The Lost Knights. William Speir

we may need to do the same on this expedition. Our training is what could be the deciding factor in any situation that we encounter, as well as our loyalty to the Empire. Hail, Rome!” he shouted, raising his cup.

      “Hail, Rome!” his officers and Principals responded, raising their cups and taking their last drink of the evening.

      Gaius Valerius grasped the forearm of each of his officers and Principals as they filed out of the hall to check on their men. This was another tradition of his, and it signified his being one with his troops. This simple gesture helped strengthen the loyalty he and his subordinates felt toward each other. Titus Aurelius was the last to leave the gathering, and Gaius Valerius and he grasped each other’s arm and nodded to each other. They had served together for many years and respected each other. Gaius Valerius let go of Titus Aurelius’ arm and slapped his second-in-command on the back as he left. It has been a good dinner, and as the servants came in to clean up, he retired to his tent to get a few hours of sleep before dawn.

      The Governor saluted the Ninth Legion as it marched northward in the early morning mist. The sunlight glinted off the Aquilas (eagle symbols of Rome mounted on staffs), Vexilla (staff with the flags of the Legion and Cohorts), Signums (staffs with the number and name of each Legion and Cohort), and Imago (staff with the image of the Emperor) as they filed by. He held the salute as all six thousand Legionnaires marched past, followed by a company of cavalry and the supply wagons.

      He watched the men of the Ninth disappear over a hill in the distance. I wish I knew what they’d be facing on this expedition. Is one Legion enough? Have I weakened my defenses? I wonder if I’ll ever see the Legion and its eagles again.

      2

      117 A.D. – Caledonian Territory

      Southwest of the River Esk

      Gaius Valerius watched his Legionnaires marching north. If there’s one thing that Rome knows how to do better than anyone else in the world, it’s building roads.

      It had been almost three weeks since the Legion had left Eburacum and set off on this expedition. The Legion made good time and encountered no resistance on their march northward. The problem was: they didn’t encounter anything at all – no villages, no armed parties, nothing. It was as if the entire frontier had been deserted.

      The Legion stopped at several of the Roman outposts along their route, only to find them barely manned and preparing to be abandoned altogether. Orders had been sent out from the Governor to send most of the Legionnaires from the Caledonian outposts south to help with the main defenses, leaving only enough Legionnaires at the outposts to trick the Caledonians into thinking that Rome still had a sizable force within their territory. The remaining Legionnaires were also to maintain lines of communication should an invasion force be sighted.

      Legate Marcus Sestius had ordered the Cohorts to march in tight formation with flankers, and he wanted to make certain that each Cohort never lost sight of the Cohort in front of it. This would make it more difficult to ambush the entire Legion at once while keeping the Cohorts close enough to respond to an attack on another Cohort should one occur.

      The cavalry attached to the Legion had a number of functions on the march. Some of the troopers guarded the supply lines, while the rest rode well to the front and on the flanks of the Legion to make sure that the way was safe and to report any enemy sightings along the march. So far, they had nothing to report.

      Twenty-five days after leaving Eburacum, the Legion arrived at the place where the base camp was to be set up, but Marcus Sestius didn’t care for the ground at all. The area was too flat and too wooded to be defensible without having to cut down a number of trees and building some sort of fortification. He didn’t have that kind of time. This was supposed to be a reconnaissance expedition, not a campaign. He called a halt to the march and ordered his cavalry commander to send out a company to scout for a more defensible position.

      Several hours later, the cavalry company returned and reported. They had found a small hilltop about two hour’s march to the northeast which stood in the middle of a small clearing. The hill provided a more defensible position, while the clearing would make it easier to spot a potential attack. It wasn’t a perfect location, but the perfect location from a defensive perspective would also leave the Legion exposed and visible to the enemy for many miles. Marcus Sestius ordered the Legion to begin the march to the location that the cavalry had found.

      They arrived at the clearing late in the afternoon, and by nightfall the base camp had been established. The base camp was organized so the supplies were in the center of the hilltop with the Cohorts in a ring around crest. Cavalry was stationed between each Cohort, and guards were placed around the hilltop and in the clearing to raise the alarm should enemy forces arrive. All cooking fires were kept in the center of the hill so the supply wagons and tents would mask the light from a distance. The goal was to keep their presence from being known for as long as possible.

      The next morning, just before dawn, Marcus Sestius met with his senior officers to finalize the reconnaissance plans. The Fifth Cohort would deploy first toward Doune, which was the fort to the farthest north. The Third Cohort would deploy toward Camelon as soon as the Fifth returned. The Sixth and Eighth Cohorts would deploy toward Castle Greg and then move south to see if the enemy could be discovered. Once those two Cohorts returned, the Tenth Cohort would be sent toward Elginhaugh, which was the fort to the farthest east. The Legion would move eastward and meet up with the last Cohort at a crossroad between Elginhaugh and Camelon before moving south along the eastern coast and returning to Eburacum. The meeting ended, and the Fifth Cohort made their preparations to leave within the hour.

      Even though it was springtime, the air stayed cold at the base camp. The arrangement of the tents helped block the wind somewhat, but the decision to keep all fires in one central location made it harder to keep warm. Gaius Valerius understood the reasons for the layout of the base camp, but he missed having a fire close to his tent. Still, he suppressed the desire to spend his time near the center fires, knowing that he needed to set an example for his men. He spent most of his time inspecting the perimeter of the base camp and reviewing the guards to make sure that the camp was in the highest state of readiness that could be achieved.

      Toward the end of the sixth day after the Fifth Cohort had left, the clearing perimeter guards raised the alarm. Within the hour, the Fifth Cohort marched into the clearing and the safety of the base camp. Soon after that, a messenger found Gaius Valerius overseeing the changing of the guard and summoned him to a council meeting.

      “What did you find?” Marcus Sestius asked the Tribune commanding the Fifth Cohort when Gaius Valerius arrived at the council meeting.

      “Very little,” the Tribune replied. “We saw no sign of the Caledonians at all. Just abandoned villages and settlements. The fort was completely destroyed. Only the stone walls remained. Everything else had been burned. We found bones, but not much else. There’s no telling what happened to the rest of the garrison, but they weren’t anywhere near the forts.”

      “Could you tell how long ago the fort had been destroyed?”

      “Several months by the look of things. Rain had washed away most of the ashes and anything else that might have given us more information.”

      “Did you examine the deserted villages and settlements?”

      “Yes, sir. Like the fort, they appeared to have been abandoned for some time. Grass was growing in places that would have been dirt had anyone been walking or working around there recently. There was no evidence of fires having been lit for some time, and the huts and other dwellings looked like they hadn’t been repaired all season. There was no evidence of cattle, although smaller animals had definitely moved in.”

      “What does that tell you?” the Legion’s Prefect and second-in-command asked.

      “That the Caledonians have been mobilizing for months. Whether it’s to move south, or to move west, we don’t know. But they wouldn’t have destroyed the forts unless they either didn’t want us knowing what they were doing, or…” The Tribune’s voice trailed off and he looked disturbed. He