IXILLIUS SHOULDERED THE light kit he'd packed and stepped out of his tent into the cold of the pre-dawn morning. He didn't bother to try to hide his steps as he strode between the tents, any attempt at stealth would draw more attention than walking as if he was supposed to be there. He paused as he neared the edge of camp, quickly scanning the fortifications and confirming that all was correct before moving forward again.
He was almost surprised as a shadow detached from the tents and matched his strides toward the sentry. Unlike Ixillius, Brasus stepped silently in the soft snow. The Legionnaire on watch stopped them and scanned through the orders from Verus they both produced. He handed back the orders and stood away from the gate, allowing them to pass without a word being spoken.
They passed the Auxiliary at a slow run, a pace that Ixillius knew he and Brasus could keep for days, even with as little sleep as they'd had, due to how lightly they were traveling. He felt strange knowing he was going toward a hostile force with no armor, but this was admittedly easier for running. And he hoped that Verus was right, that they would appear less threatening on arrival, and could play at being deserters if questioned along the way. Ixillius glanced at the grim set to Brasus's jaw and, knowing his own angled the same, he doubted anything could help them appear less threatening or less like the Legionnaires they were.
A man stepped out of the trees to their left. He and Brasus drew their swords, turning as one and locking shoulders. The man held up empty hands, clear to see in the lightly clouded moonlight.
"You're going back for the Lady?" a young voice asked and Brasus scoffed and sheathed his sword.
"Go back to your tent, Dario," the Optio ordered.
"You'll need a bowman," the young man said, his tone defiant, and Ixillius sheathed his own sword after recognizing one of the Auxiliaries that Alex had been training. "I can help."
"We won't wait for you," Ixillius growled.
He turned and started at the same pace in the direction they'd been traveling. Brasus fell back in step with him, shaking his head but not arguing, and the young bowman joined slightly behind. Ixillius expected the young Auxiliaryman to tire and drop away after an hour or so, but the youth stayed at their pace. The trio stopped long enough to eat just past midday, Ixillius choosing to break so that they would eat easier and maintain their strength longer.
"I'm surprised at you," Brasus told Dario as they re-shouldered their kits and the archer simply shrugged.
"I never took to horses," Dario replied, not bothering to elaborate.
They settled into the same pace after the cold meal. Ixillius was determined to backtrack a good deal past where they'd been encamped when they'd been attacked, but not at the expense of running all of them so hard that they'd be useless in a fight. The hot knot of worry, rage and fear that squeezed his gut and snaked around his heart did little but fuel the cold planning and calculations running through his mind. On receiving the order from Verus last night he was a single fighter, now he had a vicious hunter and what he hoped was a decent bowman with him, both seeming in good condition. If Verus's idea didn't work, Ixillius had more than one secondary option for going after Alex, and now suicide might not be involved.
Late in the afternoon, they passed where Verus had ordered abandoned anything that wasn't immediately useful and were able to trade and resupply their food from deserters and scavengers as expected. The trio paid the required respects to the still-burning pyres before moving on. The time was well past dark before they stopped for the night. After another cold meal, they bedded as best they could and immediately fell asleep. The only thing that Ixillius heard enough to wake up for was Brasus lying down again, and only because the Optio was cursing at thieves under his breath.
"They're dead and our supplies are secure," Brasus stated in a whisper too quiet to wake Dario. "Go back to sleep."
***
As expected, the transition of placing Marcus as the Optio temporarily in command of the 6th and 4th – and maintaining the Guard Commander, Caeles Aelius – went seamlessly when Ixillius and Brasus were missing in the morning. As well, none objected to the 1st cohort's Optios holding the posts previously filled by their First Orders, and only one man did not agree to Quintus Abelardus being placed as Optio to the First File, making him – right now – second in command of the entire Legion. Verus ensured that he appeared to show the appropriate level of respect to the opinion before completely ignoring the opposition. He didn't yet fully understand the appropriate politics of being a Legate, but he was good at leading men, and right now that was more important than politics. In the morning, he'd selected Centurions and Optios he knew personally, and trusted to meet the demands of the posts, to fill any remaining, needed positions within the small command structure he designed.
He called the few commanders who were left of the Auxiliary to a meeting before midday, held at the tent of their most senior officer. At the end of the meeting, Verus was confident of the five hundred men, and that the commander who'd hosted the meeting, Heliodoro Idoya Luz, was the correct man to select to be his right hand for all things Auxiliary – in spite of the man's relation to Aquilus Naevius. Verus only trusted the new Auxiliary Legate as far as he could throw a purse filled with aureus, but that was enough for right now. The Auxiliary was camped inside the Legion fortifications by nightfall, as well, with plans already underway to include all the civilians inside as soon as possible.
Verus expected that the new Legion hierarchy would take three days to take unquestioning effect if all men were equal in capability to those he'd promoted, so he planned on a full eight days and hoped for shorter. The first day had occurred exactly as planned, and he expected little to interfere with the days to follow as the hostile forces who'd attacked them already had what they wanted: the destruction of the Legion's command, the humiliating theft of the Eagle, and Alex and Max.
Quintus interrupted Verus's foul line of thought by checking in to see if there were any further orders for the night. Verus smiled gratefully at his uncle and replied in the negative, dismissing his new Optio for the night.
It was amusing, the only objection to Quintus's promotion had been from Quintus. He'd never been an officer, although many had tried to promote him and failed, and he claimed that he was happier for staying away from the politics of command. When Quintus had tried to revisit the argument over dinner, Verus had waved away the argument by saying he didn't need Quintus himself, he needed the men that Quintus had served under and who Quintus had been in the presence of when they made the decisions that Verus would now have to make. Once Quintus believed his memories and not himself was what Verus had promoted, he'd been more than happy to serve as Optio. Silly, but effective, that a trick of language could finally convince a good Legionnaire to become an exceptional officer. Verus was still proud for achieving the promotion of the man where his own father, and his father's equals, had failed on each of their attempts.
At the beginning of the third day, the newly formed command structure finally began to fit the promise that Verus had hoped they would attain. By the end of the day, the command was shaping up nicely and the men he'd established were becoming entrenched in the routines that were required of them. That night, he finally held the appropriate rites for the dead that they hadn't yet been able to attend to. As planned, the freeness of the wine and the fullness of the meal lifted the low morale. He let the order pass easily through the encampment that the next day would be a day to mourn, giving the men a chance to recover from the wine.
After three more days, Verus was content with the command structure below him and passed out the orders that the next morning the march to Illyria would start again. The missing half of the Auxiliary had returned as well, accepting the command that Verus had set in place with little question, and – because of their voluntary return – no immediate punishment. The First File fell asleep that night with a smile that everything had come together so well a day sooner than he'd anticipated, and another five hundred fighting men stronger.
***
Ixillius paused at the edge of the road. He knew where they were, and what the next leg of the journey would be, but he needed a moment to convince himself his course of action was still a good idea. No messenger had come on horseback during the past three and a half days to provide news that Alex was returned safe to Minerva's 1st, so there was no reason to believe that this course of action was unwarranted.
"I say three for me," Brasus muttered, looking at the forest they were going to be entering.
"Three what?" Ixillius asked.
"Arrows. Before I know what's going on and think to defend myself. I'll look like a felled tree when I hit the ground, dead." The Optio was nodding, as if he were serious in the conversation they'd had many times in the past years.
"You usually say only two, so why three now?" Ixillius asked, adjusting his kit to sit better for hiking off the road.
"The archers here are better than back around Bonna," Brasus stated, adjusting his own kit.
"Let's test that theory," Ixillius replied, sharing a grin with his friend as their young companion swallowed hard. "So, what'll we say when we're challenged for being here?"
"That's easy," Brasus shrugged. "We'll just say we've crossed the border to check up on that stupid little stallion."
They hiked for the rest of the day, but nobody approached them. Ixillius made a point of having a large fire when they found a spot in the late evening to set up camp for the night. After they finished their meal, Ixillius was beginning to worry that they'd simply be attacked while they slept.
"Deserters usually stick to the road through this territory," a quiet voice stated. The owner of the voice was outside the glow of the fire. Ixillius and Brasus both sighed in relief as Dario stiffened in fear.
"That should let you know we're not deserters, then," Ixillius replied. Without turning, he slowly pulled out the purse from Verus and held the letter in plain sight above his shoulder.
"That makes your appearance here seem less of a coincidence," the voice sighed.
The man who'd been speaking barely made a sound over the crackle of the fire as he approached, then the cool metal of a blade touched the side of Ixillius's neck and the purse was plucked out of his hand. The blade was removed smoothly, causing no harm. Once the quiet footsteps retreated some distance, Ixillius could hear the letter shifting. After a few moments, the letter was crumpled and thrown and there was the clinking of the medallions followed by a string of profanity in German.
"I see your commander is not a gentleman," the voice growled.
"Not in matters he deems of a personal interest," Ixillius replied.
Ixillius knew the medallions well; he'd been looking at them at every stop on this half-mad mission. One was Alex's, the one that had been returned to her when she'd sold that stupid stallion, and the other was taken from one of the men who'd attacked the Legion. The first accompanied a threat that Avilius would be told Alex had been taken within the territory Ixillius was sitting on the border of, and the second clearly marked the attacker as belonging to the territory the king who'd bought the stallion controlled. The letter Ixillius had handed over clearly stated that Avilius would not get the medallion given to Alex, but he would get many just like the other the man now held if assistance in her rescue was not provided.
"I'll not heel like one of his war dogs. My warriors are not for Rome to command," the voice threatened. Ixillius grinned in relief, not able to believe his good fortune.
"Rome doesn't ask for warriors. Celsus Calix only has asked for help."
"Oh really?" The voice dripped with sarcasm.
"He asks that you help me, and I've been thinking on the way here. I don't believe an army is even needed where a few good men, possibly a few horses, and a bit of planning should be all that's required."
Ixillius turned very slowly, making sure his hands stayed visible and he stayed sitting on the ground. The man the voice belonged to stood well out of reach, lit clearly by the fire as he looked at the medallions in his hand. The man Alex had brought to the road to finalize the sale of the little stallion heaved a heavy sigh as he closed his fingers into a tight fist around the medallions, his expression dark and furious in the firelight. He crouched where he'd been standing, dropping to speak on a level with Ixillius.
"How many men?"