Germania, AD 16

[Rodion Romanovich]

Chapter 4

They continued the march before most of them had finished eating. Aemilius positioned himself in the marching column next to the men from the lunch, so he would get an excuse to speak to them. Gaining the sympathy of men like Fulvius would not be enough, he needed to make contact with the more introvert and comtemptful among them, find out more about their personalities, and learn to predict their moves.

He introduced himself to the man by his first name only, and the other man responded that his name was Cnaeus. A tall, thin man, he walked around with a constant contemptful half-smile on his face, and an urge to constantly joke. His jokes were however often presented with a too stiff or uncertain face, that his listeners often did not realize they were jokes until after too long time had passed for a laughter to be polite. He sometimes had attacks of twitching in his left eye, but despite his uncertainty it never felt like he had lowered his garde enough to be vulnerable to rude attacks from the more ruthless and raw conflict-seekers among them. Rather, Aemilius found the man's tics unnerving, on the verge of frightening.

"Are you from the city of Rome, or one of the smaller villages of Latium?" Aemilius asked him in a friendly tone, trying to start a conversation.

"Rome", the man answered in a stubborn tone, casting a quick contemptful gaze at Aemilius.

"I'm from Rome too", Aemilius responded in a suddenly stiff tone, surprised to find him having instinctively reacted to the cold response he had received.

"Good for you", the tall man responded, again with a short tone, then turning his face away, not quickly and uncertainly, but calmly and provokingly, while maintaining the contemptful smile.

Aemilius didn't know whether to continue trying, or to accept the conversation as over. Turning his face around, he noticed some of the younger men looking at him carefully, and now they met Aemilius' gaze with questioning eyes, refusing to side with anyone until the discussion had ended and it had become clear who was most worthy of their respect - or fear.

He was saved by a scream from the centurion.

At first he couldn't distinguish any words, but the group in front of him came to a sudden halt. He was taken by surprised and bumped into the man in front of him before stopping, met by a disapproving look from the victim.

"Where is the prisoner?" he heard the centurion roar, now finally capable of distinguishing words. "Where are the guards?"

Only now did Aemilius realize that they were gone. He could remember faintly how they had gradually drifted backwards in the column over the last few hours. The men had cast inappropriate looks at the woman, but too deep in his thoughts, Aemilius hadn't reacted to it back then.

Not even when they had passed right beside him.

The woman had not been particularly attractive, he thought. She had had a skinny face, with yellow and green-blue tones in her skin, a thin, long nose, and narrow, frighetened-looking eyes below a thin, straight blonde hair.

But it was now obvious what had happened.

There could only be one explanation.

"Deserters!" the centurion yelled now, pronouncing every syllable with force, almost spitting out the word. "Under my command!" He moved back and forth, unsure of what to do, until finally he made up his mind: "Split up into groups of five! Search the forests, find the deserters! Find them at all costs!"

Aemilius stood like frozen. Splitting up the centuria in smaller groups after it had suffered desertion? At a time when the first enemy patrols are expected to get closer? When we have nearly five hours of marching until we get to the camp we are expected to reach before nightfall? When finding anyone in these cursed forests is nearly impossible anyway?

Suddenly, he found himself moving out into the deep forest together with Fulvius, Cnaeus, and three others whose names he didn't yet know. He wondered why he had followed them, why he was suddenly wading through the ferns, but he had no answer. Mechanically, he kept walking forward out into the darkness.

(to be continued)