Ch. 8: May Mars guide my blade
A few weeks after fleeing from the Greek city, Rexell mobilized a small unit of elite Romans to formulate a plan to rescue Marcylus and his men. The General was being held in a small fort called Poseidons' Trident. The men were eager to volunteer for the task. They were intensely trained for five weeks and given reinforced armor and weapons. Rexell also planned to have a unit of archers try and draw the defenders of the fort away for the crucial few seconds Rexell's strike force needed to gain entry to the fort.
During the time that Rexell was training his men, Marcylus and his survivors were kept busy in their prison sharpening swords and fixing armor. Although he regretted doing these tasks, Marcylus knew it was all his men had in order to keep themselves alive until Rexell rescued them somehow. Some of the men were losing hope that Brutii was going to help them. They had regular prayers to the gods and kept a strict physical training routine.
Unfortunately the prisoners were also used for sport. Every once in a while the Greeks would take a few of the Romans and make them fight their best men. The prisoners always lost. Marcylus cursed his helplessness. A week after their capture, the Romans witnessed as Marcylus was severly beaten with a spear and shield. It took all the discipline they had to watch and not interfere.
Marcylus' second in command for the prisoners immediately called together a meeting.
" My lord they had no right to treat you in such a terrible way. I would have stopped them, why did you advise me not to intervene?"
The general pointed to each of the four towers surrounding the camp. In each tower there were five archers ready to fire. The Romans then planned out a way to counter the towers when help arrived. Meanwhile the Greeks were growing more paranoid of an impending attack to the south.
" I heard that Brutii has begun a siege at Corinth, that could mean they will attack Sparta!" cried one of the men.
" The gods will swing the battle in our favor! the Roman dogs cannot stand before the sons of Zeus!" replied another guard. They then proceeded to reinforce one of the four towers.
Another week passed until Rexell's strike force had pierced enemy territory and could see the camp. Rexell briefed the men on their assault strategy. Half of the men would draw swords and hide behind the other half of the force who would be carrying pure black shields. They started their attack at night. Only a couple of Greek torches lit the way for their assault. The Greeks were simply sleeping or telling stories to one another. They did not see the Romans creep up to the East tower and begin to scale it. The first few Romans slipped into the tower's top floor and snuck up behind the guards.
The soft sound of a throat being slit woke one of the other Greek guards. He readied his spear and charged out of his room. He was killed outright by a slash to the head. Blood drenched the lead Roman as he led the way down the tower to the main level. At the bottom a small skirmish broke out. One man was wounded as the Romans cut through ten Greeks. Marcylus perked up his head when he heard the clash of swordplay coming from just down the corridor. The prisoners were inside their sleeping quarters for the night.
Just then Rexell burst into the chamber and quickly hacked off the nearest guard's leg. He ignored his screams and cut through the locks on the cells. The prisoners cheered and hurried to arm themselves. Rexell handed Marcylus a new Gladius as the general walked out of his cell. Rexell then brought forth the famed helmet. He thanked Rexell before ordering the men to keep it quiet as they withdrew. The throng of men quickly left the fort behind. A couple men stayed to light it ablaze before joining with the rest. All the men had to deal with on the way back to Roman soil was a couple of sentries posted much too far away from the fort.
" Good thing the Greeks reinforced the tower we climbed, otherwise I think it would have collapsed under our weight! " said Rexell. Marcylus simply smiled. It felt very good to get out of that camp and back to the lines. Brutii had a campaign to finish, and there was a mission waiting for him once he got back to his quarters.
His army was to join up with Flavius Brutus' army and march to Greece to support the siege at Corinth that was almost over. The army was mostly intact. After a bit of retraining at Salona, they marched East. A cloud of dust showed every enemy of Rome where they were. During the march, they had to deal with two small raiding parties. Most likely Greeks retreating from Corinth. This boded well with Marcylus. It was not the most honourable course of action but it was necessary.
" My lord we have reached the lines! " called Rexell. Marcylus ordered his men to form ranks and held his breath. It was time for the Greeks to make the next move. The Romans organized themselves quickly and stared at the back wall of Corinth. A small contingent of Greeks came through the gates, Marcylus readied his archers and ordered them to fire.