The sun rose fitfully, its pale light giving little warmth as though it wanted no part of the horrendous landscape. It seemed to speed across the sky, eager for the horizon and the blessings of the night.
Carrion birds began to gather in the sky, their piercing cries shattering the stillness. The shadows of the scavengers weaved an intricate web on the bodies below. Soon they would select the choicest pickings. For now, however, only two figures moved among the wreckage of the land. Jackson Vandal searched for the weapon of his fallen friend, Centurion Glaceius for the traces of his surviving enemies.
Vandal hunted for Marcus's pilum, moving aside the dead with a grimace. He was amazed at how quickly he adapted to the carnage around him. Their twisted features had blurred into one shapeless form, their faces into a single amalgamation that would later haunt him for the rest of his days. The smell no longer bothered him; the sights no longer disturbed him. He pondered on this a short while, but could find no deep meaning in his tired mind. Now there was only the lost weapon.
He found it not far from where his friend had fought his final battle. Broken in half, a gaily coloured cloth tied to it fluttered in the mild breeze. Vandal unraveled it then returned to Marcus' side. There, he placed the cloth in Marcus's hand and closed the cold fingers around it. Wiping his eyes, he removed his own scarf and covered Marcus's face. He had tried to close the wide and staring eyes, but it was not like on television. No simple and gentle moving of the eyelids. No, Marcus stared unending into the unfeeling sky. This, more than anything, saddened Vandal.
The sound of Glaceius' hobbled approach brought him out of his reverie. The two men had not exchanged many words, probably due to shock, surmised Vandal. Vandal had expected recriminations from the high ranking Roman but received none. In comparison to the events that had transpired, a minor act of cowardice seemed to matter little.
Glaceius gestured to the makeshift bandage around his leg, 'You did good work on this.'
Vandal only nodded, 'Marcus told me that his bride-to-be gave him this. He was supposed to return it to her on their wedding day. I just thought it was another overly-dramatic part of the game,' he shook his head bitterly, 'Did you find anything?'
'Aediphus and three others fled up that path leading into the mountains. He must have taken his entourage, as I can find no sign of them. I expected that from Dragus.'
'Dragus?'
'He was the personal assistant to the Emperor until Aediphus returned from his banishment in the western sands. How he survived will be a mystery, I suppose. Aediphus promised immortality in return for unwavering loyalty from his men - we had thought Dragus and the others were more sensible than to believe in such childish stories. How were we to know the underworld gods touched him?' his hands twisted into angry fists, 'That monster could have taken on the whole damn Legion! Our weapons were like air to him! He did not have to send so many soldiers to their deaths. He did it for his own perverse amusement. Now he thinks he travels unfettered.'
Glaceius turned and began to limp up the hill. Vandal called after him, 'Where are you going?'
'I found some horses. Survivors of our small cavalry detachment. I mean to ride back to the Legatus's Soothsayer and find out what he knows about this.'
'Soothsayer? What are you talking about?'
'The Soothsayer sent us on this quest to stop Aediphus. He, the Legatus and a select few knew what his true motives were. I am going to make him tell me.'
Vandal stood and hurried over the Roman, 'Aren't you a Centurion? Wouldn't they have told you too?'
'No doubt the men informed you about my father's fall from the Senate. The Legatus and his officers did not like me. Only the goodwill of the men under my command managed to retain my position. It was easier to post me far in the north, away from my Praetorian Guard,' Glaceius turned and looked into Vandal's eyes for the first time, 'I thank you for your service but it has reached an end. Your duty to the Roman Army is concluded,' his eyes swept over the land 'There is no more 12th Legion. You can return from wherever it is you call home.'
'Listen pal, nothing would give me more pleasure. But I don't even know how the hell I got here in the first place.'
'Then pick a direction. It matters little. You're free.'
'And what are you going to do after you speak to this Soothy guy?'
'Aediphus is still a threat to Rome. I must try to stop him from whatever he intends to do. I see now that he has far more power than anyone ever believed possible. There must be a reason he came here instead of Rome directly. Find whatever you need among the ruins and go. There is a small village a few leagues to the east. Perhaps you may even come across a map. I would try to stay away from any roving parties you may come across. You fought well earlier, but no doubt you would run out of stones to throw.'
Vandal bristled at that, 'What the hell are you going to do? You have a hole in your leg the size of Nebraska!'
'I will manage. The demon that is Aediphus must be stopped. I am all that remains between him and whatever goal he seeks.'
'He's no demon,' muttered Vandal, an idea forming slowly in his mind, 'not quite.'
Vandal watched the Roman slowly make his way to the top of the hill. He could just see over it, noticing three horses wandering a field untouched by the dead. One of them, ironically enough, was the packhorse that woke him to this mess. Looking back, he saw his friend Marcus. The only colour in his view was the bright cloth clutched in his dead hand.
Home, Vandal thought. What is there for me? Back to drinking myself to death? I do not know why I'm here, but come to think of it, I don't know why I was there ethier. What was it I heard once, Vandal brow furrowed in remembrance, "The best way to honour the dead is to be the person they thought you were." Marcus thought I was something I was not, he would have followed Glaceius to hell and back. Christ, he did! Maybe I should too. Maybe I already have.
Vandal reached down and picked the broken pilum, holding a two-foot long piece of the shaft. He examined it, then shoved it into his belt.
'I see you have an extra horse,' he shouted after Glaceius.
The two men rode all day until it was too dark for them to continue. Glaceius said the Soothsayer's camp was not far, they would be there in the morning. Vandal could almost make out a small fire some distance away. At least they were finally free from the sound of the damn vultures.
They spoke little. Whatever patience Glaceius had left vanished trying to show Vandal how to ride. Several times the rather large man had slid off the saddle and fell to the ground. After awhile, Glaceius had ridden some distance away. Vandal truly believed the packhorse was mocking him. Again.
Once he was stable riding the animal, he pulled out the broken staff and the pugio and began to whittle. It was something that he took up when he played in the minors, to pass the time as he waited in the dugout. It relieved his tension and passed the time.
Night came and they selected their camp, close to a stream and away from the path. Glaceius had grown grimmer when they noticed another set of tracks along the road. Vandal was about to ask about it then wisely reconsidered. Instead, he gathered wood and tried to light a fire. After a few minutes of staring at the wood and trying to imagine how to do it without matches, Glaceius shoved him out of the way. He instead took the job of filling their water skins.
He sat by the water, staring at his reflecting in the moonlit dappled water. He scarecly recognized the face looking back at him. Covered in dirt, blood, scruffy from several days worth of beard, eyes sunken and hollow; he looked like a different man. His old self seemed far away from the realm he found himself in. The sudden glow of a new fire sprang up over his shoulder, Glaceius reading their meal. He had caught some sort of bird in the forest.
Vandal wondered at all of it. Only a few weeks ago he would have considered these people primitive and himself far superior. Now, faced with a new perspective, he recognized his ability to drive a car, use an ATM, a computer and sit on his ass with a television remote amounted to very little real value. He knew nothing on how to survive without driving to a store and buying prepared food. He had managed to stop those two soldiers the other night but that was more attributed to surprise than anything else. Had Glaceius not stopped that third soldier he would have been a dead man. He stood no chance against them one on one. He returned to the fire, hunkering down and pulling out his whittling. Slivers of wood flew into the fire, flashing in bright sparks.
Glaceius finally broke the silence, 'So where is it that you come from?'
'Place called America. It's a big country, and the best around. You can believe that.'
'I have never heard of it.'
'Well, it's pretty far from here. In more ways than one.'
'So what is your country like? Do they all speak as strangely as you do?'
What?'
'I scarcely know what you are saying half the time. What is a 'Nebraska' anyway? And who is this 'fuck' you continually call on? Is it a god?'
Vandal smiled, the first true smile he could remember in some time, 'No, not really.'
'You must be rich there, or some sort of servant then. No offense, but you seem to have had a soft life.'
'No. I was kinda an athlete. Played a game called baseball.'
'Ah, I see. You were paid well then?'
'Not too badly. I drank most of it though. Threw it all away too. Then I woke up here. Story of my life.'
'It is lucky you did. Despite your touted greatness of your country, you would not manage out here. Unable to ride a horse, hunt, start a fire, wield a sword.'
'Let's change the subject shall we? Something beside how crappy I am?' he thought a moment, 'Should we keep this fire light? Those two men I knocked out may have followed us.'
'They are dead.'
'What?'
"I killed them. We were in no condition for another fight. I could barely stand and you caught them off guard. I do not think you would have managed in hand-to-hand.'
Vandal stared at his hands for a moment. Looking up, he faced Glaceius eye to eye, 'I can't kill a person, Glaceius. No matter how much armour I wear or how much you show me to use a gladius, I'll never be a soldier like you. I can't kill a man.'
Glaceius nodded and pointed back to the road, 'Those tracks, those are our men. Rather, our Tribune . The six officers who attend to the Legatus, led by the Tribunus Laticlavius . Only four survived and they travelled this way. I saw the Legatus's group leave the battle when he fell to Aediphus. They ran away. I did not think they would have headed this way, however. Cowards. The Tribunus was not a true soldier, merely using his position as a stepping stone into the Senate.'
'Can't really blame them, pal. Maybe not everyone is hell-bent on getting his ass kicked like you are.'
'Watch your tongue. You address an officer in the Roman Legion.'
'As I recall, I'm not part of your army. You dismissed me, remember?'
Glaceius' eyes shot up and centered on Vandal, anger flashing on his tired face. Then he smiled wearily, laughing a little, 'True enough, Vandal. True enough.'
'Besides,' Vandal said, stretching out and reading himself for sleep, 'you owe this crappy ex-soldier your life.'
Vandal curled into his bedroll and was soon fast asleep, too exhausted to even dream. For a long time Glaceius sat staring at him, night slowly closing in as his thoughts surrounded him.
They rode off at the first sign of the morning star. Vandal was stiff and sore but the ride shook it off. He actually found himself enjoying the exercise. Soon, they could make out the Soothsayer's tent. Five horses surrounded it. Glaceius tugged on the reins of his horse and brought it to a stop.
'Those men will take you back to our fortress to the south. More than likely they will return to Rome with the news and to mask their cowardice to the Emperor. By the time they arrive they will have convinced themselves they are heroes.'
'Hey, maybe they'll help you with stopping Aediphus.'
'They know what Aediphus seeks and still they remain here, with their horses loaded for travel.'
'Yeah, well, why are you going then?'
'I am a citizen of Rome and an officer in her army. I have taken a pledge to protect her and her people. Unlike these men, my position is not for money and power but for honor,' his face became cold, 'and I will not allow all those needless deaths to go unpunished and forgotten.'
'You're a soldier, they are soldiers. What makes them so different? They don't feel obligated like you do.'
'They are politicians. Usually a Legatus will have veteran soldiers as his advisors but not ours. He had dreams of Senate sponsorship as do these men. Their ambition blinds them to the true needs and dangers of Rome.'
Vandal leaned back in his saddle and felt the whittled shaft press against the small of his back. He had no intention of heading off to Rome and leaving Glaceius but for now he would keep those thoughts to himself. Following the Centurion, they moved towards the large tent. Drawing closer, they saw four men stand to meet them. The apparent leader, the Tribunus Laticlavius, waved to Glaceius.
'Hail Centurion,' the Tribunus said, 'We thought no one survived the battle. It gladdens our hearts to see it is none other the Glaceius himself.'
'Survived due to no help from you, Tribunus.'
The Tribunus blinked, taken aback. One of men behind him spoke up, 'Careful Centurion. The Tribunus is in charge now. We all witnessed the death of the Legatus at the hands of the demon Aediphus.'
'You Tribunes hold no authority over me. No longer. I have seen your true selves and they are not Roman.'
'Centurion Glaceius,' the Tribune yelled angrily, 'you would be advised...'
'Shut up, Tribune. Least I run you through for cowardice in the face of the enemy.'
That got the men's attention. They Tribunes formed around the Laticlavius and cradled their weapons. Vandal shifted uncomfortably, looking back and forth between the two men. The Laticlavius was obviously nervous, sweat coating his face. Glaceius was unflinching. Outnumbered, outgunned, injured, his reputation was such that even four to one the Romans gave pause before challenging him.
The Laticlavius laughed after a moment, 'Oh, Glaceius. I suppose the past days events has left you rattled. We will forget your comment and not tell the Senate when we return to Rome.'
Glaceius remained unmoving. His eyes never left the Laticlavius.
'Besides, there are four of us! I doubt your soldier here would be much help. We all saw him in a drunken stupor outside the camp. Why the Legatus put him under your command is beyond me. He is no Roman - his armour barely fits around his stomach!' The other Tribunes laughed at this, slapping each other on the back. Glaceius's cold voice cut the laughter cleanly.
'This man is more Roman than you lot. He saved my life. He could have ran, hid in the hills. Instead he saw I was in trouble and assisted me without once considering his own safety. Can you say the same?' Glaceius stepped up to the Laticlavius, setting his face inches away from the officer, 'But you...you ran. Ran like children. Ran away as fast as your mounts could carry you, away from the men you ordered to die,' Glaceius's voice became a bellow, 'Ordered them to a fate you did not have the spine to share!'
Rage crossed the faces of the men. Vandal was surprised to find his hand on his own gladius, as surprised as he was about Glaceius' words about him. The Laticlavius shouted something about 'gone too far', his men drawing their blades. Glaceius remained where he stood, not drawing his blade, his demeaner as if these men did not dignify such an action. Vandal believed the Laticlavius would cut him and Glaceius still would not blink. Then, when all seemed lost except for the fight, the tent flap flew open.
'Enough!'
A man stepped out, robes bellowing around him, leaning heavily on a staff adorned with an eagle. He was middle aged but impossibly thin. His claw-like hands separated the men.
'Stop this maddness! The gods have sent our Savior as foretold and you would throw it away for your petty bickering.'
The Laticlavius looked confused, 'Glaceius is our savior?'
'No you fool,' the Soothsayer proclaimed, 'He is!' One bony finger pointed at Vandal.
'You must be joking,' Glaceius and the Laticlavius whispered.