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Lucas Kato
The color of mud
Part II
-Shorten the line little man-
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“Third Maniple!” Decanus Herius Lupis barked irate. “What is this tempo? I’m walking faster than you cunts backwards!” He glared at the slowly dressing up lines, the ground turned into a sludge that sucked your foot right in, hobnailed sandals and all, then ‘caressed’ your scrotum, alike an Asturia port whore in winter.
Hands cold as ice, fingers alike daggers, Kato thought opting to cut right on the sturdier rocky terrain at the edges of the mountain path.
“Backwards!” Decanus Lupis repeated again just as loud, demonstrating his skill to the mirth of the men.
“Hahaha!” Oppius Papus guffawed trudging in the mud alongside Kato, gold incisor shining in the noon sun and helmed head shaking.
“Papus ye daft ox am I amusing to ye?” Lupis grunted, stepping away from the marching column to avoid getting mud on his armour, unfortunately catching Kato doing the same walking outside of formation. “Kato ye sneaky cunt, what in Tyeus’s meaty spear are you doing out there?” He growled.
“Scouting sire!” Kato boomed, red scarf on his neck turned dark both from sweat and humidity. Marching in the cold gets ye hot.
Go plaguin’ figure.
“Is there something amiss there?” The Decanus taunted, as he approached him hopping from rock to rock.
“Ye can never be too sure Decanus!”
“Well I am, Legionnaire,” Lupis retorted, his stare turning right mean. “Step back into line.”
Ah, Kato thought stepping in the mud, say it like it is ye puffed up piece of shite!
It’s return into the darn cack.
“Found anything?” Papus asked when Kato started marching beside him again, a pained scowl on the shorter man’s face.
A case of dyspepsia.
Kato burped loud, tasting raw onions and stale hardtack.
“Rocks, some are pretty big,” He replied to his old friend.
“Could’ve told ye that,” Papus said, adjusting the helm on his head. He’d a loose strap at the cheek-guards that needed fixing.
Ugh.
“Hey Northman,” Kato asked the legionnaire marching in front of him.
“Name’s Belor. Being tellin’ ye that for a year!” The armoured back retorted. “Ye stupid fuck.”
“I’m illiterate,” Kato replied with a shrug, although he knew his letters sort of. “How long until we reach Kas ye think?”
“Fuck should I know?” Belor snapped at him. “I’m from Brugavik!”
“Where’s that?”
“Between Ludr and Bloden port,” Belor grunted, helm bobbing up and down. The march keeping its own rhythm. You plunged your foot in the sludge, brought the other forward. Got that leaden motherfucker out, then rinse and repeat.
Without the rinsing, Kato supposed.
“Yer country is worse than cack plucked out of the sewers friend,” He groaned, his cock and scrotum covered in watery cold mud.
“I ain’t yer friend Kato!” Belor growled, almost losing his footing and falling on the man walking in front of him. The Maniples marching two men wide, five and twenty bodies in length each, along the passage. The First Century had four of those being the largest.
“Kato I swear to Tyeus,” Decanus Lupis barked in his ear. “I keep hearing yer darn voice son and it grates my nerves!”
“Tree sire,” Kato replied evenly.
“What was that?” Lupis asked sounding perturbed.
“There’s a tree,” Kato repeated as slow as he could, but the Decanus snapped his head around, saw the trunk coming at him and stepped away at the last possible moment. The path widened there and a small copse had popped out of nowhere.
Decanus Lupis saved his head from cracking open, but didn’t appreciate Kato not warning him sooner. So that night, they got to chop wood again. When asked to pick a partner, Kato chose Papus much to the bigger man’s chagrin.
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“I don’t get it,” Papus griped, thick arms swelling as he swung the axe on the stone-like whitebark tree trunk. The thud shaking it all the way up, branches raining water down on their heads.
“What?” Kato probed, much as he’d done afore, taking his turn to swing the long-shafted axe. The tree creaking and trembling when he dislodged the blade to go at it again.
“I don’t get it,” Papus repeated landing a mighty chop that took a large piece of bark out, along with a good chunk of sapwood underneath it.
Kato sighed and paused to wipe his sweaty face with the back of a hand. They both were down to their undershirts despite the late afternoon chill.
Tired as dogs after chopping down four trees afore this one.
“We can bring more wood back and give it to Nigilia,” She was the cook following in one of the two wagons the Legatus had released to the First. One with supplies, the other tools. It brought a couple of civilians into the ‘fold’ and civilians always had ‘stuff’ with them. A perceptive man the Legatus. “Now the lads gathered what we felled earlier to get it to the Castrum, but we bring her some more, she’ll slip us a bottle of beer and some of the good stuff.”
Papus frowned mid-swing, still landing a fine chop that shook the tree, then got his axe back to stare at him. Kato sighed and made to explain to him, but he overheard a branch snapping from the woods to their left and paused in alarm. While near a ‘road’ of sorts, this was the North still and when outside of a city you were basically food for something, or other.
“Heard that?” He asked Papus and his friend smacked his lips unsure. “You didn’t hear it?” Kato probed, flinching when someone asked from the woods.
“Heard what?” The booming baritone voice sounding befuddled. A couple of birds of prey beat a hasty retreat to the sound of it.
Kato stepped to the side and away from the half-chopped trunk to get a good eye on who it was that had sneaked up on them. The branches snapped, something rustled, heavy boots walking slowly and out of the soaked foliage came the biggest Northman Kato had ever seen and he’d seen some right huge motherfuckers in his five and twenty years.
“Whoa,” Papus commented understandably impressed.
Aye, Kato agreed eyeing the huge armoured giant approaching them, a whole doe over his shoulders. A fuckin’ big one. The local horse-sized variant. He’d seen him around of course. A friend of the Legatus, but Kato usually turned the other way the moment Layton sauntered near. You don’t want big hairy dudes’ descent upon you for any reason.
“What you got there… big fella?” Kato asked treading carefully.
“It’s Layton,” The giant corrected him, looking down on him. That doe is alive, Kato thought a little freaked out seeing it moving dazed.
“Ah, apologies,” He mumbled taking a precautionary step back and almost stepped on Papus, as his friend had approached them all curious. Kato twisted away a little panicky, despite Papus not bothering with him.
“How did you catch it?” Papus asked looking at the trembling animal. Kato had to duck to avoid decapitation, when Papus raised his axe carelessly to rest it on his shoulder. It must be noted here that whilst Papus was a big boy, Layton was over a head taller than him and over half as wide.
This is probably more than a head, he thought, missing Layton’s response trying to find his footing.
“Why not kill it?” Papus asked, always eager to start a conversation.
Kato rose up a little embarrassed and blinked seeing Layton’s huge eyes staring at him.
“It bleeds,” The giant said and pointed at his custom made chainmail and the leather coat he sported. “Don’t want it smearing my clothes. I don’t have another set.”
Right.
“Surprised ye didn’t cave its head in with that axe of yours,” He said, not to be left out of the conversation completely. You meet a friendly giant, you suck his cock if needed to keep him happy.
“Haha,” Layton guffawed. “I used a hand. It goes down easily. No need for axe. Sometimes you can kill it outright with a punch,” He explained still grinning, showing plenty of sturdy white teeth that could chew through… well everything.
Kato cleared his throat and glanced at the half-chopped tree.
“We were gonna cut a bit of wood,” He said. “It’s dried up this, dead. Care to help us bring it down?”
“Ye can use my axe,” Papus offered, but Layton just reached with a large callused hand back, found the waking up big doe’s head and grabbed it. A twist and he broke its neck, Kato almost pissing himself at the sound and he wasn’t squeamish.
“No need,” Layton replied, never hurrying to answer and dropped the fully dead doe down. “It’s a small tree this. Easy to make it crack.”
Meaning he could bring it down with a good shove.
Kato pretended he wasn’t that impressed, but when they returned to the Castrum, dragging the laden with finely cut wood cart behind them, he rewarded the big Nord for his help with his share of the beer. It was the one bottle and Layton just glugged it all down in front of them, Papus share included, but they got to share the meat with Logan’s lads so it was fine.
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The morning found Kato and Papus marching after Decanus Lupis and the Centurion. Their maniple was picked to trek to Bear’s Mouth, where the mountain path ended, the slope heading for the lost in the heavy mist Kas. As with all things in the army, but mostly in the Legion, the trek lasted four hours of energetic march, as Centurion Agricola was a fast motherfucker.
You don’t want to march slower than the Centurion.
Decanus Lupis was adamant about it.
“What in Tyeus meaty spear is this shite?” He bellowed running briskly back down their lines. “Are you fucking jesting with me ye cunts?” Lupis eyed Kato trudging along, taste of that roasted doe still in his mouth and barked twice as loud. His tone schizophrenic. “ON THE BLOODY DOUBLE! WIT SMILES!”
He paused to suck a couple of big breaths and then trotted energetically after the Centurion leading the line, shouting all the time and his hobnailed boots splashing in the mud.
“ONE! AND TWO! ONE! AND TWO!”
When you’re on the end of a four hour march, you don’t have the knees to take the first watch. So Kato hurried after Belor clenching his teeth and with a face covered in mud.
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“You think the Crulls will attack the Legion?” Papus asked him while they were resting. The Centurion and Lupis were watching the road with a spyglass, but also the fields and forests afore Kas, the Burg unseen in the distance and lost in the mist.
“They are not easy to commit them cunts,” Kato replied with a grimace, cutting a dry blister off his foot with a dagger. The skin hard there and a dark yellow. He’d wrapped it with a cloth under the woolen sock, but it did fuck all. “You punch them in the mouth and they retreat up their mountain.”
“The Legatus will have to follow at some point.”
“After us ye mean? Aye. He’ll send Sula with the train first is the word, unless something happens.”
“Like what?”
“The Crulls attack.”
Papus puffed his cheeks out and looked at his calloused hands.
“What is it?” Kato asked him seeing his expression.
“You think Regia will let us back into the Legion?”
“We are in the Legion.”
“You know my meaning.”
“No I fuckin’ don’t,” Kato snapped glaring at him. “The Legatus will assume the throne soon as we get back and then he’ll reward us aplenty. I think he’ll keep the Third around. With Lesia having one, he’d want to keep the advantage.”
“Aye, ye might be right.”
“We’ll have food aplenty in Regia,” Kato continued. “Good gear for everyone and war machines. Coin in our purses. Half the lads in the Third Cohort are in mail. The smiths can’t keep up with the demand.”
“Anorum is a shitty town,” Papus commented.
“It’s fine, why do you care anyway? You couldn’t afford Asturia.”
“Hmm,” Papus murmured. “Is that the mute?”
Kato raised his head to watch the officers talking with the pale Northman.
“Aye, that’s him. Chills me blood he does. A right killer.”
“What does he say?” Papus asked.
Kato tied his hobnailed sandals and got up. He grabbed his legion helm and put it on. Secured the shield on the left side of his back, next to the haversack.
“Let’s go listen in, but don’t look straight at them,” Kato told his friend. “I can’t take another lashing.”
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By the time they reached the officers and ‘Gray’ Logan, they spotted a procession coming up the inclined road. Ten horses, at least five knights amongst them, the rest well-armoured Northmen.
“Fuck are they?” Kato blurted out and Decanus Lupis snapped his head around to glare at him. Kato raised his arms apologizing and Lupis grunted just as the knight leading the group started speaking.
“What is the Legion doing in Sovya?” The Knight asked, two Hammers engraved on his plate cuirass.
“What are you doing here?” One of the Northmen with Logan retorted with a nasty grin.
The Knight glared at him affronted.
“I’m Sir Ottelo Zaro, a knight of Dokamna,” He spat with a grimace. “Escorting the Lord Shield, Miles Lennox, of Cediorum on the King’s business!”
One of the armoured men, an older Lorian wearing an expensive engraved steel cuirass with gold details and antlers frowned, bushy white brows prominent on his dignified face.
Centurion Agricola stepped forward, his plumed helm under an arm.
“I’m Centurion Agricola, Primus Pilus of the first Century,” He said sternly. “First Cohort, Third Legion.”
Sir Zaro blinked taken aback and glanced at the still frowning Lord Lennox.
That’s the fucking Duke of Cediorum, Kato thought impressed.
That’s a lot of cack Tyeus dropped on our lap.
“There’s no such thing son,” The old Lord finally said breaking the awkward silence.
“That’s Lucius’ men!” A young Knight snapped standing next to Lord Lennox. “He’s here!”
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Lord Lennox grimaced and turned his eyes on the Centurion.
“Sir Zaro asked you something, you didn’t answer,” He said speaking in a cultured calm voice. “Will you answer to me son?”
“I’m tasked with holding the road to Kas open milord,” Agricola replied.
“For Lucius? He’s here then?” Lord Lennox asked, over the angry murmurs of the Carls present. The Knights appeared mildly amused with the Centurion’s words. “I shall speak with him.”
“The Legatus is not present milord.”
“He’s lying!” The young knight growled and Logan casted his cold eyes on him warningly.
“Sir William, if you please restrain yourself,” Lord Lennox advised him.
“I want them off my lands, Lord Lennox!”
The old Lord scrunched his wrinkled face, but kept his composure.
“Primus Pilus,” He said turning to the expecting and nervous Centurion. “I commanded the Legion for five years. Went to war with them, eh, it’s far into the past now, but still when the war ended Sovya was a Duchy, the High King offered as vassal to Lesia.”
Kato got about half of that, but he wasn’t stupid. They wanted them off their lands and this was a problem.
“Stand aside,” Lord Lennox offered. “Or retreat into your Castrum. I shall speak with Lucius, help him see reason.”
“Yourself milord?” Agricola asked. “The Legatus isn’t here.”
Sir Zaro scoffed at that.
“Where’s Lucius currently?” Lord Lennox asked.
“In Stag’s Doab milord.”
“You wish the Lord Shield to travel up the mountain pass—” Sir Zaro protested, but the old Lord cut him off.
“Sir William will come with me,” Lord Lennox said. “His Carls will escort us. The Jarl is on a war footing, we can’t walk into disputed lands carelessly son.”
“I can’t let a force flank the Legatus milord,” Agricola replied sternly.
“We are not his enemy here Centurion,” Lord Lennox said, although judging from the fury in Sir William’s face Kato wouldn’t take him on his word. “Even if I don’t go to him and wait him out, you can’t just block the Duke’s road. Think it through my lad.”
“Apologies milord, but I have my orders.”
“Centurion, I was tasked by the King of Lesia to make sure his vassal isn’t threatened,” Lord Lennox said his tone changing. “Here you are with your Century and your fully armed friends, trotting about in the Duke’s lands. I assume you’ve helped the Jarl lay ruin in the Crull lands already. I understand Lucius might feel aggrieved but he can’t do this and expect no reprisal. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I hear you milord, but I have clear orders from the Legatus,” Agricola replied firmly.
“He’s no Legatus!” Lord Lennox blasted him, before he caught himself and breathed once deeply, his face flushed. “He’s no heir, his brother was named King. He made a mess of his life for whatever reason and I feel for him, but this can’t go on. This ends here Centurion.”
“He’s my Legatus milord,” Agricola replied clenching his jaw.
“You wish to fight Centurion?” Lord Lennox asked him disgusted at his failure to get his point across. “Whatever happens after I leave, Lucius can’t undone it. There’s no coming back from this. I knew his mother for goodness sake!”
“I shall keep the road until the Legatus’ arrival milord,” Agricola replied tensely and Kato felt his stomach tighten up. Lord Lennox appeared deeply saddened at the turn of events.
“You keep your orders Centurion and I’ll keep mine,” He said and shook his aged head. “That’s not how I wanted this to end. Ah, curse it. Sir Zaro we return to Kas,” Lord Lennox glanced a final time at the officers, the Northmen in their group and the two legionnaires. “What Lucius started whatever his reasons may be, it won’t end well for him.”
“Centurion?” Decanus Lupis asked after the group had gotten away from them, down the road leading to Kas.
“How many men?” Agricola asked the man standing next to Logan.
“At least five hundred came from Kadrek chief. Got ‘em locals all riled up,” The Northman replied crooking his mouth in a grimace. “Kas is a big place. Folk might wish to earn the Duke’s coin.”
“Get the Century out Lupis, inform Decanus Gata to issue javelins. I’ll discuss a plan with him shortly, after I send a rider to the Legatus.”
“Sire,” Lupis saluted and turned around. “You two stay with the Centurion, escort him back.”
“What does this mean?” Papus asked him, a moment later seeing his expression.
“I think we just declared war on Lesia,” Kato replied frowning.
“Huh? I thought this was the Duchy’s lands,” Papus retorted.
“Them too,” Kato deadpanned and stared at his feet half-buried in the mud. Under a certain light they might as well be standing in a field of cack.
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First month of summer 190 NC
Battle at the Mouth
3rd Maniple, First Century
The south approach
-Fourth hour, late noon-
“SHIELDS!” Decanus Lupis barked hearing the Northmen’s cries as they came out of the forest again. The Legionnaires responded with a thunderous cry of their own, the first line planting their boots in the mud, square shields raised and blades clanging.
Kato felt his ears start ringing, Papus shield on his back shoving him forward, boots slipping in the mud. He glanced over his shield saw a Northman running his way all gnarly teeth amidst a mess of curly facial hair and clenched his mouth so hard his gums started hurting. The Northman turned at the last moment and fell on the shield next to his, but another came out of the mist and thudded on his shield, the iron rim banging on his helm.
He stabbed with his sword at the crack between the shields, Belor standing on his right shoulder, got something solid and felt unable to breathe sandwiched as he was amidst two opposing forces. Kato stabbed with his sword again, blade clanging afore connecting. He wounded his index finger somewhere, the cut bleeding.
The Northman dropped before his legs and he kicked his head in just to be sure, then turned his around, eyes ogling wild and bellowed at Papus furious. “GIVE ME SOME ROOM YE FUCK!”
Papus blinked unable to hear him, since the ruckus all around them was twice as loud as his strained voice. An axe landed on his shield, his arm buckling, something tearing inside his shoulder and he screamed afore stabbing at the culprit. Back and forth, men crying and yelling at the same time. Blood spraying on his sword and shield, the mud turning into a watery sludge and feet ever sinking in.
Block and push back. Right arm stabbing at a steady rhythm, most times not connecting and Kato not knowing where it landed, when it did. Gore and sweat, urine and fear. The line holding and Lupis hoarse voice booming for the switch when the Northmen backed away.
Kato stepped aside for Papus to take his place at the front, drenched in sweat and half-blind. His ears popped and all the sound came back from the rest of the battlefield. It made his head hurt something fierce. Kato wiped his face breathing heavily, gore mixed with sludge covering his hand. He found half-an-eye lodged at his guard cheek.
Thankfully not his.
“ANYONE HAS EYES ON THE FOREST?” The Centurion boomed from the back on cue, the Century spread to cover as much of the approaches as it was possible. The Northmen had attacked from two sides without warning. It was an uncoordinated attack, coming in groups of forty, fifty per.
“We don’t know what’s in there fuck’s sake!” Lupis cursed walking to the front and staring at the retreating Northmen.
“Where’s Logan?” Agricola asked him approaching. “Gata can handle the north approach, but you have trees and the bloody mist here Decanus. That’s good ground you think?”
For horses was his meaning.
No it isn’t, Kato thought, getting a foot out of the mud only for it to slowly sink back in.
“Not today,” Lupis replied backing him. “But if the weather holds and the night turns cold, early on the morrow it might be hard enough sire.”
“They aren’t getting through today. This was a piecemeal attempt,” Agricola reassured him. “They are running out of light.”
“Issue water sire?” The Decanus asked.
“The back lines only,” He replied. “Rotate them after. Find me Logan Decanus.”
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Ah, Kato thought glugging down water from the leather flask. They aren’t doing it again.
“How many?” Belor asked him wiping his blade from the gore.
“I didn’t count.”
“Wasn’t asking for your record ye stupid fuck,” Belor spat.
“Ye want me to count the bodies?”
“Either way we need to roll them down the slope,” Belor replied. “Make room again.”
There’s that of course, Kato agreed, but he wasn’t moving any stiffs unless he was ordered.
“Kato,” Lupis told him, just as he was about to take a nap on his feet. “I don’t see them coming back today.”
“Aye sire,” Kato replied a little guarded. The Decanus wasn’t to be trusted. “Yer probably in the right.”
“You know your letters some eh?” Lupis asked staring at the slope hugging the thick trees.
“Uhm.”
“I’m gonna send Logan into them trees first dark,” Lupis said and Kato didn’t like where this was going. “Need someone to understand the Nords and speak decent Common for a scouting mission. Thought of you.”
Ye rotten cack.
“Not really that fluent sire—”
Lupis stopped him.
“No need to play it modest Kato,” He told him and smacked his shoulder once. The one he’d hurt earlier. Kato grimaced. “It might earn you some points with the Centurion.”
“Assuming I get back,” Kato murmured.
“What was that?”
“Strolling in the dark,” Kato retorted. “Me favorite.”
Lupis frowned and looked at him strange. “You are really weird Kato. Right, I’ll tell the Centurion ye volunteered.”
“Huh?”
“It was optional,” Lupis explained and Kato glared his way none pleased. “But I don’t trust the Northmen right now, do you?”
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Logan looked at him and Kato stopped chewing on the dried piece of pork. Worked it in his mouth instead, the hard meat gritty to the feel and with no flavor. Something howled at the distance and he flinched panicked, but Logan put a heavy hand on his shoulder and brought a finger on his mouth.
Another howl answered nearer this time. Somewhere in the trees, the dark so thick you could cut it with a dagger. A moment passed then another. A branch moved, water rapping at the foliage. Kato smelled the pines and wet bark, the night cold. Summer was a euphemism in the North.
Logan grunted to get his attention. Kato turned his head and caught sight of a figure slipping through the trees. A touch of moonlight coming down and gleaming on chainmail, afore he heard it rustle.
Fuck.
Logan signed for him to stay quiet and Kato was fine with it. He’d left his shield and helm back to move faster, but now he was having second thoughts about it. Logan got up just as Kato was pondering whether he’d made a mistake and walked confidently towards the Northman closest to them, pushing the branches aside.
What in Tyeus…
The warrior heard Logan approach and turned around to see who it was.
“Yer making too much noise,” He admonished Logan and the mute grunted once afore running him through with his bastard sword.
Ugh.
The Northman went down, Logan’s left hand covering his mouth and the right working to get his blade out of his chest. Kato got up to approach him, but another Northman appeared in front him, looking towards the edge of the trees and the canyon’s mouth. The legionnaire froze, right hand clasping at his sword's handle, ever tenderly trying to unsheathe it without the man standing a meter away hearing him.
Logan returned and the Northman hearing the noise turned towards him, giving Kato the chance to unsheathe his sword. The hilt clinked on his plated armour, the warrior recoiled and twisted around axe swinging. Logan saw the gleam of the blade at the last moment and jerked away, putting a blade on it. The sword rang and bounced off, missing Kato’s nose for an arsehair.
He cursed, the Northman grunted and Logan who had reached them in the meantime stabbed the back of his head, the blade exploding out of the warrior’s mouth breaking his teeth.
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“How did it go?” Papus asked when they returned near their fires, eyeing Kato’s face and neck that were painted in gore.
“They are in the woods,” An exhausted Kato replied still shook. “Mostly gauging our numbers, I think.”
“Run into trouble?”
“Nah.”
“I’ll tell the Decanus,” Papus said to give him a moment and Kato collapsed on his knees. He was asleep a second later.
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First month of summer 190 NC
Kas front
Battle at the Mouth
3rd Maniple, First Century
The south approach
Second day
-Sixth hour, noon-
The Knight turned around, iron hooves digging at the dark ground and steel plate gleaming in the sun. The warhorse snorted, shaking its great head and started galloping again.
Fast.
Kato pulled out of the line, an eye on the Carls trotting up the sloped ground, the other on Lord Lennox’s entourage two hundred meters away and just outside the woods, watching the fourth assault of the day.
The first he’d committed his better troops.
“Get back in line!” Lupis barked seeing him turning towards the charging Knight. Kato glanced at Belor who’d gotten the lance through the neck and out of the ribs, the rider sneaking up on them in the confusion that’d followed the retreat of the Northmen’s previous wave. Lupis shoved him behind Papus and stooping grabbed a discarded shield determined on stopping the Knight himself.
Gods darn it, Kato thought seeing the onrushing knight approaching their flanks whilst the Carls charged the final meters to reach their thin line. Papus blocked a sword with his shield, the force shoving him back on Kato’s, who had to still both his legs to stop the shieldwall from buckling there.
Decanus Lupis used his shield as well, his face a tensed mask. He took the lance on it and made to turn it aside, but the darn steel tip went clean through and skewered his chest. The lance exploded out of the Decanus back going through his heart, gore and dark blood splashing Kato’s legs and killed him instantly.
Fuck.
The warhorse pushed him aside and Lupis went down taking the broken lance with him, the Knight turning his maddened horse around in a wide circle and unsheathing his longsword. He was going to charge at them again from the sides and there was no one else there to cover them.
They’d lost too many men.
Kato still pushing his shield onto Papus back, the legionnaire working his sword back and forth alike a plunger, swung his head one way and eyed Lord Lennox nodding to a couple of his knights to ride up the slope and then back the other to glare at the Knight with the engraved two-tailed viper on his chest approaching slowly.
Bucket of cack down the gullet, he cursed and slapped once at his shield to let Papus know he had to pull away. Whether his friend understood it, or not Kato didn’t know. He stepped to the side, the fight raging, swords clanging, shields bashing and hammers and axes thudding in a frenzy. Yells and cries mixed in between. The cacophony horrendous, but after a time turning into a constant buzz, a background noise that you could strangely get used to.
Kato banged his sword on his shield to draw the Knight’s attention away from their wall and he turned to look at him from atop his horse a little surprised.
“Drop it and run,” The Knight told him in his heavy Lesia accent and Kato shook his helmed head rejecting his offer. “As you wish,” The knight yielded and reaching on his expensive saddle unhooked a warspear. He sheathed his sword casually and switched hands on the spear, bringing the back of the shaft under his armpit.
Shite.
The Knight, face hidden behind his helm’s cover now, snapped his heels and started his horse going. The warhorse jumped on its powerful hind legs and catapulted forward. One second and it covered four meters, two and it was less than four away, black eyes huge and froth covering its mouth up to its nostrils.
Kato clenched his teeth hard, his muscles locking up, knowing he was about to get killed, or maimed at the very least. The latter probably the worst of the two options. He tried to think of something meaningful, but all he could come up with was that girl in Krakenhall months back, skin a light brown, hair almost orange.
A half-breed she was.
Spat in his face she had.
That cunt.
The knight raised his spear, man and horse one big moving thing seemingly impossible to stop, until they did. Got stopped that is. Layton stepped between him and the onrushing Knight, punched the freaked out horse right on the snout and snapped that long head back. Kato heard the crack when the horse’s neck snapped and the hapless animal went down on its knees, the stunned knight plunging with a tremendous thud on the –unfortunately for him- much harder ground, shook it like a falling boulder and then rolled away alike one.
More a heap of wrapped metal than a person.
Good grief.
“Logan says you need to shorten the line,” Layton said evenly, snapping him out of his shock.
“Tell the Decanus…” He paused remembering Lupis had just been killed. “Where’s the Centurion?”
“He’s injured,” Layton replied, now sounding sad. “Shorten the line little man.”
> It is impossible to decipher today why Lucius decided to push towards Kas that summer. Trupo who’d kept the records of the campaign, insists this had been the plan from the beginning. The Legatus wanted to reach as close to Regia as it was possible and reestablish communications with his family back home. While keeping a brave public face, it is difficult to imagine he hadn’t been affected to the tragic news he had received in so close a succession.
>
> Others suggest the Jarl wasn’t going to follow after him, had he gone for Eaglesnest. While Jarl David wanted to avenge his firstborn’s death, his people were exhausted from the heavy fighting of the previous two years and the old Jarl knew very well that the Crulls had recuperated their losses, whilst he hadn’t.
>
> So it is conceivable Lucius had turned towards Kas to entice Fetya into a larger conflict he feared was coming. A border city, so near Fenford Burg directly to the North, it made for an enticing target. Most importantly it freed the hands of Skuff Juter, his son had been with the Jarl at about the same time the Legatus had started his return journey. His warbands poured out of the coastal city of Rifjordal and marched towards Halfostad to cut the Duke’s forces off and block reinforcements coming from Kadrek later that summer anyway.
>
> Was Lucius thinking that far ahead?
>
> Perhaps his reasoning was much simpler. He just couldn’t remain in the North forever, knowing Regia was about to be plunged into chaos. The Legatus, as Nonus Sula wrote in his memoirs, was homesick.
>
> Whatever the case may be, Lord Lennox deliberated hard whether to attack Agricola’s sole Century and clear the road once and for all, or to allow Lucius to explain himself and his bizarre behavior. Queen Vacia, Lucius late mother had been a very close friend of the old Marshal, who found himself conflicted surely. His younger daughter must be noted here, was Saskia, the Queen of Lesia.
>
> Several factors factored into what eventually turned into a prolonged fight that lasted at least three days. Four according to Trupo, who wasn’t present though on this front.
>
> Firstly Sir William, the Duke’s son who was in Kas, either got blinded by hatred for the man that had killed his pregnant sister, or was under orders to take out Lucius if he had the chance. He pressed for a direct assault on the smaller force citing the many warriors that had flocked under his banner and the chance to cut off Lucius retreat, afore the Jarl’s force that surely worked with him came down from Fenford Burg.
>
> Lord Lennox dismissed the first argument not trusting the quality of the local warriors that hadn’t fought a war in twenty years, but realized there was merit in the second. Early reports had revealed that despite Agricola’s boast of this being a ‘Legion’, its numbers were smaller than he’d expected to face.
>
> Still after thinking it through, he decided late that night to wait for the force from Lesia to arrive before rushing into a conflict. So he ordered the Carls to set up a camp outside the city and wait for proper reinforcements.
>
> The old general went to sleep for a couple of hours and got up early in the morning, as was his habit, only to be informed that while he rested Sir William had taken the local force he’d managed to gather –around six hundred men- and attacked the legionnaires.
>
> Fuming he rushed out of the city to stop him, but it was too late. Sir William’s forces got mauled by Agricola’s legionnaires so badly it backfired for both him and Lord Lennox. The Lord Shield couldn’t allow the indignity of a small rebel force insulting the King of Lesia by making him appear weak before his vassal.
>
> He couldn’t allow also Sir William to return to his father thoroughly humiliated. So he begrudgingly set up a plan to grind down the legionnaires and test their mettle by rotating one attack after the other without over-committing. When he finally did he pushed one flank back and managed to cut off the Century from its Castrum.
>
> Unfortunately for him, the supply train was coming down from the mountain pass closely followed by Nonus Sula’s First Century of the Second Cohort.
>
> Since the now famed general’s Century was also escorting the heavily pregnant Lady Faye Alden, a worried Lucius had eventually decided to tag along as well. The Legatus would abandon command of the Third Legion to Tribune Veturius thinking the Battle of the Gorge, now in its third day, was on its last legs.
>
> Lord Bart would once again remind the Legatus that patience is -more times than not- the better strategy.