Chapter 29

Irish Coast

Llassar pulled the small one-man boat onto the shore. He half considered finding a cove or outcropping to try and hide the boat, but it didn’t matter. If he didn’t find a way to get in contact with Salbuide and convince the king to join them, there was a strong chance the Ériu would never let him leave.

Even if some fisherman found the boat, they wouldn’t be able to get word to Emain Macha until Llassar had a chance to reach the city.

Despite being a prisoner, he had fond memories of his time here. The Ériu were, in some ways, more advanced than his own people, although still far behind what the Romans had accomplished. Unlike Monadhcarden with its tents and mud huts, the capital of the Caledonians, the circular city of Emain Macha was large, with a huge round building in its center. Llassar remembered marveling at its giant wooden roof, thinking, at the time, that it was the grandest building he had ever seen.

Like the Romans, the Ériu were builders. If the Consul was right, and they could convince them to join the Empire, they would pick up the Roman traditions faster than the Caledonians could, and could be a great asset to them.

Of course, they were nearly as mistrusting as the Caledonians when it came to outsiders and his stay here had been a long time ago. There was equally as good a chance he might die here.

Llassar didn’t fear death, but he understood how important this was to the alliance. That, in and of itself, was an unusual feeling for him. He had almost thought Talogren had gone mad when he heard about his dealing with the Romans, but after spending time with them, he realized that, as always, his chieftain was a further thinking man than he was. His conversion into being a believer in their new Empire had been swift, but total.

Stepping off the rocky beach and into the edges of the grasslands, Llassar began his long trek inland.

Battlefield, North of Venonis “How many?” Ky asked as he and the surviving legates, along with a large contingent of guards, walked across the corpses scattered across the battlefield.

“We don’t know yet,” Carus said. “Thousands, to be sure. Maybe a full legion dead, with almost as many wounded. The largest losses were in Velius’s legion, as they tried to seal that final break before we sprung the trap.”

“Have we found his body yet?”

“No, but the grave men have just started to separate out the dead and arrange for mass burials. They are pulling identifying items and any bodies of centurions or above for identification.”