The Siege Read Online Free PDF

The pass was still a fair distance away and Cassius decided to make camp at the next suitable location.
    It turned out to be a small hollow where a dried-up stream had eaten down into the soil. The site had been used before: several bulky stones lay round a circle of ash and an area at the base of a voluminous boulder had been cleared for sleeping.
    ‘This will do,’ said Cassius as he dismounted, ‘though a nice little cave would be ideal. The air already feels colder, but we can’t risk a fire in the open.’
    Shaking the stiffness out of his legs, Cassius drank from his canteen and leaned back against the boulder, watching the last quarter of the sun disappear. Simo removed the saddles and tethered the horses to long ropes, which he tied off round a heavy stone. There was a little grass on the slopes above and both animals soon drifted away to investigate.
    ‘The desert is a cruel land, sir,’ observed Simo as he unpacked a saddlebag. ‘Not like Italy or Gaul, where the temperature often suits. Here it’s too hot by day, too cold by night.’
    Cassius was yet to experience such a night, having previously spent the hours of darkness inside either a commandeered building or his spacious officer’s tent. Unfortunately, that was now on its way to Antioch.
    Simo retrieved six blankets, which he folded over and lay on the ground in the shelter of the boulder. He gave his master four: two to sleep on and two to cover him.
    ‘Leaving just two for you, Simo. Well, you do have more natural insulation.’
    ‘Quite so, sir. Quite so.’
    Cassius began to undress. His leather boots had seemed too large at first but now fitted nicely, and it took him a while to lever them off. The merchant who sold them to him had stated that the sturdy hobnailed soles would last for five hundred miles of walking on good road.
    Next he removed his sword belt, which hung diagonally from his right shoulder, holding the weapon over his left hip. The arrangement had felt unnatural to begin with but he had soon seen the sense of keeping it free from other encumbrances at his waist, namely the military belt, key identifier of a Roman soldier.
    Made of thick, resilient leather, the belts were usually decorated with metal plates, inscriptions or other adornments. Cassius, however, had settled on a simple example with a modest iron buckle. Next off was his dagger, which hung in its own scabbard on the right. These short, wide blades had been in use for centuries and made for formidable sidearms. Cassius lay down both weapons next to his blanket and was about to continue undressing when Simo’s broad features emerged out of the darkness in front of him.
    ‘I’d keep your tunic on if I were you, sir. And here’s your cloak too.’
    Nothing more than a rectangle of heavy wool, the cloak was another piece of standard legionary equipment Cassius was yet to use.
    ‘Surely it won’t be that cold?’
    ‘I believe it will, sir,’ Simo said firmly.
    ‘Very well.’ Cassius took the cloak. He had learned to trust Simo’s judgement on such matters.
    ‘Dinner won’t be a moment, sir. I must just attend to a few other tasks while we still have a little light.’
    Cassius sat down on the blankets and pulled the cloak over him, leaning back against the rock. Despite the uneven ground beneath, it felt good to be still and rest his tired limbs. Having never ridden so consistently in his life, he had acquired an unpleasant set of bruises on his thighs and backside. At least the painful blisters on his fingers seemed to be drying out. This was not the only change to them. Since the beginning of training, his hands had been worked so hard that he had actually noticed his fingers increase in size.
    Aside from the sounds of Simo going about his work, all was quiet. The darkened plain stretched away in front of him, with only the distant lights of Nessara to remind him where they had come from. He lay down and tried to find a moment’s relief from thoughts of