Arminius by Robert Fabbri

Author:Robert Fabbri [Fabbri, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Books Ltd

CHAPTER X

‘Will he come?’ my father asked as I rode, the following day, with Vulferam and his men into the skull-lined Grove of Donar, in the south of the Teutoburg Wald.

Dismounting, I ignored the question as the answer would only be speculation; my father did not press the point as he too realised that it was a foolish thing to ask. ‘Are all the tribes here?’

‘The Chatti were the last to arrive two days ago.’ He pointed to freshly severed heads hanging from the branches of many of the sacred grove’s trees. ‘The appropriate sacrifices have been made and the priestesses have declared the time auspicious for our enterprise.’

I hid my relief at that news; it went some way to relieving my growing concern about the magnitude of the killing that had to occur. ‘Then we shall take counsel with the kings and sub-chieftains at dusk this evening.’ I turned back to Vulferam. ‘Have messengers sent to all the tribes: I shall hold a council of war here, by this grove, at the setting of the sun.’

To the west the sun sank behind the hills of the Teutoburg Wald, casting the valleys and ravines into gloom. Great fires had been lit in and around the Grove of Donar, washing the underside of the overhanging branches with flickering, golden light and casting ghastly shadows on the grisly fruit that hung from them. I’d had tables set up in a square, around one of the fires, in order that no man, least of all me, may say that he sat at its head; all must be seen to be given equal honour if this fragile alliance was to be kept together. Adgandestrius still managed to find that his dignity had been slighted because the bench that he and his followers were sitting on seemed to be lower than the rest of them, but after I had swapped mine for his there could be no more argument and the council could begin.

We drank three full horns of ale in a toast to our gods, our forefathers and our women and then I stood and looked around the bearded faces glowing in the firelight; all of them, young and old, had looks of barely concealed expectation, like children on the eve of the winter solstice. Even Adgandestrius looked eager.

I welcomed each in turn. ‘I would know our strength; I will go around the table and ask each tribe how many warriors they have brought into the Wald. Please do not exaggerate the numbers; it’s enough that you are here, it doesn’t matter whether you have brought more or fewer men than your neighbour.’

Siegimeri spoke first, claiming eight thousand Cherusci and earning a disbelieving look from Adgandestrius as he stated that he had arrived with five thousand and then tried to claim that five thousand Chatti would be a match for eight thousand Cherusci. I gripped my father’s shoulder, restraining him as he tried to stand and rebut the assertion, which would have led, as day follows night, to a fight.

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