‘Sorry about that, sir,’ the sentry called. ‘Nearly a nasty accident there.’ Philo was grubby and even more miserable than before, but otherwise unhurt. He led the mule behind them as they walked their horses along the via principalis, the main road through the centre of the fort. On either side were rows of long buildings, wattle and daub rendered over the top and whitewashed. Ahead of them the road met the via praetoria, the second road of the fort, which lay at right angles to it, running between the side gates in the middle of the long walls. Neither were paved and both were rapidly turning into mud as rainwater flowed down the gentle slope.

Where the two roads met was the principia, a square courtyard complex with an assembly hall, offices, storerooms and the shrine where the cohort’s standards were kept. To the right was another building, the praetorium, which was almost as big, but this time a house for Cerialis and his family.

Vindex sniffed. ‘Doesn’t look very cosy,’ he decided. ‘Bet it’s cold too.’

‘Doesn’t worry us,’ Ferox said, before dismounting and going through the high archway into the principia to report his presence. He was soon back. Men came to take the horses, and another to show them to a couple of rooms at the end of a barrack block. The rest of the block was empty at the moment.

‘It’s allocated to part of the vexillation away at Coria,’ the soldier explained. They were given a pair of rooms in the apartment at the end of the block, which accommodated the centurion and provided some office space for the administration of the century. No one had used the rooms for months, and layers of dust were heavy, even if Philo was too cold, wet and tired to register his horror. The soldier got a fire going, provided a pair of lamps and some oil for light, and then left them to it.