Iceni

Chapter 7-1

Chapter 7

Visions & RevelationsWhen Boudicca awoke, the afternoon had vanished and the sky was grey against black where the many camp-fires and smouldering remains of once fine homes had emitted billows of smoke. The same fires now served as sources of light to illuminate the smoke which was refusing to dissipate in the still air. The ravaged Colonia would be easily seen from afar, she realised, perhaps as little more than a hint of orange in the east, like a particularly fiery dawn, but it would be an obvious warning to all Romani who saw it of what had come to pass. Then a scent of succulent roast mutton and beef filled her nostrils and she started to salivate, realising how hungry she was. The same still air wafted the sounds of a harp gently picking out the refrain of the legend of Bronwen accompanied by a more raucous drunken chorus.

The Romani wine had flowed freely during her rest. As she shook the remaining drowsiness from her limbs, a gold flagon was handed to her and she gulped the fruity liquor to the dregs, thrusting the cup forward for a refill. From the sounds of the carousing around the Temple precinct, she knew she had some catching up to do, and from the earlier triumph over the Colonia, some celebrating to enjoy. As the wine took effect, sending a warm glow over her face and neck, she called for the Bard to play something lively from the Tain Bo Chuailgne and she laughed at the opening chords and retelling of the argument between Queen Medb and her husband Ailill over who owned the more possessions. As the song closed she noticed the harpist moving nearer and nearer to her. She peered under the hood of his robes to see if it was any Druid she might know and gasped to discover it was Lovernios. He passed the harp to another Bard before he sat beside her. The next harpist lacked the same understanding of the music and his interpretation of the wooing of Emer was flat in comparison to anything Lovernios might weave.

Boudicca looked at Lovernios in astonishment. ‘Well, madam,’ he explained. ‘You’re so constantly full of surprises yourself I just thought I’d demonstrate a few of my own skills.’

‘How did you know it was one of my favourites?’

‘A song of a marital row? Let’s say it was an educated guess.’

‘I’m impressed — more with the playing than the intuition.’

‘Thank you.’ He nodded, quietly accepting her praise. Boudicca had noted before how that sort of acknowledgement was often the way of the true artist who would disdain flowery acclaim in preference to more genuine appreciation. She suspected Lovernios derived all the justification he needed from the expressions of wonder being conjured all around whilst he played.

‘Is this an appropriate point for me to hand out the champion’s portion of meat?’

‘There’ve been a few fights between some of your more boastful warriors, but in order to avoid tribal rivalries the Druids advise you should award prizes to warriors from several tribes rather than just one champion.’

‘And those who completed the destruction of the house for me.’

‘That’ll have to be done separately, madam, if you’re not to provoke favouritism.’

‘Has there been any progress with the Romani?’

‘No one’s emerged from the Temple, but we know they’re still there because there’s coughing and sobbing and a baby cries intermittently. Any approach is still greeted with a storm of spears so they must be well equipped, with those at least. We ride just within their range now, hoping to entice all their spears to us so they might be left with nothing. Your warriors find it good sport to taunt them and fly in the face of such danger. However, I’d advise against a massed attack for now; too many Celtoi deaths so early in our campaign could prove disastrous for morale.

‘There’s no mention of surrender, madam, and I suspect they’re holding out in the hope of being relieved soon. There’s no other reason for them to want to survive in such a desperate situation. Surely they’re terrified by now and short of supplies?’

‘Do you think that even the Romani would’ve tried for a brave death in battle rather than this slow death, if those were the only two options they were aware of?’ Boudicca asked.

‘I do,’ replied Lovernios. ‘I’ve been concerned for a while now that help may be on its way from Lindum, and the reports from my Druids confirm my doubts. It’d make sense for the Romani to have also sent a rider to Suetonius Paulinus if they were sending one to Catus Decianus, as we know they did.’

‘Who?’

‘Suetonius Paulinus is the Governor you saw launch the attack upon Insula Mona — it’s common knowledge that he is at Insula Mona and the distance from here to there is at least thrice and thrice again what it is from here to Londinium, so it’s quite probable that rider’s were sent to Londinium and to Insula Mona, as well as directly to Lindum.

‘Nevertheless, we have to remember these Romani are creatures of rules and regulations. It’s doubtful that Cerealis Petillius, the chief of legion nine in Lindum, will attack us without his Governor’s command. However, this forewarning means he is likely to be gathering his legion together from all the little forts and scattered camps in which they’re billeted, ready to respond at the slightest notice. The command could arrive at any moment and he’d then be in a position to answer it immediately; realistically we should expect them here within a couple of days.’

Boudicca shut her eyes in exasperation. ‘So what do we do?’ she asked.

‘Well then, if we take a select force out to meet him at Durovigutum, which is where he’ll leave Ermine Street for the Via Devana to Duroliponte, we should be able to ambush his force from the advantage of the thick forests which sweep around that area. He won’t expect us to be quite so organised. Just as long as the Romani continue to underestimate us, we’ll continue to have the element of surprise.’

‘Then we could ride back in triumph,’ Boudicca butted in excitedly. ‘Bearing their heads as trophies, and the sight will quake these Romani here if they’re still holed up in their Temple. Then their resolve will fail and we’ll be totally victorious!’

‘I suggest, madam, we’re very strict about this. We’ll need to take a large force of our noblest champions only, our most elite warriors. This will be a very different battle from today’s easy slaughter. This will be a defeat of Rome’s finest, hardened professionals. As I said, this early in our campaign we can’t afford any mistakes — we must ensure we win. So far our objectives have been simple and our targets meek, but we’re committed now and we can’t go back to being the friends of the Romani. We must go on, and to do that we must kill. This town, this Colonia, is only a tiny part of all who must die if we’re to drive the Romani from our shores forever. I expect that over the next few days we’ll be joined by many more Celtoi who wish to cast their lots in with us and be counted amongst those who expelled this most insidious enemy from our land. I’m relying upon their coming for our numbers to swell, for although we’re horde, we’re still not enough.’

‘Perhaps a direct victory against a mighty Romani legion will show they’re not invincible, as once we thought? We’ll force some Celtoi into joining us to prove where their true hearts lie and that they’re not Romani supporters.’

‘Exactly madam. So I insist we take no camp followers at all when we go against this legion nine. No children, no audience, the minimum of Druids as translators, although we should be able to ensure everyone knows what their roles are before we leave.’

‘We’ll need at least one Bard, to remember the deeds of valour and sing them over to the tribes.’

‘Madam, I most humbly offer my services.’

Boudicca clapped her hand to her mouth. ‘Apologies, Lovernios mine.’

Lovernios feigned exaggerated surprise. ‘You’ll have to lead them, madam.’

‘But I’m needed here. And I want to be alone with Maeve for a while.’

‘There’s no way we’ll be able to achieve such tight control without your, and Andraste’s, authority. This is one occasion when we’ll have to have battle plans as strict as the Romani’s.’

‘As restrictive, you mean.’

‘Just for once we might have to play them at their own game. Use the best of both worlds, if you like.’

‘So no individual challenges between champions of tribes before the hard graft of war?’

‘They’d cut down our best quicker than we could blink, as they’ve replied to such challenges before. Have any Romani emerged from their Temple to answer the many challenges set to them today? It would’ve been a chance for them to win some glory whether they’re rescued or whether they die. No, it’s not their way, it places too much emphasis upon the individual, whereas the Romani live for the collective. We’d lose the flower of our tribes if we fought in our traditional way.’

‘So, we can’t insist they fight in our way, but they can force us to fight in theirs.’

‘That’s another disadvantage which we can turn to an advantage. They still expect us to fight in our own distinctive way. They’re a people prone to prejudice, and already we’ve been stereotyped along with all the other peoples they call ‘barbarian’. Displays of pride, like these before the temple, reinforce those beliefs. They’ve come to assume we’ll always start our battles by casting our very best troops against their short swords and impenetrable shields. They, on the other hand, keep back their most seasoned soldiers until the third rank, which is why their lines rarely crumble — their foremost troops have nowhere to turn to.

‘In the same way, madam, that we’ve come together as Celtoi, and not as individual tribes, it heralds many other changes in our warring. We could so easily be invincible just by learning a little from our foes. There’s no need to abandon everything we Celtoi hold dear.’

‘So, we can still use the forests to Find the right place to lay in waiting for this legion nine and transport our warriors so they fight fresh and unwearied?’

‘Artio will lead us to the ideal place to destroy any Romani, if we trust Her to do so. But that’s another reason why we should only take those who’ll be of real use in battle: if too many warriors pass through the old routes into the forests at once, then all the pathways will have to stay open for a long while, not just the ones we wish to use. That was fine whilst the Romani didn’t know about our gathering, but now they know we’re horde, it could be used against us.’

‘I thought only those who sympathised with our cause would be granted the ability to Find? I was under the impression that that was how we’d so far managed to avoid any Romani, or even any Catuvellauni or Regni sycophantic scum, from stumbling into our schemes.’

‘This would be a slightly different Working, madam. The previous Working had a, well, the nearest way I can describe it is a screen. That’s fine and sustainable when people are passing through it in ones and twos and small family units, but not when they’re in their thousands.’

‘Thousands? Lovernios, exactly how large a part of my force do you want detached for this ambush?’

He thought aloud. ‘Let’s see. According to the Druids’ reports, you should expect your ranks to swell to half as many again within the next few days, and we predict the horde to eventually be thrice the size it is now. But we can’t take anyone who’s newly arrived. And about a third are non-combatants. So, madam, if you count everyone here, we should take half the total force you have at present. And that half should consist of the very cream of the horde.’

‘That won’t leave anyone to guard the Temple, unless you Druids are planning to take up arms. We might as well just let the Romani escape now.’

‘Yes, it will,’ he spoke slowly. ‘First, as I explained, there’ll be more Celtoi joining us very soon. If half your force here were suddenly to drop dead, they’d be replaced within two, maybe three, days. Secondly, well, have you ever met a Romani matron?’