General Plautius studied the man sitting opposite, head bowed over the scroll as the tribune scrutinised the report. Quintillus came from one of the older families that still owned several vast estates south of Rome. The tribune was the latest in a long line of aristocrats with distinguished careers in the senate. His appointment to the Ninth Legion was in return for a large interest-free loan Quintillus' father had made to General Plautius some years earlier. But there was more to the appointment than the settling of an old debt. The tribune had connections to the Imperial Palace and the only reason why any aristocrat would cultivate such connections was because he was driven by ambition. Very well, Plautius reflected, an ambitious man was generally a ruthless man, and that would serve the general's current purpose well.

'Most interesting, I'm sure,' Quintillus said, placing the scroll down on the table and gracefully sweeping up his goblet in the same gesture. 'But might I ask what this has to do with me, sir?'

'Everything. I'm sending you to Calleva at first light.'

'Calleva?' For the briefest instant a look of surprise flashed across the tribune's fine features, and then the mask of supreme indifference dropped back in place. 'Well, why not? It would be nice to take in some of the local culture, before we eradicate it…'

'Quite,' Plautius smiled. 'But do try not to give the impression when you meet the natives that alliance with Rome is necessarily a euphemism for surrender. Tends not to go down very well.'

'I'll do my best…'

'… Or be killed in the attempt.' The general's smile had disappeared and there was no mistaking the serious tenor their conversation had taken on. Quintillus took a sip and lowered his cup, watching his superior intently.

'You have something of a reputation as a smooth operator, Quintillus. That is precisely the skill I need for this task. I hope your reputation has been fully earned.'

The tribune nodded modestly.

'Good. You only arrived a few days ago, I recall.'

'Ten days ago, sir.'

'Ten days. Not much time to familiarise yourself with our operations, then?'

'No, sir,' Quintillus admitted.

'Well, never mind. Narcissus speaks highly of you.'

'That's uncommonly generous of him.'

'Yes… very uncommon. That's why I've chosen you. I need a good pair of eyes and ears on the ground in Calleva. Centurion Macro is understandably reticent in expressing his concern about the firmness of King Verica's grip on his people. He's enjoying his independent command and doesn't want senior officers breathing down his neck. To be fair, he's doing an excellent job. He's raised a scratch force of Atrebatans, and they've already scored a victory over the Durotrigans. Quite an achievement.'

'Yes, sir. Sounds like it.' The tribune nodded at Macro's report. 'Must be a good officer, and the men he's trained sound formidable, as natives go.'

The general fixed him with a cold stare. 'Condescension is a dangerous luxury. That's a hard lesson I've had to learn from these Britons.'

'If you say so, sir.'

'I do. And you should profit from my experience.'

'But of course, sir.' Quintillus bowed his head.

'Very wise… Macro's success has put me in something of a difficult situation. You see, King Verica is an old man. I doubt he'll live through another winter. So far he's managed to carry his people with him in making a treaty with Rome. But there are some in his tribe who are not so well disposed towards us.'

'Ain't that always the way?'

'Sadly. The trouble is that these discontents are quite influential, and they might just put forward a candidate when the tribe's council of elders meets to choose a successor to Verica. If that man is successful…'

'Then we'd be in the ordure, sir.'

'Right up to our necks. Not only will we have a hostile tribe to our rear, but Centurion Macro will have provided them with the wherewithal to cause a lot of damage to our supply lines.'

'Did he exceed his orders in training and arming these cohorts, sir?'

'Not at all. He was acting on Legate Vespasian's orders.'

'Then the legate is responsible.'

'No, he sought and received my approval for the formation of the cohorts.'

'I see,' the tribune responded tactfully.

'The trouble is that Centurion Macro has not been very forthcoming about the divided loyalties of our Atrebatan friends.'

'You could order him to disband the cohorts, and confiscate their weapons.'

'That's not very practicable. You don't know these Britons like I do. About the most disrespectful thing you could do to a British warrior is take his weapons away from him. They treat them as a birthright. If we seize their weapons then there's every chance we'll have a revolt on our hands. We might even lose Verica's loyalty into the bargain.'

'It's quite a mess,' the tribune replied thoughtfully. 'One wonders why it was permitted to occur in the first place. Narcissus will want to know.'

Plautius leaned across the table. 'Then you tell your friend Narcissus to send me more troops. If I'd been given enough auxiliary units in the first place, we'd never have had to rely on Verica, or raise those two cohorts.'

'Sorry, sir,' Quintillus replied calmly. 'It was an observation, not a criticism. I apologise if I gave the wrong impression. It's a complicated situation.'

'To put it mildly. Now you can see why I need a clear picture of what is happening in Calleva. I need to know if we can risk keeping the cohorts in existence. If you judge that they might present a danger to us then we'll have to disband them, and take the chance that we can deal with the consequences. At the same time, I need to know if the Atrebatans will honour their treaty with us under a new king. If there's any question of the tribe going over to Caratacus then we will have to act at once.'

'That's quite a job for one man,' Quintillus mused.

'You won't be entirely alone. One of the local nobles is on our payroll. He's close to Verica and can provide you with whatever help you need. I'll give you the details later.'

'Fair enough, sir.' Tribune Quintillus looked closely at the general. 'What authority will you grant me for this mission?'

Plautius reached to the side of his chair and handed a scroll to the tribune. The scroll was wrapped around an ivory rod, touched by the hands of Emperor Claudius, and bore the seal of the general. 'In the first instance you are to observe, and then report to me. If you deem it necessary to act then you may invoke the powers of procurator. All Atrebatan lands will be ceded to Rome and administered as a province. You are empowered to order Vespasian's forces to annex and garrison Verica's kingdom.'

'That's quite a responsibility,' Quintillus mused. 'The legate won't be a happy man when he hears about this.'

'If we're lucky he won't ever have to.'

04 The Eagle and the Wolves