Rapax Pax: The Karus Saga by Marc Alan Edelheit

Author:Marc Alan Edelheit [Edelheit, Marc Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Karus pulled on the fresh tunic. He bent and picked up the damp towel from where he’d left it on the sun-warmed rock and dropped it next to his toiletry kit. He rolled up his soiled tunic and moved it over also. Karus had thoroughly rinsed the tunic of the road dust, dirt, and sweat before wringing it out and laying it on the rock to dry.

Around him, men by the hundreds were bathing in the river. There was laughter, the usual ribbing, splashing, and the occasional curse. The men were not only cleaning themselves up after a long day’s march, but also playing like little kids. It made him smile slightly, for he could well recall days just like this one as a regular legionary.

From one side to the other, the river was a hundred yards across. It was only around six feet deep at its center, with a muddy bottom. Though it seemed slow-moving, there was a deceptively strong current pulling the water along. Karus had swum to the other side and back several times. He had always enjoyed swimming. The water had been cold but refreshing, especially after such a brutally hot day.

“It’s a good thing we’re downriver of the camp,” Karus said to Felix, who had swum out and was now up to his neck in the river. By unspoken agreement, the legionaries of Fourth Cohort bathing around them had given both senior officers some space. There was not a man within ten yards. “I think you were the dirtier of the two of us.” Karus pointed downstream. “If I’m not mistaken, the water’s a darker shade now.”

“I call bullshit,” Felix said and then ducked his head under the water. When he came up, he scrubbed vigorously at his hair with both hands.

“No, seriously,” Karus said, still pointing, “look.”

“That’s just because the water’s deeper over there,” Felix said with a chuckle. “And like a proper infantry officer, I marched on my own two feet through the dirt today. I didn’t ride like someone else I know.”

Karus bent down and picked up his sword harness, slipping it over a shoulder, then grabbed Rarokan by the scabbard and slid the weapon home. Glancing down at his shaving kit, he felt his jaw, which was smooth to the touch, just how he preferred it. He hadn’t been able to shave for three days and the relief he now felt was vast.

Felix submerged his head again and came up a moment later, spitting a jet of water into the air. “I could get to like this. Perhaps every day we should arrange to end the march along a river. But then again, a proper bathhouse would be nice too. I can never get enough of the heated pool. It is relaxing.”

“We won’t see one of those for a good while, if ever,” Karus said, his gaze traveling to the west. They were a day’s march from the Siron, maybe a day and a half. For a moment, he wondered what lay ahead, beyond a struggle to cross the river.

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