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Disclaimer:

The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended.
This story is copyright © 2015 – 2020 Julia Phillips. All rights reserved.

It uses some of the associated characters and situations that arise from the world called ‘Anmar’ created by Penny Lane, whose stories
are also copyright © 2010 - 2020 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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Alibi Omnino
By Julia Phillips

02 – Posterus

Cornelia Lucilla looked again from between the rough cloth, covering the opening that allowed light to enter her bedroom, and the edge of the shutter that she could swing to, to keep out some of the winter’s cool. She could see reasonably well, but still felt she herself would be unobserved by those outside.

This was the shortest day of the year, and she watched the natives as they made some preparations for their pagan rites. She recognised the girl creature that she had named Barabara, a rough equivalent of what Cornelia has understood the girl to say when they first dared to talk to each other.

Slowly, oh so slowly, Barabara was learning a little of the Chivan tongue and Cornelia herself was picking up some of the native language.

Unlike most of the females up here at the end of the road, in a place that had nothing whatsoever to offer, Cornelia was educated – to a certain degree. She knew that her Chivan was a modern version of what her grandparents had spoken, and that version was itself changed from the language THEIR grandparents and forebears had spoken.

Indeed, one of her teachers she had had when she was a young girl, suggested that the language now spoken had lost much of the formality of ancient Chivan.

And that the ancientest of the Chivan languages was not even the pure language of the vast Empire from which they all stemmed, and which had somehow been lost to them when the original ships crashed onto the shore of the land part they now called Pliff. They calculated that the shipwreck had been between eighty and a hundred generations ago, a long time in which the language had chances galore to evolve.

Some habits however still remained from those most ancient times.

“It was shocking and considered almost a crime” thought Cornelia, “for we pure Chivans to mix with mere natives.”

The common knowledge and behaviour within society was that natives were just things to be kicked aside when the Chivans wanted to go somewhere and one was in the way.

Judging by Barabara’s behaviour, the natives also tried to keep from contact with the Chivans, and her clandestine meetings with Barabara had been fraught with early mistrust and very tentative openings. Both were incredibly nervous that some of their companions might see them.

Cornelia felt like she had begun to tame one of the wild animals that you heard often but rarely saw as you went through the Forest.

But she could tell no-one about it.

With soldiery, however, and with loneliness in these far-flung outposts of the Chivan Realm, there was always going to be some intermixing, sometimes even voluntarily.

And the ‘mixlings’ that were produced three quarters of a year after these couplings were only very rarely acknowledged in polite society.

It depended mostly upon their accent and their skin colour.

Nearly all pure-bred Chivans had many native servants, some even as business managers, but all senior posts and government officials were pure-breds. Cornelia’s mother had once suggested that someone she didn’t like was probably an indigene, but that was privately between Cornelia and her mother.

“However, down in Trifluvium, then it ….”

Her thoughts were distracted by movement outside, movement that caught her eye through the tiny chink she allowed herself.

Yes, it was Barabara and yes, Barabara was collecting, one by one, the large firestones that Cornelia had ‘accidentally’ allowed to fall from the end of her dray.

… … …

“Dammit, woman! All you had to do was bring a dray load of stones for the fireplaces in our new building. A full drayful. Not half a drayful.”

The now-famous tones of the senior Tesserarius, Maximus Aurelius Bellarendi, might have reduced someone unfamiliar with him to a quivering wreck, but Cornelia had been here the moment he arrived those six long years ago, and knew that the gruff exterior hid a soft centre; hid it very well indeed.

This relatively new Optio might think that HE ran the place, but all here knew that in fact Maximus Aurelius did, and the Optio just thought the things that Max placed into his head.

All were also aware that Max, sometimes called Mad Max (but never to his face), had somehow become attached to this remote post, and had requested to be retained here when it came his turn to be rotated out. The old Optio, Cassius Remus Decarinii, had been surprisingly vehement in his support of that and so it had come to pass.

And so also had been born his nickname, for everyone agreed that you would have to be mad to want to stay here.

As Cornelia added: “Which is true. Very true. But then I guess I have to be mad too. Else why would I have married him?”

… … …

Cornelia was in a conversation with one of the ‘new’ wives, a wife whose man had been recently posted up here to Saxum Negra. She was explaining some of the habits and traditions that abounded amongst the Chivan community.

“You know such a lot, Cornelia. I bet you even know why we are called Chivans!”

“Well, as it happens, Pomponia, I do. When our ancestors first came to the shores of this part of the world, they crashed onto a marshy shore, an area that is now known as the province of Pliff. Some say that that name originated as some sort of joke, but I can only repeat what I have been told. There were two ship loads of survivors who escaped the storms that drove them there. A third ship had been lost, but that carried mostly animals and foodstuffs. They were led by an Admiral called Chivanus. It was as a result of the local natives' misunderstandings that we were called Chivans, since they thought that our race’s name was what was in fact the leader’s name.”

“My goodness! You really DO know! I am impressed.”

“I found it fascinating as a girl to learn as much as I could about why things and places received their names.” She laughed, an attractive tinkle. “Quite a lot of things got their names because old Admiral Chivanus was deafened in one ear during the landing and frankly he misheard almost all the names that were told to him!”

“Oooh! Do you know more of our history, then? I always wanted to know but my father refused to let me be taught.” Her face twisted slightly. “He could never understand why woman would need to learn anything outside of the household.”

“Ah! I have indeed met many of those sort. We have far too many of them about, even up here.”

Pomponia Domitia’s eyes glowed as she realised that some of her long-unanswered questions might now gain some response.

“Oh, if it pleases, Cornelia, please tell me of our history.”

Cornelia laughed again. “We don’t have time for all the details, even if we are here all our lives – and my young son, Callus Gaius, will demand a fair amount of my attention when his father brings him back from the dam works. But I deem we have enough time this afternoon for me to give you a framework, like a tapestry, and we can fill in more and more of the detail as time passes. What do you know?”

“Nothing! Nothing whatsoever.”

“Very well. I shall talk while you make us a hot drink. My leg is paining me today. I must sit for a while. There are three small sacks there on that wooden board fixed to the wall, the one that is holding up the cups. At the right end is a larger pot with a spout, so take a good solid pinch from each of those sacks, then drop each pinch into that spouted pot. Fill with boiling water and let it alone, apart from an initial stir, for a hand of minutes. Then serve only the liquid into cups and we shall drink.”

“What is this stuff?”

“I call it Bellaqua. Originally, I called it Bella Aqua, but that was awkward. It ….” She broke off suddenly.

Cornelia now looked wary, and deeply thoughtful. She went off in her head for a little while and Pomponia waited a breath or two before shrugging and starting to carry out Cornelia’s instructions. She had to stretch a little to reach up to the cup board, but managed it without a large amount of difficulty.

“Pomponia – I am about to tell you something that I have told no-one else. It may make you uneasy, or even want not to be my friend anymore. I need you to promise me, on your oath, that you shall never repeat what I am about to say to anyone at any time. Are you prepared to do that?”

“Cornelia, we have spoken every day for a month, and we have established a sweet friendship. I cannot imagine anything so dire that it shall disturb that.”

“Hmmm. We shall see,” said Cornelia looking very worried. “Pomponia, this drink was taught to me …….” She swallowed. “Taught to me by a native!”

Pomponia straightened up in shock at that revelation, it was so shocking that she nearly dropped the pot. But her eyes were alight as he said: “You talk with the natives?”

That light in her eyes though told Cornelia that her fears of being shunned were groundless. She laughed in relief and, with a mischievous grin, said: “So what shall we talk about first? Chivan history, or natives?”

… … …

Livia Vipsania passed the pot of Bellaqua across to Cornelia to pour another round of drinks. The five women were crouched in a cave further up the hillside above the new and slowly-filling lake. A lake that was filling slightly quicker now that the rains were falling in earnest.

It was four and a half years after Cornelia had revealed her secret to Pomponia, close to the normal rotation period of five years. And it was two after they in turn had included Livia into their little ‘circle’. The fourth woman present was of course Barabara. And the fifth was, all knew, not actually a woman, but had been living for years as one. Her name was Antonia, and she had separately struck up a note of friendship with Barabara.

In one of the few moments of silence between them, they could hear the incessant chant of the soldiers downslope from them. The women didn’t understand why the men didn’t find another tune to sing, for they were already bored with this one – they didn't really comprehend that it was a chant to aid the toiling soldiers, to help them maintain a working cadence.

“Dig, dig, dig for Rome,
Dig for state and dig for home,
Dig, dig, dig for Rome,
We have earned our beer and foam.

Dig, dig, dig for Rome,
Dig for hearth and dig for home.
Dig, dig, dig for Rome,
Split the rock and cut the loam.

Dig, dig, dig for Rome,
Dig for food to eat at home,
Dig, dig, dig for Rome,
Leave it flat without a dome.

Dig, dig, dig for Rome,
Dig for trade and goods at home.
Dig, dig, dig for Rome,
Build the roads on which we roam.”

There were a few other verses, but those were rarely heard.

And the rude versions were NEVER heard by outsiders.

The dam had been finished but recently, the gates had been tested, and only a trickle was let out through the wall to keep the original stream bed in use. The men were now working on building a cover for the aqueduct that would take the water to the top end of their community. No water was yet flowing in that aqueduct as the level of the water in the new lake had yet to rise to the required levels, but a chain gang of bucket wielders had tested it and it functioned correctly. There was the gentlest of slopes to encourage the water to flow the several milla from dam to the new enclosed reservoir intended to feed the buildings of the small community.

Today, the five women were together to have what they all imagined would be their last meeting.

Livia and Antonia were going to leave Saxum Nigra, the first as her man was being transferred down to Trifluvium. The garrison in general was being slightly reduced, but the civilian population was being increased. These Chivans were being hard-pressed to maintain their influence over the vast lands they had occupied over the centuries. In the peace they had brought, the native populations had been able to consolidate and grow rather than barely survive given the conditions and the tribal wars. So most were grateful for the advent of these aloof Chivans all those years ago.

It was obvious that Antonia had not much longer to go, she had been pining for the past year since her ‘sister’ died. Due to her nature, not many in the community wanted to spend time with her and she felt more and more an outcast. Cornelia was fully aware that Antonia had also been in love with Max, Cornelia’s husband. But she also knew that Max, whilst fascinated by her, would never have had any relationship with her, so Cornelia had taken to inviting Antonia once or twice a week, just so she could be near the man she wished to be with. The two of them had become firm friends over time.

Cornelia felt her belly once more – she was expecting their fourth child. Hopefully this one would survive as had the firstborn son, Callus. She felt sure that this one was also a boy.

They had given the floor to Barabara so that she could tell the story of the Chivans as one whole, before the group split up forever. They stood ready to correct her on her facts, but by then they had learnt not to try to correct her language. First Barabara would demonstrate what she had learned from the others and then the others would return the favour to Barabara.

“There was one day much generations ago when three shipboats set out for to sail from Rome on the big water – intending to build new city and province to be called Seembukka. Storm comes, big storm, third shipboat disavanishes, other two, containing peoples not aminals, crash on top of land. Still-livers build town in marshy land, call it Seembuk, then spread out through valley. First hundred of them, then thousand, then a few generations later, many of them. But early-livers find better place where river from mountain meets big river in valley. This better because raised on solid rock and not so bad in rains. Mountain river called Bellar, because no understand proper local word, and so new city called Bellarend. Becomes main city.”

The others were all nodding their agreement in encouragement.

“First explore only big valley, build good road and bridges and so grow. Some isolated traders arrive and tell of other places, so begins trade with faroffs. And more roads are built. Good knowledge comes with still-livers, who show us barians better ways – and so more food grown and aminals used better. Start more trade, particularly to North and West. One group explore coast to North-East, another explore middle valley to North, at end find here. Another group follow big valley up. Eventually, so far up Big Valley, that second main town required so build close to junction of roads and rivers and valleys, call it 'Jodium'.”

“Now Chivan area too big, and many lives lost building trade road through difficult stone area, so time to get bit smaller to allow people numbers to get bigger, before growing again. So is Chivan area today.”

She blushed as she got a round of applause and congratulations.

“Very good Barabara. You have all the essential parts of the story. And now it is our turn to be sure that we have learned from you. I shall start with my favourite – the Bellaqua.”

Cornelia went on to describe the herbs and barks to be used, and in which proportions, for a 'proper' brew of Bellaqua. She was followed by Antonia who described how to make a pain-relieving paste from local leaves and plants, and Livia went on to describe how to make a bitter-tasting concoction that was, however, marvellous at helping women cope during their 'days'. Finally Pomponia described the making of a poultice for fevered children.

Barabara did not have to make a single correction and so they all hugged each other, and with some tears, they parted, singly or in pairs so as not to draw attention to themselves. As always, Barabara stayed behind the others to put out the fire and tidy everything away. She found herself using the chant as she went about her tasks: “Dig, dig, dig for Rome …..”

No-one mentioned that this was also to prevent them being seen to be associating with a native.

… … ...

Four more years passed by. Another year to go before a normal rotation period came to an end.

Cornelia had indeed had a second son, who had so far survived. She was still friendly, but secretly, with Barabara and Pomponia was about to leave Saxum Nigra. The aqueduct was finally completed and the water was running as designed.

Except the town had not grown as had been expected, indeed the garrison strength was less than half that which had obtained during its heyday.

Max was absent for a three week period, which quite upset his younger son. He had loved being carried in Daddy's strong arms up to the dam and watching the men work the gates and so on. He also loved watching the soldiers do their tasks and finally his parents nicknamed him Digrome as he would always grin and sing along with the working man's chant. His elder brother, now nearing eleven years of age, took over the chore of taking him up to the dam, where he, Callus, learnt the gate testing routines and so on. This became Callus' assigned task and it wasn't long before the two boys were doing it regularly; and the soldiers let Callus do the work – it was good training for the boy and his muscles. The five year old younger brother happily kept generally still when his older brother was working, although a soldier always hovered nearby when the elder one was distracted by work.

Max went downvalley to Trifluvium with one companion, a specifically designated companion, one of the other Tesserarii, named Carpius Julius Jodii; for a conference where the officer, sitting behind his desk in an office in the barracks, and surrounded by a hand of senior officers, asked him what the minimum number of men would be that could be garrisoned at Saxum Nigra.

In the following conversation, for it was more of a conversation than an interrogation, Max learned that the Chivan Empire was in trouble as it had grown so big that more and more men were required to just control its borders. Currently the birth rate amongst the Chivans was not even matching the death rate, and they would as a consequence have to consolidate. Their furthest holdings up the big valley were over four hundred milla away from Bellarend and they had holdings just as far away but on the north coast of the estuary, stretching in the other direction. The second city of the Chivan Realm was named Jodium, and their holdings, at their zenith, stretched up the Great Valley for hundreds of milla beyond this second city.

Over thirty in every Century of their soldiers were employed building trade routes to such far away destinations as Tscharn and a newly contacted city state on the far side of the Savannah lands, about fifty milla from the edge of a large desert, called D'Venarg, or something similarly outlandish.

There was also a new trade route to a city of strangers who wore long robes, called something like Polpetter, one that had been exhausting to men and resources of the Empire. They had had to force the road through nearly two hundred milla of crumbly and uneven rocky ground, following the river Bellar to a large lake, where the land dipped the other way before rising again. After forging through this hugely expansive natural barrier, the river course rose through Savannah land and up the side of a great curve of mountains. This terrain was far easier and the newly built trade road climbed and dropped over the crestline before dropping further down to the head of a river where the town of Polpetter had grown, right at the edge of a more lush tropical forested stretch of land. (It was reported, amidst some not inconsequential amazement, that that further river dropped from this tropical forest down into jungle where it joined a yet another river that was more than 100 milla wide! This final huge river was also the one upon which the port city of Tscharn could be found, some five or six hundred milla nearer the final widening of the mouth.)

Max gave his opinions, was thanked for coming and was dismissed, all within less than two turns of the sandglass. But he still had to hang around 'just in case'. His companion then took his turn at being questioned.

Max wandered off to the West, not deliberately with some destination in mind, but simply because he had entered the town over a floating bridge from the East. Not much further on, he found another river, with another floating bridge. He could see the startings of another town on the far side, and he saw that a team of soldiers/engineers on each bank were beginning to build a raised permanent bridge.

After watching for a short while, he turned about and walked back eastwards but on a parallel road to the one he had used to get here.

He found himself in the Forum, and marvelled, after so many years up in Saxum Negra, at the diversity of stalls with wares for sale. He looked around, suddenly finding a desire to buy a little something for each member of his family. The choice was immense and he was surprised at the number of people all negotiating sales in a loud clamour. Max decided he needed some help and so he went back to the barracks to fetch his companion, to have some advice from Carpius.

The two of them were given the next morning free, so they both went back to the Forum then and found it was easy to use up much time looking at all that was available. Max refused to buy anything until he was reasonably happy that he had seen most of the goods for sale. Only then did he feel he could be confident of having found the best deal for his denaria. After all, a denarius was two thirds of his day's pay, so he wasn't going to waste such hard-won wealth. A denarius was split into 12 sub-denaria, which had become known as subs – pronounced, for some strange reason, 'soobs'.

The two of them decided that it would be an easier passage to their chosen stall for the first gift by skirting round the edges of the market where there were far fewer people.

“Hold!”

The two of them sprinted up to where three men were laying into a single other man, who was curled into a ball on the ground. A fourth of the attackers had just turned to reach for the ropes holding a curious cargo on the back of a covered wagon. A woman on the wagon was screeching in fear.

“Damned soldiers! Ware, men!”

Max and Carpius drew their glada as they ran towards the startled men. Two of these men immediately turned tail and ran, the other two angrily following suit after a pause.

The man on the ground slowly unwound himself, darting glances all round before reassuring himself.

“Enough woman! We need rest now, and silence shall help!” He turned then to the pair of soldiers. “I thank you for a most timely rescue, good men. May I present myself, a trader from Tscharn having followed along your most excellent roads to try my luck here in your homelands. My name is Roben and this noisy woman is my niece, Lizet. We hope to make a new life amongst such a vibrant people.”

“I am Maximus Aurelius Bellarendi, Senior Tesserarius, from the garrison at Saxum Negra. I and my companion here, are but briefly in Trifluvium before returning once more along the long and weary road back north. This is Tesserarius Carpius Julius Jodii.”

“Well, we are grateful that you both are here at this moment. It appears that some of the ... denizens, yes that's it … denizens of this town object to a slightly darker skinned trader from Tscharn attempting to sell a few small goods to pay for some more comfortable accommodation for a night or two. We have been advised that we should travel on, and rapidly. An instruction I shall not hesitate to follow, but perhaps less rapidly than these bandits would prefer. Our intention was always to journey downvalley to a city where this waterflow here joins a major one in a deep valley, a city called, we are led to believe, Bellarend. We understand that we have another week or two and an awkward … what do you say, I know it’s not waterflow? … river, yes, river crossing or two before we might reach our detsi... no, let me think … destination. Yes, that's it. Destination.”

“That is the capital of the Chivan Realm, and my home town. Your information is, however, correct. I dare say that you shall find many opportunities down there, many more than hereabouts. And your admirable grasp of our language shall doubtless aid you. As to why the locals here should so object to a foreigner trading, then I have no clue. I suspect that law and order is no longer quite so strict as it once was, and as it should still be. But do you travel with no guard?”

“Not so, Maximus Aurelius Bellarendi. But our dozen guards are enjoying a well-earned day off. I assumed that I would be able to guard our wares by parking our wagons here against the wall. And I assumed the citzenry would be less …. grasping. My brother travels also with me, and I allowed him and his wife, Elizet's mother, to have a few turns of the sandglass alone, to enjoy the marketing, the what do you Chivans call it? … ah! ... Forum. I regret my generosity now. And I had sent our personal servants off to find some lunch barely a quarter of a … campana …. ago,”

“Wagons! You are a large caravan then?”

“I have only two hands of the large vehicles, and some fifty or so fraena. We are not so large. Back in Tscharn we would be considered middle-sized.”

“By all the Gods, man! Your very presence marks you out as a target. No wonder the greedy ones sought to take advantage!” Max's mind thought quickly. “Tell me, Roben wasn't it?, have you some comfortable palliasses? Please clamber about your wagons and try to drop two onto the ground unobserved. Your niece might have to rig or hold some screen whilst you do so; also have a cover from this front wagon hang down, obscuring the view to underneath, but make it not so obvious what you are doing. Then we shall apparently go away, but shall sneak back and crawl under the wagons, and drag the palliasses to under this front wagon, and thereby shall guard you until your men come back. It would, by Jovial advice, be far better for your men to return, but we shall have to do the best we can.”

And thus was the trap set for the robbers, who did indeed return with greater forces, and within a campana. They were at first disconcerted to find that the returned servants now swelled the numbers of the defenders.

Then they were shocked to find two well-armed and seasoned soldiers attacking them unexpectedly.

This time, they received not only a rude surprise, but also not trivial wounds as rewards for their efforts. Two of them died on the spot, three others could but crawl away afterwards, and a hand were more than lightly wounded. The remaining seven ill-advised bandits all suffered minor cuts and bruises, but managed to escape just before some of Roben's guards returned, one of them having forgotten something. Quickly, some of these guards were despatched to fetch the others and a proper guard on Roben's belongings was set in place before much more time passed.

It was obvious to Max that Roben was a born leader, as he organised everyone in an efficient way, being all the time pleasant but both firm and fair. It suddenly flashed through Max's head that this man would be a chieftain of a native tribe before too long. He even managed to extract a promise from Max and his companion that they would return on the morrow, when the sun had hauled itself up above the rooftop across the street. Max smiled as the trader used the ancient word 'cras' instead of the modern 'morrow', and the Trader smiled back gratefully at the small lesson.

The two soldiers decided that they had had enough adventures for the day, and besides their weapons needed cleaning and the blood spatters would have to be removed from their clothing before it settled in. They made their leisurely way back to their lodgings in the barracks where they had barely time to set things to right before a messenger arrived asking them to report back to the barrack office room.

… … …

“ … so we thank you Maximus Aurelius for all you have done.”

Max was rarely surprised but he had had to sit there silently whilst the Centurions (two of them), the Cohort Majors (three of them) and the General had interrogated his companion about Blackstone and had heard about Max's discovery and development of the Stone Quarry, the siting and construction of the Dam, the organisation of the coal extraction mine and all the things that Max himself had done over the course of the many years he had been up in Saxum Nigra.

He jerked upright as the General harshly issued an order; everyone was looking at him so he knew the order was for him.

“Attention!”

He leaped to his feet, and gave a crisp salute, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

“We cannot permit you to remain in the front ranks of the Legions after your fifty-fifth birthday unless you are an experienced officer. We are aware of your preference for staying in Saxum Nigra and therefore, OPTIO Maximus Aurelius, you shall be there for another five years, as our gratitude for all you have done. Should you then wish to remain in the soldiery, then you shall have to descend here and be active in a more senior role before any further promotion. Should you then choose retirement, then your pension shall be the same rate of pay that you currently receive. As an Optio, you shall have an extra Denarius a day. I assume that your arrangement of retaining a week's pay down here shall continue?”

“Sir!”

“You shall carry with you a letter to the current Optio up there, and he shall return here with a Contubernium which shall not be replaced. We are happy that your soldiery up there no longer need to build and develop the community, so the duties shall become more of those of guards to the civilian coal-hauliers. And as maintenance engineers of course. Clear?”

“As you command, Sir!”

“Good! Carry on, Optio! The two of you remain in town for a further day tomorrow, in case we have need of you once more, report back here at meal times to keep in touch, then you may leave to return to your mountain the following morning.”

“Sir!”

“And you, Carpius Julius, you are now the Senior Tesserarius! At a denarius and a half per day. Congratulations to you both. Carry on!”

“Sir!” the two newly-promoted snapped out in unison.

… … …

The promotion party that evening was relatively subdued for the Trifluvium barracks, but was riotous when compared with what went on up in the remote Saxum Negra. Certainly Max's head was regretting that last glass when he awoke in the morning.

“Why,” he wondered sullenly, “is it that it is only the last glass that is so bad? Always!”

He swigged a huge mouthful of water, and then another when his stomach’s churning had subsided from the first.

He was soon, though, functioning normally and remembered to withdraw some of his funds for the spending that he had planned in the Forum.

The two remembered to meet with Roben at the appointed time and once again Max was surprised.

The covers of two of the wagons had been removed and he could see, closely stacked together, a hand of wooden wheeled things on each wagon. A third exposed wagon also had these items but only three of them were atop the wagon bed.

Down at street level, there were two hands of fraena lined up and Roben told each of the men to choose two. Once they had done so, Roben and Lizet swept back a curtain and took the fraena to two of the wooden items that were standing on the roadway. The fraena were hitched to the long wooden arms that stretched forward from the body of the contraption and then they were led forward.

“A Carrus Biga!” breathed Max. “I never thought I would ever see one! But hold! What are these strange drawings here?”

“I know not, Maximus Aurelius Bellarendi. I purchased twenty of these carriages from a foreigner in Tscharn. He said that a foreign ship had foundered and these were part of the cargo. I had hoped that your folk would find them useful.”

“These are what we Chivans used to call a Carrus. If drawn by two animals, then the ancients said they were a Carrus Biga. If drawn by three animals, then a Carrus Triga. Four, a Carrus Quadriga. They were, are, very fast and when they first appeared on a battlefield, the surprise factor won many victories. But soon opponents learned their weaknesses and we stopped using them many generations ago. I fear you will find few takers for them.”

“Oh well! It was always a gamble. But I will cover my costs if I just sell the wheels, I feel. From the little I have seen of your country so far, wheels are used for most every little thing.”

“Mayhap you are right. I'm sorry to give bad tidings.”

“It's not that bad! And any way, these two are for you. You mentioned that you have a long way to walk uphill, so I decided to gift these to my two rescuers and defenders. As a thank you.”

“Oh wait! That's too much. All we did was uphold the laws.”

“Nonsense. I refuse to have them back. These two chariets, as we call them, and the animals are now yours. You can get where you're going in half the time now, and far less tiring.”

And so it was that Max and his companion were the talk of the barracks when they returned for the midday meal. Many there wanted a chance to drive a Carrus, or Car as they were soon called by those around. Even the General was delighted to drive something he had only heard about in the history lessons. But none knew what the strange decoration was on the faces of the 'bodywork'. It was almost writing but it was funny stylised pictures instead.

A quick conversation with the General had Max taking the General himself and a legionary back down to meet Roben.

Where the General promptly purchased all of the cars that Roben had for sale. This resulted in much faster communications around the area for which the General was responsible.

… … …

So it was that Max and his companion travelled northwards once more, finding the going far easier than they had expected when they set out nearly two weeks before.

Indeed such was the rate of travel that Max had an idea as they descended the incline in the road at the start of their little valley. He calculated swiftly and realised, with a great spurt of pleasure, that they would be able to make it to the old abandoned fort for their overnight stop. He realised with a shock that they would be doing the return, uphill, journey in two days travel rather than the five days hard slog they had originally allowed for. Indeed, with these marvellous cars they might even make it in less than half a day on the morrow.

… … …

“Something big has passed through there, and often.”

“Aye. You have the rights of it!”

“Let us explore a little then, surely we can spend a campana or two investigating, Optio? Maybe we shall find something useful.”

“Very well. We shall take the cars in and hide them from the road, tether the fraena and go on on foot. No more than two campana before we return.”

“Yes, sir!”

They had arisen with the light after spending a pleasant night in comfort under a still intact roof, despite the fort being abandoned fifteen or so years beforehand. They had been surprised to find still some produce, now gone wild of course, in what had been the vegetable gardens and the bracing waters of the tumbling river were a pleasant way to wash.

They harnessed the animals to the cars and set off again through the trees to the cleared road where their pace picked up once again.

They passed the spot where Max had first met Div …. “I wonder what happened to him. Haven’t even thought about him for years! No, it was Din, his name” … and then followed the road as it climbed across the great rock face up to the upper level of the valley.

“This is definitely the way to travel up here! When I did it last, it was a wet and drizzly day which made the slope seem never-ending and miserable.”

Max grinned wryly as he remembered that he had never actually walked nor marched up this bit. They had all snuck rides on wagons when he first came up here. He didn’t share the though, he just grunted in reply.

They made it to the foot of the lofty peak there, where the road did an abrupt turn and then headed arrow-straight up to the township. The peak nicknamed the Street Helm.

It was on the north side of this peak that they saw the wide and well-used game trail.

The beasts were tethered and the cars hidden from casual sight when the two men set out on their exploratory mission. They took swords, shields and lances with them and moved confidently but carefully along the track, looking and listening to all they could see and hear.

They found no other living creature even though it was still obvious they were following a well-used game trail. But they heard much wildlife around them as they advanced.

There was a branch in the trail, but they continued along what seemed to be the main track and were soon leaving the peak over their right shoulders.

They came across a more swampy bit and hopped from tuft to tuft to get to the other side.

“Hold!” commanded Max.

“”What is it, Optio?”

“There, through the trees to the left. I recognise that white rock with the blasted tree atop it.”

“What is it? How do you know it?”

“It’s hard by the route to the old stone quarry we used to use before we found the one up towards the side vale above Saxum Negra.”

“Before YOU found it!” gently corrected Carpius. “So there is a track for humans over there then?”

“Aye. We can always return along that, if it becomes necessary; I suggest it will be quicker than by the way we came. Now I have our position, let’s see where that branch in the game trail leads.”

They retraced part of their way and then followed the branch they had spotted earlier. This led them round the foot of the Street Helm. They crossed a stream that obviously drained the upper flanks of the peak and continued around the foot of the peak, where the lighter vegetation made passage a little simpler.

They saw another game trail lead towards the peak itself and decided to follow that. There was a narrow cleft which they cautiously entered, and the track swiftly mounted the flanks. Carpius was leading and continued onwards and upwards. A few tricky passages eventually led them to a sort of flattened piece, narrow but relatively long. Their legs were glad of the rest afforded by terrain that was not quite flat, but certainly not as steep as the last pitch they had struggled up. Many game trails led on upwards from this ‘level’ patch, but most were too small for the humans. There were two that would warrant further investigation but Max shook his head.

“We shall return. We must get back to the cars now, for I wish to circumnavigate this peak before we forge on home.”

“As you say, Optio,” said an obviously disappointed Carpius.

And so they descended once more and made their way round the foot of the peak, finding themselves surprisingly quickly back on the road again, at the upper limit of the cross-rockface stretch.

Even so, Max cursed. “We have been more than three campana on this expedition. We shall have to hurry.”

The two found the vehicles and the fraea where they had left them, and swiftly harnessed the animals to the cars. Once they regained the smoother surface of the road, Max’s impatience seemed to infect the animals as well, and before they knew it, the two of them were bowling along the road faster than either had ever travelled before. The animals were obviously enjoying it and it must have been two or three milla before Max made them all slow down, to give the animals a breather, for there was still some distance to go. Why they weren’t even out of the forest yet.

… … …

“What has happened?” grated out a shocked and pale-faced Max.

All his imaginations of how they would be received had come nearly true, and it was with wonder and welcome that the two men had arrived in Saxum Nigra that evening a month ago.

Once the shock about the cars had settled down, once the Optio had been informed of his new orders, once congratulations had been showered, then Cornelia and Max settled down to a private, smiley and sentimental evening. She (and the boys) had been delighted with their presents and Max felt so proud to have been able to cause such delight.

A week later, the departing Optio headed south taking with him another two hands of soldiers, leaving now thirty six men under Max’s command. He soon found a sensible routine for the efficient use of his command, and everyone settled down once more into their mostly unexciting lives.

Until, a month to the day after his return, Max was hailed by his son Callus, his son with the white-green face, his shaking son.

“What has happened?” grated out a shocked and pale-faced Max, his gut already telling him this was not good news.

“Mater, and little Digrome. He was outside the cave Mater was in, playing with some stones and sticks. They … he … she tried to protect him. She did Pater. She flung herself. Pater, it was HUGE. The fraea all panicked. It swooped towards Digrome and Mater threw herself over the child. The kraak took them both. Mater screamed as they went up and blood started pouring down. She cried out something like ‘Bara Bara Bara Bara’ and she threw the boy down, to save him I suppose. She kept screaming ‘Bara Bara Bara’ and then half-way through that word, she... she... she went silent.”

Callus was openly crying now, and Max’s knees felt like water. Only iron determination kept him upright.

“The boy?”

“I … I … I … couldn’t find him, Pater. I tried. I really did. I promise, Pater. I promise. I only found blood.” Callus was barely capable of speaking more as he choked up on his emotions. “I tried so hard, but …...”

“Take me there! Now.”

“Let the lad stay, Optio. I saw it myself, I will guide you.”

Max looked over at the soldier who he now realised had lent his strength to Callus for the boy to come to report.

“Thank you.

“Callus, stay here. Drink some of that brew your mother was so fond of, it did seem to help her. That Bellaqua stuff.

“Let’s go soldier, and tell me what you know. How long ago was this? In which direction did the kraak leave? Is there the faintest chance …….”