Caesar Triumphant- Chapter 4
It was a somber group of men crammed into Caesar's stateroom aboard the flagship. None of them was accustomed to defeat, and there was no way for any of them to pretend that this was anything but that, and a resounding one at that. Standing and bracing himself against the rolling ship, Caesar surveyed the faces of the men around him, his expression matching theirs. Now is not the time to grieve, he admonished himself, recognizing that as they had done so many times before, this group of men, leaders of his army, were looking to him to set the tone, and to provide a solution to their dilemma. "Before I say anything else, I would like to offer a prayer to the gods for Cartufenus and his men, and request not only their blessing on him and his men, but a curse onto the Wa for what they did."Although the men all bowed their heads and held their arms out in supplication as Caesar intoned the words, the sense of anger and frustration was palpable in the small room. Titus Pullus in particular, Cartufenus being more than a colleague but a friend as well, felt a surge of rage and guilt as Caesar's voice droned the ritual blessing. Had this been his fault, he wondered? Had his stubborn refusal to withdraw from the beach helped to spur the Wa into the act of barbarity that they were all forced to witness in helpless anger as they stood at the rail of their respective ships? Shaking his head, trying to dispel such thoughts, he was singularly unsuccessful in banishing the memory of Cartufenus and his men, their hands bound and kneeling, being systematically decapitated. The roars of rage and helplessness clearly carried across the entire fleet as a Wa warrior, probably the leader judging by the adornment of his helmet and quality of his armor, walked from one Legionary to the next. There would be the flash of a blade as it slashed down in a graceful arc, and the detached part of Pullus' mind found itself in grudging envy of the fluidity and obvious force behind each blow. The sight of a head rolling in the sand, spattering gore as it tumbled a couple of paces jerked him from that admiration, and as hardened a soldier as he was, he felt a clenching in his stomach that signaled a possibility of it expelling whatever contents were left in it.
Now, standing shoulder to shoulder with the other Primi Pili, Tribunes and Legates, Pullus looked to Caesar, his prayer finished, to issue the orders that would begin the process of avenging the death of not just Cartufenus, but all of those left behind on the beach. All of the assembled men understood that if the Wa had executed those able-bodied men left behind, their stranded wounded suffered the same fate, making their anger a palpable force. Conscious of it, Caesar was careful in his speech. "There is no question that we must avenge the death of those men who were left behind," he began, but seeing the faces of those Centurions, most notably Pullus, darken, he hastily added, "through no man's fault but my own." Seeing a slight relaxing in posture, Caesar continued, "But we cannot afford another setback like today."That's one way to put it, Pullus thought, but he knew how hard it was for a man like Caesar to utter the word "defeat". "To that end, I've sent Volusenus further up the coast to find a landing site that's unlikely to be contested. Barring that, he has orders to look for another island that is either uninhabited or lightly defended so that we can land there and recover."The men digested this, saying nothing, unsettling Caesar a bit. Normally there would be questions, or at the least some comments, but nobody said a word. Silence stretched out for several heartbeats, prompting Caesar to ask, somewhat irritably, "Are there any questions?"None were forthcoming, and nonplussed, Caesar dismissed the men to return to their respective ships, each man buried deep in his own thoughts.
Volusenus' ship returned to the fleet three days later, meeting up as the main group continued to beat north into the teeth of a steadily growing wind. After rowing to the flagship, Volusenus reported the presence of what appeared to be an uninhabited island another two days further north, but Volusenus was adamant that there wasn't a single beach or anchorage sufficient for the fleet. The only other option was the much larger island they had seen to the south during their passage to the main island, but even from a distance it had looked as forbidding a place to land as the island Volusenus found. Additionally, Caesar reasoned that the larger island was in all likelihood inhabited, and despite taking the first island east of the Gayan peninsula with ease, even the man renowned for his luck and daring was shaken. Turning cold eyes to Zhang, he addressed his question to Achaemenes, "Does he know whether island to the south is inhabited? And if so, in what numbers and more importantly, are there any of those abominable savages there?"As he waited for the translation, Caesar pondered all that Volusenus had told him. He knew very well that every day at sea that passed, more of his men who still might be saved would die, but he couldn't suffer another setback like the one that had occurred a few days before. NOT a setback, Gaius, he chided himself. Even if you don't utter the word aloud, you must not lie to yourself. We, no I, was trounced, defeated, beaten. Suddenly and savagely, the word NO screamed unbidden in his mind, almost making him utter the word aloud, but only with the discipline of Caesar did he avoid making such a blunder. I may have been defeated, but I am NOT BEATEN, he raged at himself, all while maintaining the same, calm demeanor that his men knew so well. For that was the power of being Caesar; never, ever, did he betray what he was really thinking at any time, and this time more than others that was important, because any sign of self-doubt would fuel what he knew were already mutterings among the men that Caesar's luck had finally run out. One such defeat he could master, but two? No, not even Caesar could overcome that, hence the importance of this next decision. Achaemenes turned to Caesar finally, and said, "Zhang says that the island to the south, while it's uninhabited, doesn't have an anchorage of a sufficient size for the fleet."Despite his best attempt, Caesar hissed in frustration, turning back to Volusenus, who looked extremely uncomfortable being the sole focus of his commander's attention. Nevertheless, his gaze never wavered as he spoke. "By my calculations Caesar, there are only two anchorages on the island I found. It's clearly uninhabited, save for one lone shack. But the island itself is very small; I would estimate it being no more than a mile across and 2 miles long. There is one anchorage on the southern end, and one slightly larger one on the eastern side." "How many ships could fit in each?" Caesar asked, arms crossed. Volusenus sucked through his teeth as he thought about it before answering, "Perhaps 50 in the smallest anchorage, and more than 100 in the other. But," he admonished, "they would be very cramped. Meaning that......." "....If a storm came, they would damage each other, just like in Britannia," Caesar finished for him, his tone peevish although he knew that it wasn't Volusenus' fault. Seemingly frustrated, Caesar began pacing, head down as he stared at the deck, pondering what to do. If he went south to the larger island, there would be more room perhaps, but Zhang had been frustratingly vague about the conditions needed for a safe harbor for his ships. And more than anything, Caesar knew from long and bitter experience that the men viewed the fleet as their lifeline back to any semblance of security. He was disturbed from his thinking by the sound of a clearing throat, and he looked up irritably to see that, judging from the reactions of the men around him, it had been Zhang who had made the noise. "Yes?" Caesar asked, masking his annoyance, both at the situation and at Zhang, who he was beginning to consider as an agent for the Han court who had no intention of aiding Caesar and his men. When Zhang spoke, Caesar almost gasped in shock, while the men around him were not so circumspect, making the rest of what Zhang said very hard to understand. The reason for the surprise was that Zhang was speaking in Latin! Slow, halting but clearly understandable Latin. "Caesar," he had begun, and despite the surprise Caesar was forced to stifle a smile at the awkward pronunciation of his name. "Forgive my poor Latin, but I know that this," for perhaps the first time Zhang's face showed emotion, screwing up as he searched for the right word, "...process of translation has been......" For a moment he couldn't continue, prompting Caesar to prompt gently with the word, "frustrating, I believe is the word you are looking for."Zhang's face cleared as he inclined his head in what could have been gratitude for the help. "Yes, that is the word. However, I have not wanted to speak in your tongue until I had a better hold of it."You mean "grasp" Caesar thought, but said nothing. No, you didn't let us know because you wanted to gather as much information before you let us know that you held a throw of Venus in your hand. Regardless, Caesar was at least thankful that there would be a bit less time wasted, and listened intently as Zhang continued. "Since we are, how do you say, searching? Yes, searching for a spot where your army can rest, I know of perhaps a place."The attention of every man in the room was riveted, but the eyes staring at Zhang were anything but friendly. If he were aware, or shaken by the scrutiny he didn't show it as he described what he knew, and may have known all along. "There is a passage that will lead you to what the Wa call their Inland Sea," he explained. "Once there, you will find not only many spots to anchor, but there is a region that is almost completely empty of people."Caesar's jaw tightened, while the others' shoulders slumped as the tension released from them. "Yes, I know that there are better anchorages, but we would have to reverse our course and go around the southern end of the island," Caesar said patiently. "Or, we can continue north, but you have said yourself you're not sure how far the northern end is. We don't have that long, Zhang."Zhang immediately shook his head, in the style that Latins were accustomed to, and not the circular motion used by the Han. "No, this is not one large island," he told Caesar. Then for the first time, his face showed a bit of alarm at the sight of Caesar's face darkening as blood rushed to it, which he had learned didn't bode well. "It appears to be, but I know there is a very, very narrow strait that is very hard to find. In fact, judging from the landmarks we are not that far from it. We could be in those straits by the end of the day." "And why didn't you see fit to tell us of this strait before?" Caesar asked in a deceptively mild voice, which his officers knew was even more dangerous than his rage. Men disappeared from around the fire when Caesar spoke in this manner, but nobody looked at Zhang with any sympathy. In fact, if it were up to almost all of them, particularly the Primi Pili like Pullus, Torquatus and Balbinus, Zhang would have been pitched overboard long before. For the first time, Zhang seemed to become aware that there was a danger present, and Caesar was gratified to see tiny beads of sweat appear on the Han's brow. "I did not speak of it before because I have only heard of it. I have not been through the strait myself. And it is supposed to be very dangerous to navigate. There are many rocks and the water is, how do you call it," at this Zhang for the first time turned to Achaemenes for help with the word, uttering what he was looking for in Han. Achaemenes thought for a moment and said, "Shallow." "Yes," Zhang nodded. "The water is very shallow, and I do not know whether all of your ships can pass through. I have been told that this strait fills up with dirt washed from the rains and makes it very likely that some of your ships will become stranded. Also, I do not know about the," again he turned to Achaemenes, who supplied the word, "tides in this strait."All of what Zhang said made sense, and Caesar relaxed just a little bit. He still didn't trust Zhang, but he supposed that it would be understandable that Zhang wouldn't be forthcoming with this information if it meant there was a chance the ship he was on was the most likely to be stranded, or worse.
Whatever the case, Caesar immediately recognized that this was his only real choice, to trust Zhang to provide the information needed to guide them through these straits. Turning to Volusenus, he gave him his orders. "Take Zhang in your liburnian," referring to the lone remaining scout ship, still the fastest of any that Caesar had encountered, "and follow his directions looking for this strait. We'll follow on your heading. When you find it, come back and guide us."Volusenus saluted and turned immediately to go, but before he did, Caesar grabbed his elbow and whispered a few words to his exploring officer. Volusenus listened, then gave a nod grim before leading Zhang out of the stateroom. Once they had left and Caesar was sure they were no longer in earshot, he told the rest of the officers calmly, "I told Volusenus that if Zhang lied, he's to tie him to the prow of the ship, cut his hamstrings and let the sharks eat him."
With grim smiles, the officers of Caesar's army left the flagship to return to their men and inform them of what was coming.
All posts by R.W. Peake on blog.rwpeake.com are copyrighted by the author, 2012.
Now, standing shoulder to shoulder with the other Primi Pili, Tribunes and Legates, Pullus looked to Caesar, his prayer finished, to issue the orders that would begin the process of avenging the death of not just Cartufenus, but all of those left behind on the beach. All of the assembled men understood that if the Wa had executed those able-bodied men left behind, their stranded wounded suffered the same fate, making their anger a palpable force. Conscious of it, Caesar was careful in his speech. "There is no question that we must avenge the death of those men who were left behind," he began, but seeing the faces of those Centurions, most notably Pullus, darken, he hastily added, "through no man's fault but my own." Seeing a slight relaxing in posture, Caesar continued, "But we cannot afford another setback like today."That's one way to put it, Pullus thought, but he knew how hard it was for a man like Caesar to utter the word "defeat". "To that end, I've sent Volusenus further up the coast to find a landing site that's unlikely to be contested. Barring that, he has orders to look for another island that is either uninhabited or lightly defended so that we can land there and recover."The men digested this, saying nothing, unsettling Caesar a bit. Normally there would be questions, or at the least some comments, but nobody said a word. Silence stretched out for several heartbeats, prompting Caesar to ask, somewhat irritably, "Are there any questions?"None were forthcoming, and nonplussed, Caesar dismissed the men to return to their respective ships, each man buried deep in his own thoughts.
Volusenus' ship returned to the fleet three days later, meeting up as the main group continued to beat north into the teeth of a steadily growing wind. After rowing to the flagship, Volusenus reported the presence of what appeared to be an uninhabited island another two days further north, but Volusenus was adamant that there wasn't a single beach or anchorage sufficient for the fleet. The only other option was the much larger island they had seen to the south during their passage to the main island, but even from a distance it had looked as forbidding a place to land as the island Volusenus found. Additionally, Caesar reasoned that the larger island was in all likelihood inhabited, and despite taking the first island east of the Gayan peninsula with ease, even the man renowned for his luck and daring was shaken. Turning cold eyes to Zhang, he addressed his question to Achaemenes, "Does he know whether island to the south is inhabited? And if so, in what numbers and more importantly, are there any of those abominable savages there?"As he waited for the translation, Caesar pondered all that Volusenus had told him. He knew very well that every day at sea that passed, more of his men who still might be saved would die, but he couldn't suffer another setback like the one that had occurred a few days before. NOT a setback, Gaius, he chided himself. Even if you don't utter the word aloud, you must not lie to yourself. We, no I, was trounced, defeated, beaten. Suddenly and savagely, the word NO screamed unbidden in his mind, almost making him utter the word aloud, but only with the discipline of Caesar did he avoid making such a blunder. I may have been defeated, but I am NOT BEATEN, he raged at himself, all while maintaining the same, calm demeanor that his men knew so well. For that was the power of being Caesar; never, ever, did he betray what he was really thinking at any time, and this time more than others that was important, because any sign of self-doubt would fuel what he knew were already mutterings among the men that Caesar's luck had finally run out. One such defeat he could master, but two? No, not even Caesar could overcome that, hence the importance of this next decision. Achaemenes turned to Caesar finally, and said, "Zhang says that the island to the south, while it's uninhabited, doesn't have an anchorage of a sufficient size for the fleet."Despite his best attempt, Caesar hissed in frustration, turning back to Volusenus, who looked extremely uncomfortable being the sole focus of his commander's attention. Nevertheless, his gaze never wavered as he spoke. "By my calculations Caesar, there are only two anchorages on the island I found. It's clearly uninhabited, save for one lone shack. But the island itself is very small; I would estimate it being no more than a mile across and 2 miles long. There is one anchorage on the southern end, and one slightly larger one on the eastern side." "How many ships could fit in each?" Caesar asked, arms crossed. Volusenus sucked through his teeth as he thought about it before answering, "Perhaps 50 in the smallest anchorage, and more than 100 in the other. But," he admonished, "they would be very cramped. Meaning that......." "....If a storm came, they would damage each other, just like in Britannia," Caesar finished for him, his tone peevish although he knew that it wasn't Volusenus' fault. Seemingly frustrated, Caesar began pacing, head down as he stared at the deck, pondering what to do. If he went south to the larger island, there would be more room perhaps, but Zhang had been frustratingly vague about the conditions needed for a safe harbor for his ships. And more than anything, Caesar knew from long and bitter experience that the men viewed the fleet as their lifeline back to any semblance of security. He was disturbed from his thinking by the sound of a clearing throat, and he looked up irritably to see that, judging from the reactions of the men around him, it had been Zhang who had made the noise. "Yes?" Caesar asked, masking his annoyance, both at the situation and at Zhang, who he was beginning to consider as an agent for the Han court who had no intention of aiding Caesar and his men. When Zhang spoke, Caesar almost gasped in shock, while the men around him were not so circumspect, making the rest of what Zhang said very hard to understand. The reason for the surprise was that Zhang was speaking in Latin! Slow, halting but clearly understandable Latin. "Caesar," he had begun, and despite the surprise Caesar was forced to stifle a smile at the awkward pronunciation of his name. "Forgive my poor Latin, but I know that this," for perhaps the first time Zhang's face showed emotion, screwing up as he searched for the right word, "...process of translation has been......" For a moment he couldn't continue, prompting Caesar to prompt gently with the word, "frustrating, I believe is the word you are looking for."Zhang's face cleared as he inclined his head in what could have been gratitude for the help. "Yes, that is the word. However, I have not wanted to speak in your tongue until I had a better hold of it."You mean "grasp" Caesar thought, but said nothing. No, you didn't let us know because you wanted to gather as much information before you let us know that you held a throw of Venus in your hand. Regardless, Caesar was at least thankful that there would be a bit less time wasted, and listened intently as Zhang continued. "Since we are, how do you say, searching? Yes, searching for a spot where your army can rest, I know of perhaps a place."The attention of every man in the room was riveted, but the eyes staring at Zhang were anything but friendly. If he were aware, or shaken by the scrutiny he didn't show it as he described what he knew, and may have known all along. "There is a passage that will lead you to what the Wa call their Inland Sea," he explained. "Once there, you will find not only many spots to anchor, but there is a region that is almost completely empty of people."Caesar's jaw tightened, while the others' shoulders slumped as the tension released from them. "Yes, I know that there are better anchorages, but we would have to reverse our course and go around the southern end of the island," Caesar said patiently. "Or, we can continue north, but you have said yourself you're not sure how far the northern end is. We don't have that long, Zhang."Zhang immediately shook his head, in the style that Latins were accustomed to, and not the circular motion used by the Han. "No, this is not one large island," he told Caesar. Then for the first time, his face showed a bit of alarm at the sight of Caesar's face darkening as blood rushed to it, which he had learned didn't bode well. "It appears to be, but I know there is a very, very narrow strait that is very hard to find. In fact, judging from the landmarks we are not that far from it. We could be in those straits by the end of the day." "And why didn't you see fit to tell us of this strait before?" Caesar asked in a deceptively mild voice, which his officers knew was even more dangerous than his rage. Men disappeared from around the fire when Caesar spoke in this manner, but nobody looked at Zhang with any sympathy. In fact, if it were up to almost all of them, particularly the Primi Pili like Pullus, Torquatus and Balbinus, Zhang would have been pitched overboard long before. For the first time, Zhang seemed to become aware that there was a danger present, and Caesar was gratified to see tiny beads of sweat appear on the Han's brow. "I did not speak of it before because I have only heard of it. I have not been through the strait myself. And it is supposed to be very dangerous to navigate. There are many rocks and the water is, how do you call it," at this Zhang for the first time turned to Achaemenes for help with the word, uttering what he was looking for in Han. Achaemenes thought for a moment and said, "Shallow." "Yes," Zhang nodded. "The water is very shallow, and I do not know whether all of your ships can pass through. I have been told that this strait fills up with dirt washed from the rains and makes it very likely that some of your ships will become stranded. Also, I do not know about the," again he turned to Achaemenes, who supplied the word, "tides in this strait."All of what Zhang said made sense, and Caesar relaxed just a little bit. He still didn't trust Zhang, but he supposed that it would be understandable that Zhang wouldn't be forthcoming with this information if it meant there was a chance the ship he was on was the most likely to be stranded, or worse.
Whatever the case, Caesar immediately recognized that this was his only real choice, to trust Zhang to provide the information needed to guide them through these straits. Turning to Volusenus, he gave him his orders. "Take Zhang in your liburnian," referring to the lone remaining scout ship, still the fastest of any that Caesar had encountered, "and follow his directions looking for this strait. We'll follow on your heading. When you find it, come back and guide us."Volusenus saluted and turned immediately to go, but before he did, Caesar grabbed his elbow and whispered a few words to his exploring officer. Volusenus listened, then gave a nod grim before leading Zhang out of the stateroom. Once they had left and Caesar was sure they were no longer in earshot, he told the rest of the officers calmly, "I told Volusenus that if Zhang lied, he's to tie him to the prow of the ship, cut his hamstrings and let the sharks eat him."
With grim smiles, the officers of Caesar's army left the flagship to return to their men and inform them of what was coming.
All posts by R.W. Peake on blog.rwpeake.com are copyrighted by the author, 2012.
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