’s lying, sir,’ Pyrax growled. ‘Kill him, and let’s go.’

‘Wait!’ Cato interceded. ‘We don’t even know what he was after yet.’

Pyrax raised his sword. ‘Who needs to know?’

‘Lower that sword legionary!’ Macro ordered. ‘Now!’

‘Please!’ Vitellius begged. ‘You have to let me go. I have to warn Vespasian. We’ve found Togodumnus! If that column surprises the Legion we’ll lose thousands. Thousands of our comrades.’

‘Comrades!’ Pyrax spat at him. ‘Comrades don’t fucking kill each other.’

For a moment they stood in silence, a tableau of crisis and indecision, Vitellius on his knees, Macro with his fist twisted into the tribune’s cloak, a look of bitter contempt etched on his face.

‘If there is a column,’ Cato said softly, ‘the legate has to be warned.’

‘There’s no fucking enemy column!’ Pyrax thumped the butt of his spear down. ‘He’s just trying to save his skin.’

‘Then why ride back towards us?’

‘He got lost. Why are we even wasting time on this?’ Pyrax turned to Macro. ‘Kill him, sir!’

Macro glared down at the tribune for a moment, face hardening into a look of pure disgust and resentment at the predicament the tribune’s reappearance had placed him in. Then he thrust his fist hard against Vitellius’s chest and the tribune went down flat on his back in the mud.

‘Go and warn the Legion. But, make no mistake, when this is all over I’ll see to it that the general himself knows what you did here. I’m sure he’ll be most keen to find out why a senior officer should want to kill his own men to get hold of that chest. Now go! Go, you bastard, before I change my mind.’