We buried our dead in shallow graves, by the time we were finished burying them, the vultures, jackals, and hyenas had started eating the rest. We had to move on, I had to move on, people die, that is a fact of war, sometimes it’s the people under you when you are in command, and I was to whatever end that lead.

I drank my water skin dry, I was still thirsty and my throat was sore beyond belief. I refilled my skin at a nearby cask, and drank it dry again. I had to either become cold, and dead to the world, or I had to separate my duty as a centurion, with my emotions. It would be something I would have to work out on the go. The general called for the legion to form up, we had to continue, we had a fort to retake. We started to march once again, and as we left the battlefield the miserable feeling I felt began to fade with each step.

As a centurion I had the privilege of riding a horse, and when General Bracca, did his rounds, and check up on his men I took the opportunity to ask “why did you promote me to centurion? There were more qualified legionnaires in the group I lead from the mine. Former first cohorts, and veteran legionaries and the like.”

The General nodded “I spoke with Leif, while you waited in my tent that first night. He told me about how you freed him, and the rest of the slaves. He also told me about how you lead them across the desert, finally defeating a better armed force before meeting up with us. There are legionnaires that have been in the legion longer, even those in the first cohort. But they didn’t free men, they barely knew, or lead them across the desert. For better or worse you have lead men, they respect you I couldn’t think of anyone better. Keep up the effort and you will make a fine general some day.”

I didn’t want to be a general but I thanked him for the compliment, and we continued on our way. The day’s went on, and at night I my dreams went from stress filled nightmares back to something more pleasant. It was about a night before Fort Commodus would come into view of the legion when I was summoned to General Bracca’s tent. Stepping in I saluted him, and he returned it, with him were two of his aides, and he asked me to sit down.

Taking a seat I asked “General Sir, how may I help you?”

The General took his seat, across from me, and stated “You have said that you have been to Fort Commodus several times, when you were a slave Can you give us details, so that we can plan our segie?”

I nodded, and smiled eagerly, I had been inside Fort Commodus, several times, I had watched patrols go in, and out of it on a regular basis, I even watched my sheep from knolls, and hills around the fort, and said “I have several maps of the fort in my tent, would you like me to get them?”

The General shook his head to the negative, “No thank you just what you can tell us from the top of your head. We can go over the maps, in the morning.”

My smile turned into a grin, “General Sir, Fort Commodus has a very long history. It was originally built by P’Tah, through the use of Terah slaves. Its walls are made of solid blocks of limestone about fifteen feet thick, the walls are twenty feet tall, with thirty foot tall watch towers at the four corners of the fort, with two more towers at the gate house on the north side of the fort one on either side.”

General Bracca scribbled down the information, and said absent mindedly “naturally.”

I continued on with my description, “the length, and breadth of the fort isn’t massive, six hundred, by six hundred feet. It is garrisoned, by just over a eight thousand soldiers, mostly Aegean mercenaries, P’Tah captains, and cavalry, and a small contingent of Khart warriors make up the rest. I believe that the enemy forces we faced a few days ago belonged to the garrison. Surrounding the for against the walls is a moat, it’s covered with pitch and oil making any ladder rush an unpleasant affair since they can light it off at any moment. Then farther out, is a clay brick rampart that prevents siege engines from setting up effectively, and also makes anyone within it in range of the forts archers. The fort isn’t actually that hard to take, the problem with it is that it takes long enough to take it for reinforcements to come from Kheb. However, there is a weakness, not a large one, but big enough.”

General Bracc, and his aides looked up eagerly at me expectantly, which made my mouth my mouth go dry, and I elaborated “On the east side of the fort is a hill, It hasn’t been taken down or fortified because no one see’s it as a threat, as an archer can shoot an arrow from the top of the hill, and at the best arc the arrows don’t hit much higher than halfway up the wall.”

The General’s aide asked skeptically “How is that a weakness?” The General smirked seeing where I was going with it.

I answered “If your best archer can fire into the moat from that hill, they can set the pitch, and oil on fire. It’ll burn for days, inundating the inhabitants of the fort with smoke, and heat. It’ll give us cover to set up any siege engines we may have, and prepare a ladder rush.”

General Bracc grinned “How would you feel about this, tomorrow you will lead your centuria south of the fort with all the supplies you will need to ladder rush the fort from there. My men will light the pitch, and oil off from the east, and set up a siege on the east, and north of the fort drawing their attention. I am assuming they can still see intermittently through the smoke. Then when we ladder rush, from our sides, you, and your men will do the same from the south.”

I nodded in agreement “This a good idea, I will depart with my men in the morning, after we go over the maps.” The General thanked me, and I went back to my tent to prepare myself for the coming battle.