Read Online THE INVASION OF GAUL by S. J. A. Turney - Free Book Online
Authors: S. J. A. Turney
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turned his head slightly and made a cut-throat motion at Balventius, standing in command position of the Eighth.
Balventius turned to face the men and raised his voice only slightly above the unavoidable noise of armour and cold men.
“ Be quiet lads. Can’t you see there are officers present?”
Balbus turned his head back to face the advancing embassy. The two men ran to the highest piece of land available close to the Romans, a slight rise on the shore of the lake, where a tree overhung the water. They stepped as high as possible, though they were still forced to look up at the Roman officers. Their ‘honour guard’, presuming that is what they were, stopped just short of the raised ground.
The man on the left called out in a clear and powerful voice. Fronto was surprised to hear reasonably well spoken Latin, though he should have expected it really. He couldn’t think what they would have hoped to achieve if they spoke only barbarian tongues.
“ I am Numeius of the Helvetii. My companion is Verudoctius. We are chieftains and men of note.” The one called Verudoctius bowed and, straightening, saluted Caesar with a Roman gesture. “We do not wish to make war on Rome or its esteemed generals. All we ask is leave to pass though the territory of your mighty empire to the lands of our brothers that you call the Gauls.”
Numeius in turn bowed and gave a Roman salute.
Caesar glanced at Balbus for a moment, then at Fronto. Very quietly; far too quietly for the Helvetii to hear, he said “If I said Gauls to you, what would your reply be?”
Balbus and Fronto looked at each other. Balbus spoke first. “The Gauls destroyed Rome. They cannot be trusted.” Fronto nodded, adding “defilers and vandals.”
Caesar smiled at them both. Fronto had seen that smile once in a Northern Spanish winter, on the face of a wolf starved half to death, and coming upon an injured legionary. He shuddered. Caesar was gauging his officers before his reaction.
The general stood for the first time since the emissaries had arrived.
“ You call the Gauls your brothers, and well you might. The Gauls once destroyed our city; defecated in our holy places. Kinship with these people is unlikely to advance your case, barbarian.”
The two ambassadors glanced at each other for only a moment before Numeius came back with a formulaic excuse.
“ That was centuries ago, Roman, and different tribes. We are not Gauls, and even those Gauls that now live are different, after centuries of peace, to the ones you speak of.”
Caesar laughed. Laughed so hard he sat back down in a carefully positioned command chair.
“ Peace? You dare speak to me of peace? Rome had a Consul named Lucius Cassius. Are you familiar with the name?”
For a moment, the two conferred, a look of worry passing between them.
“ This name is not familiar to us, Roman.”
Caesar stood once more, the colour rising in his cheeks.
“ Damn you barbarian for a liar. Of course you know him. It wasn’t that long ago your people killed him and tortured and enslaved many a Roman in his army! Cassius was beloved of the Roman people, and you murdered him. You claim you are a peaceful people. Pah! I have no time for this.” Standing, Caesar made to walk away, winking at Fronto as he turned away from the speakers.
The two conferred again, but only for a second.
“ Roman, there have been many confrontations between our peoples in the past. We are here now only in peace. We request only the time to pass through to our allies.”
Caesar wheeled on the spot.
“ Go through the Jura pass, through your other allies. Begone!”
The increasing desperation of the ambassadors was evident not only in Numeius’ voice, but also in the speed with which the reply came back.
“ We cannot pass that way because of many tribal differences and the difficulty of the route. We vouchsafe Roman lands and would cause no trouble or mischief upon our crossing.” With an urgent tone, Verudoctius
Balventius turned to face the men and raised his voice only slightly above the unavoidable noise of armour and cold men.
“ Be quiet lads. Can’t you see there are officers present?”
Balbus turned his head back to face the advancing embassy. The two men ran to the highest piece of land available close to the Romans, a slight rise on the shore of the lake, where a tree overhung the water. They stepped as high as possible, though they were still forced to look up at the Roman officers. Their ‘honour guard’, presuming that is what they were, stopped just short of the raised ground.
The man on the left called out in a clear and powerful voice. Fronto was surprised to hear reasonably well spoken Latin, though he should have expected it really. He couldn’t think what they would have hoped to achieve if they spoke only barbarian tongues.
“ I am Numeius of the Helvetii. My companion is Verudoctius. We are chieftains and men of note.” The one called Verudoctius bowed and, straightening, saluted Caesar with a Roman gesture. “We do not wish to make war on Rome or its esteemed generals. All we ask is leave to pass though the territory of your mighty empire to the lands of our brothers that you call the Gauls.”
Numeius in turn bowed and gave a Roman salute.
Caesar glanced at Balbus for a moment, then at Fronto. Very quietly; far too quietly for the Helvetii to hear, he said “If I said Gauls to you, what would your reply be?”
Balbus and Fronto looked at each other. Balbus spoke first. “The Gauls destroyed Rome. They cannot be trusted.” Fronto nodded, adding “defilers and vandals.”
Caesar smiled at them both. Fronto had seen that smile once in a Northern Spanish winter, on the face of a wolf starved half to death, and coming upon an injured legionary. He shuddered. Caesar was gauging his officers before his reaction.
The general stood for the first time since the emissaries had arrived.
“ You call the Gauls your brothers, and well you might. The Gauls once destroyed our city; defecated in our holy places. Kinship with these people is unlikely to advance your case, barbarian.”
The two ambassadors glanced at each other for only a moment before Numeius came back with a formulaic excuse.
“ That was centuries ago, Roman, and different tribes. We are not Gauls, and even those Gauls that now live are different, after centuries of peace, to the ones you speak of.”
Caesar laughed. Laughed so hard he sat back down in a carefully positioned command chair.
“ Peace? You dare speak to me of peace? Rome had a Consul named Lucius Cassius. Are you familiar with the name?”
For a moment, the two conferred, a look of worry passing between them.
“ This name is not familiar to us, Roman.”
Caesar stood once more, the colour rising in his cheeks.
“ Damn you barbarian for a liar. Of course you know him. It wasn’t that long ago your people killed him and tortured and enslaved many a Roman in his army! Cassius was beloved of the Roman people, and you murdered him. You claim you are a peaceful people. Pah! I have no time for this.” Standing, Caesar made to walk away, winking at Fronto as he turned away from the speakers.
The two conferred again, but only for a second.
“ Roman, there have been many confrontations between our peoples in the past. We are here now only in peace. We request only the time to pass through to our allies.”
Caesar wheeled on the spot.
“ Go through the Jura pass, through your other allies. Begone!”
The increasing desperation of the ambassadors was evident not only in Numeius’ voice, but also in the speed with which the reply came back.
“ We cannot pass that way because of many tribal differences and the difficulty of the route. We vouchsafe Roman lands and would cause no trouble or mischief upon our crossing.” With an urgent tone, Verudoctius
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