CHAPTER 20 – LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Frisian stallion.
09:49 (North Sea Time)
Monday, November 17, 60 B.C.E.
Frisii territory, sixty kilometers northeast of the Lower Rhine River
‘’NAUCA, I SEE A HERD OF HORSES AHEAD! THEY ARE ALL BLACK!’’
Alerted by the shout from Igrid, Nauca anxiously concentrated her eyes towards the far-off fields ahead of them and felt her heart jump with joy on effectively seeing a herd of about forty black horses, which were busy grazing the long grass of the field they were in. She was also able to distinguish a man riding a horse near the herd.
‘’I see a man on a horse, watching over that herd. Let’s go see him but let’s also look as friendly as we can: I would really love to buy some of those black horses from their owner. We will remove our helmets and armor before going towards him.’’
Doing so took them some ten minutes, time to pack away their armor, with the trio then having their horses walk calmly towards the herd. Nauca made a friendly wave as soon as the man watching the herd saw them, then sent Igrid ahead alone to go speak with him.
As Igrid approached the herd’s keeper, she was able to see that he was actually a teenage boy on the verge of adulthood and was armed with both a knife and a pair of javelins. In turn, the teenager watched her approach with obvious curiosity and didn’t touch his weapons as Igrid stopped her horse close to his horse, which was of the same race as the big black horses busy grazing the grass.
‘’Good morning! Me and my two companions are traders from far to the East of here and came with the hope of buying some Frisian horses, of which we heard a lot of good. Your horses indeed look magnificent, strong beasts. In view of your age, I gather that you are not their owner.’’
‘’Effectively, I am only watching over them. They belong to my family.’’
‘’And would your family be ready to sell some of those horses to us?’’
‘’I think so! After all, we raise those horses in order to sell them once they are adult. I must stay and continue to watch my herd but you can go to my family’s farm, which is a few minutes from here to the Northwest, and speak with my father. His name is Durax.’’
‘’Then, we will be happy to go speak with him and discuss trade.’’
‘’And he will also be happy to see you: buyers have been rare during the last few weeks and Winter is arriving soon. You will find a trail through the woods in that direction. Follow it and you will get to my family farm.’’
‘’Thank you!’’ replied Igrid before waving at her friends and signaling to come forward. Once near Igrid and the herd keeper, Nauca dismounted and, walking slowly in order not to scare the animal away, approached one of the black horses, which was at least fifteen centimeters taller at the withers than her own Tamat and was also much more massive while still being a very handsome animal, with a long black mane and tail and a head that stood high. She then gently caressed the head of the Frisian stallion while speaking softly to it.
‘’You are a true beauty. You also look so strong, yet appear sweet in character. I hope that I will be able to buy you and many of your kind.’’
Kissing the horse on its nose, Nauca then mounted back on Tamat and followed Igrid, who led her two companions towards the Northwest. She easily found the trail signaled by the teenage boy and then followed it while going through a small forest. Once through that forest, they were able to see a farm composed of a number of buildings, including a long barn and a stable. There was as well a large corral with a dozen black horses in it close to the main farmhouse, plus cultivated fields, which were now empty and stood down for Winter. Nauca embraced the complex with critical eyes.
‘’Hum, quite a large farm establishment. This family must be an important and rich one for this region. We couldn’t have encountered a better opportunity than this. I hope that this Durax will prove to be sensible in his demands to us for his horses.’’
As they got closer from the farm complex, Nauca was able to distinguish something that unsettled her a bit.
‘’What the… I see two men armed with spears and shields guarding the entrance to the farmhouse. This Durax must really be an important man around here to warrant such protection. Hopefully, his importance won’t get to his head while we discuss trade.’’
Continuing with her horse at a calm walk, in order not to alarm those two guards at the farm, Nauca and her two companions soon arrived within shouting distance of the farmhouse. By then, one of the guards, having spotted their approach, had gone inside the house, to soon emerge in the company of a bearded man. That man in turn wore clothes of obviously higher quality than those of the guards, making Nauca guess that he was the farm owner. Again, she used the services of Igrid as translator and dismounted before approaching the man and speaking to him in Sarmatian.
‘’Greetings! My name is Nauca of the Roxolani and I come from distant Samarkand on a trading expedition. I would like to buy some of your splendid horses, if that would be possible.’’
‘’Business is always possible…if you have money or goods with you. From Samarkand, you say? I heard about it but never saw anyone from it before today. But come inside, you and your two friends, so that we could discuss business together. You can tie your horses to these poles on each side of the door. My guards will make sure that nobody steals from your horses while we are inside.’’
‘’You are too kind. By the way, my name is Nauca and my friends are Igrid and Talya.’’
‘’And I am Durax, husband of our tribe’s Folk Mother, Frana.’’
That last ‘detail’ made Nauca hesitate and stop for a moment.
‘’You mean that your wife is the queen of your tribe?’’
‘’Close! Frana is the matriarch of the Frisii and is ruling our tribe while young King Ascon is growing up.’’
‘’Is she here? If yes, I would certainly want to pay my respects to her.’’
Durax seemed pleased by her words and nodded his head once.
‘’She is effectively here but is presently discussing in private with some of our most prominent nobles and chieftains. I will however warn her of your arrival before we start negotiating for the sale of my horses.’’
First going through a long corridor with Nauca, Durax then led her into a large room that had all the appearances of a meeting and feasting hall. At the far end, Nauca saw a mature woman sitting at a table and discussing with nine big men, all of them armed with swords and axes. The woman and nine men stopped discussing on seeing Nauca enter with Durax, who then went to whisper into the ear of his wife. Something that he said made her do a double take and she then stared with curiosity at Nauca while signaling for her, Igrid and Talya to come forward.
‘’Please come closer, young women. You really came from Samarkand? Here, this name is nearly legendary and you are the first persons to arrive here from that city.’’
Nauca and her two companions walked towards the table and stopped some three paces from it before putting one knee down on the ground and bowing their heads in respect.
‘’Pardon us for interrupting your counsel meeting like this, Great Frana. We were not expecting to find such an important person as you when we came to this farm in order to buy some of your horses. I must say that your horses are as magnificent and strong as they were said to be.’’
The Folk Mother smiled with pride, obviously flattered by Nauca’s words.
‘’Our Frisian horses do indeed have a wide reputation as majestic animals. I am sure that they will make quite an effect on entering Samarkand at the end of your return trip. Did you come this far just to buy some of our horses, Nauca of Sarmatia?’’
‘’No, Great Frana! The primary goal of our trading expedition was to buy amber from the Baltic Coast and then return to Samarkand. However, once on the Baltic Coast, we were told about your great Frisian horses and I then decided to come and see them for myself. As a Sarmatian nomad, I spent all my life on horseback and I both love and respect horses.’’
‘’Wait! Would you be one of those fabled Amazons the Greek were so afraid of?’’
That question made Nauca grin with malice.
‘’I am! However, contrary to what the Greeks pretend, we kicked their asses, not the other way around.’’
A sober expression came to Frana’s face on hearing that.
‘’By the gods! You must have been sent to us by Baduhenna, our Goddess of War. You would certainly be worthy of representing her. Would you be ready to call yourself a warrior?’’
‘’I AM a warrior, Great Frana. I fought many battles to date, including against the Romans, and killed dozens of men in combat. While my two companions have less experience of fighting than me, they also fought a number of times and killed men.’’
‘’Then, you are all worthy of representing Baduhenna. Consider yourselves my guests of honor during your stay here. Since you must have traveled long and hard from Samarkand, why don’t you install yourselves here today before discussing the buying of my horses? That will allow me to finish my discussion with our tribal chieftains. Then, I will be able to direct all my attention on your visit. Durax will now give you rooms in our house and will make sure that your horses are fed and cared for.’’
‘’You are too kind, Great Frana.’’ replied Nauca, pleased, while bowing her head again. Getting up, she then let Durax lead her and her two friends out of the meeting hall and into a large room with a fireplace in the center of it, where the Frisii man showed them a large pile of hay which obviously was meant to be used as a sleeping surface.
‘’Feel free to bring your things in this room and install yourselves for the coming night: it is yours until you decide to depart. I will then show you where to bring your horses, so that they could drink and eat.’’
‘’Thank you, Durax! You and your wife are too kind.’’
Durax smiled as he replied to her.
‘’Nothing is too good for female warriors sent to us by the Goddess Baduhenna.’’
Nauca was careful not to contradict him on that: such beliefs about envoys sent by gods were common enough around the whole World, while this could only play in their favor in the hours and days to come. She didn’t even need to pretend to have been sent by this Goddess Baduhenna, as such envoys were said to often be unaware themselves of the role they were meant to play, with the gods manipulating their moves in an unconscious way. She thus got busy bringing in her personal baggage and bags containing the trading goods brought from Samarkand, along with the bundles of furs and bags full of amber their pack horses were carrying. Once their twelve horses were unloaded, Durax then led the trio of young women into the long stable of the farm and allotted six of the stalls inside it to them. They had time to take the saddles and pack supports off their horses before a servant came to Durax and whispered something into his ear. The farm owner nodded his head once and dismissed the servant, then spoke to Igrid in Germanic.
‘’My wife would like to speak with you in the presence of our gathered chieftains and elders. They are presently discussing a delicate subject and she wishes to see if you saw or heard during your trip anything that could be useful to us on the subject they are discussing about.’’
‘’Would that be about this King Ariovistus’ plan to attack the Celts of Gaul who live south of here?’’
Durax seemed to be struck hard by Igrid’s reply and looked at her with renewed respect.
‘’By the gods, you were indeed sent to us by the great Baduhenna. Please follow me.’’
As they followed Durax back to the house, Igrid quickly translated for the benefit of Nauca and Talya what the man had just told her. Nauca nodded her head in turn while thinking about the implications of this situation.
‘’Thank Cybele that this old farmer on the Elv River told us about this King Ariovistus’ plans. By attacking the Celts in Gaul, he may very well trigger a response by the Romans, which could in turn eventually bring lots of trouble to the Frisii. When we will face Frana, translate for me but let me decide what we will say to her. We may have to play a delicate balancing act with our information.’’
‘’Understood!’’
When the trio was reintroduced in the meeting hall, they found the atmosphere there more agitated than on their initial entrance. There was clearly some kind of difference of opinions between the participants. Again, Nauca knelt and bowed her head to Frana before looking at her and speaking via Igrid.
‘’We are at your disposal, great Folk Mother.’’
‘’Thank you, Nauca of the Roxolani. Know that we have been discussing the subject of a request, no, a demand by King Ariovistus of the Suebi for our warriors to join his army, in order to help him invade the lands of the Celts into Central and Southern Gaul. My strong opinion would be to ignore that call for help, as this invasion would contribute in creating chaos and destruction for all of us, and not only for the Celts. On the other hand, some of our chieftains are pushing for joining Ariovistus’ army for this planned invasion. Would you have something to say about this that could help us take a decision on whether or not to send our warriors to help King Ariovistus, my friends?’’
‘’I certainly may have something to say about that, great Folk Mother. We heard about King Ariovistus’ projects while traveling through Germanic territory and we also saw how many of the Germanic people have already left their farms and lands in order to join his army, bringing with them their families and most of their farm animals. So, that invasion is already on the move and about to hit the Celts of Central Gaul, if it has not already done so. While we are not from this part of the World, we did see many things during our voyages that would make me caution you against joining King Ariovistus’ army, great Folk Mother. First, wars, while they may look beneficial to one side at first, always end up bouncing back into your face in the long run. The great King Mithridates of Pontus fought three wars against the Romans but ultimately lost his kingdom to the Romans, with his people then paying a terrible price as a result. Second, such an invasion of Gaul by Germanic tribes under King Ariovistus is liable to attract a very strong reaction from the Romans, who are said to already have a strong footing in Southern Gaul. The Germanic warriors may be victorious at first but, if there is something that the Romans are known for, it is for being persistent and for play the long game. The Roman Army is presently by far the most powerful military force known in this World and, while it may lose some of its battles, then more Roman soldiers will follow up and crush their adversaries. If you help Ariovistus in his invasion of Gaul, then you will make yourself and Frisia an eventual target of Rome.’’
Her words, once translated by Igrid, seemed to anger one of the chieftains sitting around Frana’s table and he spat a hot reply at Nauca while looking at her with contempt.
‘’This so-called ‘warrior woman’, who is supposedly sent to us by Baduhenna, is trying to discourage us from going to fight? I spit at your advice, woman!’’
Nauca got up at once of both feet and pointed a resolute index at the chieftain while returning his stare.
‘’I am not telling you not to fight: I am telling you to fight intelligently! Keep your warriors here, ready to defend your territory when the Romans will eventually advance north in response to Ariovistus’ invasion of Gaul. Sending your warriors away would only leave your lands without proper protection. I have fought the Romans and, while us Sarmatians beat them then, our warriors then stayed within Sarmatia, instead of foolishly going south on a rampage that could only go badly in the long run.’’
‘’What tells me that your claims of having fought and beaten the Romans are anything but empty bragging by a weak woman? I say: ignore that foolish woman, my brothers!’’
Nauca had by then had enough of that idiot. Even if Frana then intervened in her favor, the insults he had thrown at her could not be left unanswered. If they were, then she would then put herself, her friends and possibly Frana as well at the mercy of the chieftains’ reaction.
‘’I WILL SHOW YOU WHO IS THE FOOLISH ONE HERE, YOU IDIOT! TALYA, GO GET MY SWORD, MY SHIELD AND THE STANDARD WE CAPTURED IN SARMATIA. AS FOR YOU, I CHALLENGE YOU TO SINGLE COMBAT.’’
‘’THEN, YOU WILL DIE HERE, WOMAN!’’
While witnessing this angry exchange, Frana realized that stopping that fight from happening would bring no good, on the contrary. As a folk mother, she could counsel and lead her tribe to a point, but she did not have the kind of power that her tribal chieftains could muster. Also, by preventing that duel, she would be marking Nauca as a coward and a liar, something that could cost her dearly afterwards. Durax, who had also watched this exchange from one side, did not intervene as well, although he thought that Brixus was indeed an idiot and a hot head.
Nauca, like her opponent, then moved away from the table and to an empty space in the middle of the hall, where they stared angrily at each other while Talya was running to get the things Nauca had requested. When she came back with her sword, shield and captured Roman standard, Nauca hurried to tell her something in Sogdian.
‘’Keep the standard wrapped and out of sight for the moment and give me my shield and sword, Talya.’’
‘’Are you sure that you want to do this, Nauca?’’ asked the Dacian girl, afraid for her friend. Nauca nodded once in response.
‘’It must be done, Talya. Don’t worry about me: this big brute may have lots of muscles but he also has very little brains.’’
As she took her sword and shield from Talya, her opponent taunted her.
‘’I am ready to fight bare-chested, while you still wear that long tunic of yours. What tells me that you are not wearing some kind of armor under your clothes?’’
‘’So, you are afraid of me and use that lame excuse in response? You want to fight bare-chested? Then we will both fight bare-chested!’’
Nauca then quickly removed her tunic and the band of tissue supporting her breasts before taking hold of her shield and sword while topless.
‘’You wanted to see my tits, you big brute? Well, here they are: stare at them to your content before I cut you to pieces and show to your friends what kind of an imbecile you are.’’
Brixus, enraged by her insult, then pushed a rageful growl and charged her, his sword held high for a downward strike and his oval shield held in front of him. It was obvious to Nauca that his rage made him underestimate her and think of her as an easy opponent. Holding her ground while holding her round rhino hide shield in front of her, she held her long sword, made of superior Hinduwani steel and with razor-sharp edges, low and parallel to the ground, ready for a stabbing strike. She also bent both knees, so that she could quickly crouch into a low stance. Brixus, who was a good half-head taller than her, then slammed his shield into her shield, hoping to throw her backward under the force of the impact and make her trip or lose her balance, at the same time as he readied his sword for a furious downward swing targeting her head. Instead of trying to stop the big warrior’s charge, a futile goal in view of his mass, Nauca instead used her crouched position to deflect Brixus’ shield by suddenly raising her own shield while twisting it to a near horizontal position over her head and shifting it sideways. As Brixus’ shield slid against her shield while also being deflected over her towards her left side, Nauca quickly put her right foot forward while crouching even lower. Her right arm then thrusted forward and up, aiming the tip of her sword at the now unprotected lower belly and groin of her opponent. Her motion, all done in a fraction of a second, allowed her to stab Brixus near his groin and left hip, with her steel blade penetrating a good fifty centimeters upward in his torso, slicing his spleen in two, cutting through his intestines and penetrating deeply his left lung before piercing the bottom of his heart. As the big Frisii warrior kept going forward due to his charge, she stepped aside to let him pass, making in the process her sword blade twist and open even more widely the horrific wound she had just caused. Intense pain and shock now on his face, Brixus stopped himself and turned around, already realized that he was going to die. Still, Nauca taunted him by wiggling her breasts as the Frisii was about to crumble to the ground.
‘’HERE YOU GO! ADMIRE MY BREASTS ONE LAST TIME BEFORE DYING, YOU STUPID HUNK!’’
Brixus’ eyes then became unfocused and he fell face first on the dirt floor of the hall as the other chieftains watched on with disbelief. Turning around to face them and Frana, Nauca then spoke out loud.
‘’WAR IS NOT ONLY ABOUT PHYSICAL STRENGTH, BUT ALSO ABOUT BEING SMART AND SKILLFUL. AS FOR ME HAVING LIED ABOUT FIGHTING THE ROMANS, HERE IS THE UNIT STANDARD OF THE ROMAN CAVALRY UNIT THAT DARED TO GO INTO SARMATIA TO RAID IT!’’
Taking from Talya the standard captured from the Alae 1 Bosporanorum, Nauca then threw it on the table around which the chieftains and Frana sat, where it landed with a loud ‘clank’.
‘’OVER 600 ROMAN CAVALRYMEN TRIED TO RAID SARMATIAN TERRITORY, BUT WE KEPT OUR GROUND AND AMBUSHED THEM. NOT ONE ROMAN GOT OUT OF THAT ALIVE. I SAY, STAY HERE AND BE PREPARED TO DEFEND YOUR LANDS IN THE MONTHS AND YEARS TO COME. LASTLY, HERE IS MY ADVICE TO YOU ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THE ROMANS: NEVER TRUST THEM, AS THEIR GREED IS INFINITE, LIKE THEIR THIRST FOR POWER.’’
As the stunned chieftains stared at the Roman unit standard, Nauca finally took the time to put back on her chest band and her tunic, following which she wiped the blood on her sword on dead Brixus’ pants, further showing her contempt for him. Frana, who was about as stunned as her chieftains, was nearly tempted to applaud her performance but managed to keep her decorum, speaking in a calm but firm voice to the chieftains.
‘’Nauca of the Roxolani fought and won her duel with Brixus both fairly and cleanly. Furthermore, she proved to us that she was no liar. I thus say to you: let’s reject the request from King Ariovistus to join his army and let’s keep our warriors here, where they will be able to defend our lands and our people. Does anyone disagree with that?’’
All the chieftains nodded their heads at that, allowing Frana to get up and speak in a solemn tone.
‘’Then it is decided! We will follow the wise advice transmitted by the great Baduhenna through her envoy. You may now leave and pass the word to your warriors and people.’’
The chieftains then got up from their benches and left the hall, with four of them grabbing Brixus’ body and carrying it on their way out.
Frana, along with her husband Durax, waited until the chieftains were gone before hurrying to Nauca to congratulate her.
‘’Nauca, that was one impressive demonstration of sword fighting skills. Your bravery while facing such a powerful opponent was also memorable.’’
‘’Thank you, Folk Mother! I must say that I owe my skills to lots of practice and to quite a few fights. I do hope that your chieftains will truly accept your directives. Experience has taught me that it is never a good thing to attract the attention of the Romans.’’
‘’Well, your performance should convince them to follow my directives. However, my level of authority on them will eventually go down by a lot, once young King Ascon attains adulthood and takes effective control of our tribe.’’
‘’And how smart is your young king, Lady Frana?’’
‘’I am still not exactly sure about that, Nauca. The one thing I know about him is that he is quite hard-headed already.’’
Nauca slowly shook her head at that a couple of times, then smiled at the folk mother.
‘’Well, enough about wars and leadership. How about we discuss a bit of trade together, along with your husband? I have Chinese silk and tea, Indian spices and some trinkets made by the finest artisans in Samarkand available for sale. I accept payment in horses.’’
Nauca and her companions ended up staying another four days at Frana’s farm, resting from their trip, stocking up on fresh travel provisions and, most importantly for Nauca, collecting as much geographical information on the region as possible from the folk mother and her husband, adding that information to her travel notes and making a few new sketches, on top of procuring more parchment and ink for her nearly depleted stocks of writing supplies. When her group finally left the farm to start its return trip to Samarkand, it was with a much-enlarged troupe of horses which now comprised three Frisian stallions, eleven mares and four young Frisian horses. Also, Durax and half a dozen of his servants and guards were accompanying Nauca as she went north towards the coast of the North Sea. There, Durax used the authority of his wife to requisition a small flotilla of the biggest boats available, on which Nauca’s group and its horses embarked and then sailed along the coast up to the mouth of the Elbe River. There, the flotilla continued upstream on the Elbe as far southeast as the river would permit before letting off Nauca and her troupe of horses, thus saving them weeks of hard travel by land and avoiding them the headache of having to find fording sites across multiple rivers. Their spirits high, the three young women waved goodbye to Durax and to his Frisii sailors before continuing their trek by land.