Sword of The Boar by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 29.

Velunia fort.

“ Little tender wand’ring soul,

Body’s guest and comrade thou,

To what bourne, all bare and pale,

Wilt thou be a faring now,

All the merry jest and play,

Thou so lovest put away?”

Hanno stepped forwards and lit the first bier in the row of dead soldiers, the one under Pomponius. Velio looked sideways at him wondering where those words had come from, not the usual kind of words from a soldier’s mouth: a poet perhaps? When the time was right, he would ask, perhaps write them down himself, for another day. He moved away from the pyre once it began fuming with the stink of Pomponius’ singeing hair and incinerating body. The wool cloak, the tunic and the leather would go first. Then the metal armour would blacken and distort. He wanted to vomit at the stink. There was no glory in this. Nothing pleasant or glorious in the smell of a dead man roasting. Nothing to mark this part of Pomponius’ courageous act. His assailant had not looked him in the eyes. So busy keeping the north gate secure he fell, unable to defend himself, to a spear from an unseen enemy. It was the only thing worse than a burning arrow he could think of.

Afterwards, he sat with Hanno inside the principia, his clerks hovering in attendance. He reached inside, scouring for their names. ‘ Lucius, his personal batman; Atius is his military clerk .’

“Bring us the wine and the best maps we have of the fortification lines,” Hanno said laying down his helmet and gladius. Lucius poured the wine for him.

Atius unrolled a map replete with Hanno’s copious scribbles and drawn arrow marks on the table. There was a small note written over the winding river web lying a thousand paces to the north of the fort. The river that fed into the Bodotria itself. His hand had posted his most ultimate strategic questions. ‘All at once, or alternate cohorts east and west?’ The neat, printed words dominated the map.

“This was Pomponius’ personal stock,” he said ,” I think it’s only right that we toast him in his own wine.”

Velio swallowed Pomponius’ good wine and could not help wondering if there was much of it left and who was going to drink it.

“Now, have a look at this and tell me what you think?” Hanno said, stepping back,sipping the wine as though the funeral had been in another time and place.

Velio drank some more. The two soldiers looked at the words on the map, the clerks waiting. Atius looked like he wanted permission to speak. Velio nudged Hanno.

“Well, Atius, give us your wisdom.” Hanno speired.

“Begging your pardon sir, if it was me waiting in the last cohort off the wall, I’d be praying those barbarian bastards out there were busy slaughtering virgins or whatever else they do to keep their gods on their side.”

Hanno smiled and indicated the wine jug to both. He turned to Velio as they helped themselves, “do you ever let your clerks into your thinking on such matters?” he asked.

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