‘Advance!’ Macro relayed the order, and his men marched out of the line, approaching the settlement from an oblique angle. Cato felt his heart quicken as they neared the blackened ruins, and a flighty ripple of nervous energy flowed through his body as he prepared himself for any sudden encounter. Just beyond the ditch, Macro halted the century.

‘Cato!’

‘Yes, sir!’

‘You take the first five sections and enter through the main gate. I’ll take the rest and enter from the seaward side. See you in the centre of the settlement.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Cato replied, and a sudden chill of fear caused him to add, ‘Be careful, sir.’

Macro paused, and looked at him scornfully. ‘I’ll try not to twist my ankle, Optio. This place is as still as a grave. The only thing left moving in there will be the spirits of the dead. Now get moving.’

Cato saluted, and turned back towards the ranks of legionaries. ‘First five sections! Follow me!’

Without a pause he strode up towards what was left of the main gate, his men hurrying to keep up. A rutted track led gently up to the huge timbers that formed the main gate and the fortified walkway that had once protected the entrance. But now the gates had gone, savagely cut from their rope hinges and smashed into pieces. Cato picked his way over the splintered fragments. On either side, the defensive ditches curved out round the low rampart and smashed palisade. The legionaries followed silently, eyes and ears straining for any sign of danger in the tense atmosphere that enveloped them.

On the other side of the ruined gateway the full extent of the Durotriges’ destruction was evident. The place was littered with smashed pots, shredded clothing and the debris of all that had made up the worldly possessions of the people who had lived here. As the men fanned out on either side of him, Cato looked around and was surprised to see no sign of any bodies; not even the remains of animals. Apart from small eddies of ash disturbed by the breeze, nothing moved in the eerie silence.

‘Spread out!’ ordered Cato, turning back to his men. ‘Search thoroughly. We’re looking for any survivors. Report back to me once we reach the centre of the settlement!’