Chapter II
“Success consecrates the most offensive crimes.” - Lucius Annaeus Seneca
'By Zeus! How many times do I have to tell you, the riposte is to the left? You start with a left stroke and then a right and then when they parry, you strike left. What is the matter with you? You mastered that one before you left Italia! If you carry on like this I will end up concluding you're a drone like the rest of them!'
'Sorry sir, er... I mean Gaius, I just have problems concentrating. I seem to be learning how to fight all the time but there really isn't anyone to fight is there?'
We were standing outside the walls of the city, their sheer stone surface rising far above us as we circled each other in our practise. Dust rose in little clouds from the dry cracked turf beneath our sandaled feet. Meridius paused for a moment and looked at me. He looked puzzled as if wondering what was going on in my mind. He had spent a week trying to train me in more and more complicated swordplay on a daily basis. Both of us were bored stiff. We had both come to serve Rome and our legion, but all that had happened was the surrender of the city and a quiet rest without any action.
'No, I understand what you mean. I have a similar feeling myself. Tell me Aulus, you seem like a more educated man than most of the others. Were you educated in Rome?'
'I had a Greek teacher for a while before my parents died and then I was on my own.'
'How did you join the legion?'
'I was encouraged into it by Quintus Cerialis a retired Primum Pila.'
'Really? Old Quintus? He's very fondly remembered by this legion. He took on twenty men on a bridge to save another Centurion and killed them all. He lost an eye and was so badly wounded that they despaired of his life. He recovered in the end, but he ended up retired. He is still revered as one of the legion's greatest heroes. If he is your patron and helped you get into the legion, you are very lucky.'
'I wouldn't exactly say he is my patron but I certainly owe my presence here to him.'
I smiled inwardly. If anyone here knew how I had actually come to be in the legion, I would have died of shame.
An Orderly interrupted the sword practise. He informed Meridius that he was summoned to the command headquarters and my lesson ended.
As I walked back to my lodgings I almost bumped heads with my landlord as we both rounded a corner in opposite directions. I looked down at his plump smooth face, jostled by the passing pedestrians on the crowded cobbles. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and top lip, his breathing heavy as his fat chest heaved up and down. His generous rough, grey tunic, dampened in the heat, hung tent-like from his rounded frame. He smelled of garlic.
'Polymecles! How nice to see you. What time will we be dining? I must say I'm hungry already.'
'Master Aulus. I am most disappointed to tell you that dining will not be the pleasure that it once was in my humble home.'
The little half-Greek landlord appeared distressed by something and I thought I ought to show some sympathy even if I felt little.
'What terrible thing has happened? I can see from your face that things are not as they should be. What's the matter?'
'Sir, it is simply that we have no oil. There was a large shipment arriving this morning but it has not arrived and the prices are now beyond my modest purse. If you were to pay some rent, then I might be able to purchase some oil and instruct the cook to make a truly splendid meal for the great Roman soldiers who have so kindly settled in my humble home. Your protection is always so welcome.'
His speech came out at a speed that would have shamed a racehorse and a with a thick Pontic accent. I looked at the man with a wry smile, for I suspected this was just another call for rent and sympathy.
'My dear Polymecles, you know that we soldiers are humble and poor. How can we pay you if the army keeps us on short rations and pays us so seldom? We will of course give you a generous settlement when we leave but in the meantime, you must trust us. We are Romans, our word is good.'
'There is still no oil for cooking. Word has it that the corsairs have taken the whole shipment.'
'The corsairs?'
'Yes sir, there has been a group of them sailing almost unchallenged up and down the coast, raiding everywhere.'
'Have they always been so troublesome?'
'No Sir Aulus, they were on the side of the Great King before the war, but now he has been defeated, they support his illustrious memory by attacking Roman ships,'
'Pity we can't locate them then isn't it?'
'Many people know where they can be found. I think they hide in the coastal inlets to the west and come out to attack any ships coming to Sinope.'
'Maybe so, but there is no way to find out where, is there?'
'There are many of them in the town even as we speak. I saw a well known corsair in a tavern only a short distance from here.'
'When?'
'Only a short time ago,'
'Can you take me there?'
'Lord Aulus, there would be a risk to my person. I could never take such risks without some form of inducement.' He held out his hand palm up in the expectation of remuneration.
'If I were to cut out your tongue, that would certainly realise a risk to your person, would it not?' I said.
'But sir, I could not tell you about such important events if you did that!'
Polymecles inclined his head to one side.
'Maybe I should take that risk,' I said fingering the hilt of my dagger.
'Please Sir Aulus, no violence. I am only an impoverished landlord! I will help you for you are the great conquerors of the Pontic Empire.'
'We will get my friend Junius and you will lead us to where you think this corsair might be.'
'It will be as you wish O Powerful One!'
'You really annoy me you know.'
Polymecles grinned.
When we got to the tenement, Junius was busy. He was so busy in fact that he had to be called repeatedly. His head appeared through the window. He leaned out bare chested. He was sweating.
'Can't a chap get a bit of rest around here?'
'I need you!'
'That's just was Aripele was saying just now,' smiled Junius smugly.
'Ari what?'
'My companion. I don't take it kindly that you disturbed us.'
'Come on farm boy, there's a bit of adventure in the offing!'
'Down in a minute. It had better be good.'
The minute took half an hour and I was becoming more irritated by the second when Junius arrived, with a smile as broad as the Tiber across his lips.
'We can get some information if we follow our noble landlord.'
'What do you mean?'
'The corsairs have come to town and they're the ones ambushing the convoys. That's why there are no supplies coming into the city.'
'So what, it's not our problem.'
'No, but if we get some information on them maybe we have a chance of recognition and it gets us that much closer to promotion. I'm heading for Centurion even if you aren't.'
'You're as mad as the augurs at Saturnalia! Even if you captured a corsair there is no reason to suppose that he can tell you where his mates might be.'
'He won't have to tell us, but he will tell the Legate. They have ways to make a man talk you know.'
With a hint of ill grace, Junius re-entered the building and came out buckling his sword belt. We followed Polymecles through the streets to a dockland quarter at the north end of the city.
'It was here sir, where I saw him enter.'
'Where are you going?'
'Please Noble One, if I am seen leading you here they will send men to kill me. I cannot be here.'
'Nonsense. You stay and if you are wrong we will kill you!'
I grinned as I spoke. I think my age and inexperience made me see the entire escapade as a bit of fun. I did not foresee the seriousness of what the situation might become. Polymecles began to shake and his knees were trembling, but I was resolute, determined to have him show
us the corsair.
The three of us entered the tavern and looked around.
'Drink sir?' enquired the proprietor.
'Three cups of wine please and not the sharp stuff from Herakleia. Something drinkable please,' Junius said.
'All my wine is drinkable kind sir. I will fetch the best the house has to offer and you can judge for yourself,' he grinned gently as he spoke and chewed on some nasty local leaf-based concoction, which seemed popular with the locals. It was a preparation, which made them relax and to my mind made them idle. We looked around casually.
We sat at a table in the far left corner of the stuffy hot tavern. There were only a few customers because of the time of day. Most stayed away during the noonday heat and rested at home rather like in Rome. Nothing happened until early evening in Sinope when the heat began to die down. A dog barked outside but otherwise the only sound was a low murmur of a few voices and laughter from one table in the opposite corner. A fly buzzed next to Junius' ear and he swatted at it. I surveyed the scene.
'Which one is your famous corsair?'
'Please Exalted Leader of Men! Keep your voice down. These are very dangerous killers. They would eliminate us in a second like snuffing out a candle, if they knew we were here to spy upon them.'
'We legionaries have no need to fear such people. We can look after ourselves,' Junius said.
The barman brought the wine in a wooden jug and placed three wooden cups before his guests. We paid in sestertii, which the barman dared not refuse and we continued to look at the surrounding occupied tables.
'Well?' I said.
'I think it is that man with the beard at the far table, the one with the laughing men.'
'You think? You said that you knew who he was.'
'Yes lord, but my recollection for faces is not as good as it was when I was as young as you are, Exalted One.'
'Are you teasing me?' I said.
'Sir Aulus, nothing would be further from my mind. I would never do such a thing to the noble soldiers of Rome!'
'Definitely him then.'
'Yes I think so, perhaps.'
Junius stood up and as casually as seemed appropriate, strolled to the entrance of the tavern where he leaned against the doorpost trying to look casual. I stood up and approached the table. As I approached, all three men looked up. What I saw then was a look of total self-assuredness in their eyes. These were men who believed in themselves, their own prowess and strength, they exuded confidence.
I was disconcerted and drew my sword. I vaguely realised that this was not what I had imagined would happen. I wondered if I had been hasty.
My action was enough to make the three men stand and put hands to the hilts of their own weapons. They carried curved swords of a type that I had never seen before. Their weapons were much longer than a gladius and for the first time since I entered the tavern, I began to have real doubts. My perturbation did not show on my face but merely served to make me ready, in anticipation of what each of my potential opponents might do. This was what Meridius had trained me to. Anticipation is everything.
'You are a Roman,' the bearded man said in accented Greek. It sounded like an accusation rather than a plain statement and he scowled as he spoke.
'Yes and you are a corsair I am informed.'
'I am an honest sailor. You are a usurper and unwanted in this city.'
As he spoke, his two companions fanned out to either side and all three drew their weapons. Junius approached from the doorway as Polymecles scuttled through the door.
I wanted the bearded man alive but had no idea how to take him. I felt sure I could keep him at bay and maybe kill him but no one had ever told me how to disarm an opponent. It was the difference between theory and practise, I thought to myself. I knew it would reveal whether I had skill and talent or whether it was all my personal pipedream.
My heart thumped beneath my ribs. My mouth felt arid. My hands were a little moist with sweat, whether from anxiety or the heat in the small room, I could not tell. It held my attention for a fraction of a second only.
The man on my right was the first to move. He lunged at Junius with his weapon. Junius was a big man. A big target, but fast. A parry, and a step forward, a swift thrust and that part of the fight was embers only. Both my opponents used the distraction to make their play. Both raised swords at the instant that Junius engaged. The table between us flew towards me with a clatter. I backed up and parried to my left then my right waiting for an opening.
Junius withdrew his blade from the chest of his opponent. He bellowed a challenge and went for the bearded man. The second corsair stabbed at my stomach. Parry, riposte to the right. Sideswipe to the bearded man. Return to the left, point piercing flesh. Second man down. Blood, red blood, spurting from his throat. He clutched at the wound with denervating fingers and sank to the floor.
The bearded man was frantically trying to attack Junius but the death throes of his former companion who was twitching all over, distracted him. He tried to back away but I side stepped behind. I picked up one of the stools that had scattered when the table upturned. As my quarry raised his blade against Junius' sword, I thumped down hard with the stool and the bearded man crumpled in a heap. Junius looked at me. The whole fight had taken only moments. I felt sick.
'I would have killed him if you hadn't interrupted,' he objected.
'No good to us dead, is he?'
'No, that's true. Maybe I got carried away.'
I was shaking, I still felt nauseated. I had not killed a man before, except that one time in Crete and that was in a battle line. It seemed so different. I looked at Junius but saw no remorse there, only a smile of triumph and a few beads of sweat on my friend's upper lip. I somehow forced myself to cap my feelings and looked at the dead man. Had it not been for the blood he could have been mistaken for a living man, and not this lifeless heap of meat. So like life, yet so unlike. I tried with an effort to snap out of my thoughts quickly, for there was much to do.
We searched the two dead men and both had heavy purses with gold coins. We did not stop to count the coins and we found nothing else of use or value. The bearded man was groaning and I held my sword blade close to the man's chest while Junius sought rope to bind him. The barman was notable for his absence. We tied the bearded man's hands and supporting him by the arms; we dragged and walked him back to the century command point near the temple of Athena in the centre of town. The hungry and debilitated people of Sinope barely spared us a glance as we made our way across town.
Centurion Asinnius was crossing the square in front of the temple as we approached.
'What have you got there? Beating up the locals. It's a good way to get yourselves executed around here you know.'
'He's not a local, he's a corsair. One of the ones who've been raiding up and down the coast. We thought he might reveal where his comrades are hiding.'
'You thought did you? You two aren't supposed to think, only follow orders, that's how an army works. Nobody thinks, they just obey and then you get the job done. Here, you can leave him with me'
'Then Legate won't know it was us who risked our lives to bring him here,' objected Junius.
'Believe me sonny, the Legate isn't very happy at being here on guard duty, and I doubt whether he would look on two of his soldiers disturbing him very favourably either.'
'But we don't want to disturb him, just tell him we caught this man.'
'If you think you can burst in on a Legate of the Army of the Republic of Rome, Sonny, then why don't you try?' Asinnius swept his arm behind him gesturing the temple, 'I wish you both the best of Roman luck.'
Neither of us moved. We glanced at each other and then at the sagging bearded man between us but neither of us summoned the courage to disturb the Legate to make our report.
'All right you win,' I said, 'will you tell the Legate who it was that captured the pirate?'
'Yes I will, I do not need to steal other men's glory. Now get back to your billets and aw
ait further instructions. We've got a marching drill first thing in the morning, and I expect you two to be there.'
Asinnius led the stumbling corsair away and as we turned I heard Junius slowly say in a very quiet voice, 'Bastard.'
I looked at my friend. Junius was smiling but I knew that inside, we both felt the same. We had risked our lives for nothing and two men lay dead. What price death? It could have been either of us lying on that tavern floor, simple pieces of flesh now, no thoughts, no ambitions. The face of the dead man flashed in front of my eyes. I snapped out of my sombre thoughts as we rounded a corner and Junius began to laugh. Not a belly laugh, more of a snigger.
'That bastard Centurion will take all the credit you know. We may not get fame through this, but I just put my hand in my leather pouch and guess what?'
'What?'
‘I have enough gold here to buy a bloody tavern. I don't know what they were doing there but it must have been pretty lucrative if they had that much gold.'
'So what?'
'Don't you see? They were concocting a deal of some sort. We need to find out what kind of deal and maybe there'll be something we can discover that'll be useful if not to our careers, then maybe to our purses.'
'You could be right,' I said, beginning to realise the significance of my friend's words, 'We need to talk to Polymecles and maybe go back to the tavern.'
We quickened our pace.