The Eagles Conquest

'Thank you. Thank you.' Claudius raised his hands and the clapping obediently died away. 'And now I'll let Narcissus talk you through the details of my p-plan of attack. Narcissus?'

'Thank you, Caesar.'

The Emperor stepped back from the table and his trusted freedman took his place, a long thin baton in his hand. Claudius limped over to a side table and began picking at some of the elaborate pastries and tarts his team of chefs had managed to conjure up. He paid little attention to Narcissus' presentation, and so missed the sullen resentment of the senior army officers at being given their orders by a civilian bureaucrat, and a mere freedman at that. Narcissus was relishing the moment and looked thoughtfully at the model before he raised his baton to begin his address.

'The Emperor has decided that bold tactics are required to crack this nut.' He tapped the stumps of twigs which represented the British palisade on the ridge. 'We can't use the ground to the south because of the marsh and we can't get through the forest. The scouts report that thick briars grow right up to the edge of the tree line.'

'Did they manage any penetration of the forest?' asked Vespasian.

'I'm afraid not. The Britons sent out chariots to chase the scouts off before they could have a good look. But they report that, as far as they could see, the forest is impenetrable and there were no signs of any open trails. '

Vespasian was not content. 'Doesn't it strike you as suspicious that the Britons didn't want the scouts getting too near the forest'?' Narcissus smiled. 'My dear Vespasian, just because you were once ambushed is not reason enough to judge others by your failure to reco

There was a sharp intake of breath around the tent and the other senior officers watched for Vespasian's reaction to this outrageous attack on his professionalism, The legate clamped his jaw shut to bite off the outburst that rose in his throat. The charge was grossly unfair; he had been acting on Plautius' direct order, but it would be most unseemly to say so now.

'Then it would be wise to reco

'It's been taken care of.' Narcissus waved his hand airily. Behind him the Emperor left the tent with a plate piled high with delicacies. 'Now then, on to the details. The artillery train will be deployed in range of the enemy defences under cover of night. The army will be drawn up behind the Praetorian Guards, with the elephants on our right wing. The bolt-throwers will lay down fire on the palisade until the Praetorians and the elephants start advancing up the slope. I should think the mere sight of the elephants will u

Aulus Plautius quickly stepped up to the head of the map table. 'Thank you, a most succinct delivery.'

'I try not to say a word more than is completely and utterly necessary,' replied Narcissus.

'Quite. Now then, are there any questions?'

'If there were any questions,' Narcissus cut in, 'they would simply indicate a failure to listen properly. And I'm sure your men are as professional as they seem. There is one final item on the agenda. Word has reached me that there might be an attempt on the Emperor's life over the next few days. I have to deal with such rumours all the time, and I am sure this will prove to be another false alarm.' He gave Vespasian a slight nod and continued, 'But we can never be too sure. Accordingly, I'd be most grateful if you gentlemen could keep an eye and an ear out for anything remotely suspicious. General Plautius, you can dismiss them now.'

For an instant Vespasian was certain that his general was going to explode at the freedman's impudence, and he willed Plautius to do so. But at the last moment Plautius looked up, over Narcissus' shoulder, and saw Claudius watching them closely through a small gap in the tent flap as he munched on a pastry, oblivious to the flakes soiling his gorgeous imperial finery. The general curtly nodded to his officers and they quickly filed from the tent, anxious to avoid being drawn into a confrontation between Plautius and the chief secretary.

Vespasian waited by the map table, determined to have his say, and he deliberately ignored the warning look and beckoning wave from Sabinus who had paused briefly at the threshold. At last, only Vespasian, Plautius, the Emperor and his freedman remained.

'I take it you d-disapprove of my plan, Legate.'

'Caesar,' Vespasian began warily, 'the plan is excellent. You want to fight this war like a bolt of lightning, striking down your foe with one dazzling thrust that will overwhelm him before he can react. Who would not want to fight a war in this way? But… ' He looked round to gauge the expressions on the other men's faces.

'Please continue,' Narcissus said coldly. 'Your silence is thunderous. But?'

'The problem lies with the enemy. We are assuming that they will simply sit on that ridge and defend it. What if they conceal troops in the wood? What if-'

'We've been through this, Vespasian,' Narcissus responded, as if explaining something yet again to a particularly thick schoolboy. 'The scouts say that the woods are impassable.'

'But what if they're wrong?'

'What if they're wrong?' Narcissus mimicked. 'What if there are chariots hiding in ditches waiting to burst out on us the moment we approach? What if they have thousands of men hiding in marshes? What if they have secretly allied themselves to a tribe of Amazons to distract our men from thoughts of invasion and conquest?'

His mocking tone enraged Vespasian. How dare this fool show such contempt.

'The lie of the land has been thoroughly scouted,' Narcissus went on. 'We know where the enemy is positioned, we know how to play to our strengths and their weaknesses, and we have beaten Caratacus before and we'll do it again. In any case, we've issued all the orders so it's too late to change things now.'

Plautius caught Vespasian's eye and shook his head to forestall any more argument. The Emperor's word was law, for soldiers more than most, and there was no arguing with that. If Claudius wished to wage his lightning war, then no one could stop him – except the Britons.

Chapter Forty-Eight

The humidity of the last few days, and the proximity of the marsh and river combined to produce a particularly thick mist that lay most densely in the shallow vale between the two armies. Long before the sun came up and tinted the milky wreaths with orange, the legionaries had dressed and fed and were marching to take up their positions for the coming battle. From either side of the Praetorian cohorts came the mechanical clanking of the bolt-throwers as the artillerymen strained at the torsion levers and the ratchets dropped across cog teeth. Small braziers gleamed as incendiary missiles were made ready. Far to the right the elephants stuck closely together, thoroughly u

From a small grassy mound just outside the Roman camp, the Emperor and his staff waited for news of the battle preparations. Below them the mist blanketed most of the Roman armY and only vague snatches of shouted orders, drumming hoofbeats and the clatter of equipment indicated the presence of thousands of men. A continuous stream of messengers went to and fro as Plautius struggled to co-ordinate his invisible army. Fortunately, he had foreseen the rising of the mist and during the night had ordered the engineers to layout pegs to mark the start position for each unit. Even so, dawn came and went and the sun was well above the horizon before he was satisfied that the army was in position and ready to attack.