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subsequently took revenge upon Calgus and his tribe for their actions.’
    Sorex took a moment to master his irritation at being cut off.
    ‘I see. Well then, you may find my news on the subject of the eagle, the legatus’s head and this fellow Calgus of interest. We have intelligence that all three are gathered in the same place, ripe for capture.’
    Marcus shook his head with an expression of disbelief.
    ‘That’s impossible, Tribune. I killed Calgus before we left the province.’
    Sorex raised a patrician eyebrow.
    ‘You killed him, Centurion? You actually saw him die ? Because the way I’ve heard it, he was crippled and left for dead by a Roman officer, in the expectation that the wolves would find him and exact an unpleasantly slow death. Except, it seems, by means which I neither understand nor particularly care about, he managed to avoid such a gruesome end. And more to the point, Centurion Corvus, he apparently still has possession of my legion’s eagle. An eagle whose loss, as you all well know, puts the Sixth on borrowed time and at constant risk of being cashiered and broken up to reinforce the other legions. In its place another legion will be raised, and the Sixth’s officers will either be sent to serve elsewhere under the cloud of their shame or simply dismissed from imperial service in disgrace, with their careers at a premature and ignominious end. All of which means that it will come as no surprise to you that before formally relinquishing his command to me, Legatus Equitius charged me with achieving just one task before his replacement arrives. He ordered me to spare no effort in finding and retrieving the Sixth Legion’s eagle, and I gave him my word that I would do so. And let me assure you, gentlemen, whatever else I may or may not be, I am certainly a man of my word.’
    Prefect Castus leaned forward again, his gaze locked on Scaurus.
    ‘So here we are, Rutilius Scaurus, in possession of detailed knowledge of where the legion’s eagle waits impatiently to be retrieved, but without a single man we can task to its rescue without putting them at risk of dreadful retribution if their disobedience is discovered. Not to mention the strong potential for our own execution. But you and your men are subject to no such restriction. You can be away into the frontier zone in hours, and have the Sixth’s eagle safely back in friendly hands within days, not to mention the dead legatus’s head. It’s time the poor man was made whole, and allowed to sleep in peace with his reputation restored, and you’re just the men to bring that about, I’d say.’
    When Scaurus and his officers returned to the dock in the company of the legion officers they were greeted by the sight of the first of the Tungrian cohort’s transports sidling up to the quayside. The ship had a round-bottomed hull, having been constructed for carrying capacity rather than for speed, and, with its sails for the most part lowered and only enough canvas spread to allow it to crawl carefully into port, it was wallowing on the incoming tide in a way that Marcus knew from grim experience would be making the men on board queasy and eager to disembark.
    ‘That’s your century, isn’t it, Dubnus?’
    The big man stared hard at the ship for a moment before nodding his agreement.
    ‘Yes. There’s my miserable sod of a standard bearer busy heaving his breakfast over the side. A shame to have got so close to dry land and still not manage to keep your biscuits down.’ He winked at Titus and Marcus before snapping to attention and throwing tribune and first spear a vigorous salute, his facial expression the epitome of determination. ‘I’ll go and get them disembarked and off into the transit barracks, with your permission First Spear?’
    Julius nodded, and Titus waved him away with a dirty look, leaning close to Marcus and muttering a comment in a rumbling tone so that only his colleague would hear it.
    ‘Someone needs to tell that boy