FORTY-TWO: REUNITED

  “Vira was right,” Cassius said as he peered around a tree, stopped dead by the sight before him. Where they had left a depleted and injured century, they had come back to find a sprawling warcamp.

  Perched atop of a wide hill in the otherwise flat forest, a barricade of felled logs were locked into a wide palisade. Stakes formed a ring around the wall, differing lengths and angles to make any attacker struggle to reach it in a rush. Six towers were raised within the walls, legionnaires dutifully watching from them.

  Gates swung open and a troop of horsemen came out, armor gleaming in the early morning light as their banner floated on the wind, held aloft by the second rider as Vira cursed vehemently behind him. Cassius recognized the banner as it was the one that Vira herself had fought under outside of the nameless granary what seemed so long ago.

  “Is it your mother?” Valeria asked as she stood next to them, watching as the riders came closer to them. They were twelve in number and rode in two lines of six, with the leading rider riding with a lance pointed upright.

  “No. It is my older sister though,” Vira said with a soft exhale shaking her head as the horses came to a halt before them. The lead rider was free of her mount in an instant, landing gracefully as she tossed her lance to the man behind her. Her helm was off in the next moment and Cassius was struck by the radiant joy that poured off of Vira’s older sister.

  “Little sister! We feared you dead!” the woman shouted, leaping and grabbing her sister around the arms, spinning her with ease as she laughed with rambunctious joy.

  “Enough, Aurora,” Vira said, voice low as she slapped at the armored pauldrons as she was dropped by the taller woman.

  “Enough! No, it is not enough. We shall feast and drink to celebrate my younger sister being alive!” Aurora said, yelling over her shoulder to the eleven mounted nobles. Nobody stirred as Aurora stepped back, smile slowly fading away as she shook her head back and forth.

  “You have caused mother no end of grief. Dear uncle was certain you were dead and made no effort to not boast about it. It drove Silvia mad to hear his false lamentations, but you know how uncle is,” Aurora said. Cassius shifted foot to foot as Vira stiffened even further.

  “Silvia is here as well? Does that mean…?” Vira asked and Aurora nodded grimly.

  “Mother is waiting for you. Well, she will be once she knows you live. As will the others,” Aurora said, shrugging a shoulder and sending her platinum blonde ponytail bouncing as she started to walk back to her patient horse.

  “Others?” Vira asked, trailing right behind her sister.

  “The Equites are here as well, Victoria Equites Pertinax herself along with half her brood. Uncle Hadranius and a handful of other senators, two populii and one nobilis, with General Brutus Invictam of the thirteenth. There are plenty of important people for you to insult accidentally,” Aurora said as she grabbed her helm and mounted her warhorse again in a smooth athletic motion.

  “Is this the worst case scenario, or is it something else?” Cassius said, leaning in to whisper in Vira’s ear.

  “I think this has spiraled far beyond a simple exploratory mission. Four senators along with both matriarchs? I do not know what this is,” Vira admitted as she started to follow after the line of horsemen. Cassius continued his carrying of the heavy unending water barrel while Valeria followed in stony silence as the line of horsemen stretched out to either side of them.

  “Feels more like we are prisoners than returning scouts,” Cassius said, not bothering to whisper. Vira stiffened while Valeria merely grunted as they crossed the short plains and up the hill that the warcamp was placed on.

  Legionnaires stood at the ready everywhere he looked, but the amount of nobles he saw was distressing. A host of armored cavalry had taken an entire corner of the camp with elegant tents raised high above the standard legion two man tents that were shared on long deployments. Loud, boisterous voices could be heard and the scent of roasted meat wafted over as they passed by them and into the heart of the camp.

  Here the disciplined nature of the legions took over. Neat lines of tents, small fires with pots that would hold broth or stew if someone was lucky on a hunt or scavenging fresh food. Men and women repaired armor or sharpened blades, or did the thousand other things that were needed in a camp of this size.

  All of their eyes followed Cassius, Valeria, and Vira, a hint of excitement and dread in everyone’s gaze. It was enough to make Cassius uncomfortable, the specter of what waited for them overcoming his sense of homecoming.

  “Have you seen any of our century?” Valeria said, head swiveling back and forth constantly as they walked.

  “I only knew our file by heart. I was too new to know the rest well,” Cassius admitted. Valeria just grunted in annoyance as she couldn't find anyone she knew. Nobody spoke or called out to them as they were led toward the heart of the camp where the general’s tent would be.

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  It was there, but bracketed by a pair of monstrous tents of gaudy colors, all three of them dwarfed by the pavilion raised behind it in republic scarlet and tasseled gold. Shouting could be heard from a hundred paces away, loud and vicious and notably ignored by the legionnaires closest to it, who hunched over their work further.

  “Dismount!” Aurora ordered as she slid free from her own mount to land lightly by the trio. Cassius realized he was slightly taller than the woman, even in her full armor.

  “Into the troll’s den now sister,” Aurora said with a false cheer, slapping Vira on the shoulder and leaving her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder as she led them around the general’s tent and toward the massive pavilion.

  Around the tent were heavily armored figures, in a mix of noble and legion armor, but their cloaks weren’t the scarlet of the legion nor did they wear the crests of the noble families. The majority of them wore light blue cloaks and had halberds that rose above their heads with short swords strapped to their waists as they looked out from their helmets, long noseguards breaking up the structure of their faces.

  Then in the shadows were a few who wore cloaks of royal purple. These ones wore light leathers studded with metal and carried their own short swords, but there was an air around them that spoke of danger. No man or woman dared walk by them without bowing their heads and offering respect.

  [Praetorians] and [Varangians], they form the core of the senatorial guard. They should be only first tier, but their classes are combat classes and the skills they have access to are much wider than the legions,” Vira warned as they approached the front of the tent.

  A pair of the polearms dropped to block the entrance with a metallic clang as one of the purple cloaked [Varangians] stepped out of the shadows and approached their small group. He was a short man, thin with a wispy mustache and slicked back hair that gleamed unnaturally.

  “Aurora, as much joy as it brings me to see you here, the senators are in council at the moment and can not be disturbed,” the man’s voice was slimy, oozing with fake charm as he simpered at the powerful noblewoman.

  At that moment a woman’s loud cursing was heard followed by the clash of metal and a round of cheering. None of the senatorial guards flinched as the chaos behind them grew. Cassius could not see past the locked polearms, the flaps of the pavilion protected much from prying eyes, but he could have sworn the clash of metal was swords meeting one another.

  “Hostus, run and tell my mother that her wayward daughter has returned with a few legionnaires in tow. I am sure that they will be more than willing to break their…discussions, for this,” Aurora said, voice chilly and lacking any of the previously heard jolly.

  “My orders are clear. Barring the First Consul coming back from the dead, none may enter until the senators break from their discussions.” Hostus had added ice of his own as he saw Aurora’s unflinching resolve.

  “Then send a runner to Senator Hadranius, if not my mother,” Aurora said with a sigh of annoyance. Hostus shook his head, a hint of a smile on his face as he got to lord over the noblewoman.

  “None. Shall. Enter.” Cassius wasn’t even being spoken to and felt his blood boil with anger at the tone the smaller man used, sneering at them.

  “Are you intentionally dishonoring my house? Vira asked, voice snapping the tension between the groups, only for it to explode as the other senatorial guards leaned forward, violence in the air. Cassius slowly lowered the full barrel of water until it thumped to the ground.

  “Pack mule, why are you hauling around a barrel of water,” Hostus said, not bothering to answer Vira. Eyes were beginning to drift toward them, legionnaires bristling as one of their brothers was called a beast. Cassius bit his own tongue and slowly unbuckled his swords, placing them atop of the barrels, drawing ever more confused looks from the senatorial guards.

  “Dullard! What are you doing?” Hostus demanded, moving around Aurora to tap a finger on Cassius’ armor. It was only when the senatorial guard was next to him, did the man seem to realize the size disparity. Cassius was nearly a full head taller and broader across. Hostus’ dark eyes narrowed as he sneered upward at Cassius, sour breath washing over him.

  “What is it about you legionnaires that leaves so much to be desired. Hunks of flesh walking about without a single thought in those empty skulls. It is no wonder you need so many replacements,” Hostus said. Cassius froze as he pictured Antonius and the rest of the file, ripped apart by imps.

  Valeria stiffened next to him, anger palpable as she ground her teeth in desire to keep herself silent. Hostus just smiled at them, teeth white as malice gleamed in his eyes. Cassius was paying more attention to the wide array of thirteenth legionnaires who had all suddenly lowered what they were working on and were rising to their feet, hatred in their eyes at Hostus’ words.

  “You insult the Thirteenth. You spit on our dead, for that, there must be recompense,” Cassius said, loud enough for all to hear him.

  “I am a [Varangian], my father was a [Varangian] and his before him. You mutts are simply hounds scraping at the bones tossed from the table by your betters. Know your place or you shall be reminded of it!” Hostus snarled, his face reddening as all eyes turned toward him.

  Cassius had seen his sort before, as all people had. A braggart and bully elevated and granted a thimble of power that they wielded to the fullest extent of their ability. Drunk on their own hubris they normally found their guts spilling around their feet in the back alleys of Aurum when they spoke the wrong words to the wrong person.

  If Cassius opened the fool’s belly he would find himself attached to a crucifix before he could blink, a warning to everyone about violence in the camp. Aurora and Vira were both on the verge of drawing steel, which was evident what Hostus wanted, only an imbecile went around insulting the first strata, regardless of who their master was.

  Hostus had insulted the legion though, and to not pay that back was to dishonor the sacrifice of every brother and sister. And that was something that the master of the legion would not allow. Cassius thanked Zhang Wei again for leaving behind [Unyielding Spirit] as he looked beyond Hostus to see a lithe man wearing heavy furs with pale eyes who stared with burning rage at Hostus’ back.

  None of the senatorial guards had noticed when the man arrived, but the legionnaires looking at the commotion had and with a resounding beat, a half thousand fists slammed into breasts as a great cry rose.

  “Hail, Imperator!”