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  Julius sat silent for several minutes after Marcus concluded his speech. Finally, apparently finished mulling over the arguments before him, he spoke. “Marcus, your defence has merit. In fact, I must confess that you have swayed me – I believe that your involvement in the actions against Julianus Vestatian and the Sicambrii are justified. Consider yourself a free man, and go forth with my blessing.”

  “Thank you, Arbiter,” Marcus said with a slight bow.

  “Oh, my boy,” Julius said with a smile, “make me proud, and make those bastards rue the day they crossed swords with you.”

  Before Marcus had the opportunity to respond to his father’s encouragement, he felt an intense pressure rush up in his brain with the speed of lightning. As the pressure built up in his skull, Marcus’ vision blurred and faded to black. Before unconsciousness claimed him, Marcus felt the ground beneath give way and the wind whistle past his ears.

  Chapter VI

  Over a week had passed since Marcus and Alexandra had freed Antonius Ceresius from the Sicambrii prison when Domitian called another meeting in the hidden room beneath The Countryside Inn. As always, Marcus arrived early enough to find Vito and Domitian deep in discussion. Both men nodded to acknowledge his arrival, but made no pretense of intending to abandon their conversation. Antonius Ceresius was also present, propped up haphazardly in a chair leaning against the wall. He had made considerable progress in his recovery over the last several days, mostly thanks to Alexandra’s considerable healing skils, but a full recovery was still a long time coming for him. Much to Marcus’ annoyance, Antonius had healed enough to speak both coherently and at great length. Fortunately, his inability to walk more than a few feet under his own power made it easy for his long-winded speeches to be avoided. In fact, since Antonius had regained consciousness Marcus had not spoken more than a handful of words to him. In his efforts to continue what had become a proud tradition over the last few days, Marcus took a seat across the room from Antonius, pulling himself up beside Vito and Domitian.

  “...which should supply us with at least another six hundred troops,” Vito said, gesturing at a map of the province which was laid out on the table in front of him.

  “Ill trained troops at best,” Domitian said. “Armed with little better than stones and pointy sticks. We need an alternative to militia - how many legionaires do you think still survive from 1 Minervia and 30 Victrix?”

  “No more than five hundred,” Marcus said, unapologetically breaking into the conversation. “And to be perfectly honest, I would be truly surprised if even that many survive. Many of them will have gone into hiding, and undoubtedly a great number have been killed or captured in fights with the Sicambrii since Agrippinensis.”

  “Agreed,” Vito said. “Still, even if we can find two hundred, that should be enough. The best use of trained soldiers will be to train the militia as well as possible. We must keep in mind that we will have no more than a year to train the militia well enough to challenge the Sicambrii - and many of our units will have less time even than that. Any longer, and the Sicambrii will inevitably discover us, and we would be thwarted before our army can be properly assembled.”

  “Indeed, it will be quite a challenge,” Domitian said with a heavy sigh. “My primary concern is going to be maintaining an aura of stealth around our training camps. It would be devestating if some traitorous fiend hoping to gain the favour of Julianus Vestatian let word of a training camp slip to the Sicambrii.”

  “That is an issue we will have to deal with when the time comes,” Vito said. “For now, we will -” Vito paused as the door creaked open quietly. Alexandra slipped inside, looking sheepish at what she perceived as her late entrance. Vito continued: “ - for now, we will get this meeting started.”

  “My apologies,” Alexandra said, “if I am late. I see you have all arrived before me...unless Vincenzo has yet to arrive?”

  Domitian shook his head sadly. “Unfortunately, there has not been any word from him since our raid on the prison last week. I fear by this time that the worst has happened, and that we will not see Vincenzo again.”

  “I thought that might be the case,” Alexandra said, “for Mars has not revealed his fate to me, and I have not even heard rumours of him on the streets.”

  “Perhaps we should consider relocating our meetings,” Marcus said cautiously, “just in case Vincenzo has been captured and becomes...indiscrete under questioning.”

  “If that was to be the case,” Vito said, “this room would have been raided by now. In any case, I do not believe that Vincenzo would allow himself to be tortured for any significant length of time. He would either end up breaking free or simply resigning himself to death.”

  “Still,” Alexandra said, “perhaps in this case discretion is the better part of valour. We do not know Vincenzo’s fate, and we cannot know with certainty what he would or would not say under torture.”

  “Has Mars revealed any danger in our immediate future?” Domitian asked Alexandra.

  “No,” she replied, “but it is worth bearing in mind that our Divine Lord of Battle does expect us to be on our guard against many dangers, and would not necessarily avoid testing us for the simple sake of testing us.”

  “Of course,” Domitian said. “However, I tend to agree with Vito in this situation. If the Sicambrii were to raid us, it would have happened already...and even if they have been just biding their time, we are as prepared as we possibly can be for a surprise onslaught. Let us take our chances; fate has been kind to us thus far.” After waiting a moment to ensure that there were no objections, Domitian continued. “Now, to the subject at hand: we need to raise an army if we hope to oust Julianus Vestatian and the Sicambrii from power. That much, I suppose, is obvious. We have begun to formulate a plan which will allow us to do this, but any suggestions would be welcome. Vito?”

  “Of course,” Vito responded to Domitian’s prompting, clearing his throat and moving his map to the center of the table. “As I see it, our best course of action is twofold: we must find any surviving members of the provincial legions, and we must recruit and train militia. As you can see, I have marked off travel paths for each of us on this map. Our missions will be to follow those paths, setting up training camps and recruiting as many people as possible.”

  “What about veterans of all legions?” Marcus asked. “We may only be able to find several hundred who served under Domitian and I, but we should be able to find many more who have served with us in the past, or who have served with other legions and retired here. Even if they are not all suitable for combat now, they should provide an excellent source of training instructors.”

  “Good idea,” Vito said. “While we’re at it, we’ll also need to find as many blacksmiths as possible. Any recruit can whittle a branch down into a spear, but it requires special skill to create swords, shields, and armour...all of which we are going to need if we hope to overthrow the Sicambrii.”

  “Even if we are able to find and fully train enough men to rebuild the provincial legions,” Alexandra said timidly, “will it make a difference? Fully trained, battle seasoned soldiers were no match for the Sicambrii at Agrippinensis. What makes us think that even the best trained and best armed militia we can muster will stand a better chance?”

  “Because this time,” Marcus said, casting an insolent sneer at Antonius, “we will ensure that we have competent leader ship for our men. We shall make use of proper military tactics instead of rushing good men headlong to their deaths without concern for the consequences. Our downfall at Agrippinensis was not our training or our numbers, but the incompentent halfwit who decided to lead the battle.”

  “Spurious fool,” Antonius said disdainfully. “Had your men been half the warriors that you vaunted them to be -”

  “If you say one word,” Marcus growled, “just one single word which could even be construed as injurious toward those good men who you marched to their deaths, I will put you to the blade and make you die a more painful death
than that torturer could ever have devised for you!”

  “Insolent bastard! I am your superior, appointed by the Emperor himself. You owe me your loyalty, and I shall not stand by while you threaten me!”

  Marcus laughed, a cruel and horrifying laugh. “Pathetic fool, you shall stand by for anything I say you shall stand by for. You have no authority here.”

  “You owe me your fealty, damn you!”

  “I,” Marcus said as he rose to his feet, “owe my fealty to no man! Not anymore. Not since that day. You are nothing more than a figurehead now, and your orders hold no weight here. I suggest you become accustomed to that fact.”

  “Hold, Marcus,” Domitian said in an attempt to maintain a diplomatic atmosphere. “There is no need for us to be at each other’s throats. Antonius, what Marcus says is the truth. Your orders and demands hold no sway here. You are to serve a very specific function for us; you can choose to either accept that function and be the figurehead of our movement, or we can return you to where we found you. We have not been as forthcoming with your purpose as we should have been, and for that I apologize. I shall correct that error now: you, Antonius Ceresius, are to serve as a figurehead for us. You shall provide a public face and presence for us, and in that manner and that manner only shall you help us overthrow the Sicambrii. Once we have accomplished our goal, and order has been restored to our province, Marcus and I will petition the Emperor to have you put on trial for your egregious oversights at Agrippinensis. You will not hold power again, but that does not mean that your life will be horrible - in fact, if you cooperate with us, I think you will find that your life will become quite comfortable.

  “To answer your question, Alexandra, I agree that we face many difficulties in the days to come, even if we can train and equip an army without being noticed by the Sicambrii. That is one of the issues we hope to begin to resolve this evening.”

  “I have a suggestion,” Marcus said. “What if we utilize guerilla warfare? We could prove to be far more effective against the Sicambrii if, instead of rushing headlong into their walls of spears, we conducted swift, organized, small scale attacks against their forces. At the very worst, we would be able to seriously whittle down their numbers before facing them army to army. We will also suffer losses, but if the element of surprise is on our side, then we will have a far better chance of winning this war.”

  “I agree,” Vito said. “While it is inevitable that we will have to face Vestatian and the Sicambrii on open ground eventually, there is no reason we should not do our best to weaken their numbers beforehand. However, perhaps we are putting the cart before the horse. While it is good to have some general ideas of how to handle the Sicambrii, we should spend our time tonight focussing on building an army of our own.”

  “Indeed,” Domitian said. “Here is the plan which we have formulated thus far: Marcus and Alexandra shall travel west from Cologne, stopping at every city, village, and hamlet to recruit every able bodied and willing man. I shall travel south, doing the same, and will eventually reach Germania Superior. The General of their provincial legions is an old friend of mine. I believe that it will be possible for me to convince him to lend the strength of his legions to add to our own. Vito will travel between Cologne and Xanten, recruiting, maintaining his intelligence networks, and formulating long term strategies. We have a number of veteran legionairres who are willing to head east and recruit there - Marcus, one of those veterans has specifically asked to follow you. It seems that he fought under you at Agrippinensis, and has a particularly high opinion of your abilities.”

  “I cannot say that I can blame him for holding my abilities in high regard,” Marcus said with a grin, “but please tell me that this isn’t just some unseasoned standard bearer who has laid hands on a sword and hopes to seek fortune and glory on the battlefield. I really don’t need that sort of accompaniment.”

  “Unfortunately,” Domitian said with a hint of a smile, “that is exactly what he is. Well, not exactly what he is...he was actually a seige engineer. He also says that despite never participating in hand to hand battle, he is quite good with a sword. He gave me an impressive demonstration, and I think that he will prove to be an asset for you. I know that he is quite eager to prove himself to you - it seems that you are virtually his idol.”

  “Lovely,” Marcus rolled his eyes. “Well, if he is travelling with me he will quickly become either a skilled warrior or a corpse.”

  “Is that what will happen to me, too?” Alexandra teased Marcus.

  “I’m sure that we can find a better position for you than on the battlefield or in the grave,” Marcus said with a laugh.

  “I have no doubt about that,” Vito said with a sly grin.

  “Perverts, both of you,” Alexandra said, unable to hold back her laughter any longer.

  “Not at all,” Marcus said. “Just pragmatic. There are far better positions, even in the military, for an Oracle. Besides, I have absolutely no intention of risking your life on the battlefield."

  "Indeed," Domitian said. "Now, can we get back to the subject at hand? This matter is of some urgency, after all."

  "Absolutely," Marcus said. "I think this plan is a good start. What sort of time frame do we have for recruitment, and will we need to train those men that we have recruited?"

  "Yes, you will need to train them," Vito said, "but I recommend that you delegate such duties wherever possible. If you encounter veterans of the legions, set them to work as instructors. Set up training camps as far from civilized settlements as possible. Feel out the political situations in the towns you encounter. Remember that the safety of the training camps will rely almost entirely on how well you can protect the knowledge of their existence. If some backwoods villager with allegiance to the Sicambrii hears of a training camp near his village, it is a safe bet that the Sicambrii will be marching to raze the camp to the ground before night falls. I leave the details of arranging proper security to your discretion, but do be careful."

  Marcus nodded. I shall not let another innocent die,he thought, under the blade of a traitor. Not on my watch. If necessary, I will kill every single Sicambrii sympathizer that I find. Such a creature would be better off dead than alive anyway.

  "These maps will serve you well," Domitian said, sliding a scroll case across the table to Marcus, "as will the letters inside. Governor Ceresius here has signed several copies of a letter which states that you and Alexandra are acting as representatives of his will and serve the best interests of the Roman Empire. They should serve to provide legitimacy to you should any doubts arise."

  Marcus opened the scroll case and peeked inside. Sure enough, the case was filled with the series of papers which Domitian had described. "Good," he said. "Is there anything else which we will be needing?"

  "No," Domitian said. "The conscript who will be joining you, a fellow by the name of Dahmus Constantine, will meet you at the west city gate tomorrow afternoon. You and Alexandra will have the morning to prepare for your journey. This gold," he said, sliding a coin-laden purse across the table, "should be sufficient for you to pick up any supplies you need. I suggest you leave immediately after meeting Dahmus; if you travel without stopping, you should reach the village of Alealnar in less than a week. I recommend you attempt to set up the first training camp near there. We shall meet back here in one year; that leaves you with three hundred and sixty five days to recruit and train your men - no more, no less. If any of you have any questions, I suggest that you ask them now. The next time we meet will be to plan our final assault on the Sicambrii."

  The members of the assembly exchanged glances with each other, each one waiting for the other to ask for details. No questions were forthcoming, however. The path which was laid out before them was all too clear. The only questions which any of them could ask were the questions which none could answer. After several minutes of sitting in silence they all stood up in unison and left the room wordlessly.

  ***

  Alexandra and Marcus met
early the next morning, spending several hours combing through the city's market district looking for the supplies that they knew would be required. By the time the sun had finished its daily climb to the center of the sky, the pair had managed to purchase a cart and two horses, and enough supplies to fill the back of the small cart. Once they were satisfied that they would need no further purchases, they decided to head for the city's west gate to find their travelling companion.

  It took very little time for Marcus and Alexandra to find Dahmus. As Domitian had assured them, the tall, heavyset soldier was waiting for them at the city gates. He was astride a small brown horse, and wore a bulky cloak which barely managed to conceal the bulge of a shortsword strapped to his back. He nonchalantly approached Marcus and Alexandra as they neared the gate.

  "Good day, Sir and Madam," he said, bowing his head to them. "I believe that I am the gentleman whom you seek. It is my most humble pleasure to be travelling with you both."