In the Shadow of the Wall Read Online Free PDF Page B

not allow him the time. More warriors were flooding in to the tower and heading for the south side so Brude reluctantly left the fallen Roman and ran down the wide wooden steps.
    Bursting out into the sunlight he came across another fallen Roman who was also wearing the segmented armour plates. Brude had a sudden, sobering thought that it was unlikely two wealthy Romans would be on guard duty in a remote watchtower. Which meant that this armour was probably common among the Roman soldiers. He had heard tales of how the Romans had conquered the Pritani generations ago and that their soldiers all wore suits of metal but he had thought those were exaggerated tales. Now, he was not so sure. The Pritani usually fought without armour, a shield being their only protection apart from their skill. Only the very wealthy sometimes wore breastplates but most warriors felt it was a point of honour not to wear protective armour. Brude knew the warrior code but to his mind, the Romans were more likely to win if their men could withstand the spears and swords of the Pritani. It was an unsettling thought.
    Colm dragged him out of his reverie by thumping him on the back. “We did it!” he shouted happily. “We’re here!” He danced a little jig in celebration.
    Nechtan arrived, on foot because his horse had gone lame on the night march. Briskly, he ordered them to gather at the road. Brude’s father called for the men of Broch Tava to follow him and, after some confusion while they sorted themselves out, they set off in high spirits, down the gentle slope to the road. Only Brude was subdued. To him, the assault on the Wall had been a shambles. Now that they were on the other side, they seemed to have no clear plan as to what they wanted to do next because it took Nechtan some time to gather the men where he wanted them. Then, instead of crossing the wide ditch, he led them along the road, heading to the west. Brude heard him say to his father and the other village leaders, “The Selgovae have gone east and the Damnonii have gone south, so we’ll go this way. Then we won’t have to share any spoils we take.”
    Brude snorted a breath of dissatisfaction with this plan. Nobody heard except Colm who nudged him and asked what was wrong.
    “The Selgovae know what they are doing. Look at how they crossed the Wall before us. If they’re heading east they must have a reason. And we should stay off the road. We are trapped here between the Wall and the ditch.”
    “Who cares?” Colm said dismissively. “There aren’t any Romans about anyway.”
    “Didn’t you see that fire signal?” Brude asked him, keeping his voice low. “Look, you can see another watchtower away along there. The guards were signalling to somebody.”
    “Well if there are any Romans, we’ll soon see them off,” Colm said confidently. “If you’re afraid you can always stay here,” he added mockingly.
    “I’m not afraid,” Brude snapped back, “I just think going this way is a bad idea. We should at least send some scouts ahead”
    “Nechtan knows what he’s doing,” Colm asserted.
    Brude wasn’t so sure.
    They set off at last. Brude had to concede that walking along the road meant that they made much better time than going across country. It ran dead straight, taking them up a long, gentle rise, always around five hundred paces from the Wall to their right. They soon reached the next watchtower where, seeing several figures on its summit watching them, Gartnait of Peart led some of his men to try to attack it. They soon hurried back. The solid oak door had been barred and the Romans were throwing javelins and dropping rocks from the top of the tower. With no way of breaking down the door, the men of Peart were forced to make an ignominious retreat. Worse still, Gartnait himself was injured, a dropped rock having smashed through his shield, breaking his arm, then falling onto his foot and crushing his toes. He bore the pain stoically but could not