CHAPTER 14 – ENCOUNTER IN SARMATIA
Blue arrow: Birth place of Nauca. Orange arrow: Tanais Emporium.
10:46 (Bosporus Time)
Wednesday, August 20, 60 B.C.E.
Eastern shore of the Tanais River (modern-day Don River)
North of the Tanais Emporium{16}, northern tip of Lake Meotis (Sea of Azov)
Stopping her horse a few paces from the eastern shore of the Tanais River, Nauca then stayed silent for a moment as she embraced the countryside beyond the western shore: she was about to reenter her region of birth after travelling for three years away from it. She was a true nomad at heart but Sarmatia was still a place dear to her. Igrid and Tayla, understanding the reasons for her silence, waited quietly behind her until she spoke up.
‘’Let’s go downstream to see if we could find a fording point for us to cross the river.’’
The trio then trotted in single file while following the shoreline and looking for one of the sandbanks which frequently formed in the Tanais River, especially around bends. It took them less than half an hour to spot such a sandbank, at which time Nauca signaled her two friends to stay on the shore for the moment.
‘’Let me cross first, in order to test the maximum depth here. If I cross relatively dry, then you will follow me, but make sure that our sacks of rice and spices don’t get wet.’’
Nauca then urged her horse forward, making it enter the water. At first the water came up only to the calves of Tamat but, as she approached the center of the river, her horse sank up to its chest. Thankfully, that was the deepest that Nauca encountered and she didn’t need to have Tamat swim. She eventually exited the river with only her legs and feet wet, then waived at her friends.
‘’YOU CAN CROSS HERE!’’
As Talya started crossing, with two of their pack horses held by long ropes, Igrid stayed on the eastern shore, watching for any possible danger to them. Once Talya had joined Nauca on the western shore, Igrid crossed the Tanais, holding by a rope their third pack horse. Once they were all back together, Nauca reminded her two friends about her previous instructions.
‘’We are now going to head straight west until we will get to the shores of the Borysthenes River. That should take us about one week. Then, we will continue westward until we reach the Hypanis{17} River, which roughly marks the limits of my tribe’s territory. We will however exercise maximum caution while traveling and will avoid lighting campfires once the Sun is down: they tend to attract marauders and thieves and we certainly don’t want to be caught by surprise while sleeping. Our cooking will thus be done while there is still some daylight. Since our provisions are limited in quantity, we will take the time to hunt and fish regularly, so that we can live off the land. If we see other travelers in the distance, or a camp, then we will steer clear and stay out of sight. I will be especially severe about those rules once we will have crossed the Hypanis River, as we will then be in totally new territory, at least where I’m concerned. Igrid, up to where did your tribe live beyond the Hypanis River?’’
‘’Us Bastarnae lived as far west as the Porata River and we could be found up to the source of the Tyras River{18}. However, I don’t know how active the Romans have been during the last couple of years, so I am not sure anymore where we will encounter my old tribe.’’
‘’Well, the World has been changing a lot lately, so we will have to take things as they come while exercising caution. As three young women traveling with horses and lots of possessions, we will be prime targets for marauders, thieves, roaming warriors and the likes. Never forget that if you don’t want to end up dead…or enslaved again.’’
Igrid and Talya nodded their heads somberly, knowing too well what enslavement meant for a girl in this brutal and cruel world. Urging her horse to a fast walk, Nauca then led them away from the river, heading due West.
19:11 (Bosporus Time)
Tuesday, August 26, 60 B.C.E.
Eastern shores of the Borysthenes River
Sarmatian territory
The happiness the three of them felt when they saw in the distance the light reflections of the setting Sun on the waters of the Borysthenes River was soon dampened by another sight they caught on as their weary horses approached the river. Nauca, mounted on the tallest horse of her group, saw it first and pointed at it, to their front right.
‘’I see the smoke and lights from multiple campfires. This could be a nomadic settlement next to the river but I find the number of campfires unusual. Normally, us Sarmatians travel by family groups of fifty to eighty people at the most. This looks much bigger.’’
‘’Could it be a tribal meeting site?’’ proposed Igrid. ‘’The chieftains of my tribe sometimes met like this for a few days in order to deal with disputes and talk about common problems.’’
‘’That could be. However, let’s not assume anything and let’s stay cautious for the moment. First, we go establish our camp next to the river while keeping it discreet, so that our horses can drink and relax after this long day. Then, you and me will go do a reconnaissance on foot of that camp, while Talya stays back with the horses.’’
‘’Sounds like a plan, Nauca. Uh, could we eat something once our camp is up, before going on foot? I am positively starving.’’
‘’I see no problems with that, Igrid. However, we will eat cold: no campfire tonight until we know who occupies that large camp.’’
‘’Understood!’’
Arriving near the shore of the river, which was bordered by a fairly thick pine and fir forest, the trio dismounted and unloaded their horses before they led their beasts to the water to let them drink to their content. They also refilled their water pouches at the same time before going to the wood line to select a camp site location. They ended up choosing a small clearing in the woods that was close enough to the river to allow them to see it through the trees. Since the temperature was only fresh but not cold and there were no signs of coming rain, they elected to not erect their tent, simply laying out on the grass their bedrolls. A frugal meal of mixed nuts and salted fish washed down with water followed. At the end of it, Nauca passed on a few directives to her two friends.
‘’Alright girls, here is what will happen. Igrid, you will go with me on foot towards that large camp, so that we could see who is in it. We will go light, with no armor, so that we could be as silent and nimble as possible. Bring your bow and sword with you but leave your shield behind. I will do the same. Ready?’’
‘’Ready as I will ever be, Nauca.’’ replied Igrid, excited by the possibility of some action after this long day of monotonous country riding. The two of them then shed the equipment they didn’t need, leaving their camp under the guard of Talya, armed with her ‘Indian’ crossbow and her lance.
Advancing along the river treeline and hugging the trees while being careful to make the minimum of noise at first, Nauca and Igrid then further slowed down their pace as the lights of campfires started becoming visible through the trees ahead. The wind, blowing towards them, also started bringing weak noises of voices from the camp. Nauca couldn’t figure out at first what language those voices spoke and twisted her head to look at Igrid, who had been following close behind her. She then saw that Igrid had frozen on the spot, shock and anger evident on her face. Nauca quickly backtracked and crouched next to her, speaking in a near whisper.
‘’What is it, Igrid?’’
‘’These men: they are Romans! They are speaking Latin between themselves.’’
‘’Romans?! This far inside Sarmatian territory? Are you sure?’’
‘’They raped me, flogged me and enslaved me, Nauca. Yes, I am sure! But you are correct in finding it surprising to see them this far north. I wonder why they are here.’’
Nauca thought about that for a few seconds before the answer came to her, making her tighten her jaws together.
‘’I think that I know why, Igrid: they may be after King Mithridates and his gold.’’
‘’King Mithridates of Pontus? But he died a few years ago, no?’’
Nauca nodded her head slowly once before replying to Igrid.
‘’Officially, he committed suicide some four years ago, after he lost his third war against the Romans. Unofficially, I met him three years ago in about this area, as he was secretly fleeing north to seek refuge with a Sarmatian tribe that was allied with him. You remember those jewels I wore in India and which made you jealous? Well, they were gifts to me from King Mithridates, to thank me for hosting him at my hunting campsite. He was already quite old at that time and I am not sure that he is still alive now, but he had with him a heavily loaded chariot that may have contained part of his legendary treasure. By the way, all that I just told you about him must not be repeated to anyone, including Talya. The Romans would certainly be ready to kill indiscriminately in order to get their greedy hands on his gold.’’
‘’I…I will stay silent, I promise. Wow! King Mithridates, alive in Sarmatia…’’
‘’Well, let’s have a peep at that camp, first to confirm that these men are Roman soldiers and, second, to see how many of them are in this camp. Follow me but be extra careful from now on not to make noises or speak other than in whispers.’’
Going into the forest but staying close to the shoreline, so that they could easily orient themselves, Nauca and Igrid advanced at a crouch, careful not to make branches crack under their feet. As they went forward, the noise of male voices became gradually more distinct and stronger, until they had to stop at the last trees before getting to a large clearing where the unknow men had established camp next to the river. Nauca nearly swore to herself out loud when she saw the size of the camp and the number of men visible around campfires.
‘’Shit! There are hundreds of them, maybe over 600, all cavalrymen judging by the number of horses corralled along the river.’’
‘’And they are definitely Roman soldiers, Nauca. Their equipment and armor are easy to recognize.’’
‘’Over 600 armored cavalrymen… This is no simple scouting force, Igrid. They are on a long-distance raiding mission of some sort. If they would be here to conquer new territory, then they would have at least some infantry with them. I am now convinced that they are after King Mithridates.’’
‘’So, what do we do about those Romans, Nauca? They are way too numerous to even think about harassing them.’’
‘’What we will do is to go find King Mithridates and the tribe that is sheltering him and warn them about this Roman cavalry force. I am sorry but we will not have time to catch some sleep tonight: we have to move out now and go around these Romans while the night is young. Let’s go back to our camp, quietly.’’
The duo did so, retreating through the forest and arriving at their camp some twenty minutes later. Talya was surprised to see them back so soon but also curious about what they had found. Like Igrid, she was both shocked and angry on hearing that they were near a Roman cavalry unit.
‘’Those Roman pieces of shit! I wish to see them all die!’’
‘’You may get that chance, if we could find some Sarmatian tribe ready to run them down. Let’s load back our horses: we have to put as much distance between us and these Romans while it is dark. We will go around that camp and head north to search for help.’’
The three of them then moved around quickly, putting their saddles and packs back on their horses and gathering their things before trotting out eastward for a good two kilometers before turning northward and hurrying past the Roman camp in the dark night, invisible to the Roman sentries. They went on for over an hour, putting a good fifteen kilometers between themselves and the Roman camp before Nauca decided that their horses needed a good rest and stopped inside the forest next to the trail, where they hastily established camp and went to sleep, alternating between the three of them to stand sentry duty. At twilight next morning, they woke up and mounted their horses again and continued to hurry northward, fervently hoping to encounter soon some Sarmatian tribesmen.
06:26 (Bosporus Time)
Thursday, August 28, 60 B.C.E.
Northeastern shores of the Borysthenes River
430 kilometers north of the shores of the Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea)
Nauca and her two friends were following what looked like an infrequently used dirt trail that generally ran North-South by the side of a forest close to the Borysthenes River, making their horses go at a fast walk, in order not to tire them unnecessarily. To the right side of the trail, a large expanse of long grass with dispersed clumps of trees, mostly firs and pines, covered the land. Nauca, who was riding side-by-side with Igrid and Talya, suddenly stopped her horse and signaled her friends to do the same while turning one ear towards her front.
‘’I am hearing something… A rider is approaching. Quick, let’s go take cover inside the treeline to our left!’’
Since the trail ran just outside of the treeline, it took them only seconds for them to hide among the trees. Seeing Nauca take her bow out of her gorytos, or Sarmatian quiver-bow carrier, Igrid did the same, while Talya grabbed her Indian crossbow and started cocking its string, using the stirrup attached to the front of her weapon to pull back the string and hook it to its retaining notched nut. Seconds later, a cavalryman appeared at a forward bend of the trail, pushing his horse at a fast trot. Igrid barely kept out an angry swear at the sight of the rider, instead bending sideways to whisper to Nauca.
‘’That’s a Roman cavalry scout! He is probably on his way to deliver a message to the big cavalry unit now one day behind us.’’
‘’Then, it means that he has spotted something important. Let’s kill him before he can escape us.’’
Adding action to her words, Nauca then fit an arrow on her bow and pushed her horse to take a few paces forward, so that she could come out from between the trees. As soon as she had a clear field of fire, she pulled her bow’s string and aimed for a second before letting go her arrow. It struck the man between his shoulder blades, piercing his chainmail armor jacket and making the Roman scream with pain before he tumbled off his horse.
‘’IGRID, GET THAT ROMAN’S HORSE! I WILL GO CHECK OUT THAT ROMAN IN THE MEANTIME.’’
Nauca then pushed her horse to a gallop to get to the man lying in the grass, where she stopped Tamat and jumped to the ground, her sword in hand. Using one foot to turn over the Roman, who lay face down in the grass, she saw that the man was still alive…barely. She thus questioned him, using Greek, a language many Romans knew.
‘’Why are you here, in Sarmatia? How many other Romans were with you further north?’’
The man, who was in his mid-twenties and was clean-shaven, slowly shook his head, signaling that he was not going to answer her questions. His eyes then glazed over and he became completely still after one last breath. Nauca looked down at the dead man for a moment, mentally reflecting about the precarity of life in these brutal times. She then proceeded to search him, hoping to find some kind of written note on him that could tell her about his mission. She however found no such note, meaning that he was probably carrying only a verbal message to his commander. The meager amount of silver and copper coins in his purse told her that he was probably of low rank, while his leather armor and light equipment marked him as a cavalry scout. Igrid came to her, holding the reins of the Roman’s horse, as she was still looking down at the dead man. Looking quickly at the horse, Nauca saw that an oval wooden shield and three javelins were hooked to the beast, with a simple cushion and blanket acting as saddle. Igrid then confirmed to her what she had been thinking.
‘’That’s a Roman Army mounted scout, a so-called ‘Exploratore’. They rarely go around alone and I would expect that another three to five men are still forward of us, down this trail. For him to have been hurrying back like this must mean that his group of scouts has found out something important.’’
‘’Their designated target, probably. This means that we better find and kill those other Roman scouts before they can either withdraw with their information or understand that we killed their comrade.’’
‘’But we don’t know how far they are or where they are, Nauca. How will we find them?’’
‘’Easy! They will be watching their target from as close as they dare, so we only need to find that target to in turn find those Romans. Come down and help me load this dead man on his horse.’’
The two of them took a couple of minutes to lift the dead Roman and throw him across his horse’s back, then tie him in place so that he would not fall off the horse. Once that was done, Nauca looked at Igrid and Talya, who had joined them by now.
‘’Here is what we will do, girls. What we want now is to find and trap those remaining Roman scouts before they could alert their unit that we discovered them. I will ride ahead of you with Minad, keeping a good distance between us while still staying in sight of you. I will act like a simple nomad traveling along this trail. As soon as we will spot a camp or settlement ahead of us, you two will retreat inside the treeline while I continue forward to that camp. With luck, I will be able to arrange a sweeping party at that camp in order to flush out those Roman scouts. Your job will be to shoot down those scouts if they try to flee from my sweeping party. Any questions, girls?’’
‘’No!’’ replied Igrid. ‘’You plan is simple enough and should work in flushing out those Romans.’’
‘’Then, let’s get back on the saddle. Let me take an advance of at least 500 paces before starting yourselves.’’
With Talya holding the reins of the Roman horse via a long rope, Nauca then galloped forward for about half of a kilometer before slowing Tamat and Minad down to a walk and continue at a moderate walk, her two companions barely visible to her behind.
10:31 (Bosporus Time)
Northern trail along Borysthenes River
Having just negotiated a bend in the trail through a few clumps of trees, Nauca stopped her horse at the sight of the large camp now visible in the middle of an open field of grass next to the Borysthenes River. That camp was typical of Sarmatian nomadic camps, with large, round felt tents, and was certainly not a Roman camp. However, it was clearly larger than a typical nomadic camp. Then, her heart jumped in her chest when she spotted a large chariot, parked behind a big tent: she had seen that chariot before, some three years earlier.
‘’The King is here.’’ she said to herself in a low voice. Realizing that things were becoming critical, with Roman scouts probably observing her right now from somewhere among the trees of the forest next to the camp, she raised her right arm and waved in a pre-arranged way to signal to Igrid and Talya to go hide into the woods, then urged her horses forward at a walk, to give the appearance that she was not aware about the Romans who were most probably observing the Sarmatian camp. Ahead, inside the camp, she could see a number of men, women and children walking, working or playing, all of whom were dressed like Sarmatians. The one thing that was unusual and that she could see was the fact that two men armed with spears were guarding the entrance to the tent behind which the large chariot was parked. Entering the camp and heading towards the guarded tent, Nauca stopped her horses some ten paces from it and jumped down on the grass. She then grabbed Tamat’s reins and walked towards the pair of guards, stopping three paces short of them before bowing her head and speaking in Sarmatian.
‘’Greetings! My name is Nauca and I wish to speak with King Mithridates about an urgent matter.’’
The senior guard threw a suspicious look at her on hearing the name ‘Mithridates’.
‘’How do you know that the King is here? Few know about his presence with us.’’
‘’How? Because I saw his chariot three years ago and I now see it parked behind this tent. If Hypsicratea is also here, then I must speak with her at once.’’
Her assurance apparently decided the guard, who then went in the tent for a moment before coming out, closely followed by a woman in her late forties who still appeared vigorous and who was armed with a sword and dagger at her belt. Nauca bowed deeply at her appearance.
‘’Great Hypsicratea, you may not remember me but we met some three years ago, not far from here, and my name is Nauca.’’
‘’I remember you, young Nauca. What prompted you to come visit us?’’
‘’A deadly threat to King Mithridates and to this camp, great lady. A large Roman cavalry unit is presently on its way to here, coming from the South and following the trail next to the river, while I believe that Roman scouts are observing this camp as we speak. Me and my two companions intercepted and killed one of those scouts as he was riding southward, probably to warn his unit about your location.’’
The old female warrior stiffened at once on hearing the word ‘Romans’.
‘’How many soldiers did this Roman unit count, Nauca?’’
‘’At least 600, from the count of horses inside their camp. There were no infantrymen with them, just cavalrymen.’’
‘’And your companions, where are they right now?’’
‘’They are hiding in the forest, next to the trail, ready to shoot down any Roman scouts attempting to withdraw south. I propose that your warriors initiate a search of the nearby woods, in order to flush out those Roman scouts and make them withdraw. Then, my two companions will be able to intercept and kill them.’’
‘’A sound idea indeed. We will certainly do that but first I must tell the King about this. Come with me inside!’’
Her heart accelerating at the idea that she was about to see King Mithridates again, Nauca followed the King’s protector and lover inside the tent. Once in, she was able to see Mithridates, sitting on a wooden chair set next to another chair in which sat a mature Sarmatian noblewoman. Nauca immediately bowed deeply to the pair as Hypsicratea spoke to them in Sarmatian.
‘’My King, Queen Roxanna, this is Nauca of the Roxolani. She came to warn us about a deadly and close threat to us.’’
Hypsicratea then spoke quickly, repeating what Nauca had told her. Queen Roxanna threw a worried look at Mithridates on hearing about the Romans.
‘’You should leave this camp at once under escort, Great Mithridates. You can’t risk capture at the hands of the Romans.’’
‘’If I may, Your Majesty!’’ hurried to say Nauca. ‘’I believe that further running would be futile. We must destroy this Roman force in its entirety in order to eliminate this threat for good. Simply fleeing would not save the King from those Romans: it would only delay disaster.’’
‘’And what do you propose that we do, young Nauca?’’ replied Queen Roxanna. ‘’I have less than a hundred warriors in this camp and it would take at least a day to assemble more warriors here.’’
‘’I propose that we set a trap in this camp for those Romans and then shoot them to pieces as they charge in with their javelins. From what I saw of them and their camp, they did not have archers or bows with them, only javelins.’’
King Mithridates, already of advanced age but appearing to be still clear-minded, smiled and nodded his head once.
‘’A bold but feasible plan, young Nauca. I like it! How far did you say that this Roman cavalry force is from here?’’
‘’They should now be about one day’s riding from here, Your Majesty: more than enough time to prepare against them. However, those scouts near this camp should be dealt with first, so that they would not be able to alert their unit about our preparations.’’
‘’A most sensible precaution indeed, young Nauca. Hypsicratea, take care of those Roman scouts with our young friend.’’
‘’At once, Your Majesty!’’ replied the mature amazon while bowing, imitated by Nauca. The two of them then left the tent and faced each other once outside.
‘’So, Nauca, you had the idea for that plan. How do you propose that we get rid of those scouts?’’
‘’I would like to leave the camp, as if I simply came to visit King Mithridates, and then return to my companions. An hour after my departure, you would then form a skirmish line and advance towards the woods to the south of the camp. That should force those enemy scouts to withdraw and mount back their horses in order to return to their unit. I and my companions would then shoot those scouts down as they come down the trail. They can’t be numerous and we should be able to deal with them all. I will only ask you to have a small group of cavalrymen standing ready to pursue them and distract them from my ambush.’’
Hypsicratea grinned on hearing her plan.
‘’You are a devious one, young Nauca. You seem to have quite a lot of experience about fighting despite your young age.’’
‘’I fought plenty of bandits and even some Chinese soldiers during trips to China and then India, Lady Hypsicratea.’’
‘’Indeed? I am impressed, Nauca. Go and return to your companions and be ready to warmly greet those Roman scouts: I will lead out our skirmishers in one hour. Good luck, Nauca!’’
‘’And the same to you, Lady Hypsicratea.’’
Nauca then mounted on her horse but that simple gesture left Hypsicratea looking surprised and confused.
‘’Wait! How did you mount so easily on your horse?’’
Nauca smiled to her and pulled away the piece of thick fabric which covered her left-side stirrup.
‘’Thanks to this, an invention I found in India. This is called a stirrup and it doesn’t only help me to mount my horse: it and the one on the other side help me greatly in being more steady and secure in the saddle. Once this battle will be over, I will tell you all about it and will let you try them.’’
‘’By Cybele, I can’t wait for that!’’
Nauca’s smile widened to a grin at those words before she urged her horse to a trot and left the camp, heading southward.
Forcing herself not to look inside the woods to her right side as she trotted down the trail, Nauca rode for about 600 meters before a whistle made her twist her head towards the nearby trees. Seeing Igrid waving at her, Nauca left the trail and stepped down from her horse before entering the wood line.
‘’So, did you find King Mithridates?’’ asked Talya, apparently dying with curiosity.
‘’Yes, I did! He is living in a large camp run by Queen Roxanna, the local tribe’s ruler. I warned them about the Romans and we agreed to get rid of the Roman scouts before we sucker their unit into a trap. Our job will be to prevent any of those Roman scouts from fleeing south once they are flushed out by Queen Roxanna’s warriors.’’
Nauca then gave a critical look at the crossbow carried by young Talya.
‘’Talya, your crossbow may be a powerful and accurate weapon, which you master by now, but it still has a slower rate of fire than that of our bows. You will be particularly vulnerable while reloading it, so I believe that we should build some kind of fixed, protective wooden shield for you while waiting for those scouts to show up. You will help Igrid cut down and then trim a small tree, which we will then cut in many short logs in order to build that shield. I will keep watch on the trail while you work.’’
Guided by the counsels from Nauca, the two teenagers went hard at work, chopping down, trimming and cutting into logs a small tree, building a protective wall that was actually large enough to protect all three of them against thrown javelins. After some forty minutes of work, Nauca declared herself satisfied by the final result and made her two friends rest a bit before preparing for battle. That entailed putting on their helmets and various pieces of armor they owned, much of them having been looted from dead Saka soldiers in the cases of Igrid and Talya, who had at the time the luxury of taking only the best they could find in a mountain of weapons and armor. The two teenagers thus ended being encased in scale armor vests, bronze greaves and helmets, plus long oval shields. As for Nauca, she wore a set of steel lamellar armor which included a vest, hip protectors and shoulders and arms protectors, the lot worn over a thick padded gambeson undergarment meant to cushion blows and impa