Chapter 23

I was escorted into the camp and I looked around for more faces and still could not see some that I desperately wanted to see. The infirmary was set up along the lines I wanted and not Roman. It was just ahead and I asked, "When did this happen?"

"Eleven days ago. We did not have much warning."

I went into the infirmary first. I felt relief to see Klaasje, Tiebout and Hafgan tending the wounded. I asked Hafgan, "Show me the ones in the most danger." There were four and then the next that was not quite so bad in his opinion.

I put my hand on the head of one after another. All but two were awake. It was almost second nature to remove some of the pain but not too much. My own assessment took about ten minutes and then I went to Gnaeus Scipio Magnus.

The man was asleep and missing a right arm and had numerous battle wounds. Infection had set in and now I worked hard to get this under control. I found a cancer too and cut off the blood to it.

Arienh was next even though I wanted to go to her first. She said in a weak voice, "I knew you would come."

She meant in time and I just gave her a fake smile and I said, "I didn't know you were going to have a battle or I would have come to share in the fun."

She gave me her own fake smile and said, "They wanted you mostly I think. They would have given you all the fun you could handle." This hurt. They had been attacked because of me. I just interfaced with her body and began the battle against the infection in her body then accelerated her healing.

The remaining four were treated for infection first but two had internal bleeding that had not completely stopped. One of them had a festering wound that needed to be lanced and Klaasje brought the instruments for me.

There were seventeen more and I could do little more than relieve their pain then guide their bodies to fighting the invaders inside of them. When I was done I knew that I was too tired to do any more and went back to Arienh.

I asked, "How are you feeling now?"

"Better than I was. Am I cured already?"

"No, I was just able to take away some of the pain and start your body to fight the infections a little better.

"They came at us from two directions. We managed to get the children and the women into the sewer. They burnt the school thinking they were killing everybody inside but only a few died of the smoke. We tried to fight..." Arienh started to cry then and I just held her hand in mine and stroked her short singed hair.

Arienh was tired and I assisted her in getting to sleep then went around and talked to those that were awake. They seemed happy at my return and I heard more about the battles. I also learned more about who had died and how. I winced every time I heard a name even if it was for the third or forth time.

Woden and Thor were mentioned a lot. The defenders had done a very good job of fighting off King Celyddon and his men. Those in armour had done better because they were able to stand on the wall and use their arrows to take out the Gauls and not usually get hurt. Our own arrows came back though and they were the ones that went through Gallic armour as well as our own.

Many died defending the rest at the school and as Arienh said, it was the large sewer that went to our settling pond that saved most. Once the school had caught fire even the green wood had burnt.

Some had made it to the fort before it was attacked. Kareltje and his stonecutters were in this group. He had actually slowed down the advance so more could gain the limited safety of the palisade.

Gnaeus and Albrecht had led in the defence but Albrecht had been too confident of his armour and abilities. He died along with many of the men that went out to fight the Gauls.

Dolf had died but Oriana and Edana bodies had not been found. They were assumed to be captured but could be dead considering their aversion to becoming slaves once more.

When Gnaeus awoke he had a true smile for me. "I see you made it back and I am not even dead yet."

"Romans are hard to kill."

"Some perhaps. I took enough Gauls though."

"I heard that you did very well. Everybody here owes you their life for the way you kept them fighting."

"You wanted them trained the best and I guess I did a fair job."

"Tell me what you think the Gauls will do now?"

"There were close to a cohort attacking. I think your father was successful in killing a lot of them for us or Celyddon may have split his forces. He will know by now that you were not here. He may have left some people to wait for you to come but usually the Gauls have no patients."

"As to your question; I think they will attack as soon as they find out that you are back. We have not been to Minden but they must know of Celyddon's presence."

I said, "When we went by, they didn't seem worried. That can be from ignorance of knowing that the city gates are close."

Gnaeus said, "You should know that he took captives and I would be surprised if any were still alive. Maybe the children. He likes them young. And another thing; he took the steam engine and the boiler. He broke the tubes and the water was released. I think he liked the bronze and the steel."

I left the camp in a very foul and worried mood. Celyddon was going to pay now but not before I got my friends back.

I took Rufus and his men back to the Patricia. "I want you to stay onboard. Celyddon may come for me. I will leave you some of my arrows but you have to go further downstream to where Celyddon and his men cannot swim or float to you."

"We cannot see in the dark like you."

"Keep watches. Keep the boiler hot too."

Rufus didn't want to leave me either but hid behind his supposed inadequacies. I got my way and took out my personal weapons, ten cases of stingers and then some of the arrows with pitch and alcohol used to fire a ship. There was no shortage of help but I had the soldiers carry the stingers after telling them that a box would kill them and everybody around for thirty metres. The boxes were then carried like a first born son. The word aculeus seemed to have a portent that they readily understood.

Only a few hours had passed since our arrival and it would not be dark for many more hours. A dozen Romans, Franks, Gauls and Frisians left with me to see the remains of the school. We were dressed for war and packhorses carried the supplies.

A lot more trees had been toppled but it was not until I got to the school that I saw the destruction. A third of the upright beams were still in place but all of them were charred. All the planks and horizontal beams we had labouriously placed were gone and many of the trees that were left were now burnt with the heat. At least there were no bodies around.

I simply could not stay and stare at the destroyed framework. I found where the steam engine and boiler had been and it was easy to follow it to where a broken wagon was.

They had found that even apart, the portions were too heavy to carry around. It looked like two wagons were used to carry off the engine and one more for the boiler. As soon as we got a rough direction, scouts went out too look for an ambush. The tracks were not hard to follow. We got only about ten klicks away and found the boiler and engine in a ravine. There were no signs of the wagons or the horses. There were tracks though.

We headed west and found an old camp site. We did see a large mound of ashes and this must have been for the dead attackers that had been disposed of. When we came to open fields of farms that had been abandoned in recent years, I was the one that went alone. I looked as carefully as I could but men could be difficult to see. I hoped that any of Celyddon's men would either run to inform their king or attack me.

I neither saw nor heard anyone but the tracks led on. Once safely among the trees I waited and the rest of the patrol caught up. It was getting close to dusk when an errant gust of wind blew the smell of men to me. It was very faint.

I took a bearing and said to the few near me. "There are a lot of unwashed bodies in this direction. I caught a smell of them." The scouts were recalled and told of our change in direction then we continued once more.

It was an hour and a half later that we came on their camp. I counted forty three men and no family or captives. The lack of family disturbed me though.

I pulled back and gave the dozen men an accurate assessment of the camp. There were no signs of sentries but I was going to check first before we did anything.

The thirteen of us split up into three man teams but I stayed by myself. There were many accesses to the camp and these would be where the sentries would patrol.

It was almost an hour later that I found a pair hiding in a thicket while ready to give the alarm if they heard something odd. I was angry enough to use the bow but I wanted intelligence. It took another half hour to get close to them. I had heard scuffles further away but it was not loud enough to warn the two in front of me.

With a wooden club in hand I came in and hit one just below the helmet and was able to strike the other before he was fully able to gain his feet. He started to yell but was too busy trying to stay alive. He was bigger than me but most of my opponents were that way.

I heard noise behind me and moved my opponent in that direction until I was able to use the club one more time on the first man. The man could not see me but swung his sword every which way to keep me away. I used the k-bar and the club to keep him busy. It was a fallen tree that finally tripped the man and I was on him in a flash. My knife held his sword out of the way while I beat him into unconsciousness with the club.

Both men were checked and I interfaced with them as if they were my patients. The two were made to have very little control of their bodies. They were awakened with some water but they still could not see me. My grasp of the language was not that great but I said, "My name is Jón. I want to meet your king. Tell me where he is."

One then the other tried to move and fell over on his front. He was not even strong enough to stop his face from striking the ground. I put the man back in position but he only glared at me.

"I think I will just have to leave you if you will not help. Perhaps a wolf will come up and decide to sample some man flesh. The gods and I took away the control you had of your body. I need no ropes." I remained quiet but I got no reply. I got up and left the camp and there was not even the murmur of a plea to stay.

A few hours after midnight we regrouped. The men had a lot of captives that were tied and gagged. Horses could have been used but they made too much noise. The men did too in the dark.

I asked, "Did any of you find anything about Celyddon?"

I got a lot of negative replies because they had not had enough time to question their captives adequately. There was a stir in the camp and eight men gathered their weapons and left in a group.

"That must be the relief. We better get them before they start to give a warning."

One of our men stayed with the captives while the rest of us retraced our steps to await the replacements. This time I had some Roman help. I was able to move quickly and get into position as the eight men came to the first position.

We were called and I grunted and stretched because I didn't know any names. When the two of us got close, we attacked. This was enough of a distraction for the other ten to attack the Gauls from the rear.

Strangely there were few screams and the Gauls were struck down very quickly. Swords and spears rang off our armour but none of us were hurt. I was in the thick of it and used two clubs, feet and fists so we would have more to question later. The last man tried to give a call but a foot to his sternum made it come out as a gasp instead.

None of our people were hurt but they were out of breath. There were two dead among the Gauls and two more that were seriously hurt. I kept the latter two quiet by putting them to sleep and quickly used some bandages to staunch the flow of blood.

Around the camp, there were some awake and ready for trouble. Two of our men spoke the language of the Gauls and pretended to be drunk. As they wandered to camp as if having completed their duty. The rest of us circled around. I had my bow out at this time to make sure we were not discovered until it was too late.

The two drunks took out one guard and I had to use an arrow on the other. The camp remained quiet as one man thrashed on the ground and our own men hurried into position.

Armour was a hindrance now but we tried to walk through the camp taking out individuals as quietly as possible. We had almost twenty left when the alarm was given and the fighting began in earnest. It was twenty minutes later that the camp was ours. Two of our men were wounded and I treated them first.

I had not taken much part in the fight because I had the bow. I took out five men that thought to flee.

There were fifty one Gauls in all but only thirty eight were alive. Of those nearly half were wounded by us or in the attack on our fort twelve days ago. The enemy sentries were brought in and our own took their place.

Though it was distasteful I relied on the Romans to find out what was known about Celyddon's camp and other valuable data.

By morning we found out that Celyddon had designs on taking Minden. All the cities around had been warned though and he was taking isolated settlements. Clovis was in the area and doing his best to destroy Celyddon. The good news was there were a lot of captives though many had died later in the campaign.

I debated what to do with the Gauls. Some wanted them butchered so we could continue unencumbered. We had so few to watch them and still provide security. I was still angry at them but not quite enough to have them killed like this. There was no sign of the wagons so this group had not been pulling the sawmill. Two of our men would have to take them back to the fort. We had moved stealthy but the camp was only seven hours away. I knew that not all the wounded would make it but I had no other choice.

The prisoners were tied to their mounts or to some hastily constructed travois. There was a good chance the group would make it to the camp just before night fell.

Just over three hours later we found the tracks of many horses. Around four, we found the tail end of Celyddon's column we were looking for. The land was fairly open so we could not get close without being seen. We did spread out and try to get ahead of the column after consulting our maps.

The column was long with thousands of people but most were women and children. I had no argument with them and didn't want to see the noncombatants die. If Clovis came he should use the cannons and those weapons were not selective. I had my 'aculei' and they were little better. When the explosive on the arrow released its energy then everybody for metres around would die.

Celyddon's camp was set up hours later but he didn't use the precautions that a worried Roman would take. I could not see any captives from my position and I tried to think of ways to get into the camp to find and release them. Getting more than a handful out would be miraculous. There was as waning moon and the sky had cleared considerably.

The ten men with me were not anxious to take on an encampment with me even if they thought that the gods were with them. They had little sleep the last night.

"I think the only way to weaken the Gauls is to attack the sentries then threaten the camp. The men will come forward and we can use the stingers on them."

One of the Gauls helping us said, "You may kill a hundred but there are many more than that to fight us when we have no more of your arrows."

"They are continuing to fight because Celyddon is pushing them. They may still think they can leave with a lot of booty and slaves still. We just have to teach them differently."

"Celyddon will never stop and he rules the Gauls with an iron hand."

"That is why I am going in and kill him just before the battle." Now there were lots of input to my plans.

Celyddon had his tent in the middle of the camp for safety and I was able to get a view of the general layout before it got too dark.

We slept after eating because we would be busy during the night. Cadell, the shorter of the two Gauls was both the most willing and the best choice for getting into the camp.

At what I guessed was two in the morning I got the men up and then fed once more.

Before we left I said, "Celyddon is the cause of a lot of death. If I can kill him then there is less chance of the Gauls staying here. Use the stingers and then race for Minden as we planned. It is only a few hours away." There was a lot more talk but this had already been decided.

I added, "Your attack will be the dangerous part. I just have to sneak away during the confusion. If I have to, I will just come after you with the Gauls as if I am one of them."

Cadell started to sing in a low voice twenty minutes later. He again acted drunk and even had the contents of a wine skin poured on him. His voice carried to the ring of fires and we were called to come in but Cadell just drunkenly cursed them.

We came into the light about five minutes later as I held up an apparently drunken man.

Cadell said to me loud enough for some to hear, "You are a good boy Gwawl and I know your uncle would be proud of you if he were alive."

"He will be more proud of me when we kill enough Frisians."

Cadell stumbled a bit and said, "They are not easy to kill."

"You got three."

"I hit three with my bow but one just laughed at me as he pulled the arrow out."

"We will get more chances and my bow is stronger."

By then three men came to us and Cadell fell to the ground as he attempted to go for the spear strapped to his back. One of the Gauls just came in and kicked Cadell in the stomach and Cadell proceeded to puke up his meal and a lot of the wine he had drank.

One man asked me, "Who are you?"

I was dressed as a Gaul and my hair was hidden as well as the front portion darkened. I just snarled at him, "Gwawl. Why did you kick Cadell? He was doing nothing to you."

Cadell got up and then started to drag out his spear but I went to him and said, "They are not Frisians, Uncle."

"They kicked me. I will kill them."

"Let's kill some Frisians first. It is not good to fight our own people."

"I will kill them tomorrow when the wine has left me."

I just urged Cadell through the three men and walked toward the camp as Cadell cursed their god, the sentries and the Frisians. His bag of wine was left behind and I was sure the sentries would find a good home for it.

Once past the first ring of fires, I felt much better. I still assisted Cadell so it would look better. Eventually his oaths quieted and we looked for survivors.

There were guards protecting Celyddon's tent as well as his horses. Apparently he didn't mind the odour if he had a quick way of escaping.

Cadell and I crouched in a small campsite where everyone was asleep. People should think we belonged here. I pulled the katana out and removed the decorative adornment on the hilt to disguise it. The case for my spear held my unstrung bow and a two dozen normal arrows.

Cadell took two dozen arrows from his own spear case but he had no bow. I put the k-bar at my waist and also some small knives used by a ninja to do his work. Most were intended for cutting throats but many times they were used for stabbing through the skull to make a quicker kill with less contortions of the body.

Cadell said, "What do you want me to do?"

"There are only two guards. Take one and I will take the other."

"They will make noise."

"Do it the way I said and I will take the other from here."

"You are that accurate?"

"I am the best there is. Remember, the gods want me to succeed and gave me some gifts."

I pointed the direction I wanted Cadell to approach from and he drunkenly walked away only armed with a long thin dagger. I took three arrows out and then put a forth to the bow after it was strung. The bow was covered in sinew but had a facing of steel underneath. Very few men could even string the bow never mind use it to its full potential. Even I had to use a trigger or the string would damage my finger tips. This cut back on the draw so the bow itself was short and good to be used from horseback.