‘Because it means that they will be on our right.’ Ferox said, his tone suggesting that it was obvious, and there was another long pause before he realised that he still needed to explain. ‘Our shields are on our left side, so the right is unprotected. It shows them that we come in peace and so willingly offer our exposed sides to them. Enemies would not take such a chance.’

‘Unless it was a trick,’ Crispinus mused. ‘But these people are Votadini, so allies of ours.’

‘Then no harm in reminding them of that, my lord. The Selgovae are allies and we attacked them just a few weeks ago.’

Each night they made camp, but they were too few to entrench the position even if the cavalrymen had been willing. There were three big tents made of panels of calfskin stitched together for the Batavians and the army slaves, and a slightly smaller one shared by the three officers. The horses and mules were tethered in lines, beside the stacked shields and spears of the soldiers. Five of the troopers were always on guard, with one standing fifteen paces out on each side of the camp and the other man watching the horses.

‘We are under the king’s protection,’ Crispinus said. ‘Surely no one will risk his anger by molesting us?’

Ferox was insistent. ‘There are outlaws in every land, men who do not care much for the word of kings, chiefs or even emperors. And there are quite enough folk who might be tempted if the risks looked slight. Best not to tempt them in the first place,’ he said and was backed up by Masclus. The tribune deferred to their experience, but Ferox still worried. A really skilled thief might take animals from under the sentry’s nose. He arranged with Vindex that one of the scouts would patrol the darkness each night and took a turn himself to spread the load.

Yet if there were such men in the neighbourhood, they held their hand. The camp went undisturbed each night, save for the persistent calling of a wildcat. On the second morning they woke to frost on the leather tents and grass that was white and crunched underfoot. It vanished quickly once the sun rose, with only a few patches left where valley sides kept the land in shadow.

The following night they pitched tents beside a brook, overlooked by a cluster of round houses perched on a hillock. The headman invited the officers to share his meal. Masclus remained with his troopers, and the tribune and centurion took a couple of Batavians with them. Crispinus squatted uncomfortably by the fire, blinking and coughing in the smoky atmosphere inside, for like most local houses it had no chimney and let the smoke seep into the thatch. Yet Ferox was surprised and pleased with the way the young aristocrat conducted himself, drinking and eating all that was offered, and treating his host with the greatest respect.