Free Marius' Mules V: Hades' Gate by S.J.A. Turney

the various store outposts that Cita organised before he left: Nemetocenna, Bavaco and Castrum Segnum are roughly on line for Treveri lands. Move fast and deal with them quickly is the general's plan. He doesn't want to be distracted from his Britannia campaign for too long."
    The silence that greeted that last comment spoke volumes about the two new tribunes' thoughts on the subject.
    "Come on. Let's get to it."
    The three men strode across the harbour and through the gate in the town's ramparts. The four legions and their horseback supply train were assembling on the wide swathe of muddy grass to the east of the town. Three legions stood in perfect order while the last escorted the supply beasts and their handlers into position. It looked woefully light and under-equipped for a campaigning force. So long as Cita's planning and organisation held, the trip should be easy enough though. Two days between each supply base and the final one on the edge of the Arduenna forest that was home to the Treveri. In a week's time they should be deep in the heart of the midden.
    Caesar and his officers sat ahorse at the front of the legions, ready and waiting to move out. In their absence, Sabinus and Brutus would move the fleet and supplies to Itio and Labienus would keep control in Morini lands with the remaining two legions. It was a remarkably simple setup, given the circumstances, and Caesar might well be right about one big gesture being enough to keep the natives in line for now, but Priscus would have been happier with two or three new legions raised first.
    With a sigh, the Tenth's new legate and his tribunes started down the hill to take their command.
     
    * * * * *
     
    "What was that?"
    Priscus turned in the saddle to look at Furius, whose voice had cut through the general hubbub of a marching army and drawn his attention.
    "What?"
    Furius pointed into the forest on their left and Priscus once again cursed the damned Gauls, the Belgae and every other race that revered woodland spirits. The journey from Gesoriacum had been mind-numbingly dull and each day, at the end of the march, the officers had sighed their relief and congratulated each other on a peaceful journey and the easy respect with which the locals had treated the passing army.
    Priscus had not felt relaxed or congratulatory. He had spent time in the streets of both Capua and Rome and he knew that easy reverence for what it was. In the cities, men looked at you like that and you immediately checked your purse was still there and scanned the nearest alleys for their mate with the knife. This was the quiet subservience of a people with something to hide.
    No amount of warnings had made the other officers pay any attention.
    And now, having passed the final supply station and moved along the edge of the great sacred forest of the Treveri, Priscus could practically feel the revolution in the air, crackling like a spark of lightning.
    And people constantly seeing things in the forest didn't help. Caesar had a few mounted scouts with the column, but they remained in the open, unable to penetrate deep into the trees and so steering well clear.
    "It's just another deer, likely as not."
    "I don't think so, sir" Furius replied. "Not unless the deer have started wearing armour. Sure I saw metal that time."
    Priscus frowned and focused on the treeline. After just a moment, he too saw a flash of metal within the colonnade of wide boles and the gloom of shadows their intertwined branches created.
    "Get ahead and tell Caesar."
    "Should we not raise the general alarm?" Fabius asked quietly.
    "There can't be enough there to be a threat to a four legion column in the open, not when they're only on one side of us. But whatever they're up to, they've not revealed themselves and so we can hardly account them friendly."
    Furius kicked his mount's flanks and rode off towards the head of the column and the commanders that rode together there. As the mounted figure disappeared into the dusty